Fast-growing European streaming service Viaplay has greenlit its first Polish-language original series: the crime tale Polish Muderesses, the psychological action drama Black Dog, and domestic abuse drama Freedom of the Swallow, Viaplay parent company Nordic Entertainment Group (NENT Group) announced August 3, timed to the launch of Viaplay’s Polish SVOD service.
Polish Murderesses is an adaptation of Katarzyna Bonda’s bestselling true crime book of the same name, and tells the stories of a diverse group of women with one thing in common: they are all killers. NENT Group’s Paprika Studios Poland will produce the series.
Black Dog is a six-part series that follows veterans returning from conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, Poland’s largest combat operations since World War 2. The former soldiers suffer from unemployment, physical ailments, and PTSD while they watch their former commanders get rich via corruption. Created by Artur Kowalewski, producer of HBO Europe’s The Border, Black Dog is being produced by ATM Grupa.
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Freedom of the Swallow is inspired by Paula Er’s debut novel of the same name and uses an innovative narrative structure to depict the devastating impact of domestic abuse. The series follows Olga, whose apparently happy marriage conceals a darker truth. Each of the six episodes is told from the perspective of a different character whose lives intertwine with Olga’s. Written by Agnieszka Kruk, Freedom of the Swallow is produced by Opus TV.
All three series will screen exclusively on Viaplay Poland, the SVOD service which launched today. NENT operates SVOD services across nine European countries and plans to bow a U.S. version of Viaply in late 2021.
Based in Scandinavia, Viaplay has become a major commissioner of local-language originals, backing series such as hit Norweigan crime procedural Wisting, German-Swedish co-production Furia, and the upcoming big-budget Euro sci-fi epic The Swarm.
“Our storytelling has won prizes and thrilled audiences worldwide, and we’re so excited to apply our unique skills to developing Polish Viaplay Originals,” said NENT Group Chief Content OfficerFilippa Wallestam. “We want to play a positive, long-term role in Poland’s creative industry, and will work with the best talents – whether they’re famous today or will be famous tomorrow. As these first three commissions show, our stories will be different and thought-provoking as well as entertaining.”
In 2019, NENT Group set up U.K.-based television joint venture with FilmNation Entertainment and took a minority stake in U.S. studio Picturestart — set up by former Summit Entertainment President Erik Feig — with the goal of produced two major English-language features per year.
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