At the Göteborg Film Festival, the Scandi Alliance has awarded Miso Film’s Royal Blood (Blått Blod) as its first flagship scripted project, and Miso Film also picked up the rights to adapt The Cold Song.
The six-part miniseries Royal Blood unravels the power struggles between the Nordic royal houses during an era of geopolitical change, spanning from 1807 to 1814. It was selected by Scandi Alliance after a competitive pitch of 75 projects and will be distributed internationally by Fremantle.
Royal Blood is created by Stephen Uhlander, Emma Broström, Monica Boracco and Katarina Launing and written by Uhlander and Broström. It is expected to premiere in 2027.
The Scandi Alliance is a partnership formed last year between TV2 Norway, TV 2 Denmark and TV4 Sweden to strengthen Scandinavian drama production and elevate local stories.
“Royal Blood stood out as a magnificent and uniquely Scandinavian project that fully embodies the vision we had set out for the Scandi Alliance,” said Alice Sommer, head of drama at TV2 Norway. “It is a story that is both epic in scope and intimate in its exploration of human ambition and struggle. The series brings a unique and authentic Scandinavian perspective to the global fascination of royal history, offering a fresh take on an era yet unexplored in this region and told with boldness and historical depth.”
Jonas Allen, CEO and producer at Miso Film, commented, “To win this major competition is a truly incredible and humbling experience for everyone at Miso Film—especially being the first. With offices in Norway, Denmark and Sweden, it is deeply inspiring to develop a drama series with natural relevance and a strong resonance across Scandinavia. We are very grateful for the unique opportunity this Scandi Alliance co-production partnership provides, enabling us to bring an ambitiously epic project to life during a time when the industry is grappling with significant challenges. Royal Blood is a spectacular untold story that delves into a pivotal historical moment that shaped Denmark, Norway and Sweden into the nations we are today. While deeply rooted in exceptional Scandinavian history, its themes of ambition, loyalty and survival are universal, making it a compelling drama with Nordic resonance and broad international appeal. It’s a story of power play and the human drive to shape history.”
Miso Film Sweden also recently picked up the rights to adapt Linn Ullmann’s The Cold Song into a six-episode TV series for SVT and Film i Väst.
The drama explores the strength and fragility of family bonds. Siri, a restaurant owner, and her husband, novelist Jon, lead a busy life in Stockholm with their two daughters but spend each summer at Siri’s childhood home on the Swedish West Coast. The summer that Siri plans an unwelcome 75th birthday party for her mother, Jenny, and hires a nanny, Mille, to help, Mille disappears, and the family is forced to confront hidden secrets and guilt.
The adaptation is being directed by Mikael Marcimain (Blackwater, The Hunt for a Killer). Filming will commence in the fall of 2025 for a planned premiere in the fall of 2026. Fremantle is handling international sales.
“The Cold Song is a story about three generations of women, their fractured relationships and their struggle for reconciliation,” Marcimain said. “It’s a drama that moves between bright summer and dark autumn, between idyll and tragedy. It’s a story as beautiful as it is unsettling, and I’m very much looking forward to bringing it to television.”
Christian Rank, managing director and producer at Miso Film Sweden, added, “In a time when the industry faces considerable challenges, we’re thrilled to see Miso Film Sweden prospering. We’ll aim to build on this momentum to further establish our position as a leading home for distinctive Swedish series and films.”