HBO Max Commissions First Finnish Series

Ahead of its launch in Finland, HBO Max has commissioned its first Finnish original from Helsinki-Filmi.

The series, tentatively titled ID, revolves around a Finnish art fraud investigator who goes undercover to infiltrate an auction house in Stockholm to investigate a notorious money launderer. Helsinki-Filmi’s Mia Ylönen and Aleksi Bardy are co-creators.

Production is set to begin in 2022, with Christian Wikander and Steve Matthews executive producing for HBO Max.

Ylönen, producer and screenwriter for Helsinki-Filmi, said, “ID examines questions of identity, morality and personal limits. We all live in the crosswinds of many identities. There’s the work-me, the private-me, the hero-me of our dreams, the victim-me hurt by the past, the happy-and-ideal-me in social media. Who would you be if you could be anyone? Would you rejoice the chance to reinvent yourself, even if it meant abandoning your old self?”

Bardy, producer and CEO of Helsinki-Filmi, said, “We want our series to stand proudly beside its thematic and stylistic HBO predecessors. The series will combine the pulsating world of a high-stakes thriller with the visually mesmerizing world of art and forgeries. The combination is unique and previously unseen—an explosion of action, emotion and art.”

Wikander said, “We are excited to greenlight our first Finnish series and give the local creative community an opportunity to showcase their talent at HBO Max. ID offers an insight into the billion-dollar black market of art. Shot over the Nordic summer months, the series will create a unique visual storyworld: we call it Nordic noir in color.”