Nordic buyers board Expectation’s crime procedural ‘The Chelsea Detective’

Adrian Scarborough

Nordic buyers SVT in Sweden, NRK in Norway, DR in Denmark and YLE in Finland have struck pre-sale deals for upcoming procedural The Chelsea Detective, which has been created by Expectation co-CEO Peter Fincham.

The drama was unveiled in March and has been commissioned by Acorn TV and ZDF in Germany. It follows a recently divorced policeman who lives on a battered houseboat while solving crimes committed by the affluent elite who live in the area.

Fincham’s company Expectation (In My Skin, Guilt) is producing with Adrian Scarborough (Killing Eve) starring. BBC Studios, which holds a stake in Expectation, is selling globally, with the series set to air in 2022.

Glen Laker (Vera), Fincham and Liz Lake (Riviera) have written the show, which marks the first drama to come out of ZDF’s development pact with BBCS. The commercial arm of the UK pubcaster is in the midst of its online sales event BBCS Connect and yesterday confirmed its new CEO.

Louise McNab, director of content sales at BBCS, said: “It is testament to the quality of the production that The Chelsea Detective has been given an early stamp of approval by the PSBs from across the Nordics, a market with an incredible pedigree in creating crime drama.”

Stephen Mowbray, head of SVT International, added: “It has been very exciting to join The Chelsea Detective so early in its development, securing the rights for SVT to publish what we hope will become a hugely popular series for years to come.”

Acorn TV will have the show’s world premiere via its service in the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, among others in 2022.