Elisa Viihde Commissions Finnish Drama The Man Who Died

Elisa Viihde has commissioned the new original series The Man Who Died, based on the best-selling book of the same title by Antti Tuomainen.

Jussi Vatanen will star in the six-episode series, which will be available to audiences via Elisa Viihde Viaplay in fall 2022. The series follows the storyline of the book, which tells of a mushroom entrepreneur, Jaakko Kaunismaa (Vatanen) from Hamina, who discovers he has been slowly poisoned and sets out to find his would-be murderer.

Tuomainen’s The Man Who Died has been translated into seven languages since it was originally published in 2016 and has been nominated for several awards in the U.K. The novel is being adapted for television by Markku Flink and Brendan Foley (Cold Courage). Foley has also written the script for the thriller.

The series will be co-produced by the German production company ndF and has been developed by Luminoir Oy. It will be produced in collaboration with Business Finland, the town of Hamina and the South East Finland Film Commission.

Ani Korpela, Elisa’s chief content officer, said: “Our investments in Finnish drama productions are continuing. The Man Who Died is a gripping thriller with elements of black comedy that tackles fundamental questions of life and death. We can’t wait to see director Samuli Valkama and the entire creative team’s view on Tuomainen’s bestseller.”

Tuomainen added: “The series The Man Who Died is a great source of joy and gratitude for me. I’m excited to see how the series will be received not only in Finland but also in Germany and in the U.K., where the novel has received great reviews and attracted a large readership. An all-time mushroom summer is coming.”

Foley said: “I love Antti’s dark humor—it just jumps off the page. Sometimes moving from a book to a series feels like wrestling with a bear. But this is such a visual story with larger-than-life characters, that the scripts were a joy to write, particularly at a time when the world needs all the joy it can get.”

Flink commented: “The Man Who Died is definitely one of the smartest and funniest novels I’ve read in years. While it is in one way the most Finnish of all stories, we think the characters also give it great international potential for people who like the quirky dark humor of the Coens or Wes Anderson.”

ndF’s Co-Managing Director Eric Welbers added: “It’s a true pleasure to collaborate with talented partners like Reelmedia and Elisa Viihde on a series of this caliber. We firmly believe in the extraordinary story created by Antti Tuomainen. It works quite well with our international strategy and we are sure that this compelling series will make its way to entertaining worldwide audiences.”