The BBC & MHz Choice Board Sweden’s Latest ‘Wallander’ Series

The BBC and North American service MHz Choice have acquired rights to a new Swedish-language Wallander series, bringing the detective drama to audiences in the UK, the US and Canada. The sales add to the show’s international distribution and continue the screen history of a character whose earlier adaptations aired on the BBC.

Gustaf Skarsgård stars as Kurt Wallander, aged 42 and facing a separation, estrangement from his daughter and demanding cases. The first season consists of three 90-minute films; it was commissioned by TV4 with several partners and is based on Henning Mankell’s novels, which have sold more than 40 million copies and been translated into over 40 languages. BBC Four and BBC iPlayer will carry the UK release, while Banijay Rights has also sold the series to broadcasters in the Netherlands, Belgium, Croatia and Lithuania.