Sky has greenlit its co-produced version of Scandinavian drama The Bridge, which it claims will be the first bilingual drama project made by broadcasters in France and the UK.

The 10 x 60-minute The Tunnel will be a Sky Atlantic and Canal+ co-production from Kudos Film and TV and Shine France Films, in association with Shine-owned Swedish producer Filmlance, which made the original series. Production will begin soon for TX later this year.

The drama is adapted by an Anglo-French writing team led by Spooks and No Angels scriptwriter Ben Richards from the series for Danish broadcaster DR and Sweden’s SVT, which aired on BBC4 last year.

The new series is set against the backdrop of Europe in crisis and begins with a prominent French politician found dead in the Channel Tunnel on the border between the UK and France, forcing UK detective Karl Roebuck and French counterpart Elise Wassermann to investigate together.

Set in Folkestone and Calais, casting for the series has not yet been confirmed.

The series was commissioned by Sky head of drama Anne Mensah. The Bridge, a Scandinavian import, was a hit on BBC4 last year and Canal+ director of fiction Fabrice De La Patellière.

Mensah said the series promises to be “exceptional”, adding: “The state and future of the European Union has never been more part of the public conversation. It is exciting to feel that Sky Atlantic can be a space to explore what is important to our viewers through bold and innovative narrative.”

This story was first published by Broadcast.

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