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In a tough Nordic market that is slowing recovering from the downfall of Viaplay and streamers scaling back on commissions, Miso Film, the Fremantle-owned Nordic powerhouse behind Tobias Lindholm’s “The Investigation” and “Those Who Kill,” isn’t just hanging in there; it’s thriving.

The banner is still helmed by its founding duo Peter Bose and Jonas Allen, who have produced a flurry of iconic series, including “Beck” and “Wallander,” as well as “Those Who Kill,” “Dicte” and “1864.” They’re now celebrating Miso Film’s 20th anniversary with a packed slate of high-end shows and films featuring top Scandinavian talent.

Miso recently premiered Tomas Alfredson’s “Faithless,” an adaptation of Ingmar Bergman’s movie, in competition at Toronto Film Festival, and they’re now six-episode series based on Linn Ullmann’s bestselling novel “The Cold Song” and “Royal Blood,” a sprawling historical project set in 1807 when royal...

Always a frontrunner, “Black Crab” scribe Pelle Rådström has won Göteborg’s Nordic Series Script Award for his screenplay of “Pressure Point,” a tense, involved and compelling three-part miniseries on the build up to murders which shook Sweden to its core.

The winner was announced at an awards ceremony on Jan. 28 during the Göteborg Film Festival’s TV Drama Vision. Rådström’s Award comes with a cash prize of €17,000 ($), funded by the Nordisk Film & TV Fond.

The prize comes as relations between Sweden’s film-tv sector and its government have built to open hostility, with Göteborg Fest honorary president Ruben Östlund calling Sweden’s “culture policy” embarrassingly uneducated, after culture minister Parisa Liljestrand’s speech at Göteborg’s opening ceremony on Friday.

In such a context, the prize is also an endorsement of public broadcaster Svt’s support for a mini-series made with acute, nuanced intelligence which offers at...

Viaplay Lands in Germany

Viaplay Content Distribution has launched its Viaplay channel as an add-on subscription to Prime Video via Prime Video Channels in Germany. Prime Video Channel subscribers can access Viaplay’s offering of Scandinavian and European series and films starting today, Oct. 22.

Viaplay’s German offering includes high-quality and impactful Nordic series and films, including award-winning Nordic noir dramas such as “End of Summer,” “Face to Face,” “The Bridge,” “Gåsmamman,” “Furia,” “Trom,” “Stockholm Requiem,” “The Sandhamn Murders,” “Unit One,” “The Team,” “Wallander,” and “Darkness: Those Who Kill.” The platform will also host three films from the Millennium/The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo franchise.

Other titles included at launch are the YA series “Threesome” and “Delete Me”; dramas “Seaside Hotel,” “Love Me,” “Pörni Seasons,” “The Beach Hotel” and “Lyckoviken”; and documentaries “The Prize of Silence,” “Operation Cannabis” and “Wozniacki & Lee.”

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Tom Hiddleston is known for his charismatic portrayal of Loki in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, is not just a master of deception on screen, as his romantic life has also been filled with intrigue and speculation. As one of Hollywood’s leading men, Hiddleston has found himself in the public eye, with each of his relationships sparking interest and conversation among fans and media alike.

Tom Hiddleston’s Loki in The Avengers (2012) | Marvel Studios

While his involvement with Taylor Swift is often highlighted, many may not be aware of the various other women who have captured the actor’s heart. From fellow actors to producers, Hiddleston’s romantic history reflects both the challenges and joys of dating in the spotlight. As he’s still going strong with Zawe Ashton, it’s worth looking back at the relationships that shaped his journey before settling down.

Susannah Fielding: A Three-Year Romance...

Netflix has unveiled three new Nordic originals as part of its 2025 slate, including the Swedish crime series “Synden,” the Danish fertility dramedy “Sult,” and season 3 of Norwegian romantic comedy series “Home for Christmas,” confirming its ambition to keep investing in Scandinavian content.

The Nordic market has gone through a rough patch in the last few years after the fallout of negotiations between the Danish producers guild and streamers; and the major restructuring at Viaplay which has put the brakes on local originals and is now partly owned by France’s Canal+.

All three Nordic originals greenlighted by Netflix are backed by renowned creatives and producers.

“Synden” is written and directed by Peter Grönlund whose credits include “Goliat” and “Beartown.” The series follows the perpetually angry, odd but highly intelligent investigator Dani (Krista Kosonen) who is teamed up with newly graduated police colleague Malik (Mohammed Nour Oklah) to investigate the murder...

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Murder in a Small Town is a mystery crime drama series created by Ian Weir. Based on The Alberg and Cassandra Mysteries novel series by author L.R. Wright, the Fox series is set in the small idyllic town of Gibsons and it follows the story of the new police chief Karl Alberg after he leaves the city and comes to town to get some peace of mind and find a new partner, but he is soon confronted with various crimes that he has to solve with the help of his team. Murder in a Small Town stars Rossif Sutherland and Kristin Kreuk in the lead roles with James Cromwell, Stana Katic, Mya Lowe, and Aaron Douglas starring in supporting roles. So, if you loved the murder mysteries, complex relationships, and compelling characters in Murder in a Small Town...

