EXCLUSIVE: Snabba Cash author Jens Lapidus and star Alexander Abdallah are combining on a Viaplay TV adaptation of the former’s novel Paradis City.
Abdallah is leading alongside Julia Ragnarsson (End of Summer) and Lapidus, who penned the Stockholm Noir trilogy that includes Snabba Cash, is an exec producer on the six-parter.
Paradis City, which has sold more than 5M copies globally, follows a Home Secretary who delivers a speech in a deprived area and is kidnapped by masked men. Security Service agent Fredrika (Ragnarsson) then turns to Emir (Abdallah), a former MMA fighter facing a life sentence in prison, with an ultimatum – go undercover in Paradis City and find the Home Secretary if you want to see your daughter again. Félice Jankell (The Playlist) and Lancelot Ncube (The Restaurant) co-star with more to be announced in due course.
The Snabba Cash TV adaptation was also penned by Lapidus and Oskar Söderlund and has been one of Netflix’s most popular Scandi titles, making a star out of Abdallah’s co-lead Evin Ahmad.
“My novel is an attempt to say something about our times,” said Lapidus of Paradis City. “I’m so happy that it’s becoming a series on Viaplay, and it has been a pleasure to follow the development process and all the preparations.”
Filippa Wallestam, Viaplay’s Group Chief Commercial Officer, Nordics, said the streamer “continues to set ourselves apart through the high quality and broad appeal of our storytelling.”
Viaplay is ordering around one original TV show or movie per week at present and has been rolling out to key territories such as the U.S. High-profile originals incoming include a Ronja the Robber’s Daughter adaptation from The Bridge creator Hans Rosenfeldt.
Paradis City is directed by Fenar Ahmad (Darkland) and produced by Strive Stories. Björn Paqualin (Occupied) is lead screenwriter, with Michaela Hamilton and Oliver Dixon as episode writers. It is produced by Nicklas Wikström Nicastro (Snabba Cash) and Caroline Landerberg (The Dark Heart) for Strive Stories, in co-production with Viaplay and in partnership with Paprika Studios. Oskar Arulf serves as executive producer for Viaplay Group. Global sales are handled by Viaplay Content Distribution.
