ORF-Enterprise Acquires "Crème de la Crème" Global Rights - Sperm Bank Comedy Drama by Whatever Pictures and Playful and Reverent

Finnish production company Whatever Pictures has signed a new global sales deal with ORF-Enterprise, the commercial arm of Austrian broadcaster ORF, acquiring international distribution rights to the comedy drama "Crème de la Crème." Commissioned domestically by Finnish broadcaster YLE, the series was written and directed by Jukka Vidgrén, Topi Koljonen, Henna Rinnekangas, and Juuso Laatio.

The Finnish production company also collaborated with Norway's Rein on Silent Herd.

Finnish production company Whatever Pictures has signed a new global sales deal with ORF-Enterprise, part of Austrian broadcaster ORF, which has acquired the international rights to the comedy-drama "Crème de la Crème".

Commissioned domestically by Finnish broadcaster YLE, the show is written and directed by showrunners Jukka Vidgrén, Topi Koljonen, Henna Rinnekangas, Juuso Laatio and Anna Heinämaa. Vidgrén and Antti Karlela produce. Related Stories Ari Emanuel and Ben Persky's podcast Rushmore returns for second season with guests including Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld Bernie Orenstein, co-writer of "That Girl" and "The New Dick Van Dyke Show," dies at 95.

The film follows Jonas, a young farmer who lives on his childhood dairy farm and takes pride in the rural lifestyle. He enjoys the work, but the farm is on the verge of collapse and there is no bright future in sight. That is until he starts a thriving sperm bank business with the help of his friends. Popular in Variety

It's the show's "Finnish identity" that sets it apart, noted Armin Luttenberger, director of international content sales at ORF-Enterprise.

However, the underlying themes are very universal: ambition, economic pressure, friendship and the question of how far you are willing to go to secure your future. It is culturally closed, which is often a strong combination for international audiences.

It's not exactly what most viewers expect from the Nordics.

Yes, and this is one of its strengths. Nordic drama is still often internationally associated with crime, darker tones and a certain visual restraint. "Crème de la Crème" brings a much more witty and irreverent energy. It's still undeniably Nordic in its setting and sensibility, but it shows a different, more humorous side of the region.

This does not mean that crime no longer costs money.

At Mipcom, Whatever Pictures presented "Three Fires," a border thriller set in North Karelia, and "Ice House," an international killer thriller written by Marteinn Thorisson and Puranen.

The company is also joining forces with Norwegian Rein Film on the new scripted crime series The Silent Herd, which is currently in development.

Set in a contemporary Sapmi society - during the Arctic Night - the film follows a researcher who is forced to return to the village of their youth after a traumatic childhood marked by bullying and rejection.

"When suspicious deaths reveal old wounds in a powerful reindeer herding family, the investigation becomes both a murder mystery and a personal reckoning," said producer Aleksei Pouranen.

We want the series to be charming and atmospheric, but also special, like a traditional Nordic noir. Landscape, darkness, family histories, the silence of society and the pressure of unresolved trauma are all part of the storytelling.

Rein Films' Mathis Ståhle Mathisen explained that the collaboration felt "very natural" - for several reasons.

First, Sapmi is a region that transcends national borders, including Norway and Finland, so a Finnish-Norwegian collaboration is a logical creative and production choice for a story rooted in that world.

Secondly, Whatever Pictures and Rein Film previously worked together on A Midnight Affair.

We found that the two companies have similar ambitions: to tell stories from the North with authenticity, a strong local voice and international ambition. "Silent Herd" seems like a natural next step."

They will once again work with director Ken Are Bongo and writer Jens Martin Mina.

According to Carlella, the Sapmi world, language, land, family, reindeer herding, sense of belonging and silence are all part of the story.

At the same time, we are very aware that this world should be approached carefully. We do not look at the Sami community from the outside. The key creators of the project, including Ken Are Bongo and Jens Martin Mienna, are Sammy himself, and we are developing the series closely with them. As with 'A we carefully follow Sami cultural guidelines and protocols.

Befitting a crime thriller, the series explores the "darker human zone: violence, shame, revenge and power in a small community." But he emphasized that these are not presented as "Semitic features".

"They are the dramatic territory of the genre, explored through specific Sami characters and a specific Sappi setting. What's important to us is that the world is honest, that the writing is relevant to society, and that the characters are people first and foremost."