Local creation of Scripted Series is increasing in Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Norway. Out of the 313 new shows launched in the region between September 2016 and August 2017, 34% were produced nationally or co-produced. More impressively, this part increased by 20 points in only 2 years. Local content is gaining ground in the Nordics, but Scandinavian fiction is also growing internationally

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Scandinavian fiction is driven by the expansion of the “Nordic Noir”.

Mixing dreadful murders with beautiful landscapes, these investigation series significantly renewed the genre of police series, and settled Scandinavian drama as a global brand. “Nordic Noir” is still a winning formula today: launched in October 2017 on the first Norwegian public broadcaster NRK1, Monster doubled the channel’s market share in the Young Adults target. Set far up in the Northern hemisphere, in a world where nature and humans are merciless, this series will try to seduce Australian and American viewers, as it will be broadcast in both countries next year.

However, if Scandinavian screenwriters are still mastering in crime drama, they are today exploring new fictional genres. When comparing keywords used on our NoTa service, which detects all original Entertainment, Fiction and Factual programming on TV and online platforms in more than 45 key territories, to describe Scandinavian series launched in 2014 versus 2017, it appears that traditional Nordic noir narratives are decreasing for the benefit of historic dramas or comedies.

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Period dramas have proven to be successful in rising audience shares in Scandinavia

Mercur, a Danish and Swedish co-production, tells the true story of the rock and roll radio station Radio Mercur. Its first episode, broadcast on TV2 Charlie in Denmark, multiplied the channel average by 5. The Swedish series The Restaurant (Vår tid är nu), set up right after World War II in a family-run restaurant, was also one of this fall remarkable success. Broadcast on Sweden’s best performing channel SVT1, the premiere episode reached a market share of 47.2%, almost 20 points above the prime time average.

Scandinavian channels efforts to explore new narratives do not stop with drama.

Scandinavian channels are expanding their comedy offer to attract younger audiences. Local comedies are now broadcast in prime time, on main channels, and this is quite new. Broadcast in Norway on NRK1, Presten follows a radio star that decides to quit his popular radio programme and starts a meaningful life as a priest. It improved the channel’s market share in Individuals 15-24 by 80%.

Furthermore, Scandinavian comedies are also travelling internationally, even if not the same way dramas do. Indeed, as humor is something very specific to a certain culture, comedies tend to be adapted more than exported as finished programs. Emblematic of Scandinavian comedies success, the Norwegian Skam, launched in September 2015, will be adapted in the USA on Facebook Watch and on one of the France Télévisions channels in France. The Finnish dramedy Splitting Up Together was already successfully adapted in Belgium, and an American version is about to premiere on ABC.

Norway, Denmark, Finland and Sweden are very dynamic regions in terms of scripted content. Main channels are producing and offering more and more local content, often able to cross national boundaries to seduce foreign audiences. First led by the “Nordic Noir” trend, Scandinavian series are today successfully diversifying beyond the genre. Crime series remain key in the Nordic scripted landscape, but new narratives are emerging and attracting viewers, attesting of an increasing creativity and a new potential in these territories.

Source: Eurodata TV Worldwide / Relevant Partners