ZDF, ACT4 greenlight Icelandic crime drama Vigilant with Kari Skogland

Kari Skogland

David Leyes

German broadcaster ZDF, ZDF Studios and Icelandic producer ACT4 have greenlit Vigilant, a six-part English-language drama directed by Canadian showrunner and filmmaker Kari Skogland.

Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, the Icelandic actor known for Severance and Trapped and a partner at ACT4, has adapted the series from Skúli Sigurðsson’s crime novel Stóri bróðir. Production is due to begin in Iceland on October 29.

The series follows a journalist who investigates a self-proclaimed vigilante targeting sexual predators, initially viewing him as an advocate for victims before suspecting his campaign is driven by revenge rather than justice. As her reporting fuels a nationwide debate, the drama examines the limits of accountability when the justice system fails.

Ólafsson co-wrote the series with Víkingur Kristjánsson, Anita Briem, Teitur Magnússon and Anna Gunndís Guðmundsdóttir.

Skogland will direct all six episodes and serve as executive producer. Her credits include The Handmaid’s Tale, for which she won a BAFTA and received an Emmy nomination, and Marvel Studios’ The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Her other television work includes The Loudest Voice and Smoke.

ACT4 is producing Vigilant in coproduction with ZDF and ZDF Studios, which co-developed the series and will handle worldwide distribution outside the US. Los Angeles-based Zero Gravity will oversee US distribution.

Icelandic telecoms and media company Síminn has joined as the project’s financing, broadcast and streaming partner. The series will premiere exclusively on its Sjónvarp Símans Premium service in Iceland.

The project marks another collaboration between ACT4 and ZDF following Death of a Horse, an Icelandic crime drama commissioned by Icelandic broadcaster RÚV and ZDF through the New8 public broadcaster alliance. Produced by ACT4 with Germany’s Windlight Pictures, that series is scheduled to premiere in 2026.