MIPCOM drama frenzy brings opportunities for all

After a subdued MIPTV, MIPCOM was as buzzy and frenzied as ever reflecting the busier fall period for launches of new and returning dramas and continued growth, both in content and online platforms.  More than 25 world distributors of Nordic dramas were in Cannes, competing for world buyers’ attention and cash.

Two Scandi premium dramas selected for MIPCOM Screenings and attended by key cast and crew, stood out on the market: 

• Moscow Noir (Dirigenten) sold by Studiocanal. The financial thriller is based on the novel The Conductor from St Petersburg, by Camilla Grebe & Paul Leander-Engström. Lead actor Adam Pålsson and Leander Engström were in Cannes to promote the show produced by Black Spark Film & TV for C More/TV4.  The series inspired by a true story, is  set in the murky waters of the financial world of post-communist Russia at the turn of the millennium. Following the screening of episode 1, Studiocanal’s Executive Managing Director TV series Françoise Guyonnet said: ”We’ve received amazing responses, including from US buyers. The greatest reward was the reactions from Russian buyers who said they were reminded of Moscow in the late 90s’ and were impressed by Pålsson’s ability to speak ‘as a Swede in Russia'." 
• Hidden (Förstfödd), sold by Banijay Rights. The urban fantasy thriller was produced by Yellow Bird for Viaplay/TV3. Blending the paranormal with hard-hitting realism and psychological drama, the suspense-driven series deals with being an outsider. Banijay’s Head of Scripted Caroline Torrance told nordicfilmandtvnews.com: “Hidden is not the usual crime Scandi noir. It’s a highly innovative urban fantasy. We wanted to give the opportunity for people to watch it on the big screen. Co-stars August Wittgenstein and Izabella Scorupco are great assets and the presence of Izabella at MIPCOM helped boost interest on the show.” 

Other new Nordic dramas that premiered at MIPCOM include:

• from ITV Studios’ Kieler Street (Norway), West of Liberty (Sweden/Germany), The Hunters (Sweden),
• Banijay Right’s The Truth Will Out (Sweden) and Straight Forward (New Zealand/Denmark), 
• Sky Vision’s Bullets (Finland) and The Flatey Enigma (Iceland), 
• ZDFE’s Sthlm Requiem (Sweden), 
• Federation’s Secret Enemies (Finland), 
• Beta Film’s Helium (Norway).

Another Nordic high point at MIPCOM was the Finnish Weird focus on Tuesday, co-organised by Audiovisual Producers Finland and Business Finland. The event was an opportunity for Finnish producers, sales agents or broadcasters to introduced 10 brand new and upcoming Finnish shows – most of them in the crime genre - to more than a hundred TV delegates. The new Finnish shows were:

• Dragonslayer 666 (Dionysos/Yle) 
• Bordertown S2 (Fisher King/Federation/Yle) 
• Hooked S1&2 (Moskito TV/Yle) 
• Secret Enemies (Moskito TV/C More-MTV) 
• Welcome to Texas (Warner Bros Int’l/C More-MTV) 
• Shadow Lines (Zodiak/Elisa Viihde) 
• Bullets (Vertigo/Elisa Viihde) 
• Arctic Circle (Yellow Film & TV/Bavaria Fiction/Elisa Viihde) 
• All the Sins (MRP Matila Röhr Productions/Elisa Viihde) 
• Sherlock North (Snapper Films/Viaplay)

“There is a significant increase in buyers’ interest towards Finnish drama who say Finland is the most interesting Nordic country for the moment in terms of new projects, where production value has greatly increased,” said Yle Sales Head of Sales Jukka Kaivola.

MIPCOM deals

• DR Sales’s new Sales & Acquisition Director Maiken Maigaard announced Follow the Money season 3, sold to BBC4, to follow up on acquisitions of season 1 & 2. The Legacy season 1-2-3, sold to Knowledge Network, Canada.
• Yle Sales’s Head of Sales Jukka Kaivola said the crime show Hooked season 2, to be completed late 2018, attracted a lot of interest, while France’s Mediawan stepped in as co-producer of the youth show Nerd: Dragon Slayer 666 (Dionysos Films) season 2 and 3, after having bought season 1. 
• ITV Studios’ Greyzone (Denmark/Sweden), sold to Malaysia-Channel W, Australia-SBS and SBS on Demand, New Zealand-TVNZ on Demand 
• ZDFE announced a package of 100 hours of drama series sold to Finnish broadcaster Yle, including The Criminalist, The Prosecutor The Old Fox, Cologne P.D and Disappeared-the M.P.U. Swiss television SRF acquired 200 hours of TV movies and series, including the Swedish crime shows Arne Dahl and Beck.

Market trends

Commenting on trends, Banijay’s Caroline Torrance said: “It’s certainly more complicated today in terms of windowing and rights negotiations, but there are more opportunities for everyone. In the pre-digital age, you had one sale opportunity and that was it. Now, you have 2-3 windows where you can exploit a title in a short period of time.”

Studiocanal’s Françoise Guyonnet also said: “It's a rich eco-system today in terms of platforms and opportunities. The key is to find the best commercial strategy for each project. Our strategy at Studiocanal is to ramp up our co-productions and partnerships across Europe, to work with the best talents and to increase our financial commitments,” she stressed.

With the tighter pressure from buyers to grab the best shows, many are starting discussions at an earlier stage. "Negotiations start earlier today, but buyers still want to see the final product before committing, especially with non-English language," noted Guyonnet. 

The new kid in town REinvent Studios who attended MIPCOM with 8 titles in development out of 10 on its slate, was overwhelmed by the attention from global distributors.

Another global distributor – who asked to remain anonymous – questioned the risk of over-supply on the market and said he had witnessed a temporary ‘slowing down of demand for Nordic content, over the last year, due to foreign broadcasters and streaming services’ strategy to concentrate on local originals. A slowing down however compensated by a dynamic market for scripted format.

All distributors interviewed stressed buyers’ appetite for existing quality stories with remake potential. About Premium Content’s co-founder Laurent Boissel cited Valkyrien turned into the English language Temple, starring Mark Strong and said he was in negotiations for a US remake of the Norwegian series Young & Promising.  Caroline Torrance said ‘any scripted content with a strong concept’ is of interest for local reformatting. Banijay’s executive said Solsidan, remade in France is in negotiations for the US, while Black Lake is being considered in various territories. DR Sales’ Maiken Maigaard said NRK’s hit drama Home Ground had been optioned for a French remake.

Commenting on the overall MIPCOM, Jerome Delhaye, Director of Reed MIDEM’s Entertainment Division said: “There are new dynamics within the entertainment industry and the good news is that more people are watching more content for more time, on more devices, than ever before. The debate now is how companies will compete or work together to get the right content to the right viewer.”

A total of 13,800 delegates including over 4,800 buyers from more than 100 countries attended MIPCOM 2018. The country of honour was China.