HBO Europe to film Fredrik Backman’s Beartown
January 28, 2019 10.52 Europe/London By Julian Clover
HBO Europe has given the green light to the production of Beartown.
The adaptation of internationally-acclaimed Swedish author Fredrik Backman’s work will be directed by award-winning filmmaker Peter Grönlund.
Award-winning Peter Grönlund will direct the five-part one-hour series for Filmlance International, part of Endemol Shine Group.
The cast includes Ulf Stenberg and Aliette Opheim.
The small town Beartown is slowly losing ground to the ever-encroaching trees surrounding it, but with the junior ice-hockey team having a shot at winning the national semi-finals, all the dreams of this place now rest on the shoulders of a handful of teenage boys. It becomes the catalyst for a violent act that sends ripples through the small community.
Antony Root, EVP Programming and Production, HBO Europe, says: “Fredrik Backman’s novel combines an utterly compelling story, characters that jump off the page, a unique setting, and the exhilaration and drama of competitive sport, while exploring deeply resonant themes of community, masculinity, youth and hope. In short, it’s dream material for an HBO drama. We’re thrilled to be working with such an exceptional creative team to bring it to the screen.”
Beartown will be filmed on location in the north of Sweden early 2019. The series will premiere day-and-date on HBO Nordic and across HBO Europe territories.