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Heavy-hitter Marike Muselaers, VP international financing & co-production for the Scandi group Nordisk Film Production, has unveiled a solid slate of premium series, as its co-production “The Institute” is being pitched at Series Mania CoPro Pitching on Tuesday.
From Denmark, the four-parter “Snake Killer” is the first Prime Video Danish Original series, co-produced by Amazon MGM Studios, which holds first window rights in the Nordics. Anders Ølholm, credited for the hit thriller “Enforcement” (“Shorta”), is making his serialised debut as creator-helmer. In this crime show, toplining Pilou Asbæk (“Game of Thrones,” “A War”), the story turns on Copenhagen’s mobile drug squad (Uropatruljen). A rogue cop, notorious for breaking the law to uphold it, rages war against a mysterious crime family after one of his informants is brutally killed.
The series illustrates Nordisk Film Production’s ambitions and unique leveraging power in a competitive market where financing decisions are back in the hands of producers, away from cash-shy broadcasters or streamers.
“This project was fast-tracked so we had to move forward quickly, finance the gap ourselves and take a calculated risk. That’s one advantage of being part of Nordisk Film’s power group. We’re discussing second window rights with Nordic broadcasters, and looking for partners for the rest of the world,” said Muselaers, former co-CEO of Benelux Lumiere Group and a well-known moderator who was hired by Nordisk Film Production’s CEO Katrine Vogelsang in 2023 to boost the group’s international co-production drive.
Another financing model with broadcasters was used for the Norwegian blue-sky crime “Sogn Murders” (a working title), commissioned by TV2 Norway, co-produced with a German broadcaster, with pre-buys from other Nordic broadcasters. “Many broadcasters today don’t fully-finance anymore and rely on co-financing models which means that producers have to work harder to raise coin on the international market, build a much deeper acquisition/licensing pre-sales network. And while pre-sales to foreign territories used be revenue, now it’s financing first. That’s the new normal, but within that new normal there are opportunities,” said Muselaers.
Based on crime novelist Jørgen Jæger’s ‘Ole Vik’ universe, “Sogn Murders”(4×45′ or 2×90′) is co-penned by seasoned Kathrine Valen Zeiner (“Wisting,” “Made in Oslo”) and Kristoffer Metclaffe (“Twin”). Set against the striking backdrop of Norway’s Sognefjord, the crime series follows Police Chief Ole Vik and his dedicated team, as they solve murder investigations while struggling with personal challenges. The potentially returning series produced by Nordisk Film Production Norway’s Sigur Mikal Karoliussen, will be delivered in 2026.
In a different genre, the six-parter “Take Care” (“Løgnen”) ordered by TV2 Denmark, is set in the health and social care arena in the Vestegnen suburban district west of inner Copenhagen. The story follows the experienced social worker Rie, as she tries to move up in the system, while taking under her wing the young rebellious Sille who has started working in home care. When their team leader Patrick, starts grooming Sille, Rie finds herself in a serious dilemma with a fatal outcome.
Marike Muselaers
Courtesy of Nordisk Film Production
Seasoned actors Iben Hjejle (“Dicte,” “High Fidelity”), Lars Ranthe (“Another Round”) and Zaki Nobel (“Suplex”) are cast alongside rapper Tessa in her screen debut. A-list names behind the screen include creator-head writer Karina Dam (“Baby Fever,” “Ride Upon the Storm”), director Louise Friedberg (“Three Women,” “Deliver Us”), seasoned producers Trin Hjortkjær Thomsen (“DNA,” “Off the Record”) and Camilla Hammerich (“Borgen,” “Ride Upon the Storm”). “Take Care” is a story about everyday abuse of power and survival in a hard-pressured profession that deserves much more attention and respect than it gets,” said Dam. The premiere is set for May 2025.
With a similar pressing theme of power play at work, “The Institute,” selected for Series Mania’s Co-Pro Pitch, is co-produced by Nordisk Film Production Denmark with majority producer Boxworks Media from Germany. The six-part thriller, in development, created and directed by Esther Gronenborn, is set in the scientific academic world in Denmark. “It’s a story about power imbalance and power abuse in the academic world, but also about sisterhood,” said Muselærs who “immediately fell in love” with the topic when Boxworks Media producer Irina Ignatiew-Lemke first approached her. Producer Deborah Bayer Marlow of Nordisk Film Production is currently putting together the German-Scandinavian writers’ room and looking at the best casting options.
Right Mix
Expanding on Nordisk Film Production’s overall drama strategy, Muselaers said the Scandi banner’s goal is to greenlight 10 series by 2027 across Denmark, Sweden and Norway, and to cover “the right mix” in terms of genre, from crime, romantic comedies to period drama, combining a strong Nordic DNA and international potential.
Scripted content is based on original ideas developed either by seasoned creators and writers or by new writing talent trained in-house, or on well-known IP. “We’re lucky to have a research department dedicated to finding the right IP for us across Scandinavia for our various production units,” said Muselaers. Being part of the large media giant Egmont Group also means that Nordisk Film Production can collaborate and share knowledge with its sister film companies including Zentropa, Drive Studios in Denmark, Maipo Film, Fantefilm in Norway, Solar Films in Finland, or other sister banners in gaming, podcast, and publishing. Nordisk Film Production has in fact just moved in with the Scandi group’s gaming banner Avalanche Studios Group to foster cross-platform creativity and innovation.
But building the right mix of content also depends on having “the right producer with the right competences,” said Muselaers who has devoted her last year or more to attracting the best production talent, together with Vogelsang and Nordisk Film Production’s management team. “We’ve focused on hiring great producers, doing both film and series, or only series, and especially long-running shows,” the TV executive told Variety. Pedigreed names who recently joined the 22 strong team of Scandinavian producers at Nordisk Film Production include the seasoned Danish executives Mia Marie Borup (credited for TV2 Denmark’s “Sjit Happens,” and several DR Christmas calendar series), Michael Bille Frandsen (“Seaside Hotel,” “The Eagle”) and Sweden’s Lejla Bešić (Netflix’s “The Breakthrough,” SVT’s “Vanguard”, Discovery’s “Suburbia”), formerly at FLX.
“Some of our producers work more for broadcasters, others for streamers; it’s all about finding the right balance. We’re just starting!” said Muselaers.
