SCHEDULE WATCH PROFILE: HBO Nordic is calling for fresh, diverse voices and talent as it hunts for standout storytelling across its originals slate. Gün Akyuz reports.

Overview
Scandinavian SVoD service HBO Nordic is looking for new talent and diverse voices as part of its expanded originals slate under its commissioning editor and VP of original programming, Christian Wikander.

Delivering the keynote at C21’s Content Nordics On Demand event last week, Wikander said his aim was to work with the region’s production sector to make between four and five local scripted series each year. In addition, HBO Nordic plans to move into unscripted series for the first time, again with four or five titles annually.

Emphasising the need to attract both new and established talent, Wikander said: “We’re going to need some new voices out there to provide us with good storytelling. It’s a fantastic opportunity if you are a talent or have that competence today to provide and develop stories.”

Wikander, who reports to WarnerMedia EMEA head of original production Anthony Root, joined HBO Nordic last September. A few organisational changes have already taken place at the streamer’s original production department under his tenure, including the hiring of TV2 Norway’s head of drama Christopher Haug as head of development for series in April. Wikander has also hired a couple of producers to give HBO Nordic a better spread and footprint across the region.

Meanwhile, parent company WarnerMedia hit the headlines last month when its shock merger with global factual giant Discovery ^[2] was unveiled.

The new standalone company, to be called Warner Bros Discovery, will see AT&T-owned WarnerMedia and factual giant Discovery combine their channel brands, studios and streaming services globally, with Discovery president and CEO David Zaslav at the helm.

The deal, which is due to be completed by mid-2022, subject to regulatory and shareholder approval, is likely to further disrupt alliances in the Nordics, where Discovery already has an extensive free-to-air (FTA) and pay TV presence, as well as its new direct-to-consumer (D2C) service Discovery+.

Meanwhile, the global roll-out of WarnerMedia’s own D2C service, HBO Max, started with Latin America ^[3] last month and will continue into Europe, the Middle East and Asia this year and next.

Wikander confirmed HBO Max would land this year in the Nordics, where it will absorb the HBO Nordic service. “From my perspective as a commissioner and leading development here in the Nordics, we are already now focusing on material that we think is fit for HBO Max,” he said.

“We are still looking for that premium content – that remains the same. One could say it’s a combination of that fantastic profile of HBO but with a slightly broader appeal and without losing that HBO identity.”

Current programming, original production, drama, factual
While HBO Nordic remains on the lookout for “everything” in the scripted premium space, Wikander emphasised it would be seeking stories with new perspectives ^[5]. “It can be a new character, it can be original, or it can be a scene that we haven’t seen [before], but there needs to be something in there that really makes that title stand out,” he said.

HBO Nordic already faces hefty competition in the region from local streamers like C More and Viaplay, as well as global rival Netflix, which recently opened a new office in Sweden ^[6] to help ramp up its slate of originals in the Nordics. Netflix aims to have a cumulative slate of up to 70 Nordic originals by end 2021.

“We’re going to continue to commission a volume of originals, maybe four or five times per year,” said Wikander, adding: “[Producers and creators] will find us a bit picky about the titles we are actually commissioning.”

Earlier this year, Wikander also revealed HBO Nordic’s move into unscripted ^[7], focusing on true crime, sports documentaries and reality.

Although the exec re-emphasised the importance of that move last week, no unscripted original projects have been revealed yet. However, there’s growing interest in how HBO Nordic’s strategy in this space will develop, given that its push into unscripted originals came shortly before parent company WarnerMedia unveiled its merger with Discovery.

Discovery+ is also commissioning reality series in the region, alongside other factual output. Last week, Discovery announced it was reviving ^[8] a Swedish version of Belgian competition reality format The Mole, which ran on FTA channel Kanal 5 for four years from 2000, prior to Discovery’s ownership of the channel.

For now, the next few HBO Nordic original launches look set to be scripted, including a second season of Norwegian sci-fi crime thriller Beforeigners from Rubicon TV, due later this year.

Wikander was keen to highlight that the region’s scripted output is significantly more diverse than the Nordic noir for which it best known, and this includes HBO Nordic’s own expanding slate.

“It’s definitely more diverse than [Nordic noir], but I would also say what defines us is more our profile of commissioning series that bring something new. It’s fair to say that, over the years, HBO has been successful in creating series that become references for future creators, future producers and future productions. And that will continue to be our aim.”