Banijay Nordics has become the latest production business to restructure.

The Nordic arm of Banijay Entertainment is unifying its Sweden-based scripted and non-scripted production arms under two labels.

The scripted brand, Jarowskij/Yellow Bird, will bring together the scripted wing of Jarowskij and Wallander maker Yellow Bird. Elin Kvist, VP and Creative Director of Yellow Bird, is stepping up to become CEO of the merged label, with current Yellow Bird CEO Jakob Feeney taking on a consultancy role as COO/Head of Business Affairs. Malin Launch is taking on a Head of Production role, while interim CEO at Jarowskij, Johannes Jensen, will take a broader exec position at Banijay Nordics as Group Head of Scripted.

The unscripted unit will bring together Meter and Jarowskij’s entertainment and factual production assets under Madelene Hansson, who was previously CEO of Meter. Jarowskij’s Magnus Gustafson will be Chief Creative Officer.

Productions houses...

Mia Goth is quickly rising in Hollywood, with credits in X and Pearl, and is now linked to Marvel's Blade reboot. Goth may not play Lilith in Blade due to production setbacks, but she could excel as Lady Death in the MCU. With a diverse repertoire, Goth's potential to embody the cosmic entity Lady Death is drawing attention in the industry.

The following contains mild spoilers for MaXXXine and Deadpool & Wolverine.

When it comes to modern scream queens, fans can look to Jenna Ortega, Maika Monroe, and Melissa Barrera, as those taking the baton on from Hollywood icons Jamie Lee Curtis, Sigourney Weaver, and Neve Campbell. One name that's quickly rising the ranks in this new batch, however, is Mia Goth.

Goth has shot into prominence even more thanks to horrors like X and Pearl. As is the unofficial industry standard, such a rising star is bound to end up making comic book movies.

It’s not often that people get the pleasure of speaking with the incredibly talented Mia Goth, an English actress who has firmly established herself as a rising star in the film industry. Mia not only stars as the titular character but also serves as an executive producer in A24’s MaXXXine. Directed by Ti West, this film is the third and final chapter in a highly acclaimed trilogy, all featuring Goth. Following the aftermath of X, the story tracks the thriller’s sole survivor as she ventures to Los Angeles on her journey towards fame. The film was released in theaters nationwide on July 5, 2024.

Mia previously starred in, wrote, and executive produced Pearl, a prequel to X that earned her two Critics Choice Awards. She will soon wrap production for Frankenstein, directed by Guillermo del Toro, an adaptation of Mary Shelley’s classic novel, co-starring Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi,...

Canal+ Ups Stake In Asian Streamer Viu

France’s Canal+ has increased its stake in Viu to 36.8% as part of its $300M investment in the Southeast Asian streamer. This represents the last instalment of the cash injection and follows a strategic agreement Canal+ struck with Viu parent Pccw last year in June. The initial investment was $200M for a 26.1% stake, meaning it likely has paid $100M for the further 10.7%. Canal+ has the option to increase its stake in Viu to 51% in the future. Viu currently operates in 16 markets across Asia, the Middle East and South Africa and claimed to have over 62 million active monthly users, with 13 million paying subscribers, as of December 2023. It recorded revenues of $314M last year, which represented growth of 23% year over year. Original productions for the service have come out of Korea, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Hong Kong and China. Vivendi-owned Canal+ claims to...

Star Wars fans are in mourning after the death of actor Michael Culver was announced this week.

Culver, whose death was reported by Daily Mail Online, played Captain Lorth Needa in a galaxy far, far away, appeared in a small yet memorable role in The Empire Strikes Back. Needa was in command of the Avenger, an Imperial Star Destroyer, and fought for the Empire during the Battle of Hoth. The British actor passed away late last month, his family announced, adding that he was in "one of the most memorable death scenes in the Star Wars franchise." Needa was killed by Darth Vader after the Captain failed to capture Han Solo and the rest of the Rebels aboard the Millennium Falcon.

"We are very sad to confirm the passing of our friend and client Michael Culver," a statement from the actor's agent noted. "A career spanning over 50 years with notable roles in Sherlock Holmes,...

Banijay Rights has scored a first batch of sales on “Fallen,” a crime drama reuniting “The Bridge” showrunner Camilla Ahlgren and star Sofia Helini. The series is produced by Banijay-owned Filmlance, a leading Scandinavian outfit.

Unveiled at the Goteborg Film Festival’s TV Drama Vision conference, deals on “Fallen” include Canal+’s channel Polar+ in France, MHz Choice in the U.S., Npo in the Netherlands, Sbs in Australia, Ert in Greece and Syn Hf in Iceland.

Created and written by Ahlgren along with Martin Asphaug and Alex Haridi, the six-part series stars Helin (“Atlantic Crossing”) and Hedda Stiernstedt. The show is co-produced by TV4, Film i Skåne and Filmlance, in collaboration with Zdf.

In “Fallen,” Helin plays Iris Broman, the new head of Kalla Fall, a group solving cold cases in Malmö. Iris has just left Stockholm following a tragedy and moved to the small southern town of Ystad,...

