Bernth adapts Danish podcast for Netflix

Danish podcast Equinox 1985 is being turned into a six-part original drama for Netflix by Piv Bernth, the executive producer behind The Killing and The Bridge.

Piv Bernth

Equinox will be created by Tea Lindeburg and executive produced by Bernth and her company, Apple Tree Productions, which is backed by ITV Studios. Production is expected to start later this year.

Equinox is a character-driven supernatural thriller about a young woman who is affected by the unexplainable disappearance of a school class in 1999. The series is set in Denmark and swipes back and forth between 1999 and the present day.

Bernth, who was head of drama at Danish pubcaster DR prior to setting up Apple Tree in 2017, said: “It is a unique story about the difference between reality and imagination and the relation between free will and fate – all set in a normal Danish family.

“The creative team behind it are all extremely talented and it is a great pleasure to work with them. We look forward to introducing this series to the world audience together with Netflix.”

Tesha Crawford, director of Netflix International Originals Northern Europe, added: “We are very excited about this new series which brings together a locally successful story and a highly acclaimed Danish producer.

“It’s also been very inspiring to work with a narrative that actually comes from a non-traditional format like a podcast. We are confident that all of this combined will result in a series that is as compelling as the original story.”

ITV Studios confirmed it was backing Denmark-based Apple Tree soon after its launch.