North American streamer Topic and SBS Australia clinch the deal with ZDF Studios’ for Agatha Christie’s Hjerson

ZDF Studios announces a raft of global sales

Mainz, October 18th, 2022

Agatha Christie’s Hjerson (8 x 44’, 4 x 88), a classic whodunnit based on a character from Agatha Christie’s world, has been snapped up by streamer Topic and Australian channel SBS as well as a wide range of global broadcasters and VOD platforms.

Securing the exclusive rights from ZDF Studios for Agatha Christie’s Hjerson for the US and Canada, Topic is the streaming service dedicated to crime and suspense thrillers from First Look Entertainment, offering its viewers a slate of content from over 40 countries including award-winning originals and exclusives such as Nordic-noir thriller The Killing, BAFTA® winner The Missing Children, and Emmy® nominee The Accidental Wolf. SBS, a multicultural and multilingual Australian broadcaster has also closed an exclusive deal for the drama series.

Beyond North America and Australia, ZDF Studios has licensed Agatha Christie’s Hjerson to VOD platforms Google Play, iTunes, Amazon, Deutsche Telekom and Huawei for German speaking territories as well as Germany’s public broadcaster, ZDF. Other buyers include Viasat World, which covers Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine, Croatia and the whole of Southeast Europe, Keshet (Israel), NHK (Japan), VR Films (India), LRT (Lithuania) and Walter Presents, Walter Iuzzolino’s Global Series Network for UK and Ireland.

Commissioned by TVC/C More, Agatha Christie’s Hjerson is a playful, mystery drama with a contemporary meta twist. Winner of MIPDrama’s prestigious Coup de Coeur, this is the first time an offshoot character from a Christie novel has been adapted into a television series. Johan Rheborg stars in the leading role as detective Sven Hjerson, and his sidekick Klara Sandberg is played by Hanna Alström.

Former investigator Sven Hjerson has solved some of the toughest cases in Swedish crime history. Now retired from the limelight, living on the fringes of society, his life mainly consists of daily routines, a vegan diet, vinyl record collecting and an unhealthy appetite for gossip.

Klara Sandberg is a reality TV producer living with her partner Niklas and their daughter Olivia. Her career has stagnated and she is looking for something new – is this really all that life has to offer? When she manages to successfully pitch the idea for a new TV show starring Hjerson, it could just be the solution to all of her problems. There’s just one snag – she’s never actually met Sven Hjerson...

Yi Qiao, Director Drama, ZDF Studios said: “I’m delighted that this excellent drama, which sees a spin off character from the Christie universe come to life for the first time, has found its way to North America and Australia. With Agatha Christie being world famous as one of the best-selling authors of all time, there is a never-ending demand for her work to brighten the small screen.”

“It’s not every day that we get to introduce our subscribers to a new Agatha Christie detective,” said Jennifer Liang, Vice President, Programming Strategy, Acquisitions & Sales, Topic. “We are thrilled to welcome Swedish investigator Sven Hjerson to our global collection of elevated crime and suspense programs and excited to continue our successful collaboration with ZDF Studios.”

Haidee Ireland, Channel Manager for SBS On Demand & SBS World Movies said: “SBS is home to distinctive storytelling and premium drama, with a vast collection of insightful stories and inspiring entertainment available on our streaming service, SBS On Demand. We’re passionate about offering viewers content from Australia and across the globe, and thrilled to be offering Agatha Christie's Hjerson on the platform. Agatha Christie’s work never fails to entice audiences, and this fresh-take puts a modern lens on a classic tale. This whodunnit is sure to keep viewers guessing and on the edge of their seats, and is a welcome addition to our catalogue of classic and contemporary mystery thrillers.”

Agatha Christie’s Hjerson was produced by Patrik Andersson and Ulf Synnerholm at BR•F for TV4/C More, in co-production with ZDF, Nadcon and the Government of Åland, and in close collaboration with ZDF Studios and Agatha Christie Ltd. The series was produced with support from Nordisk Film & TV fund. The series was created and developed by Patrik Gyllström at BR•F and was written by Patrik Gyllström, Björn Paqualin, Jakob Beckman, Martin Luuk and Aron Levander. It was directed by Lisa James Larsson and Lisa Farzaneh.

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About ZDF Studios

ZDF Studios was originally founded in 1993 as ‘ZDF Enterprises’, a private subsidiary of ZDF, one of the largest and most renowned television broadcasters in Europe. The company was renamed ‘ZDF Studios’ on 1 April 2022. Based in Mainz, the business is responsible for distributing programmes worldwide, implementing international co-productions, acquiring licences and merchandising key brands under its own name, for ZDF and for third parties. Successfully established as an independent market player in Germany and globally, it operates as part of a strong network of 30 direct and indirect subsidiaries and affiliates. ZDF Studios has the largest German-language programme stock in the world, plus a constantly growing catalogue of international productions consisting of series and mini-series, television films, documentaries and children’s programmes. By continually evolving, the ZDF Studios group has been able to open up numerous business areas in the television and media sector. As a result, ZDF Studios now provides a comprehensive full-service offer and covers every stage in the creation and exploitation chain of successful TV productions in all genres, from developing content to producing, licensing, marketing, merchandising, online rights and much more.

Contact ZDF Studios

Christine Denilauler (VP Marketing and Corporate Communications), ZDF Studios GmbH, Erich-Dombrowski-Str. 1, 55127 Mainz/Germany, Tel.: +49 6131-9911130, Email: christine.denilauler@zdf-studios.com, www.zdf-studios.com