Helsinki Syndrome, a new conspiracy thriller from Finnish producer Fisher King (Bordertown), has sold across Scandinavia and the Netherlands ahead of its national premiere.
Created by Bordertown showrunners Mikko Oikkonen and Juuso Syrjä, the eight-part drama series is billed as a modern-day Robin Hood story. It stars Peter Franzén (Vikings) as Elias Karo, a desperate man who takes four renowned journalists hostage, hoping to force them to reveal the crimes and corruption of the government and banking officials that Karo has uncovered.
Beta, which is selling the show worldwide and introduced it to international buyers at the Berlinale Series program of the Berlin Film Festival this week, has closed deals for Helsinki Syndrome with Denmark’s national broadcaster DR, Norway’s NRK and SVT in Sweden, as well as with Dutch public broadcaster NPO. Negotiations are underway with multiple other broadcasters worldwide, the firm says.
Oikkonen penned the screenplay to the series, with Syrjä directing. Fisher King produced in co-production with Panache Productions, YLE, NDR and French-German network Arte.
Fisher King is part of the Beta Nordic Studio group (BNS), the umbrella organization, launched in 2019, for Beta’s production activities in the Nordics. BNS recently acquired a major stake in Swedish production company Unlimited Stories (Missing People).