Noomi Rapace in “Constellation,” premiering February 21, 2024 on Apple TV+. Apple TV+ has unveiled the trailer for “Constellation,” an upcoming eight-part conspiracy-based psychological thriller drama series starring Noomi Rapace and Emmy Award nominee Jonathan Banks. The action-packed space adventure will premiere globally on Wednesday, February 21, 2024 with the first three episodes, followed by one episode weekly, every Wednesday through March 27 on Apple TV+. Created and written by Peter Harness, “Constellation” stars Rapace as Jo – an astronaut who returns to Earth after a disaster in space – only to discover that key pieces of her life seem to be missing. The action-packed space adventure is an exploration of the dark edges of human psychology, and one woman’s desperate quest to expose the truth about the hidden history of space travel and recover all that she has lost. The series also stars James D’Arcy, Julian Looman William Catlett, Barbara Sukowa, and introduces Rosie and Davina Coleman as Alice.

Apple TV+ has just dropped a trailer for its newest series, ‘Constellation’, and it’s shaping up to be a must-watch. This platform has a knack for delivering top-notch shows like ‘For All Mankind’ and ‘Severance,’ and ‘Constellation’ seems to be following in those footsteps.

Starring the talented Noomi Rapace and Jonathan Banks, the series is set to premiere on February 21st. It kicks off with three episodes, followed by weekly releases until March 27th. So, mark your calendars!

The story revolves around Jo, played by Rapace, an astronaut who comes back to Earth after a space disaster. She finds that parts of her life are mysteriously missing. It’s a mix of space adventure and a deep dive into human psychology as Jo tries to uncover the truth about space travel’s hidden history and reclaim what she’s lost.

The cast also includes names like James D’Arcy and Julian Looman,...

Apple TV+ today unveiled the trailer for “Constellation,” an upcoming eight-part conspiracy-based psychological thriller drama series starring Noomi Rapace and Emmy Award nominee Jonathan Banks. The action-packed space adventure will premiere globally on Wednesday, February 21, 2024 with the first three episodes, followed by one episode weekly, every Wednesday through March 27 on Apple TV+. Created and written by Peter Harness, “Constellation” stars Rapace as Jo – an astronaut who returns to Earth after ... Read more...

Nearly two years have gone by since we heard that Apple TV+ had ordered a sci-fi psychological thriller series called Constellation, with Noomi Rapace (Prometheus) and Jonathan Banks (Beverly Hills Cop) on board to star in the show. The show has since made its way through production and is now ready to start streaming on February 21st – and with that date just one month away, a trailer for Constellation has arrived online. You can check it out in the embed above.

Created by Peter Harness, whose previous credits include the 2019 period piece The War of the Worlds mini-series and episodes of Wallander and Doctor Who, Constellation is described as being a “conspiracy-based psychological space adventure that explores the dark edges of human psychology”.

The show follows one woman’s desperate quest to expose the truth about the hidden history of space travel and for her to recover all that she has lost.

Apple TV+ has released the trailer for “Constellation,” an upcoming eight-part conspiracy-based psychological thriller drama series starring Noomi Rapace (Prometheus) and Emmy Award nominee Jonathan Banks (“Breaking Bad”). The action-packed space adventure will premiere globally on Wednesday, February 21, 2024 with the first three episodes, followed by one episode weekly, every Wednesday through March 27 on Apple TV+.

Watch the official trailer for the psychological sci-fi/horror series below.

Created and written by Peter Harness, “Constellation” stars Rapace as Jo – an astronaut who returns to Earth after a disaster in space – only to discover that key pieces of her life seem to be missing. The action-packed space adventure is an exploration of the dark edges of human psychology, and one woman’s desperate quest to expose the truth about the hidden history of space travel and recover all that she has lost.

The series also stars James D’Arcy, Julian Looman, William Catlett, Barbara Sukowa,...

Noomi Rapace returns from outer space to a sliiiiightly different world in the trailer for Constellation, a new Apple TV+ sci-fi drama due for arrival on Wednesday, Feb. 21 (with its first three episodes, followed by weekly releases).

Created and written by Peter Harness (Wallander, The War of the Worlds), Constellation stars Swedish actress Rapace (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo) as Jo, an astronaut for the European Space Agency who returns to Earth after a disastrous mission, only to discover that key pieces of her life seem to be… different.

More from TVLineBob Hearts Abishola EPs Reveal How Much We'll...

Christian Wikander is out as global head of scripted at indie TV giant Banijay, a year after taking up the job, Banijay confirmed on Thursday.

A Banijay spokeswoman said Wikander will be leaving the group on Feb. 2, 2024 and that his role will now be reviewed. In the interim, Banijay’s global scripted team will temporarily report to chief business Officer Frédéric Balmary.

Wikander joined Banijay in 2022 after he was laid off from Warner Bros. Discovery’s HBO Max Nordic (now Max) when Warners shut down its original production operations in Scandinavia. Wikander had been commissioning editor and vp of original programming in the Nordic region for two years, delivering such series as the Swedish comedy Lust starring The Bridge actor Sofia Helin.

