Netflix nabs Swedish original from The Bridge scribe

Netflix has commissioned its first original series from Sweden, which has the head writer from The Bridge, Camilla Ahlgren, attached.

Störst av Allt (Quicksand) is based on a novel from Malin Persson Giolito that’s been translated into 26 languages.

The story follows the trial of a normal student girl following a mass shooting a prep school, as the events of the tragic day reveal private details about her relationship with her lover and his family.

Swedish producer FLX (The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared) is attached, with Ahlgren writing and Pontus Edgren producing.

Netflix has been increasingly active on the international originals front – ordering shows from Europe, Asia and Latin America in recent months.

While its first original series, Lilyhammer, was a coproduction with Norway’s NRK back in 2012 and is working with Miso Film on Danish drama The Rain, the SVOD service has surprisingly kept its powder dry in Sweden.

Last year, it began discussions with Swedish producers over potential scripted originals, and Quicksand is the result of that process.

“Sweden has a tradition of great crime literature and series and we’ve been looking for something special in this area,” said Erik Barmack, VP of international original series at Netflix. “We are excited to bring Malin’s great novel to life and to work with Camilla, one of the best TV writers globally.”

Ahlgren headed the writing team that brought Hans Rosenfeld’s seminal Nordic noir The Bridge to SVT in Sweden and DR in Denmark.

She said: “I want to tell this story from the main character Maja’s perspective; her story raises questions about guilt, responsibility, punishment and redemption. It holds a mirror up to our time whilst also serving as both a suspenseful thriller and a moving love story.”

Quicksand goes into production in 2018 ahead of a global launch.