Germany’s NDF, Scandinavian group Nordisk Film and LA-based Dynamic Television are joining to adapt Danish author Anna Grue’s Dan Sommerdahl book series for Denmark’s TV2. Production is due to begin next summer with The Bridge (Bron/Broen) co-creator Nikolaj Scherfig attached as head writer.
The Scandinavian crime novels are a family-oriented take on Nordic noir. Set in a picturesque coastal town, each episode will revolve around a perfidious murder case solved by the titular Dan Sommerdahl and his best friend, Detective Superintendent Fleming Torp. The series, which will be packaged as five 90-minute episodes and 10 45-minute episodes, tells its stories from the heart of society, suggesting the possibility for a broader audience than the typically dark noir genre.
Dynamic Television, whose Madiba will air on BET in the U.S. in February, is handling worldwide distribution and launching the series at Mipcom.
Anna Grue has sold over 750K books and is a regular on Denmark’s bestseller lists. Her Dan Sommerdahl crime series has been published throughout Europe, with particular success in Germany and France.
Conceived as a 12-part book series, seven have already been published. In addition to securing the rights to the novels, the partners also have an agreement to expand the property and its characters beyond the 12 stories.
