{"id":13010,"date":"2020-04-14T09:00:31","date_gmt":"2020-04-14T13:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev2.worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/worldscreen.com\/"},"modified":"2020-04-15T09:28:07","modified_gmt":"2020-04-15T13:28:07","slug":"nordic-twist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/nordic-twist\/","title":{"rendered":"Nordic Twist"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kristin Brzoznowski explores the broad range of scripted coming out of the Scandinavian markets.<\/em><\/p>\n

The stark, atmospheric landscapes of Scandinavia serve as the perfect backdrop for grim tales of brutal crimes and the mysterious and morose protagonists who find themselves entwined in their complex threads\u2014all elements that typify the uber-popular drama genre that\u2019s become known the world over as \u201cNordic noir.\u201d But that\u2019s not all the local TV market has to offer these days. There\u2019s a rich cultural tradition of storytelling that unites the Scandi countries, and it is still very much alive and well, as producers from across the region deliver high-quality scripted series that garner global attention.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe focus is always 100 percent on the quality from day one,\u201d says Lars Blomgren, the head of scripted for EMEA at Endemol Shine Group, acknowledging, though, that it\u2019s the high-end productions from the region that travel globally. \u201cWe don\u2019t greenlight until we are happy with the script, and that\u2019s a very established tradition. There are seven or eight drafts before we go into production. So, we have the time. It\u2019s also part of our character. In Sweden, we don\u2019t die from war or famine, so we have developed other kinds of anxieties,\u201d he quips.<\/p>\n

Blomgren says that Germany was the first country outside the home region where Scandi series became big. \u201cWe ended up getting 20 to 30 percent of the budget, on top of our Scandinavian budget, so we could go even higher with the quality and the development.\u201d<\/p>\n

The real breakthrough came, though, when BBC Four began bringing these stories to the U.K. ZDF Enterprises was the driving force behind the sale of The Bridge<\/em> and The Killing <\/em>to the BBC, \u201ceffectively kicking off the Scandi-noir hype over a decade ago,\u201d says Robert Franke, VP of ZDFE.drama. \u201cThese shows became the spearhead for many smaller Scandi shows, which subsequently aroused interest in the international markets, thanks to these two big breakout series. Today, we remain a leader in the genre,\u201d with an average of two new Scandinavian dramas added to ZDFE.drama\u2019s catalog each year.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s been a nice uptick in the amount of scripted coming out of these Northern European countries as well, he notes. \u201cThe Nordics are a very progressive market, always leading the pack by adopting new consumption methods earlier than the rest of the world. This leads to a situation where the streaming landscape is much more sophisticated than in other territories, with a number of big and ambitious local players joining the original-content game by producing original programming. So, there is much more Scandinavian product hitting the market today than ten years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

RAMPING UP<\/strong>
\nCaroline Torrance, head of scripted at Banijay Rights, agrees, noting that across Scandinavia, free-TV channels and SVOD platforms alike have ramped up their drama efforts. She highlights the robust commissioning of the local Viaplay SVOD in particular: \u201cWhen you see the amount of drama that they now produce across the region\u2014and a lot of it by Banijay companies such as Yellow Bird, Jarowskij or Mastiff\u2014it is really incredible. There\u2019s definitely been an increase in scripted output. It does really well in Scandinavia and still sells really well around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jan Bennemann, senior VP of acquisitions and co-productions for Dynamic Television, is optimistic that there\u2019s plenty of demand in the international market for all these new Scandi series, too. \u201cWe\u2019ve all been talking about the end of Scandi noir as a bubble to burst\u2014but it hasn\u2019t happened!\u201d he says. \u201cI think the reason Scandinavian content has been able to sustain that level of output and grow according to the general growth of the market is that they\u2019ve never seen themselves as only Scandi noir. They have just told the stories they like and tried to push the envelope all the time. The diversity in content and the open-mindedness in how to tell stories has been with them all along. While all of us were talking about the burst of the bubble and the end of Nordic noir, they\u2019ve been evolving.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fran\u00e7oise Guyonnet, executive managing director for TV series at STUDIOCANAL\u2014which saw breakthroughs with the Scandinavian-French co-productions Midnight Sun<\/em> and Ride Upon the Storm<\/em>\u2014echoes this sentiment. \u201cIt\u2019s true that in the early days, all drama coming out of Scandinavia was labeled Nordic noir,\u201d she says. \u201cBut Scandi drama shouldn\u2019t be limited to just Nordic noir; it is much richer in terms of genres.\u201d<\/p>\n

Guyonnet highlights Pros and Cons<\/em>, which \u201cis as much a comedy as it is a thriller,\u201d she says, and The Lawyer<\/em>, which deals with the professional and personal conflicts of its protagonist.<\/p>\n

Another twist on the genre is a move toward more \u201cblue-sky\u201d crime dramas, such as Dynamic\u2019s The Sommerdahl Murders<\/em>. \u201cThis is a show that we\u2019ve put together on the heels of demand from outside of Scandinavia,\u201d explains Bennemann. \u201cIn Germany and France in particular, and also in Spain and Italy, there\u2019s a big demand for a brighter way of approaching crime, but also with a procedural backbone, which makes it a lot easier to program. We saw that need, and we took that back to Scandinavia. We talked to the broadcasters there and said, This is something that the people who usually bring you a big chunk of the financing really need. We put together a show that combines what people love about the Nordics and their way of storytelling with a brighter approach and self-contained narrative structure, and that\u2019s proven to be very successful.\u201d<\/p>\n

