EXCLUSIVE: There’s a major new Scandi drama in the works. Johanna Hedman’s bestselling Swedish novel The Trio is being adapted for streamer SkyShowtime. We can also reveal the headline cast, which includes August Wittgenstein (The Crown), Felix Sandman (Sommartider), Seth Manteus (Cherries) alongside Rebecka Harp, and share the first image from the show. It is the latest local original for SkyShowtime, the European streamer co-owned by Comcast and Paramount.
Sweden’s SF Studios is producing The Trio and the adaptation of Hedman’s book will run to six episodes. It will play across SkyShowtime, meaning a launch in over 20 territories including Sweden. Local public broadcaster SVT is also on board and will air it on home turf in a later window.
Billed as a “story about love, sex and passion – a reflection of the meaning of life and the relentless passage of time,” The Trio follows middle-aged Hugo (Wittgenstein). When he is approached by the daughter of both of his childhood loves, he is thrown back in time to a moment when his younger self (Manteus) is about to start university and has moved to Stockholm and to stay with the Stiller family. There he meets Thora (Harp), the daughter of the house, and August (Sandman), her constant companion and occasional lover. It is the beginning of a deep friendship and a whirlwind love affair. It is also the reason why Hugo never moved on.
Kai Finke, Chief Content Officer at SkyShowtime, said the Swedish drama breaks new ground for the SVOD. “This series is a passionate and fearless exploration of desire and connection. The Trio is unlike anything else we’ve commissioned and is exactly the kind of fresh storytelling we’re proud to champion. We can’t wait for audiences to meet these thrilling characters.”
Anders Hazelius will direct from Veronica Zacco’s script. SF Studios is making the series in co-production with SkyShowtime, SVT, Film Stockholm and Night Train Media. Eccho Rights, part of Night Train, has international sales.
“I fell in love with the medium of film through grand, epic love stories,” said Hazelius. “With the series The Trio, I finally have the chance to direct one. An intoxicating, passionate, and bittersweet tale of the conflict between the longing for love and the yearning for freedom. I want The Trio to shimmer with life and feel like a sun-warmed stone you want to carry with you.”
SkyShowtime gets a raft of glossy Hollywood titles from its parent companies, notably the unstoppable Yellowstone franchise. It has added to these with locally commissioned fare such as Schmeichel, a doc about the Danish goalkeeper, comedy series Nails out of Spain, and crime shows Śleboda and Glina from Poland.