The Norwegian and Danish TV shows backed by Nordisk Film & TV Fond are among 10 international series in official competition at Paris’ TV drama festival.

During the 8th edition of Series Mania (April 13-23), a jury presided over by US showrunner Damon Lindelof will hand out the Grand Prize Prize, Special Jury Prize and the new Best Actor and Best Actress Awards in an International Series.

NRK Drama’s thriller Monster (7x52’) is directed by Anne Sewitsky (Happy Happy), co-creator with head-writer Hans Christian Storrøsten. Jakob Oftebro plays Joel Dreyer, an investigator from Oslo who is sent up north to Finnmark to work on a crime scene. He feels like a fish out of water in the remote community where he has to collaborate with the young local investigator Helle Gilbert (Ingvild Holthe Bygdnes), an old sheriff (Bjørn Sundquist) while dealing with the matriarch Margot van Gemert (Gørild Mauseth), head of a criminal enterprise. The show is co-produced by Rein Film, DR and SVT.  DRG handles world distribution. Airing on NRK is set for the fall 2017. 

Ride Upon the Storm (10x60’ x2) produced by DR Drama in co-production with ARTE and SAM Lefrançais will screen at Series Mania right after its presentation at MIPDrama Screenings. Creator/co-writer Adam Price will be in Paris to introduce his drama exploring the concept of good and evil. In the main roles are Lars Mikkelsen and Ann Eleonora Jørgensen, StudioCanal handles world sales.

Three other Nordic TV dramas will be introduced at the 8th Series Mania.

The Danish hostage series Below the Surface (SAM Production/Kanal5) created by Kasper Barfoed and Swedish crime Before we Die (B-Reel/SVT) co-written by Niklas Rockström (Thicker than Water) and Wilhelm Behrman (Four More Years) have been selected for the International Panorama section, while season 2 of the Norwegian drama series Occupied (Miso Film/Viaplay-TV2) will screen at the Brand New Seasons section.

The French/Danish Ø directed by Kasper Torsting will compete in the programme for international Web and Digital Series and the Finnish youth series Mental (Sekasin) created by Teemu Nikki and Jani Pösö for YLE is among the festival’s ‘Favourites’. Around 60 international series are heading off to the high profile Paris TV drama that has widened its audience and events capacity thanks to six new screening venues such as the Grand Rex, the Luminor Hôtel de Ville, on top of the festival’s Forum des Halles.

The festival opens on April 13 with Damon Lindelof’s The Leftovers and closes on April 22 with Ryan Murphy’s Feud: Bette & Joan.

The programme of the festival’s popular European Co-production Forum (April 18-21) welcoming 500 world decision-makers will be announced at a later date.

For more information check: www.series-mania.fr