MORE THAN NOIR<\/strong>
\nBennemann adds that in the last two years, he\u2019s actually seen more successful series coming out of Scandinavia that are not straightforward crime dramas than ones that are. \u201cI feel that they\u2019re fed up with being marketed only as Scandi noir,\u201d he says. \u201cAt the same time, they\u2019ve managed to create a brand; Nordic noir is a brand that\u2019s used now by other territories. You have producers in Spain doing Spanish Nordic noir. [Last] year saw the first Kiwi Nordic noir hitting the European market. They created a brand that stands for this exciting way of telling a crime story that does not hinge on a procedural element and really digs into the characters.\u201d<\/p>\n

Banijay Rights\u2019 Torrance says that there\u2019s still a big appetite in the global market for so-called Scandi noir, though. \u201cFor as many articles as I see about the end of Nordic noir, then we get some more and it does really well! Wisting<\/em>has been a massive success on the BBC. Channel 4 in the U.K. just broadcast The Truth Will Out<\/em>, and that really is Nordic noir.\u201d
\nThat said, she does agree that there\u2019s much more that\u2019s working well for Banijay Rights out of Scandinavia than just these dark crimes and mysteries, including the period drama The Restaurant<\/em>, the comedy Couple Trouble<\/em> and Hidden<\/em>, a fantasy\/sci-fi show.<\/p>\n

Differing from the slow-burn style that characterizes Scandi noir, the pacing of the newer shows is speeding up, Endemol Shine\u2019s Blomgren notes. \u201cLately, we\u2019ve seen a number of series based on actual events,\u201d including the killings at Ut\u00f8ya in Norway and the murder of Swedish journalist Kim Wall on a submarine. \u201cSo, we\u2019re looking for stories based on true events,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n

And, of course, Scandi producers continue to look to literature for tales ripe for TV adaptation, with Endemol Shine in development on some new book-based IP. The company won the bidding war for the rights to Fredrik Backman\u2019s novel Beartown<\/em>, with the series adaptation greenlit by HBO Europe.<\/p>\n

BY THE BOOK<\/strong>
\nSwedish author Jens Lapidus\u2019s trilogy Top Dog<\/em> has been adapted as a series, with ZDF Enterprises serving as distributor. Franke describes it as a \u201cfresh new take on classic Scandi crime,\u201d as the story is told through the lens of two unusual investigators: a former petty criminal and a case lawyer. He believes the series has what it takes to cut through today\u2019s crowded drama landscape\u2014one where Scandi series have managed to maintain their place in the spotlight.<\/p>\n

\u201cNordic shows always are a tad more down-to-earth and driven by narrative realism,\u201d says Franke. \u201cHence shows from the Nordics are often trying to ground themselves in everyday life, making them very relatable for audiences. The pace is becoming faster nowadays, with more plot points and stronger cliffhangers to satisfy the need for exciting and fast-paced entertainment from audiences who predominantly watch on streaming sites.\u201d<\/p>\n

STUDIOCANAL\u2019s Guyonnet, mean\u00adwhile, believes that the quality of the concepts at the center of these Scandinavian stories has long set them apart. \u201cA high concept really keeps an audience engaged and the content fresh and exciting,\u201d she says. \u201cThis, combined with strong and compelling characters and the confidence to play out bold ideas really adds to the appeal of Scandi shows.\u201d<\/p>\n

Endemol Shine\u2019s Blomgren agrees with Guyonnet that Scandi stories with strong concepts, \u201ca fantastic setup and a unique and amazing story,\u201d are what will continue to sell best. \u201cThen you have other ones that travel because they\u2019re just so well made. It\u2019s all about the execution and the quality of the script. There\u2019s so much talent around now. We will see surprising stories on subjects that are not necessarily the sexiest ones, but suddenly people watch them because the characters are just so lovely that you want to spend time with them and follow their stories.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn terms of the crime thrillers that sell around the world, Scandinavian producers are still really well respected for delivering high production values and really good plots,\u201d says Banijay Rights\u2019 Torrance. \u201cThey have carved out that niche very well for themselves. I don\u2019t see any evidence of that decreasing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dynamic\u2019s Bennemann says that two words come to mind when assessing the next wave of hit Scandi series, and one of them is \u201chumor.\u201d He explains, \u201cThere is a very specific Scandinavian humor, which is actually quite close to British humor. It\u2019s a little dark, a little quirky. This tone is hitting the series genre now as well. I think we\u2019ll see more of that.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe other word, which I think is even more important, is \u2018relevance,\u2019\u201d he continues, \u201cwith shows that embrace topics that are controversially discussed in today\u2019s society. My feeling is that the Nordics have set out to really look for those stories in that region and bring them to the market, and they want to push the envelope there and make them relevant, to find an entertaining way to have us all think about what\u2019s going right and what\u2019s going wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n

The interviews for this report were conducted prior to the COVID-19 global pandemic. Media companies are currently shifting their strategies in the wake of production postponements.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kristin Brzoznowski explores the broad range of scripted coming out of the Scandinavian markets.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":350,"featured_media":13011,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[77,70],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13010","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-features","category-top-stories","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"\nNordic Twist - TVDRAMA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/nordic-twist\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Nordic Twist - TVDRAMA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Kristin Brzoznowski explores the broad range of scripted coming out of the Scandinavian markets.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/nordic-twist\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"TVDRAMA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-04-14T13:00:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-04-15T13:28:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2017\/07\/BEFORE_WE_DIE.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"344\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kristin Brzoznowski\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kristin Brzoznowski\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"9 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/nordic-twist\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvdrama\/nordic-twist\/\",\"name\":\"Nordic Twist - 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