Fox’s production arm still hot for Scandi drama

Fox Television Studios, the cable production division of the Hollywood studio, is developing a number of series based on Scandinavian formats. The news comes despite AMC cancelling its US remake of The Killing.

President David Madden told TBI that FtvS is in talks with a number of Scandinavian authors as it looks to take advantage of the buzz around Nordic noir. Despite the cancellation of the US version of Forbrydelsen, Scandinavian dramas are still hot, with cable network FX recently commissioning a US version of The Bridge.

“Many people are looking hard at Scandinavia. I’ve spent some time in Copenhagen and we’ve got a lot of things that are based on existing Scandinavian formats. We’re trying to make deals with several Scandinavian authors,” he says.

FtvS produces series including USA Network’s Burn Notice and FX’s The Shield and has also been ramping up its comedy output with series including IFC’s forthcoming Maron, based on Marc Maron’s WTF podcasts, and USA Network’s Denis Leary-produced remake of ambulance comedy Sirens.

FtvS also has projects in development at premium cable network HBO, making it one of the first studios to work with the Time Warner-owned broadcaster, which usually produces its series in-house. “HBO has been difficult in the past for outside studios, but, of late, they’re more receptive. We’ve got stuff that we’re working on there,” he added.