Keshet International has acquired three new series to bolster its Spring 2021 slate: Norwegian comedy-drama, Pørni; Serbian crime drama Grupa (The Group); and Scandinavian documentary series, Surrounded by Enemies. All three new-to-the-market titles were launched at the global distributor’s Spring Preview Event at the London TV Screenings on 8 March. 

Created by and starring Henriette Steenstrup, Pørni – short for Pernille – is a 6×30’ comedy-drama series about a superhero without a cape.  Pørni is a humorously relatable depiction of a working single mum to two daughters, one nephew and a dad who’s having a late-life crisis, who puts everyone else first ahead of herself. Produced by Monster Scripted for Viaplay, Pørni was recently selected and showcased at the 2021 Berlinale as part of their Series Market Presents strand ahead of its Viaplay premiere later this spring.  

Produced by Vision Team for Serbia’s RTS, Grupa (The Group) is a gripping 12×60’ portrait of modern Belgrade, focusing on a police inspector’s investigation as it extends beyond teenage drug dealers into something much more dangerous.  The highest-rated TV show in Serbia of 2020, Grupa (The Group) received its international premiere at Sarajevo Film Festival 2020 as part of its Avant Premiere Gala programme.  

Also for Viaplay comes Surrounded by Enemies, Monster Entertainment’s 6×60’ documentary series investigating the rise of far-right extremism from filmmakers Henrik Evertsson and Jørn Norstøm. Together they investigate right-wing extremist groups from within, engaging individual members in open and honest dialogue about their hatred and distrust of society and democracy to show why this is a growing global issue. 

All three new-to-the-market titles were showcased at KI’s Spring Preview Event on 8 March as part of the London TV Screenings, alongside a slate that includes other scripted and non-scripted titles, and three entertainment formats.

Co-produced by Monster Scripted and X Filme for Viaplay and ZDF, Furia (Fury) is a tense crime thriller set against the backdrop of Oslo and Berlin, as well as rural western Norway. An edge-of-your-seat mix of undercover thriller and prescient political drama, the story centres around Ragna, an undercover operative who penetrates a far-right extremist terror cell, hell-bent on carrying out an atrocity the likes of which Europe has never seen before.  KI is marketing the docu-series Surrounded by Enemies as a companion piece to this crime drama. 

Koda Communications’ Line in the Sand for Keshet 12 is a cautionary tale of obsession, sacrifice and how one detective’s quest for justice shifts his moral compass to the extent that he loses himself. Set 15 years ago on Israel’s golden coast and inspired by real events, this 8×60’ crime drama co-created by Yuval Yefet and director Rotem Shamir is now officially Israel’s highest rating drama since 2015. 

KI’s scripted slate also includes the first international adaption of Keshet 12’s black comedy Stockholm, based on Noa Yedlin’s book which has been successfully produced in Germany by Keshet Tresor Fiction as Unter Freunden Stirbt Man Nicht (You Don’t Die Among Friends). When Hermann’s four best buddies hide his death for five days so that he can be awarded the Nobel Price, their efforts quickly spin out of control… Having launched RTL’s TV Now platform in December to rave reviews, the 4×45’ black comedy will receive its linear TV premiere on VOX later this spring. 

KI’s non-scripted slate is headlined by Top Hat’s landmark feature documentary 9/11: A Twenty-Year Anniversary for BBC One.  Directed by BAFTA Award-winning Arthur Cary, this standalone feature will respect and remember the events of 9/11 by providing a thorough reflection and re-examination of the tragic events 20 years ago that changed the course of human history.  KI has already pre-sold this feature doc into a number of key territories, including Discovery in the US, Canal+ Group in France, TV2 in Denmark, TV4 in Sweden and RTL in the Netherlands. 

On the formats side, KI is showcasing two flexible entertainment titles that have proved themselves popular in the last 12 months: Tuesday’s Child’s compulsively fun play-along gameshow The Hit List, which has just been re-ordered by BBC One for a fourth series and recently adapted for the Netherlands’ NPO by Vincent TV and in Finland for MTV; and Keshet Productions’ relationship reality series Singletown for ITV2, which was picked up by HBO Max and remade in Denmark and Norway for discovery+ this summer, with more deals to be announced soon. 

KI’s final offering is The Perfect Dessert, Keshet 12’s brand new baking competition format from July August Productions that celebrates the art of perfection. Hot on the trend of home baking, here the goal is to create the perfect dessert – one that not only looks like a work of art, it also tastes like it too. The series is expected to premiere in Israel later this summer.