HBO Max orders Helsinki-Filmi art fraud crime drama as first Finnish original

Mia Ylönen and Aleksi Bardy

HBO Max, WarnerMedia’s direct-to-consumer streaming platform, has commissioned its first Finnish series, a crime drama about art fraud.

Produced by Helsinki-Filmi, ID (working title) revolves around a Finnish art fraud investigator who goes undercover to infiltrate an auction house in Stockholm and investigate the firm’s connection to a notorious money launderer known as Blanko.

The 6×50’ drama was co-created by Mia Ylönen and Aleksi Bardy, while the executive producers are Christian Wikander and Steve Matthews.

ID’s greenlight comes ahead of HBO Max’s roll-out in Finland, with production expected to begin on the series in 2022.

Ylönen said: “ID examines questions of identity, morality and personal limits. We all live in the crosswinds of many identities. There’s the work me, the private me, the hero me of our dreams, the victim me hurt by the past, the happy and ideal me in social media. Who would you be if you could be anyone? Would you rejoice in the chance to reinvent yourself, even if it meant abandoning your old self?”