Banijay owns more than 60 scripted production companies around the world, including Sweden’s Yellow Bird, producers of Nordic noir drama Wallander, Norway’s Rubicon TV (Beforeigners) and British...

Photograph by Courtesy of AMC/Eliot Brasseaux AMC Networks has released an all-new teaser for its upcoming high-octane drama, Parish, starring and executive produced by Emmy(R) and SAG(R) Award-nominee and Critics Choice(R) Award-winner Giancarlo Esposito. The highly anticipated six-episode crime thriller will premiere on AMC and AMC+ in March. In the series, Esposito stars as Gracian “Gray” Parish, a family man and proud owner of a luxury car service in New Orleans. After his son is violently murdered and his business collapses, an encounter with an old friend from his days as a wheelman resurfaces old habits, sending Gray on a high-stakes collision course with a violent criminal syndicate. Shot on-location in New Orleans, Parish also stars Zackary Momoh as New Orleans-based Zimbabwean gangster The Horse; SAG(R) Award-nominee Paula Malcomson as Parish’s wife and mother to his two children, Rose; Skeet Ulrich as an old acquaintance to Gray,...

Giancarlo Esposito, of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul fame, will return to AMC in 2024.

On Monday, the cabler unveiled a first-look teaser trailer and photos of the highly-anticipated drama series Parish. 

The six-episode series stars and is executive produced by Emmy® and SAG® Award-nominee and Critics Choice® Award-winner Esposito.

Esposito stars as Gracian "Gray" Parish, a family man and proud owner of a luxury car service in New Orleans.

After his son is violently murdered and his business collapses, an encounter with an old friend from his days as a wheelman resurfaces old habits, sending Gray on a high-stakes collision course with a violent criminal syndicate.

The drama series was shot in New Orleans and features an all-star cast.

Zachary Momoh plays New Orleans-based Zimbabwean gangster The Horse, while Award-nominee Paula Malcomson is set to play Parish's wife and mother to his two children, Rose.

Skeet Ulrich is on...

Sverrir Gudnason is a Swedish actor of Icelandic origin. He is best known for his distinct roles as Björn Borg in the drama/sport film Borg vs. McEnroe, Mikael Blomkvist in the action/thriller The Girl in the Spider’s Web, and for portraying a harshly misogynist father as a difficult young man in the flashback scenes in the 2020 drama film Falling.

Sverrir Gudnason Biography: Age, Early Life, Family, Education

Gudnason was born on September 12, 1978 (Sverrir Gudnason age: 44) in Lund, Sweden. He grew up in Reykjavík, Iceland. Then, in 1990, when his father landed a job as a professor for the Royal Institute of Technology, Gudnason and his family relocated once more to Tyresö, Sweden.

Sverrir Gudnason Biography: Career

In 2009, Gudnason was awarded Best Actor for his engrossing role in the Swedish/Danish film Original at the Shanghai International Film Festival. Since this time, Gudnason has portrayed Pontus Höijer in the second series of the drama Wallander.

Being an independent producer was never easy. But these days, it’s near impossible. Even before the dual writers and actors strikes, changes in the international film and TV market had made life tough for the indies. Old models of art house moviemaking have been ravaged by a combination of decline in the specialty box office, the collapse of ancillary revenue for home entertainment and TV licensing, and the more recent pullback by streaming companies, who have begun to back fewer, and more mainstream, movies.

But one indie production company has gone from making just a handful of movies a year to dozens, finding a way to turn the turbulent new reality into a business model for making cutting-edge art house cinema that, shockingly, can actually turn a profit. It’s the company behind five of the most hotly anticipated titles at the Venice Film Festival this year: Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things,...

The Chelsea Detective is a British crime drama created by Peter Fincham. The Acorn TV series focuses on the story of Di Max Arnold (Adrian Scarborough) and DS Priya Shamsie (Sonita Henry) as they solve more and more complicated criminal cases as well as lead very complicated personal lives. So, if you loved The Chelsea Detective here are some similar shows you should check out next.

Suspects (Acorn TV & Prime Video Add-On) Credit – Channel 5

Synopsis: Suspects is a fresh, very different, and absolutely cracking drama -Daily Mail (UK). With improvised dialogue and using filming techniques and a directorial approach usually associated with factual programming, this unique procedural crime drama follows D.I. Martha Bellamy and her team as they investigate hard-hitting crimes in contemporary London.

Deadwind (Netflix) Credit Yle TV2

Synopsis: A dogged detective with a complicated personal life throws herself into solving grisly murders that often mask a sinister conspiracy.

Rakuten TV has announced the launch of two new owned and operated Fast channels, bolstering its role as a curated channel programmer in the free ad-supported streaming TV services space.

The channels, announced during MipTV’s Fast Summit, will see the growing pan-European video-on-demand streaming service enter the TV series landscape by launching a reality/factual entertainment channel in the U.K. and crime series channels across German speaking territories and in France, Italy and Spain.

