The BBC and RTL have bought “The Investigation,” the upcoming drama about the murder of Swedish journalist Kim Wall. It comes from Tobias Lindholm, the writer-director behind Oscar-nominated picture “A War.”
Lindholm’s TV credits include Nordic hit “Borgen” and Netflix drama “Mindhunter.” Fremantle’s Miso Film is on production duty. Fremantle is distributing and closed the U.K. and German deals, meaning it has pre-sold the series to major free-TV broadcasters in Europe’s two largest markets. It will be targeting more deals on the show at Mipcom in Cannes, next week.
Six-part series “The Investigation” follows the complex investigation carried out by Jens Møller, the head of homicide for the Copenhagen Police, surrounding the murder of Wall. She was a freelance Swedish journalist who boarded a submarine to interview its owner, Peter Madsen. She was subsequently killed and entrepreneur Madsen faced a highly publicized trial and was convicted of her murder.
Casting was announced, Wednesday, alongside the international deals. Søren Malling (“Borgen”) play Møller, alongside Pilou Asbæk (“Game of Thrones”) as the prosecutor Jakob Buch-Jepsen, and Pernilla August (“Best Intentions”) and Rolf Lassgård (“Downsizing”) as Wall’s parents.
“There is a great deal of responsibility in choosing to tell stories about events from the real world,” Lindholm said. “Therefore, I am more than grateful for all the support I’ve received, including some of Denmark’s and Sweden’s most talented and acclaimed actors.”
The BBC has not decided which channel “The Investigation” will play on. It has traditionally put non-English-drama on BBC Four, but is widening the breadth of the shows that premiere on its iPlayer streaming service. It also about to transmit “Giri/Haji,” a drama that is 50% Japanese language, on BBC Two, indicating a greater willingness to air foreign language scripted on its flagship channels.
The Investigation is produced by Miso Film in co-production with Outline Film for TV 2 Danmark, Swedish pubcaster SVT and Scandi streamer Viaplay.