Carl Martin Nordby Photo: Carl Martin Nordby

Anna Bache-Wiig and Siv Rajendram Eliassen nominated for the Nordic Series Script Award

Nordisk Film & TV Fond and the Göteborg Film Festival have announced the nominees for the Nordic Series Script Award, an accolade recognizing the main writer(s) of a Nordic drama series that premiered in the previous year. Five drama series from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden have been nominated for the prize.

Anna Bache-Wiig and Siv Rajendram Eliassen are nominated for Quisling, a five-part series about Vidkun Quisling, the man responsible for one of the greatest betrayals during World War II.

The Quisling project includes both a feature film and a TV series for TV2, with the TV series delving deeper into the stories surrounding Quisling. The film Quisling: The Final Days premiered in 2024 to outstanding reviews and was shortlisted as Norway’s entry for the Oscar for Best International Feature Film.

The winners of the Nordic Series Script Award will be announced at an awards ceremony on the evening of January 28, 2025.

‘Close Your Eyes’ among most sold titles in Iceland 2024

Close Your Eyes, the fourth installment in Yrsa Sigurdardóttir’s bestselling Black Ice series, released in late November, has secured the No. 2 spot among the most sold fiction titles in Iceland for 2024.

Jo Nesbø, Pascal Engman, and Engman & Selåker on the Norwegian bestseller lists

Jo Nesbø’s new standalone novel, Wolf Hour, published just yesterday, went straight to No. 1 on both the fiction and e-book bestseller lists. Meanwhile, Pascal Engman’s Bestseller and X claimed the No. 1 and No. 2 spots in the paperback category. Additionally, The Night Wanderer, by Pascal Engman and Johannes Selåker, secured the No. 5 position on the fiction list.

Photo: Rickard L. Eriksson; Jarli & Jordan; Anton Soggiu; Christopher Helberg; Ewa-Marie Rundquist

The complete Norwegian bestseller lists of 2024

The complete Norwegian bestseller lists of 2024 have been released, and Pascal Engman dominates the paperback list. Tierra del Fuego takes the top spot, while The Widows comes in at No. 3, closely followed by Femicide and Cocaine taking the No. 4 and No. 5 spot, respectively. Meanwhile, Jo Nesbø’s The Kingdomsecures the No. 2 position on the same list.

Jørn Lier Horst’s Dry Land claims the No. 1 spot on both the crime and fiction bestseller lists. Jo Nesbø’s Blood Ties follows closely, taking the No. 2 and No. 3 positions in the same categories. Meanwhile, Lars Kepler’s The Sleepwalker ranks No. 3 in the crime category and No. 5 in fiction. The Scream by newly formed duo Jørn Lier Horst and Jan-Erik Fjell lands at No. 4 on the crime list.

‘Wolf Hour’ published in Norway

When you neither have looks, money nor charm, you must work harder than the competition. It isn’t more complicated than that. So that’s what Bob Oz does. Both as a detective at the Minneapolis police force, and when he’s picking up women.

Bob Oz never gives up. Not even when he’s suspended for violence on the job. When arms dealer Marco Dante is the victim of an assassination attempt, Bob refuses to follow the police chief’s guidelines. There’s something about it that reminds Bob of the case he’d rather forget.

In Jo Nesbø’s new standalone, Wolf Hour, he sets the action in the American Midwest in 2016. A hard-boiled police novel in the best Nesbø style – from an America that’s on the edge of a precipice.

‘Grave of Secrets’ No. 4 in Sweden

To round out 2024, the final weekly Swedish bestseller lists have just been published. Kristina Ohlsson’s Grave of Secrets, the thrilling second installment in The Bohus Coast trilogy, claims the No. 4 spot on the children’s books list.

‘Four Minutes Past Midnight’ and ‘Fifty-five Meters Below the Surface’ selected as two of the best children’s books of 2024

The Flemish newspaper Het Nieuwsblad listed Conny Palmkvist among their favorites, naming Four Minutes Past Midnight as one of the past year’s best children’s books in the Netherlands. Their nomination reads:

“A magic realism story that, with its poetic and reflective language, portrays how a child tries to grasp the fleeting nature of time.”

The Swedish newspaper Barometern has also included Conny Palmkvist’s work, selecting Fifty-five Meters Below the Surface one of their favorite children’s books of the year 2024. The newspaper offers the following review of the book:

“Conny Palmkvist is a master at writing with ease and humor about difficult and hard-hitting subjects.”

‘Cry Wolf’ to premiere on TV4 Play

Though Cry Wolf already saw its world premiere at the Stockholm Film Festival, it is now time for its long-awaited local premiere on TV4 Play, on December 25.

One of the largest newspapers in Sweden, Svenska Dagbladet, has already described it as “This Christmas’ best Swedish crime drama” and “A series that breathes quality in every detail”. Cry Wolf isn’t just a nerve-wracking thriller; it is also full of mystery – and a large dose of dark comedy that sets the show apart from other Swedish crime dramas.

Cry Wolf is written by Oskar Söderlund, directed by Jesper Ganslandt and is based on Hans Rosenfeldt’s acclaimed novel of the same name.

The six-part series stars Eliot Sumner (No Time to Die), Eva Melander (Border) and Henrik Dorsin (Triangle of Sadness).

Pascal Engman, Jo Nesbø, and Jørn Lier Horst among the most sold in Norway 2024

The official Norwegian bestseller lists of 2024 are out. Among the most sold titles across all genres, Pascal Engman is featured with four books in the top 6. Tierra del Fuego, the first installment in the Vanessa Frank series, comes in at No. 2, while The Widows and Femicide take the No. 4 and No. 5 spot, respectively. The Kingdom, Jo Nesbø’s lauded thriller, seizes the No. 3 spot.

On the list of newly published titles of the year, Jørn Lier Horst’s latest William Wisting title, Dry Land, claims the No. 4 spot, while Jo Nesbø’s Blood Ties comes in at No. 5.

Netflix releases trailer for ‘The Electric State’

Netflix has released the official trailer for The Electric State, the Russo brothers‘ adaptation of Simon Stålenhag‘s narrative art book, which premieres exclusively on the streaming platform on March 14 2025.

The Electric State follows a young woman (played by Millie Bobby Brown) who embarks on a perilous journey across the robot-ravaged US, accompanied by a mysterious toy robot and a roguish smuggler (Chris Pratt). Together, they’ll unravel a mechanical conspiracy at the center of the American heartland.

“The story felt like a fairy tale to us,” Anthony Russo said about the novel.

“I’m blown away by the movie,” Stålenhag told Netflix. “It was an amazing experience watching things that I have drawn come to life this way. What resonated most with me was the emotional core of the movie, which is the need for family. Even though the movie has changed genre from the book a bit, that main core is still the same and has been expanded on beautifully.”

The Russos and writers Markus and McFeely were in communication with Stålenhag throughout the film’s development, and he was pleased to see the creative liberties they took to make the film stand on its own.“They asked me questions about the timeline and backstory, but it’s their work,” he said. “They’re the best in the world at what they do, and to see them work on a project that comes from me, it’s beyond satisfying, surreal. I am so positively surprised by the end result.”

The star-studded cast also consists of Ke Huy Quan, Jason Alexander and Woody Norman, with Giancarlo Esposito and Stanley Tucci. Mackie, Woody Harrelson, Brian Cox, Jenny Slate, Hank Azaria, Colman Domingo and Alan Tudyk voice the robots.

Read the full article in Tudum by clicking “Read More” below.

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