The Bridge’s Måns Mårlind Working on Gritty Thriller Shadow Play

TANDEM Productions is set to produce Shadow Play, created and written by Måns Mårlind (Bron/The Bridge, Midnight Sun), with ZDF coming on board as co-producing network alongside international partners such as Viaplay and Canal+. 

BRON Studios and TANDEM are collaborating on the eight-part series, which will be co-produced by ZDF (Germany) and co-financed by international networks such as Viaplay (Scandinavia), Canal+ (France), Canal+ Poland and NPO (Holland). The series will be distributed by STUDIOCANAL.

A character-driven thriller set in Berlin, Shadow Play centers on the story of Max McLaughlin, an American cop who arrives in the city in the summer of 1946 to help create a police force in the chaotic aftermath of the war. Max’s goal is to take down “Englemacher” Gladow, the Capone of post-war Berlin. At the same time, Max undertakes a secret crusade to find his missing brother, who is killing ex-Nazis in hiding. However, Max is completely unaware that he is being used as a pawn in what is the very beginning of the Cold War.

Mårlind will write all eight episodes and direct four alongside his directing partner, Björn Stein (6 Souls, Midnight Sun). Executive producers are Mårlind, Rola Bauer (Take Two, The Pillars of the Earth), Jonas Bauer (Spotless, The Company), Tim Halkin (World Without End, Labyrinth), Jim Gillespie (World Without End, I Know What You Did Last Summer), and BRON’s Aaron L. Gilbert, Steven Thibault and David Davoli (Fences, Tully, The Birth of a Nation, Beatriz at Dinner).

Bauer, managing director/partner at STUDIOCANAL TV, said, “We are thrilled to be collaborating with BRON Studios, who also embrace this vivid and thought-provoking drama from the talented Måns Mårlind. To have such a wealth of partners from key markets onboard now is testament to Shadow Play’s huge potential to become a major returning series on the international stage.”

Bauer, EP/partner at TANDEM Productions, said, “As Max strives for justice in a lawless society, Shadow Play will convey the intense and schizophrenic atmosphere of post-war Berlin, a place split apart by war, in a dynamic new way—delivering a drama that is as unpredictable and captivating as the transitory period leading from the Armageddon of World War II to the advent of the Cold War.”

Gilbert, founder of BRON Studios, added, “We could not be more excited to partner with the extraordinary team at TANDEM Productions and to continue our work with exceptional filmmakers in television by joining master storyteller Måns Mårlind, whose ability to create intense and edge-of-your-seat thrilling series is second to none. With such an incredible lineup of creators and international partners, we are sure that Shadow Play will deliver premium television that will truly resonate across the world.”

Simone Emmelius, ZDF’s senior VP of feature films, said, “What connects us with Måns Mårlind are the years of collaboration with The Bridge. We’re thrilled to have our next creative adventure with him on Shadow Play. Behind him stands a great production unit, consisting of the Munich-based TANDEM Productions and the Canadian production company BRON Studios—a special constellation for special material.”