Netflix has recently teamed up with the The Killing creator, Søren Sveistrup, for an upcoming original Danish series adaptation of his bestselling novel, The Chestnut Man— a police thriller involving the investigation of a murderer who leaves matchsticks and chestnuts at crime scenes.
The streaming giant will work in direct partnership with Sveistrup’s SAM Productions, Studiocanal, and Vivendi Canal Plus Group. The focus of the adaptation will heavily follow the noir-influenced literary work, while diving into creative license territory as the series tracks the two Copenhagen detectives involved in the case.
“Netflix has shown a strong, genuine interest in my book and I’m excited about the deal and confident that Netflix will be the perfect place for [it],” Sveistrup commented in regards to the news.
So far only six episodes have been confirmed, all at the 50-minute mark. In the past few years, the streamer has picked up the international distribution rights to Scandinavian shows such as the TV 2 produced Borderliner and Miso Film’s The Rain, which will complete its third season next year.
“After the success of The Rain, we are excited to announce our next Danish Original which will be building on the great tradition of Nordic Noir,” Tesha Crawford, director of Netflix International Originals in Northern Europe announced. “We were instantly compelled by the strong story and Søren’s voice. We are happy to continue the collaboration with SAM Productions and are looking forward to bringing ‘The Chestnut Man’ to our global audience.”
Sveistrup, Adam Price, and Meta Louise Foldager Sørensen’s SAM Productions, was co-founded in 2014 and is best known for the production work behind Ragnarok, another Netflix Norwegian original set to debut in 2020. Production is slated to begin in 2020. The Chestnut Man is currently set to debut exclusively on Netflix worldwide, although no premiere date has been confirmed.
“We are looking very much forward to bringing Søren’s amazing international bestseller to the screen, and we are very excited and proud to announce the continuation of our good collaboration with Netflix,” further added Meta Louise Foldager Sørensen. “The novel has been translated into 28 languages and it’s being published in more than 50 countries, we are therefore thrilled to be able to release this original Danish story, in the Danish language, worldwide with Netflix as our partner.”