Patrick Nebout to Adapt Jan Guillou’s Hamilton Books

STOCKHOLM: Dramacorp founder Patrick Nebout is developing an international spy-thriller series based on the Hamilton books from the Swedish author Jan Guillou.

The Hamilton books center on Swedish intelligence officer Carl Hamilton who, having been trained by the US Navy SEALs, becomes part of an illegal black ops cell within the Swedish military. Guillou himself was imprisoned for espionage after exposing a similar illegal spy organization within the Swedish military. He later used his knowledge of the world of intelligence and counter-intelligence as the basis for his 12 Hamilton novels.

The series is a co-production between Dramacorp, which Nebout launched with Beta Films’ Jan Mojto in April, and Swedish IP-rights company IRLC. Mia Sohlman, who created and produced SVT’s hit political thriller Blue Eyes and joined Dramacorp in June, will executive produce Hamilton alongside Nebout. Discussions are now under way with Swedish and international broadcast and co-production partners.

Petter S. Rosenlund, head writer of NRK’s The Heavy Water War (Saboteurs in the U.K.), has been attached as head writer.

Nebout, executive producer and CEO of Dramacorp, said: “High-concept stories don’t come much better than Jan Guillou’s Hamilton novels. With this project, we’re moving beyond the classic Nordic Noir crime genre into a contemporary, chaotic world of espionage, paranoia and the geopolitical power game that is being played anew between Scandinavia, Russia and the U.S.—a Cold War 2.0, if you like, but without the ideology. That said, Hamilton isn’t a Scandi version of James Bond. Our show will have complex, nuanced, character-driven plots with echoes of some of the great ’70s conspiracy movies, such as The Conversation or Three Days of the Condor. We’re proud and honored to have won Jan Guillou’s trust and to be given this opportunity to adapt his iconic literary series.”

Guillou added: “A number of feature-film adaptations have been made of Hamilton over the last 20 years, but I have always felt that a TV series would be the perfect format for developing the complexity of Carl Hamilton’s character and the plots. Now that drama series have reached a level of quality that more often than not surpasses theatrical movies, I look forward to seeing Hamilton as an ambitious, character-driven TV drama.”

Rosenlund said: “Carl Hamilton was my first literary superspy. For many years, I was lost in the world of this socially democratic yet brutal knight. In translating Hamilton into a TV series, my goal is to explore the chaotic journey through contemporary, post-Cold War Sweden taken by Jan Guillou’s fascinating character, as he [faces] questions such as loyalty and national interest at a time of great global confusion and uncertainty.”

Jens Alex, managing director of IRLC, added: “Jan Guillou’s Hamilton is one of the most powerful Scandinavian literary rights ever. We’re thrilled to team up with Dramacorp on this fantastic project, which will bring a legendary character to both Nordic and international audiences.”