The 10X45' series is created, directed, co-written and executive-produced by Ole Christian Madsen (Banshee, Flame & Citron, Superclásico). Norwegian screenwriter Bjørn Ekeberg (Nordisk Film & TV Fond Prize nominee in 2018 for Borderliner) acts as head-writer.  

Inspired by true events, 5 from Hell is set in the early 1980s. We follow a group of middle-class teenagers - four boys and a girl - who form a gang that will go on to become one of the biggest organisations of fraudsters in the world.

The series set to start filming in 2020, will be the first TV drama for Copenhagen-based Creative Alliance, jointly-run by writers/directors Madsen, Lone Scherfig, Dagur Kári and producer/CEO Malene Blenkov.

Blenkov told nordicfilmandtvnews.com that 5 from Hell will break away for the traditional Nordic noir as “an authentic story based on inspirational real-life material that will go beyond the normal crime stories.” “Ole Christian Madsen will use his experience of working on the high-end US show Banshee and will be show-runner of the series,” adds Blenkov.

Nanna Mailand-Mercato, Head of Originals at Viaplay and executive producer said 5 from Hell is one of Viaplay’s flagship projects. “The ambition is to make an epic Nordic gangster drama that is anchored locally in a recognisable Northern welfare society, but with a universal plot,” she explains.

REInvent Studios’ CEO Rikke Ennis, sees 5 From Hell as “a dream project and the start of a great new relationship with Creative Alliance.” “We are kick-starting the financing in the fall, and with a strong partner like Viaplay, we will be heading towards principal photography in 2020,” concludes Ennis. The series is set to premiere in the Nordics in 2021.

With a strong returnable potential, 5 From Hell has already been lined up for two extra seasons, with season 2 to be set in London and season 3 in Los-Angeles. 

While preparing for his first Scandinavian series since Unit One (2004), Madsen is editing his major feature project Notat based on the 2015 Copenhagen terror attack.