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Prime Video Nordics has swooped to acquire nine scripted originals from Viaplay, which abandoned its high-end scripted commissioning drive last year.

The titles will now launch on Prime Video following the agreement, which Martin Backlund, Managing Director of Prime Video Nordics, called a “landmark deal.”

The shows comprise Bullshit, The Commoner, The Fortress, In the Name of Love, Jana – Marked for Life, Paradis City, Solo/Dancing Alone, Furia Season Two and Those Who Kill Season Four. We told you about several of them last year, when Viaplay was pushing ahead with an aggressive scripted originals strategy that was later scrapped.

Also included are library titles such as Couple Trouble, Furia Season One, Hammarvik, Honour and Occupied. This part of the agreement is non-exclusive and the shows will appear on both services.

The Nordics were recently identified as one of several European territories where Prime Video can grow, and was...

Backlund previously held the post of head of content for Prime Video UK and Nordics.

Amazon executive Martin Backlund, the former London-based head of content for Prime Video UK and Nordics, has taken up the newly-created position of managing director for Prime Video Nordics.

He will work with the Nordics Originals team, headed up by Karin Lindström, the content acquisitions team, led by Andreas Hjertø, the channels team and future customer features.

Backlund will oversee investment, programming, marketing, and partnerships for Prime Video Nordics content offering, including both acquisitions and local originals. He will continue to be based in London.

Exclusive: Long-serving Amazon exec Martin Backlund has become MD for Prime Video Nordics, we’ve learned.

He is exiting his post as Prime Video’s Head of Content for the UK and Nordics to take the post. Replacing him in the UK is Tushar Jindal, who is being upped from his Head of Movies for Prime Video UK role.

Backlund now has a remit to lead the Prime Video teams across the Nordics in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland. He’ll work closely with Karin Lindström’s Nordics originals team, Andreas Hjertø’s content acquisitions division and Amazon’s channels business, and on future customer features.

He’ll have control of investment, programming, marketing and partnerships. Prime Video Nordic’s line up includes U.S. titles such as The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, The Boys and The Grand Tour and Nordic originals.

Prime Video Nordics has been...

Exclusive: Karin Lindström and Andreas Hjertø only joined Prime Video Nordics in 2021 but they’ve already hit the ground running, this week showcasing an 18-strong slate of originals and touting ambitious plans for growth in an exclusive interview with Deadline.

The Amazon streamer has been late to the original content game in the Nordics, with its first announcements coming earlier this year in the shape of reality format The Bridge and scripted political comedy Toppen. Four more unscripted show orders emerged today at a splashy Prime Video Presents event in Stockholm, Sweden.

Market leaders Netflix and local player Viaplay, whose parent company both Lindström and Hjertø have worked for over the years, have led the way on originals. Amazon relaunched Prime Video as a Nordic service in March 2021 to better position for growth. Despite its large catalogue and competitive price points, it had struggled to compete.

However, Lindström and Hjertø...

Prime Video Nordics is pushing heavily into the Scandinavian unscripted originals market, unveiling a handful of reality shows at a splashy event in Sweden today. The streamer has also struck a multi-territory movie output deal with Nordisk Film for the likes of John Wick: Chapter 4 and The Hunger Games prequel, we can reveal.

Last week, Amazon Studios execs were out in force at Mipcom striking deals and today at a star-studded Prime Video Presents event in Stockholm’s Hotel At Six, where it revealed a Swedish version of Prime Video reality format Lol: Last One Standing, along with Norwegian, Danish, Swedish and Finnish versions of new commissions Pranked, Good Luck Guys and Sweathearts. This brings its local originals slate to a total of 18, including the previously announced competition series The Bridge and scripted comedy series Toppen.

The Swedish version of Japanese format Lol, in which 10 comedians compete to keep...

Amazon Prime Video has unveiled 18 new local productions in the Nordics as well as a multi-territory Nordisk Film movie deal.

The news was announced at a Prime Video Presents event today (Oct. 27) in Stockholm attended by Prime Video’s head of Nordic originals, Karin Lindström, head of Nordic content, Andreas Hjertø and an array of talent from some of the upcoming productions.

Among the new unscripted shows announced were “Lol: Last One Laughing,” a competitive game show with comedians (pictured above) hosted by Eva Röse, “Pranked,” a hidden-camera, practical-joke celebrity series, dating show “Sweethearts” and “Good Luck Guys,” which takes a bunch of influencers and reality stars out to see how they survive in rural Thailand.

The event in Stockholm also offered the audience a sneak peek at scripted comedy series “Toppen” and iconic reality competition “The Bridge.”

Local versions of “The Bridge,” “Pranked,” “Good Luck Guys,” and “Sweathearts” have been made for Sweden,...