Banijay Rights seals Nordic Scripted deal with NENT Group's Viaplay in the US

Banijay Rights today announces it has signed a comprehensive package deal for more than a dozen of its premium scripted titles with Nordic Entertainment Group (NENT Group), ahead of the launch of its Viaplay streaming service in the US in late 2021.  “Our catalogue contains a stunning range of premium stand-out Nordic titles including Norwegian sensation Countrymen and Swedish drama A Class Apart, and we are thrilled to be working with NENT Group to ensure this package deal will become a cornerstone of Viaplay’s launch in the US," Matt Creasey, EVP Sales, Acquisitions and Coproductions – World (excluding EMEA), Banijay Rights, said. 

The agreement will give Viaplay subscribers in the US access to more than 250 hours of Banijay Rights’ critically acclaimed Nordic drama titles, including "Countrymen" and "A Class Apart" from Banijay Swedish label Jarowskij,  among others. The extensive scripted deal was brokered by Matt Creasey for Banijay Rights. Both will debut in the North American market.

Among the other titles from the Banijay Rights catalogue included in the agreement with NENT Group are two seasons of Jarowskij thriller "Black Lake" (16 x 60’) and "Dystopia" (8 x 60’); seasons one to five of crime drama "Gåsmamman" (42 x 60’), from Banijay Nordics; the first two seasons of Swedish science fiction drama Real Humans (20 x 60’), from Matador Film and SVT; seasons one to six of Jarowskij TV4 series "Solsidan," "The Councilman"  from Rubicon; and seasons one to nine of "The Sandhamn Murders," produced by Filmlance International in coproduction with TV4, C More, ZDF, ZDF Enterprises with Endemol Shine International, TV2 Norge, DR and YLE.

In the US, Viaplay will also show the first two seasons of Swedish crime sensation "Wallander" from Banijay label Yellow Bird; and seasons one and two of "Wallander UK," which Yellow Bird coproduced along with Left Bank Pictures, TKBC with Masterpiece, TV4, Film i Skåne and the Copenhagen Film Fund. High-end crime drama Wisting (10 x 60’), from Cinenord and Good Company Films in coproduction with Viaplay, Degeto Film, TV3 Norway and Ripple World Pictures, also forms part of the NENT Group deal, as well as the first two seasons of The Third Eye (20 x 60’), from Banijay Nordics, and "Yellow Bird’s The Truth Will Out."

"Countrymen" showcases 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. Countrymen is a production from Banijay Norwegian label Rubicon for public broadcaster NRK in coproduction with Arte France. "A Class Apart" set at Sweden’s top ranked boarding high school which is home to a secret society for the most affluent students, the Zebra Club. On the night of the new semester, the selected few indulge in the hazing of two new members. The following morning, one of them is found dead.