Australia’s SBS buys pair of Nordic comedies

Australian channel SBS has acquired two foreign language comedies, one from Norway and one from Denmark.

Hellfjord and Klown will both broadcast on SBS One in a bid to broaden the channel’s comedy scope.

Hellfjord was produced for pubcaster NRK by Tappeluft Pictures and follows an Oslo police officer who is forced to work in small, eccentric Norwegian town after killing his horse.

Mockumentary Klown has garnered international attention due to its similarities with HBO comedy Curb Your Enthusiam, as both follow semi-retired comics that get themselves in embarrassing situations. The Zentropa Entertainments-produced show first broadcast on TV2 Zulu, has previously been picked up by Hulu in the US and spawned a feature film in 2010.

Danish comics Casper Christensen and Frank Hvam developed the show.

“Television comedy is a difficult genre to travel internationally but these two series are edgy and smart, and we know they will sit well with our audience,” said SBS director of TV and online content Tony Iffland. “SBS has brought Australians the best in foreign language film and drama and we now want to offer the best TV comedies from around the world, whether it is in English or not.”