MIPTV Spotlight: Nordic World

CANNES: TV 2 Norway has teamed up with three of the biggest record labels in search of the country’s most popular new artist in The Stream, which Nordic World is licensing as a format.

The show follows the process of how new talent is discovered in the music business today, through a combination of streaming music and live performances. “It is really a fresh angle, version 2.0 in many ways, of the classic talent genre,” says Ann Christin Siljan, Nordic World’s VP of acquisitions.

The company also has in its formats catalogue the makeover show Sexy in 60 Minutes and the factual-entertainment series The Homeless Experience. Siljan believes that the “fresh honesty” of The Homeless Experience, combined with “a surprisingly warm feeling,” offers something new for the audience.

“We are looking for fresh formats that bring something new to a genre and, most importantly, that correspond with the ever-changing trends in the modern media landscape,” says Siljan.

The drama Seaside Hotel, which Nordic World is promoting at MIPTV, tells the tale of a small Danish hotel in the early 1930s and the tangled lives of its clientele and staff. “We call Seaside Hotel Denmark’s answer to Downton Abbey, in that it opens a window on a deliciously decadent time: the years between 1928 to 1933,” says Espen Huseby, the CEO of Nordic World.

Another company highlight is Maniac, produced by Rubicon for TV 2 Norway. “It’s a truly original drama that explores the line between fantasy and reality from the perspective of a man with severe mental-health issues,” explains Huseby.

Nordic World is also bringing the first two seasons of Next Summer, produced by Feelgood Scene for TVNorge in Norway, to the market. A third season will be available soon.

“The world’s appetite for Nordic drama just keeps on growing and we believe we are perfectly positioned to meet that demand,” says Huseby.