Rakuten’s Real channel which was launched in the U.K. on April 12, will feature shows such as culinary bootcamp series “Worst Cooks in America”; reality show “”, with Paris Hilton; and “Undercover Boss.”

It’s new Crime channel, which launched on April 12 in Italy, includes British detective show “Wallander” and “Boss” starring Kelsey Grammer. The channels will roll out to other countries in coming months. Programming is being curated to vary depending on each market.

In today’s episode of The Discourse, host Mike DeAngelo sits down to talk about con man movies with director Benjamin Caron (“The Crown,” “Andor,” “Wallander”). The director is currently promoting his film, “Sharper,” which follows multiple con men and women in New York City who are all searching for the perfect mark and the biggest take.

Continue reading ‘Sharper’: Benjamin Caron On His New Con Man Film, Julianne Moore, ‘The Battle Of Algiers’ Influence On ‘Andor’ & More [The Discourse Podcast] at The Playlist.

Director Benjamin Caron says that he was “yearning to flex a different muscle” and go from the “historical period drama” that is The Crown to the thrills and spills of Andor and on to the delicious deceit at the heart of his accomplished first feature film Sharper, starring Julianne Moore, Sebastian Stan, John Lithgow, Justice Smith and Briana Middleton, giving a star-in-the-making performance.

Related Story ‘Sharper’ Review: Julianne Moore & Sebastian Stan In A Deliciously Twisty New York Noir Full Of Secrets And Lies Related Story Ben Foster, Justice Smith, Katherine Waterston & Maria Bakalova Set For 'Floodplain' Thriller From Topic Studios – EFM Related Story Gaspar Noé's 'Irréversible: Straight Cut' In Theaters, Distributor "Extremely Aware This Is An Extremely Tough Film" – Specialty Preview

His excitement over Sharper, which is highly praised in a review by my Deadline colleague Pete Hammond, is palpable when we meet for a cuppa tea, which he prepares,...

It’s a tricky proposition to talk to director Benjamin Caron about his new movie “Sharper.” Not because it doesn’t elicit conversation — there is so much in the wickedly smart thriller to discuss, from the plot that keeps you guessing to the fantastic cast, to Caron himself, who never expected to be a film director. But the movie, opening in U.S. theaters this weekend before hitting Apple TV+ and U.K. theaters on Feb. 17, is best experienced when one goes in knowing as little as possible.

Suffice to say that the script, by Brian Gatewood and Alessandro Tanaka, centers on a group of individuals in New York City who may or may not be conning one another at any given time. The film is divided into sections that give the audience time to get to know all the different characters — from young lovers Sandra and Tom (Briana Middleton...

Swedish actor Mikael Persbrandt is the star of “Hammarskjöld,” Per Fly’s Cold War-set political thriller, which Beta Cinema will launch at the European Film Market.

Persbrandt will play the lead role in the English-language film as Dag Hammarskjöld, the former Secretary-General of the United Nations who died in a mysterious plane crash in 1961.

Hammarskjöld, whom John F. Kennedy called “the greatest statesman of our century,” was a Nobel Prize winner who fought to end colonization.

Produced by Beta Nordic Studios’ Swedish banner Unlimited Stories, the story opens at the peak of the Cold War in 1961 at the Un headquarters in New York City. The charismatic diplomat and economist Dag Hammarskjöld has reached the pinnacle of his power, serving as Secretary General of the United Nations in his seventh year.

After decolonization, he takes it upon himself to bring peace to the African countries, thwarting plans to further exploit resources...

As production gets underway for Netflix’s dalliance with the behind-the-scenes account of the ‘news interview of the decade’ with Prince Andrew, ‘Scoop,’ Gillian Anderson, Keeley Hawes, Rufus Sewell and Billie Piper have been added to the cast.

Based on former Newsnight Producer Sam McAlister’s memoir Scoops: Behind The Scenes of the BBC’s Most Shocking Interviews.

The logline reads The inside track of the women that broke through the Buckingham Palace establishment to secure the scoop of the decade that led to the catastrophic fall from grace of The Queen’s ‘Favourite son’. From navigating Palace vetoes to breaking through to Prince Andrew’s inner circle, the high stakes negotiations and rehearsal intensity – to the jaw-dropping interview itself. Scoop is the insider account of the inner workings of the Palace and the BBC, twin bastions of the British Establishment, spotlighting the journalists whose tenacity and guts broke through...

There was a time when Fremantle was shorthand for the American Idol company. ABC’s iconic entertainment brand was undoubtedly a coveted calling card, but it also served to constrain perceptions of a company that harbored a grander vision.

Peter Bose, the preeminent Danish drama producer behind shows including Wallander, knows this better than most. He recalls a conversation he had with CAA in 2013 after telling his agent he wanted to sell his company, Miso Films, to Fremantle.

“Fremantle? Who is Fremantle within scripted?” came the reply. “We couldn’t actually argue, you know,” Bose remembers. A decade on, the acquisition of Miso was a brick in the foundations of Fremantle delivering more than 100 dramas last year.

Fremantle is now firmly established in the scripted game. It was the company that transformed Sir Kenneth Branagh into Boris Johnson for This England. Its Nordic noir hit Face to Face, made by Miso,...

