DR Sales has picked up “Piggy” (“Murk” in Norwegian), a quirky crime comedy from advertising, film and TV production banner The Oslo Company, credited for Netflix’s “Home for Christmas 1 & 2.”
The six-part series set to premiere on the commercial channel TV2 Norway March 17, will be sneak-peeked Feb. 9 at the Scandinavian Drama Series Showcase in Berlin, co-hosted by the Göteborg Film Festival’s TV Drama Vision and the European Film Market.
Headlining “Piggy”’s Norwegian ensemble cast are Ine Jansen (“Mammon”), Trond Espen Seim (“Power Play”, “Varg Veum”), Jonis Josef (“Kasko”), John Carew (“Home Ground”), Iben Akerlie (“Norsemen”), and Lars Berge (“Wisting”).
“The Playlist” co-helmer Hallgrim Haug serves as concept director on the series, created by The Oslo Company founder Trond Kvernstrøm. Both shared the writers’ room with Marie Hafting (“Everything You Love”), Tobias Nordbø, Katie Hetland and Kjetil Indregard. The Oslo Company’s Ronny Johansen is producing.
The story turns on Lisa (Jansen) a hard-working narcotics officer with anger management issues. Her life falls apart when her husband and colleague Jostein goes missing during a high-profile narcotics case involving drug dealer Marko Stankoviz (Carew). To top it all off, her demented mother, Signe, can’t get a spot in a nursing home and moves in with her.
Although everyone around Lisa says Jostein’s disappearance was an accident, she believes it is connected to the Marko case that her husband was investigating. When she witnesses a botched interrogation of Marko himself, led by the “up and coming” officer Aila (Akerlie), Lisa wants to take matters into her own hands. But her boss Ole (Ole Soo) is far from impressed and demotes her.
By chance, in her new gloomy work environment, Lisa stumbles upon Shirouh (Josef), a petty criminal wannabe stand-up comedian who has just witnessed a murder and seeks protection at Lisa’ home. Now the two must help each other to help themselves. There is also the eco-friendly solar panel importer Isak (Espen Seim) whom Lisa ads to her list of suspects.
The Norwegian drama is DR Sales’ second Oslo Company pick up after the youth drama “Everything You Love”, which snagged a student jury award at Canneseries 2022.
““Piggy” has the right DNA for us,” said DR Sales’ executive director Pernille Munk Skydsgaard. “It’s a crime comedy told in an entertaining and fun way, with a female lead far from perfect, which makes her complex and human. We’ve been looking for thrilling Nordic shows shows to bolster our slate, and this Norwegian series sits as a nice alternative to our premium suspense drama “Prisoner” for example,” said DR Sales’ boss.
Munk Skydsgaard is keen to highlight that although her banner is the international sales division of Danish pubcaster DR (Danmarks Radio), she has space for several external Nordic acquisitions a year – fiction or documentaries.
“In these challenging times, where producers are struggling to find financing, we want to get the word out that we are selectively looking for quality stories – whatever the format, as long as they are entertaining, fit our public service remit and mission to start important conversations about things that matter. We like to enter the projects at an early stage and work closely with the producers on strategies in the development and financing stage, and event in plans for remake sales and festivals,” Munk Skydsgaard commented.
At Berlin’s European Film Market, DR Sales will take up negotiations on DR’s premium shows “Carmen Curlers” Seasons 1 & 2, “Prisoner” – sold to key territories including the U.K. with the BBC MHz for the U.S. – and the kitchen drama “Behind Every Man”.
On the documentary front, heading DR Sales’ slate are the Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner “A New King of Wilderness” by Silje Evensmo Jacobsen and “Life and Other Problems” by Max Kestner, set to open CPH:DOX in March.
