Icelandic international star Aníta Breim (“The Tudors,” “The Minister,” “Journey to the Center of the Earth”) is making her debut as a creator and writer with the drama series “As Long as We Live” turning on love, lust and longing.
Now in development, the six-part series, which is produced by Glassriver for Iceland’s Channel 2, has just been picked up for global distribution by Eccho Rights.
Writer-creator Briem and producer Hörður Rúnarsson will be pitching the show in-person at the Göteborg Film Festival’s TV Drama Vision confab, which runs Feb 2-3.
Briem will be toplining the show as Beta, a former queen of pop, now a struggling mom in a stale marriage, longing for the thrills of her past life. When a young man enters her home and introduces her and her husband to flirting games, the couple’s relationship gets rekindled, as they tread a path of lust and excitement. But can their marriage survive?
Briem told Variety that the story is inspired by her personal experience. “The stories around us give us such an important guide. An inner compass,” she says.
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“Most of the love stories in our culture, take us all the way up to the altar. But then what? What happens 10 or 20 years in? When I found myself in this chapter of my life, I felt a painful absence of stories about this subject. Some hints that I wasn’t broken, a misfit or a bad person for feeling the way I did. Sometimes that’s all we need. Just to know we’re not alone.”
For her the show is ultimately “an ode to love, to marriage, in whatever form you choose to have it. It’s an ode to curiosity, to the spark in us. An ode to the lust for life. “
Rúnarsson calls “As Long as We Live” “a passionate Nordic love story with hooks and twists,” which is “unique in many ways, exhilarating while still grounded and relatable.”
“I can’t wait to see Aníta, one of our top actresses, bring the story to life on the screens and set your world on fire,” he adds.
Eccho Rights’ managing partner Nicola Söderlund said: “The series has an edgy and fresh tone that we believe will have a very strong appeal for the international market. Modern and urban relationships have always been a point of curiosity in the Nordic lifestyle, which is actually quite individualistic. We think that series like ”As Long As We Live” are creating a brand of their own, ‘Nordic Love.’”
Filming on the Icelandic series is due to start this summer.
One of Iceland’s fastest expanding production powerhouses, Glassriver is behind the standout Berlinale Series’ crime show “Black Sands,” which premiered on Iceland’s Channel 2 on Dec. 25. From acclaimed director Baldvin Z (“Case,” “Trapped”) the series is repped by All3Media.
Three other Glassriver premium series are due to premiere this year.
The dramedy “Ordinary People,” repped internationally by REinvent, will be returning for a fourth season on Iceland’s streamer Síminn later this month.
Next up on the Icelandic OTT service is “My Wedding,” a sequel to the dark comedy “My Funeral,” licenced by Dynamic Television to ARTE for France and Germany. Þórhallur Sigurðsson reprises his role as the grump old Benedikt. After managing to postpone his death, we see him making plans for his wedding.
Meanwhile the medical drama “Fractures” will launch on pubcaster RÚV in the spring. The long-running series from BAFTA-nominated producer-turned-director Eva Sigurðardóttir is sold by REinvent.
Launched in 2016 to bring engaging Icelandic stories and top talent to the global stage, Glassriver is co-owned by helmer Baldvin Z (“Case,” “Life in a Fishbowl”), writer Andri Óttarsson (“Black Sands,” “Stella Blómkvist”), producers Abby Hafliðadóttir (“Fractures,” “Case”), Andri Omarsson (“Black Sands,” “Journey”) and Hordur Rúnarsson (“Fractures,” “Black Sands”).