Exclusive: Disney+ is ready to give the greenlight to an adaptation of Cj Sansom’s bestselling Shardlake novels, depicting an unlikely detective working under Henry VIII’s reign.

The streaming service will bolster its UK originals slate with the series, which will be made by The Forge, the All3Media-backed production company behind Starz’s Becoming Elizabeth.

Disney and The Forge have lined up Justin Chadwick to direct the Shardlake series. Chadwick was the lead director on Becoming Elizabeth and has form when it comes to Tudor storytelling, having directed The Other Boleyn Girl, starring Eric Bana, Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson.

Working titled Shardlake, the series will shoot in the UK this year and sources said it could comprise four episodes. Should it be successful, there is plenty of material for The Forge to mine, with Sansom having written seven novels in the Shardlake series.

The first book, Dissolution,...

Tom Hiddleston was an up-and-coming English ginger kid when he auditioned for "Thor" in 2009. He had three things going for him: First, he'd previously worked with director and fellow Royal Academy of Dramatic Art graduate Kenneth Branagh on the UK series "Wallander." Second, he had an outstanding, well-practiced talent for acting. And third, his audition saw him take his shot at being Thor himself, with a desperation that smacked more of the character for which he's now best known.

Hiddleston is so skilled that it might seem improper to focus so much on his world-famous role as the trickster god Loki. Yet, no one cares for the sly god more than him — to which his "Loki" castmates can attest. Tom Hiddleston is more than a god, though. He's a theatre star with a 2020 Tony Award nomination for his role in "Betrayal." He's a romantic leading man on the level of...

Rian Johnson, director of the forthcoming Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, reveals why the new detective film doesn't focus on Daniel Craig. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is the sequel to the critically acclaimed 2019 mystery film Knives Out. Both films follow Daniel Craig's private investigator character Benoit Blanc as he contends with a murder mystery involving affluent clientele.

The whodunit is set on a Greek Island, where mysterious tech billionaire Miles Bron, played by Edward Norton, hosts a gathering of guests that turns deadly. Much like the first installment, the sequel boasts an ensemble cast, including Dave Bautista, Kathryn Hahn, Kate Hudson, Leslie Odom Jr., and Janelle Monáe. The Netflix-produced film is set to debut in theaters on Thanksgiving and will hit streaming on December 23rd.

Related: Why Is The Glass Onion Important? Knives Out 2 Trailer Gives Us A Hint

In a sit-down with Entertainment Weekly, Johnson...

The streamer specialises in international series.

US arthouse distributor Kino Lorber has acquired MHz Networks, parent of streamer MHz Choice, a North American SVOD service that screens international television series.

With the acquisition, Kino Lorber Media Group will have more than 10,000 hours of international series and films under license, the company said.

MHz Networks CEO Frederick Thomas and senior vice president of content strategy Lance Schwulst will continue to lead MHz Networks within Kino Lorber Media Group.

MHz Networks was an early entrant into the boutique streaming market, launching MHz Choice in 2015. The service has screened series including Wallander, Detective Montalbano and Paris Police 1900.

Click here to read the full article.

New York-based arthouse distributor Kino Lorber has acquired MHz Networks, the parent company of MHz Choice, an online streaming service dedicated to international television series.

Under the deal, announced Thursday, Kino Lorber will add its library of more than 5,000 titles to MHz Choice, which specializes in non-u.S. TV series, streaming such shows as Scandinavian crime dramas Wallander and Beck, or French period procedural Paris Police 1900. The entire staff of both MHz Networks and Kino Lorber will remain in place, with CEO Frederick Thomas and SVP of Content Strategy Lance Schwulst continuing to lead MHz Networks within Kino Lorber Media Group.

“MHz’s track record of curating best-in-class series from around the world has helped it build one of the most loyal subscriber audiences in streaming,” said Kino Lorber president and CEO Richard Lorber in a statement. “At a time when Hollywood...

Kino Lorber has acquired MHz Networks, the owner and operator of subscription streaming outlet MHz Choice and a specialist in bringing international TV series to North American audiences.

After the transaction, Kino Lorber Media Group has more than 5,000 titles and 10,000 hours of programming, much of it prestige and arthouse fare. It is the biggest push yet into streaming for Kino Lorber, which was formed in 2009 after Lorber Ht Digital acquired and merged with Kino International, though it has has had a presence in streaming with transactional VOD purveyor Kino Now and virtual cinema hub Kino Marquee. The company has been a fixture of the festival circuit and Oscar season in recent years, releasing films like Martin Eden, Bacurau and Taxi.

Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Kino Lorber President & CEO Richard Lorber said the sensibilities and business strategy of MHz are a fit with his company. “MHz’s track...

While they’ve inspired such enjoyable exaggerations as FX’s “Devs” and Apple’s “Mythic Quest,” the inner workings of the real-life tech space have largely been deemed off-limits by producers. A heightened threat of litigation is doubtless one reason; equally, round-the-clock coding rarely makes for the most compelling spectator sport, however pounding the electronica you set it to. Plus, David Fincher and Aaron Sorkin’s 2010 feature “The Social Network,” on the turbulent genesis of Facebook, set the bar stratospherically high.

