Topic, SBS Australia Pick Up Agatha Christie’s Hjerson

ZDF Studios has licensed Agatha Christie’s Hjerson to the North American streamer Topic and Australian channel SBS, as well as a range of global broadcasters and VOD platforms.

A classic whodunit based on a character from Agatha Christie’s world, the drama was originally commissioned by TVC/C More. It sees former investigator Sven Hjerson solving some of the toughest cases in Swedish crime history.

Topic secured rights for the U.S. and Canada, while SBS took an exclusive for Australia. ZDF Studios also licensed Agatha Christie’s Hjerson to VOD platforms Google Play, iTunes, Amazon, Deutsche Telekom and Huawei for German-speaking territories as well as Germany’s public broadcaster, ZDF. Other buyers include Viasat World, which covers the Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine, Croatia and the whole of Southeast Europe,  along with Keshet (Israel), NHK (Japan), VR Films (India), LRT (Lithuania) and Walter Presents (U.K. and Ireland).

Yi Qiao, Director Drama, ZDF Studios, said, “I’m delighted that this excellent drama, which sees a spin-off character from the Christie universe come to life for the first time, has found its way to North America and Australia. With Agatha Christie being world-famous as one of the best-selling authors of all time, there is a never-ending demand for her work to brighten the small screen.”

“It’s not every day that we get to introduce our subscribers to a new Agatha Christie detective,” said Jennifer Liang, VP of programming strategy, acquisitions and sales at Topic. “We are thrilled to welcome Swedish investigator Sven Hjerson to our global collection of elevated crime and suspense programs and excited to continue our successful collaboration with ZDF Studios.”

Haidee Ireland, channel manager for SBS On Demand and SBS World Movies, said, “SBS is home to distinctive storytelling and premium drama, with a vast collection of insightful stories and inspiring entertainment available on our streaming service, SBS On Demand. We’re passionate about offering viewers content from Australia and across the globe and thrilled to be offering Agatha Christie’s Hjerson on the platform. Agatha Christie’s work never fails to entice audiences, and this fresh take puts a modern lens on a classic tale. This whodunit is sure to keep viewers guessing and on the edge of their seats and is a welcome addition to our catalog of classic and contemporary mystery thrillers.”