Hot Picks: Conflict

Conflict is a political and military thriller that initially plays out against the backdrop of Finland’s spectacular landscape. With a total budget of €12m (£10.25m) across six episodes, it’s an ambitious attempt to put broadcaster MTV and Finnish drama on the global map.

The story begins when a shady military group takes a Finnish seaside town hostage, just as the local community is preparing to celebrate midsummer’s eve. The series explores the phenomenon of ‘proxy wars’, where an unknown party sets out to provoke widescale conflict. In this case, the attackers are mercenaries aiming to sew discord across Europe.

With plans for a three-series story arc, the second of which will take place in the dark Nordic winter, producer/director Aku Louhimies and producer Andrei Alén stress that Conflict is “not a typical Finnish drama series”.

Louhimies says: “We are creating a TV series for a global audience, both artistically and in terms of value and quality. It is a series that explores a peaceful modern society that finds itself under threat – unfortunately, this is a megatrend.”

Keshet International vice-president of sales, US, Canada, UK and Nordics,

Fleur Wheatley says it came in right at the start of the project, having tracked MTV’s shows in development.

With the first episode set to be premiered at the London TV Screenings, she expects buyers to be blown away by the ambition and timeliness of the series: “The artistic values, the quality, the cast all make this a universal project. It is shot in English, Finnish and Swedish, so it has something of the feel of Narcos about it. I think the idea of civilisation coming under attack is something audiences can relate to, and will resonate with buyers.”

Wheatley stresses that it is not just a military epic. “There are large-scale combat events in the series,” she says. “But what really makes it so immersive is that it is also a character-led story, where we get to see how particular individuals cope. There is a lot of focus on the young female president and also on a female student who joins a guerrilla resistance movement. The fact that there are strong female leads will also be attractive to buyers.”

Aside from the creative ambition of the show, Wheatley believes the strength of the package will appeal to buyers. “It’s a very international cast, with actors from productions like Tenet, Vikings, Wheel Of Time and Rings Of Power. Aku Louhimies, meanwhile, is one of Finland’s top directors, with credits including Unknown Soldier, Rebellion and Inheritance. Then there is that huge budget, which gives the series an immersive and authentic feel.”

In terms of likely customers, Wheatley says: “I could see it working on a global streaming platform, because it is so international and has such amazing characters. That doesn’t mean, however, that we couldn’t carve out certain territories. We’ll talk to all our buyers about Conflict.”

In terms of the future of the show, Wheatley says the producers are not just looking at the three primary series, “but also spin-offs”, adding: “There are some really compelling characters in the main series that could become the focal point for other stories in the same universe.”