HBO Nordic is already associated with a couple of Swedish productions: comedy drama Gösta, from filmmaker Lukas Moodysson, and sexual assault-focused series Beartown (Björnstad), adapted from the novel by Fredrik Backman.

Other upcoming originals this year include HBO Nordic’s first Danish original, Kamikaze ^[10], from prodco Profile Pictures. The eight-part drama follows an 18-year-old woman’s physical and emotional journey to overcome her grief after she loses her family in a plane crash. Written by Johanne Algren and adapted from Erlend Loe’s Norwegian novel Muleum, the cast includes Marie Reuther (Badehotellet aka Seaside Hotel) in her first lead role.

Meanwhile, already launched is Norwegian Sámi western comedy-drama Welcome to Utmark (Velkommen til Utmark, 8×45’), from Paradox Film 8, which premiered in April. The show’s writer, Danish screenwriter and novelist Kim Fupz Aakeson, was shortlisted for the Nordisk Film and TV Fond prize ^[11] for outstanding scriptwriting earlier this year.

Now in production is an as-yet-untitled Swedish comedy series that centres on true events of the early 2000s, drawing on Swedish government research that linked an increase in health issues with sexual activity.

Even though the pandemic has had a significant impact on the production process, Wikander said he was confident the sector had adjusted well to new ways of day-to-day working, with levels of production now back to normal. “It has been a year, from a production standpoint, where we have needed to learn how to do things in partly new ways,” he added. “But at the end of the day, it’s about engaging stories and an end product. From an audience perspective, they will not notice any difference in that sense.”

When it comes to working with HBO Nordic, Wikander said the projects the streamer initiates together with producers and creators are “titles we’re really convinced will happen already from the beginning.”

He added: “Of course, sometimes we are wrong, but that is the kind of engagement we are offering, and that process going forward is quite swift. We try to be very, very engaged and try to respond quickly on each draft. We try to be there so the development period is as focused as possible.”

An important delineator for HBO Nordic’s commissions is that they’re made in the region’s local languages, Wikander noted. “A good story is a good story, first of all. But my responsibility, and our focus, is the local language in the Nordics, which is four different languages,” he explained, emphasising the fact that, contrary to popular belief, Nordic countries have differing tastes. “But from an audience perspective, it has to be perceived as a locally told story, and local language is definitely a big element of that,” he added.

As a result, the most common route to an HBO Nordic commission is likely to be via a producer or creator from the region. However, Wikander said the streamer also has as-yet-undisclosed projects in development with production companies, producers and creators from outside the Nordics.

Wikander advised creators interested in working with HBO Nordic to start with the core of a story rather than pitch it as an international project. “Once we identify that, it can either be a story that is very local and won’t travel outside that territory; or stories that really have the potential of either travelling within the Nordics; or stories that definitely have the potential to travel, like Beforeigners. We are open to all three different levels, and different aspects of the production,” he said, adding that the size of the budget and scale of production would match that.

The exec also stressed that striking the right balance would be crucial for a local story with global appeal. “My belief is that, first of all, the content we are developing and launching will be available on the service with a global scope,” Wikander said. However, in advising prospective producers, he added: “You should be thinking, ‘What story do I want to tell?’ Once that is identified and we are engaged, then we can have a discussion about what kind of potential we see with the story. But it has to come in that order and not the other way around.”

Maintaining HBO Nordic’s distinctiveness will come down to focusing on “what we do best,” said Wikander, re-emphasising the need for stories that have a high profile, offer new perspectives, have the ability to stand out from rival content and have the potential to become reference points. “These elements are extremely important. If you as a producer or creator come to us, I think you will find a very engaged partner, one that is very focused on your development, on our development together.”

Earlier this year, the exec also said the platform was open to opportunities to coproduce with local platforms or broadcasters on a title-by-title basis. Although Wikander would not reveal the types of deal structures and rights-sharing HBO Nordic is prepared to strike with individual producers and content creators, he said: “With the strategy of the global service, we are looking for the global rights. How that is then structured between us and the producers is, of course, part of the negotiation.”

As for pitching to HBO Nordic, Wikander said it could happen in a number of ways, including via email and LinkedIn. Addressing new talent in particular, he said: “You have to dare to take the first step, and if you’re new voice, I think you’d be surprised – or maybe not – but we do respond.

“We’re open to taking pitches and identifying the next commission, and that is an ongoing process. It’s [email protected] – you’re welcome to make contact and we’ll take it from there.”