“Bloodsuckers” Team Reunites with Comedian Axel Åhman for Lead Role in Warner Bros.' “Body in the Closet” (Exclusive)

Axel Åhman is set to play Stefan, a theater usher, in the upcoming series “Body in the Closet” for Warner Bros. A country boy, he lands a job at a major cultural institution in the city and knows its history by heart. He also […]

Axel Åhman is set to star in the upcoming Warner Bros. series "Body in the Closet." Finnish international television production.

He will play Stephen, an audience service employee at a theater. A country boy, he has made it to a major cultural institution in the city and knows its history by heart. He also has a crush on Betty but is painfully clumsy in trying to get close to her. RELATED STORIES Host Sam Reich's Season 8 Game Changer, the 23-part, 90-minute finale, without Chile's sponsorship, and Season 9's Acid Trip.

This leads to his accidental death by chainsaw. However, this is not the end for Stefan, as he returns to Betty throughout the series. Popular in Variety

"I found it funny to play a murder victim," Ahman told Variety. "I love when characters meet unexpected ends and the writers dare to go darker."

"Comedy is at its funniest when it dances on the edge of darkness," he added. "We don't see a lot of dark comedy in Northern Europe. When I got the chance to do it, I just had to tag along and see where it went. It's also a good challenge to play someone else's script. I've mostly played characters I've written."

As noted by producer Mia Oikarinen, Åhman is best known as a member of the hugely popular comedy group KAJ, but he is also a writer, screenwriter, comedian, musician and actor.

"His comic timing and background in writing make him a particularly good fit for Stefan and the show's darkly comic tone. He was thrilled that we considered him for the role — and delighted that we immediately envisioned him as Stefan."

Elaine Grunblum directs. He co-wrote the show with Josephine Sonek, who will play the title role. Grunblum and Sonk are already known for "Bloodsuckers."

"I like the genre because it allows you to play and have fun," said Grunblum. "Horror, or in this case, dark comedy with murder, is also a nice form of escapism. We like to see characters do things that we ourselves wouldn't dare do and probably shouldn't."

Comedy and horror are closely related, Sunak agreed.

"Both rely on surprise and playing with audience expectations. But this isn't a 'horror comedy.' It's more about the desperate state of a person's life, told through dark humor and supernatural elements."

"Body in the Closet" will begin filming next fall, and Svenska YLE, the Swedish-language division of Finnish public broadcaster YLE, is currently on the scene.

"Josephine and I are both drawn to black humor. It allows us to take a serious subject—in this case, the egocentricity and relationship between a narcissistic parent and child—and show the absurdity of it through humor," says Grunblum.

"When you can laugh, maybe uncomfortably, you can also shine a light on something serious. [The show] takes place in a visually realistic world: the gray autumn of Helsinki. But we exaggerate the characters and the action to create a fast-paced, humorous tone."

It follows the story of the Swedish-speaking minority in Finland.

"We belong to this minority, too, but it's a world that can be recognized anywhere. Especially the world of theater with its bigoted and magnificent characters. Since the subject of the show is self-centered, what better stage to perform them?"

The team believes in the show's "strong international potential".

Oikarinen observed, "All our characters are driven by their own egos and needs and often fail to see others around them. We laugh at the increasingly absurd situations these horrible people put each other through."

"Sometimes we need to laugh at what's happening around us, especially in this self-centered - and frankly quite scary - world," he added.

According to Sonek, the show combines three elements: a universal and timely theme, a suspenseful plot with twists and turns, and a cast of "funny, quirky characters who do things we all secretly think we'd never admit."

"Our collection explores self-absorption, the search for validation and our attempts to control how we present ourselves to the world. Theater becomes a symbolic space for these themes. "But it's also a place where secrets come into focus."