“Wallander” producers Yellow Bird believe they’ve sourced a comparably gripping tale in “The Playlist,” a six-part Netflix miniseries centring on Swedish success story Spotify, the streaming platform that revolutionized music listening while causing understandable conniptions in Neil Young. Dramatizing competing narratives from the pages of Sven Carlsson and Jonas Leijonhufvud’s non-fiction compendium “Spotify Untold,” the show posits that, with this app, much depends on who you’re...

Universal Pictures Wins Big At 2022 Base Awards

The British Association for Screen Entertainment hosted the 42nd annual Base Awards at Camden’s Roundhouse Thursday night and Universal Pictures led the winner’s list, taking home five awards, including Outstanding Innovation for Streaming ‘Live’ to Your Living Room: Stand-Up Comedy with Eddie Izzard and Dylan Moran, and Best in Class Packaging for Inglourious Basterds: Total Basterds Edition. Sony Pictures Entertainment and Warner Bros. Discovery followed close behind with four awards each. Sony Pictures Entertainment took home Campaign of the Year for New Release Film – Over 15m Box Office for Spider-Man: No Way Home, while Warner Bros. Discovery won Home Entertainment Campaign of the Year – TV for Game of Thrones: The Iron Anniversary.

Asacha Indie Wag Hires UK Development Boss

Asacha Media Group-owned factual producer Wag Entertainment has hired a UK development boss. Jane Glasson joins from Inside Dubai producer Spun Gold TV.

Dr Sales, the commercial arm of the Danish broadcaster, has teamed with the up-and-coming Danish-Swedish banner Nevis Productions on “Nordland ’99,” a sinister crime series set in a fictional town in rural Denmark.

Directed by rising talent Kasper Møller Rask (“Lemon World”), the show is being produced by Iben Søtang (“Lemon World”) and Anni Faurbye Fernandez, whose credits include Scandinavia’s biggest TV hits, from “The Millennium Trilogy,” to “Wallander,” “Wisting,” and “Atlantic Crossing.” The pair are producing “Nordland 99” at Nevis Productions.

Set at the turn of the 21st century, the stylized series unfolds in the aftermath of the disappearance of 18-year-old Alex. His friends, Lukas and Kris, team up with Alex’s sister Emma to find their missing friend. Both Alex’s ex-girlfriend, the town’s pusher, and Emma’s family have information that they suspect may be connected to Alex’s disappearance. Their journey will lead them to uncover terrible crimes and secrets.

Sam Productions’ owners are Søren Sveistrup, Adam Price and Studiocanal.

Denmark’s Sam Productions and Meta Film, the companies headed by CEO Meta Louise Foldager Sørensen, are expanding into Sweden.

Maria Dahlin will spearhead the Swedish business, as Sam and Meta ramp up their investments in Swedish features and series.

Sam Productions’ owners are Søren Sveistrup, Adam Price and Studiocanal.

“Søren, Adam and I have a sincere deep love for Swedish stories; I think our previous productions clearly showed that,” said Foldager Sørensen, pointing to past Swedish collaborations including Border, The Wife and Aniara. She added that the companies planned...

Exclusive: Bonnie Mbuli (Invictus) has been cast as a series regular opposite Giancarlo Esposito and Paula Malcomson in The Driver, AMC’s remake of the British drama series that is set to launch next year on AMC and AMC+.

The U.S. series comes from creators Danny Brocklehurst and Sunu Gonera and showrunner Theo Travers. It stars Esposito as Vince, a taxi driver whose life is turned upside down when he agrees to chauffer the New Orleans-based Zimbabwean gangster “The Horse” (Zackary Momoh), a man notorious for exploiting undocumented immigrants at the U.S. southern ports.

2022 AMC Pilot & Series Orders

Mbuli will play Shamiso Tongai, the Horse’s smart older sister. She’s wary of strangers and protective of her family’s operation, which she’s intricately involved in with a voice that becomes more powerful as the story progresses.

Esposito, Gonera, Brocklehurst, David Morrissey and Travers will executive produce...

The actor passed away from a cancer-related illness.

UK actor David Warner, best known for roles in Titanic, Tron and The Omen, has died aged 80.

The news was shared by his family who said he passed away from a cancer-related illness on Sunday (July 24) at Denville Hall care home.

“Over the past 18 months he approached his diagnosis with a characteristic grace and dignity,” they said in a statement to the BBC.

Warner began his career in theatre but gained prominence in 1966 for his leading role in Karel Reisz’s Morgan: A Suitable Case For Treatment for which he was nominated for a Bafta.

Piers Wenger’s successor is former Sky drama development head.

The BBC has raided Netflix UK to appoint Lindsay Salt as its director of drama.

Reporting to chief content officer Charlotte Moore, Salt will be responsible for leading the commissioning team and delivering distinctive drama content.

She joined Netflix in 2019 from Sky, following the same path as the streamer’s vice president of content Anne Mensah.

