Viaplay moves past Danish boycott with launch of drama original Boys

Boys looks behind the scenes of a male church choir

Scandinavian streamer Viaplay’s Danish production ambitions appear to be back on track following its production boycott of the country this summer, with the launch of new Danish original Boys on Sunday.

Viaplay had paused all series and film development in the country after the Danish Producers’ Association established a new agreement requiring higher payments to artists. Boys was not directly affected by the move.

Viaplay, which recently rebranded from NENT Group and is also behind Danish originals Face to Face and Elvira, agreed to end the production boycott in late July.

Boys (7×24’) is a dark drama created by Jonas Risvig focusing on the surprisingly sinister world of a boys’ choir. On the surface, the boys represent chastity, with their pure singing voices in the blissful space of the church. But when the church bells aren’t ringing, they cultivate their forbidden urges through alcohol, sex and borderline wildness.

Risvig has been behind a number of youth-themed series in a short space of time, looking at teenage life during the Covid-19 shutdown in Centrum and the sex lives of young women in Salsa.

Boys was produced by REinvent Studios and written by Mikkel Sørensen and Lars Bang. Risvig directed and the producer is Sofie Siboni.

Viaplay aims to launch a minimum of 10 Danish fiction series and films annually.