MTG-owned Nice Drama and streaming service Viaplay are teaming up on the documentary about F1 legend Ronnie Peterson  whose life tragically ended in a crash in 1978, and the TV series Hassel starring Ola Rapace.

Superswede (Peterson’s nickname), the directing debut of writer/producer Henrik Jansson-Schweizer (Thicker than Water), will be based on interviews with leading F1 figures, archive and exclusive material. It follows Ronnie and his wife Barbro, as they try to fit in - in a world of money and fame.

“Together they faced hardships and were inseparable when Ronnie challenged the unwritten rules of the racing world,” said Jansson-Schweizer. Nina Kennedy, Ronnie Petterson’s daughter and co-producer said: “It feels fantastic to be part of this project and to get my father’s life story narrated by all these great legends. It means a lot to me as I was very young when my father passed away.”

The film starts filming this autumn between Örebro (where Peterson grew up), Monza and London. Sweden’s Nice Drama is producing in co-production with Film region Stockholm-Mälardalen and Viaplay. The film will be released in cinemas by Non-Stop Entertainment in the autumn 2017 and it will premiere on Viaplay in the spring 2018.

The 10 part TV drama Hassel is a re-boot of the famous hard-boiled police detective Roland Hassel created by novelist Olov Svedelid and previously adapted for television in the 1980s and 90s.

In the new series Ola Rapace plays detective Roland Hassel as he and his colleagues investigate the rising tide of serious crime in Stockholm. When his boss and mentor is brutally murdered, Hassel is rapidly drawn into a ruthless world of power, money and corruption.

Jansson-Schweizer, co-creator of the series with Morgan Jensen, said: “I’m delighted to be entrusted with the task of continuing Roland Hassel’s story. The series will reflect contemporary events and today’s increasingly tough social climate – just as in Svedelid’s original vision.”  

The TV show is co-produced by Beta Film that handles international sales. It will be shown first as a Viaplay Norden Original in 2017 and six months later on TV3.

Hassel is the third Viaplay Original after the comedy Swedish Dicks (launched on the streaming service on September 2) and the upcoming Norwegian TV series Occupied Season 2 set to premiere on Viaplay in the autumn 2017, six months before its airing on TV2