Her commissions at the SVoD giant include Baby Reindeer, One Day, The F*** It Bucket, Palomino and Half Bad. She also worked across shows including Heartstopper and series five of The Crown.

Prior to that,...

The Bridge screenwriter Camilla Ahlgren has created a European crime drama series about the head of a group solving cold cases in Sweden.

Production has been greenlighted on Fallen, which will star The Bridge lead actress Sofia Melin as Iris Broman, the new head of the Kalla Fall. Due to a tragedy, she moves from Stockholm to the southern town of Ystad to live with her half-sister Kattis (Hedda Stierstedt), where a cold case turns topical again and turns everything upside down, intertwining the lives of several people.

Filming on the co-production begins shortly in Malmo and Ystad ahead of a 2023 launch.

Sweden’s C More and TV4 are co-producing along with Film i Skane and Banijay-owned drama house Filmlance, in collaboration with German public broadcaster Zdf. Banijay Rights takes international distribution rights.

Ahlgren, who rose to prominence as a lead writer on Hans Rosenfeldt’s influential Scani Noir drama The Bridge,...

Banijay Rights has signed a package deal with Nordic Entertainment Group (Nent Group) ahead of the launch of its Viaplay streaming service in the U.S. on Dec. 15.

The deal will give Viaplay subscribers in the US access to a dozen of premium scripted titles from Banijay Rights’ hit Nordic drama titles, including Norwegian culture-clash comedy “Countrymen” which won two prizes at Canneseries last month, and “A Class Apart,” a drama series from Banijay Swedish label Jarowskij.

“A Class Appart” is set at Sweden’s top ranked boarding high school which is home to a secret society for the most affluent students, the Zebra Club. “Countrymen” sees four men with dubious plans move to a farm in the rural Norwegian countryside where, more or less against their will, they end up as the founders of Norway’s first halal cheesemaking business. The series is produced by Banijay Norwegian label Rubicon for public broadcaster Nrk i,...

Photo: Scandinavian Shows Are Scandinavian crime dramas becoming the new trend? Let’s just say Scandinavians just know how to produce psychological thrillers that will leave your eyes glued to your television screens. Thankfully, Netflix is home to some of the best crime thrillers that are perfect for those new to the Nordic Noir genre or veteran crime junkies who are ready to take their guilty pleasures overseas. Over the past couple of years, Scandinavian crime shows have taken over British televisions with Kenneth Brannagh starring in a British show that was based in Sweden, ‘Wallander’. Now, Nordic Noir is extending to North America with series like ‘The Chestnut Man’ that has already hit big with Netflix’s top ten most-watched list. Luckily, we’ve compiled our favorite crime shows that are perfect for introducing viewers to the intense stories that are insanely addictive and beyond imaginative. Related article: Exclusive: 'Dune' Full Commentary,...

Over Labor Day weekend in Telluride Colorado, Sir Kenneth Branagh was pinching himself. He was actually going to premiere his new movie to a theater full of cinephiles. “‘Belfast’ is the story of something that happened to me when I was nine years old,” he told the opening night audience, “and which changed my life forever. It also affected many, many others in profound ways that reverberate to this day. I’ve been waiting and wanting to tell this story for 50 years, and repeatedly hearing during that time the sound of this city and its people making such cacophonous and beautiful noise in my head. So at the beginning of this lockdown, I knew that finally, attention must be paid. So after 50 years, I listened. And I wrote down what I heard.”

By the end of the weekend, after multiple showings, “Belfast” was the crowdpleaser of the festival. “It was a very charged experience,...

Over Labor Day weekend in Telluride Colorado, Sir Kenneth Branagh was pinching himself. He was actually going to premiere his new movie to a theater full of cinephiles. “‘Belfast’ is the story of something that happened to me when I was nine years old,” he told the opening night audience, “and which changed my life forever. It also affected many, many others in profound ways that reverberate to this day. I’ve been waiting and wanting to tell this story for 50 years, and repeatedly hearing during that time the sound of this city and its people making such cacophonous and beautiful noise in my head. So at the beginning of this lockdown, I knew that finally, attention must be paid. So after 50 years, I listened. And I wrote down what I heard.”

By the end of the weekend, after multiple showings, “Belfast” was the crowdpleaser of the festival. “It was a very charged experience,...

Exclusive: Banijay-owned Yellow Bird UK has optioned the rights to Alison Gaylin’s forthcoming novel The Collective and is planning to develop it into a major TV series.

The If I Die Tonight and What Remains Of Me author’s latest work, which will be published in November, is centered around Camille Gardener – a grieving and angry mother who, five years after her daughter’s death, is still obsessed with the privileged young man she believes to be responsible.

Yellow Bird UK was launched in October 2017 and is led by Creative Director Berna Levin. Upcoming for the production house is a series telling the origin story of music-streaming service Spotify for Netflix. It is the sister company of Swedish drama production company, Yellow Bird, which has credits including Wallander and the Millennium trilogy.

Luke Franklin, Director of Development for Yellow Bird UK, commented: “In The Collective, Alison Gaylin has crafted an unputdownable,...