Cannes – Europe’s leader in production, rights acquisition, distribution and international sales of TV series and feature films, STUDIOCANAL, has sold breakthrough Swedish-French drama Midnight Sun, a CANAL+/SVT/Filmpool Nord coproduction, to a host of international broadcasters.

Produced by Atlantique Productions and Nice Drama, the 8 x 1-hour thriller series has been secured ahead of its premiere by ZDF in Germany, SBS in Australia, HOT in Israel, NRK in Norway, DR in Denmark, RUV in Iceland, MTV3 in Finland, VRT in Belgium, and Lumière in Benelux.

Starring Leïla Bekhti (The Prophet) and Gustaf Hammarsten (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), Midnight Sun will first air on 23 October on SVT and later this year on CANAL+ under the Création Originale brand.

Susanne Mueller, Executive Director Feature Films and International Co-productions at ZDF, says: “Midnight Sun is a wonderfully crafted, nail-biting thriller series and will be an absolute highlight in our 2017 schedule. It is a perfect fit for our Sunday late night crime slot, where we air the finest European crime drama. Midnight Sun is the next big Scandi-series with a twist after our successful co-productions like The Bridge, Modus and also the upcoming Springtide.”

Created by Mårlind & Stein (Bron/Broen), based on an idea by Henrik Jansson-Schweizer and Patrick Nebout, Midnight Sun is a high concept thriller set in a small mining community in remote northern Sweden where a series of brutal murders – which contrast starkly against the beauty of the landscape and the ethereal daylight – conceal a secret conspiracy. Midnight Sun received the Audience Award at SeriesMania in Paris in April.