EXCLUSIVE: The prestige Nordic Noir adaptation of Max Seeck’s bestselling Finnish novel The Faithful Reader is gathering pace as Paris-based powerhouse Mediwan and UK director Danny Cannon have come on board the English-language series.
Cannon, whose credits include the feature Judge Dredd, the CSI franchise, Gotham, and Pennyworth, will serve as lead director and executive producer.
Mediawan Rights will handle international sales and distribution and act as co-producer alongside Mediawan Finland. MTV Finland has joined as anchoring commissioner.
The season will be based on the character-driven psychological thriller in which Seeck’s detective Jessica Niemi pursues a copycat killer and is forced to confront the past and uncover a dark ancestral secret. Niemi is a character in a series of Seeck’s books.
This is the first series on which Stampede Ventures serves as the studio. CEO Greg Silverman and Amelia Mysko are executive producers alongside John-Paul Sarni, and Gudrun Giddings. Mediawan Finland will co-produce and oversee all physical production.
US-based Giddings brought the property to Sarni who optioned the rights as Stampede’s head of international content and IP acquisitions. The studio ultimately purchased the book, published in 2020 as The Witch Hunter in the US and US.
“I absolutely loved Max Seeck’s The Faithful Reader book series. Jessica Niemi is an incredible character that I cannot wait to cast,” said Cannon. “The complexity and dark, beautiful world of the books is something I am excited to realise.”
Benjamin Lepetit, Mediawan Rights head of acquisitions, said: “We are thrilled to be part of the adaptation of The Faithful Reader, a best-selling thriller with outstanding commercial potential. This project reflects our ambition to bring powerful stories to the screen alongside trusted partners and visionary talents such as Danny Cannon. It is also a clear illustration of the Mediawan Group’s synergies, bringing together the expertise of Mediawan Rights and Mediawan Finland to deliver an adaptation with true creative and international ambition.”
Giddings said, “I am beyond excited to have the extraordinary talent of Danny Cannon on board and the powerhouse Mediawan joining us globally and locally in Finland.”
No comments yet