BBC Studios teams with comedy legends David Zucker, Pat Proft for Nordic noir spoof

BBC Studios has come on board a Nordic noir comedy spoof from David Zucker and Pat Proft, the duo behind Airplane! and The Naked Gun! franchise, and the fledgling Ilkkas’ Creative Studio (ICS).

David Zucker

NoPoFo (10×30′) is described as Nordic noir meets Police Squad! and centres on three elite agents from the Nordic Police Force (NoPoFo).

The crack team is tasked with solving the sort of gruesome, ritualistic murders that Nordic psychopaths do so well — and, in the best traditions of Nordic noir, the more twisted and overly elaborate the better.

From a serial killer who only murders bad heavy rock bands to an Instagram obsessive who creates ice sculptures out of his victims, each self-contained episode is set in a different Nordic country and features a different cast of supporting characters.

BBC Studios Nordics is on board as a coproducer on the project, which will be executive produced by Zucker and Proft, whose projects combined have earned nearly a billion dollars at the box office.

Ilkka Hynninen

Their latest upcoming film collaboration, The Star of Malta, produced by RainMaker Films, is in pre-production.

Created and written by stand-up comedians and screenwriters Mika Eirtovaara and Riku Suokas with screenwriter Heikki Syrjä (Lakeside Murders), NoPoFo comes from ICS, which was recently launched by Finnish executives Ilkka Hynninen and Ilkka Rahkonen.

Hynninen and Rahkonen are part of the creative team on the series alongside executive producer Randi Siegel, who represents Zucker and brokered the Zucker-Proft deal with APA and Cohen Gardner LLP.

ICS creative director Hynninen said: “We’ve been privileged to work with these two comedy heroes to create a new take on Nordic noir over the past year. It’s been a masterclass in the technicalities of producing comedy, not to mention the best fun I’ve ever had. Nordic noir is a gift to parody, with its fantastical crimes and high doom-and-gloom quotient. The only mystery for me is why it’s taken so long for us to realise its comedy potential.”

Pat Proft

Proft said: “NOPOFO? I’m dyslexic. I thought I was working on OFOPON. Either one, it was wonderful to be involved with writers and producers who can turn Nordic noir into a great comedy target.”

Zucker added: “Hynninen and his team are consummate professionals and, being a part of NoPoFo and the chance to deal with gruesome, ritualistic murders by Nordic psychopaths is something that reminds me of my own family.”

Head of BBC Studios Nordics Jan Salling, who brokered the coproduction deal with ICS CEO Rahkonen, added: “I love the whole concept of NoPoFo — not just because it’s a stand-out idea that made me laugh out loud, but because it’s a genuinely pan-Nordic project that has strong international appeal as well.

“It also has that wonderful left-field vibe that is the hallmark of Finnish creativity. I love that Nordic noir is now so firmly embedded in the global consciousness that it’s ripe for spoof — and, as is demonstrated by NoPoFo, able to attract the best ‘spoofers’ in the business.”