After their collaboration in ‘Nordic 12’, DR, Yle, NRK and SVT are extending their fiction collaboration with ‘B14’ to boost Nordic TV series for children.

Under the B14 or ‘Barn 14’ (‘Children 14’) initiative, DR, SVT and NRK will each contribute four children’s series a year, with Yle Swedish language Svenska Yle providing 1-2 series. Each programme will be co-produced by the partners and available for an extended period of time on their free-to-air and digital platforms.

DR’s CEO Maria Rørbye Rønn said: “For children, fiction is a way to reflect and understand themselves and that is why it is so important which mirror we hold up for our children. As a public service company, one of our most important tasks is to ensure the development of the unique Danish and Nordic access to children's content. That is why I am proud that we can now take this step, and happy that we are joining forces across the Nordic region.”

Safa Safiyari, head of SVT Barn adds: “This collaboration will offer a lot of good drama from all over the Nordics. series that can reflect the everyday lives of children and young people in each country and that can show that we actually have a lot in common. We have previously seen that Nordic exchanges have been enormously appreciated by the audience, for example with the Norwegian series Skam and remake of Klassen.”

Christoffer Forssell, Svenska Yle's Head of Programme Acquisition also says: “Just as we started Nordic co-operation in adult dramas in 2018, the goal here is to ensure the provision and availability of high-quality Nordic public service in a highly competitive environment. These series, which represent the quality of public service, are being made all the time throughout the Nordic countries, and now we want them to be more visible in neighbouring countries as well.”

More than 30 premium Nordic TV dramas have been produced as part of Nordic 12, which also includes Iceland’s public broadcaster RÚV.

Series under this year’s N12 that have also received support from Nordisk Film & TV Fond include DR’s When the Dust Settles, Cry Wolf, NRK’s 22 July, Atlantic Crossing, For Life, RÚV’s The Minister, SVT’s The Hunt for a Killer, A Hustler’s Diary and Dreaming of England.