Nent Group's Viaplay recently acquired the Danish title, "Boys" for its slate. The service plans to air a minimum of 60 originals in 2022. “Our latest YA series plays on contrasts – guilt and innocence, light and darkness, and above all childhood and maturity. Jonas is part of a new generation of talented Nordic filmmakers showing the complexity of growing up today. Viaplay’s YA shows are some of our most successful in any genre, and we support voices of all ages in telling stories that are both recognizable and challenging," Filippa Wallestam, NENT Group Chief Content Officer said.
The series, produced by REinvent Studios, was crafted by Rikke Ennis, who serves as executive producer and Sofie Siboni as producer, while Mikkel Sørensen and Lars Bang contributed as writers. Filming has recently completed in Silkeborg. The production has received funding from Den Vestdanske Filmpulje.
The eight-part drama features both new and veteran actors such as Viktor Hjelmsø, Sylvester Byder, Karoline Hamm, Dar Salim and Julie Christiansen. The award-winning 27-year-old director Jonas Risvig will create and direct Viaplay’s next Danish Original, the young adult (YA) drama ‘Boys’. Based on Risvig’s own experiences of growing up in a small Danish town, ‘Boys’ explores themes of friendship, transgression and what it means to be caught between opposing worlds. The eight-part series stars an ensemble cast of upcoming Danish screen talents and will premiere exclusively on Viaplay in 2022.
Every Sunday morning, 10 young men in Silkeborg gather to sing in a church choir. Over the years, the group have formed a close bond, and after the bells fall silent, they meet to push their limits and test the forbidden pleasures of adult life until one of the boys drown, driving others to investigate. Jonas Risvig’s 2019 short film "We Are All Leaving" received the Publikum prize and two further nominations at Denmark’s Ekko Shortlist Awards, and his recent young adult shows ‘Grænser’ and ‘Centrum’ have received broad acclaim from viewers and critics. “It’s exciting to create such a dramatic and relevant series in the town where I grew up. I think most people can identify with being part of a group where you go a little further than in other places, and which helps define the person you end up becoming – for better or worse.”