26 NOV 2021

The appetite for Nordic content continues to surge

The appeal of Nordic content was proven once again this week, when the Norwegian series “Atlantic Crossing” won the award for best mini-series at the International Emmy Awards.

26 NOV 2021
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“Atlantic Crossing”

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The appeal of Nordic content was proven once again this week, when the Norwegian series “Atlantic Crossing” won the award for best mini-series at the International Emmy Awards. The series is a co-production made by Cineworld, Beta Film, PBS, SVR, DR, Nevision and NRK - and follow the endeavors of Crown Princess Märtha and Crown Prince Olav during World War II.

Further, another series was added to the list of Nordic originals getting an international remake last week, when Lionsgate acquired the rights to re-record “Riders of Justice” to suit an English-speaking audience. The hugely successful “Another Round” is also set for an US-remake, while Viaplay’s “Love Me” will be adapted for the Australian audience.

Nordic content is not only appealing for remakes, but the top global players have all communicated ambitions to invest in local originals on their respective platforms. As of the third quarter of 2021, Netflix had the highest share of local content available on its service (Nordic originals, co-productions and acquisitions). In fact, Netflix has invested in local Nordic productions since 2016 (“The Rain” being the first to premiered back in 2018).

“Going forward, we may expect the share of local content to increase on all global top services,”  Mediavision said in its latest newsletter. In fact, in a presentation of HBO Max earlier this fall, management said that the aim is to produce 3-5 Nordic original fiction titles annually. In addition, the goal is to produce the same amount of original reality series.

Netflix currently have 11 upcoming Nordic originals in the works, including “Elves” (premiering this Sunday), “Anxious People” (premiering on December 29), “Chosen,” “Blasted,” and second seasons of “Love & Anarchy,” “Snabba Cash,” and “Young Wallander”.

Disney+ is yet to announce any Nordic original productions, but has stated that in 2022 the aim is to have +340 local or regional original titles in development and production. The same goes for Amazon Prime Video. In this case, the recent opening of a new office in Stockholm and launch of the Amazon Prime membership testifies to an increased focus on the Swedish market, which could soon expand to all the Nordics.