Exclusive: Nordic streamer Viaplay makes first move into medical drama

First Responders

Nordic Entertainment Group (NENT Group) has ordered its first medical drama for regional streamer Viaplay, with the prodco behind Netflix’s original Snabba Cash producing.

First Responders (Åreakuten) is from Sweden’s SF Studios and follows the daily lives of hospital, police and rescue personnel in the beautiful but hazardous Swedish mountains and will debut on Viaplay in the Nordics in 2020.

The 10-part series is being produced by Joakim Hansson (The Lawyer) for SF Studios and directed by Lena Koppel (The Importance of Tying Your Own Shoes) and Richard Jarnhed (Black Lake).

Location filming is underway in the Swedish town of Åre, with Göran Gillinger (Maria Wern), Karin Bengtsson (The Modern Project), Mårten Svedberg (Johan Falk), Nadja Halid (Senses) and Tiril Wishman Eeg-Henriksen among the cast.

Jakob Mejlhede Andersen, Viaplay chief content officer, told TBI the show would “bring a uniquely Scandinavian twist to a hugely popular genre” with “a compelling line-up of Swedish talents, intriguing personal stories and stunning scenery.”

It is the latest commission for SF Studios, which is also working on the six-part Stockholm-based gangster drama Snabba Cash from screenwriter Oskar Söderlund, which has been spun off from the movie trilogy of the same name.

The medical drama commission also marks a new direction for NENT, which has a rapidly expanding originals slate that now numbers 48 shows including Swedish Dicks, Wisting, Hidden, Conspiracy of Silence, and Veni Vidi Vici.

The company is aiming to premiere a minimum of 20 original dramas this year, with CEO Anders Jensen recently admitting that he wanted to double that output to 40 shows in the near future to compete with US-based entrants such as Netflix, Disney and Apple.