New Elisa Viihde original series stars Iina Kuustonen (Nurses), Maximilian Brückner (War Horse), Clemens Schick (Casino Royale) and Pihla Viitala (Black Widows).

Arctic Circle (Ivalo) is the first co-production between Finland’s Yellow Film & TV and Germany’s Bavaria Fiction, picked up for world distribution by Paris-based Lagardère Studios.

The 10x50’ crime series set to start filming on November 27, is created by Yellow Film & TV CEO Olli Haikka and Head of Drama Petja Peltomaa with Joona Tena (Nurses, FC Venus) who shares the writing credit with Iceland’s experienced Jón Atli Jónasson (The Deep). Finnish born Germany based Hannu Salonen (Shades of Guilt) directs.

Set in the icy landscapes of Finnish Lapland, the crime show follows police officer Nina (Kuustonen) and German virologist Thomas Lorenz (Brückner) as they investigate a deadly virus discovered on the body of a nearly dead prostitute in an old cabin in the wilderness. Schick plays the multimillionaire CEO of a pharmaceutical company who has financed Lorenz’s previous work in the field of virology, and Viitala is cast as Nina’s sister, recovering from drug-addiction.  The show will premiere exclusively on the leading Finnish streaming service Elisa Viihde in 2018, before its roll-out on the pubcaster YLE.

Milla Bruneau, Executive Producer at Yellow Film & TV, and Bavaria Fiction’s Executive Producer Moritz Polter said: “We’re very pleased to see cameras roll on our first Finnish-German co-production. This ambitious new crime thriller brings together an impressive array of acclaimed talent from across Europe both on and off screen, and will deliver a compelling and atmospheric drama with strong appeal for global audiences.” The series will be pitched at C21 Drama Summit in London (November 27-29).