Swedish pubcaster SVT, which won two awards at Series Mania in March, is riding high on soaring domestic ratings and festival participation, with Amanda Jansson taking Best Actor for “My Brother” and Spectator’s Series Mania Label Best Actor for “Burden of Justice.”
“2025 was a great year, and 2026 looks as good as expected,” SVT’s head of drama, Johanna Galdare, said while exclusively unboxing Variety’s 2026-27 list, headlined by Cannes competition entry “Summer 1985.”
In fact, several high-end SVT shows attracted major audiences last year, led by SF Studios’ adaptation of Astrid Lindgren’s Crow Island, which Beta Films screened around the world and averaged 1.95 million views per episode, an impressive feat for a country with a population of 10 million. Other hits include FLX’s “Vanguard,” which won Best Series and Best Actor (Jacob Oftebro) at the Monte Carlo Festival and averaged 1.2 million views, and Filmlance International’s “My Brother,” which opened on December 26 and has averaged 1.6 million views to date.
These successes come on the heels of DramaNation’s Whiskey on the Rocks, Disney+’s first Nordic original co-produced with SVT, which won the 2025 Italia Award and was watched by nearly one in six Swedes, Variety reported.
SVT is currently following Strive Studios’ legal drama “Burden of Justice,” from “Snabba Cash” creator Jens Lapidus, with a similar hit rate domestically. The show, which launched on February 20 on streaming service SVT Play, has averaged more than 1.1 million views per episode so far, more than double its goal of 500,000 and 205% above expectations. “This is by far the biggest show in Sweden this year,” insists Gardare, whose second season has been greenlit to premiere in 2027.
Digging deeper into SVT’s editorial policies and strategies, Gardea, who was promoted from children, youth and family programs manager to head of drama in December 2024, said the annual drama budget is between 25 million and 30 million euros ($30 million and 35 million), of which 10 million euros ($11.7 million) are allocated to features, shorts and documentaries.
The TV drama division has so far been able to order eight to nine high-quality series per year in a variety of genres based on original scripts and high-profile IPs, such as “Summer 1985” (“Let the Right One In”, “Border”), based on the novel of the same name by John Ivide Lindqvist, and “The Cold Song,” the new thriller from director Mikael Marcimain (“Blackwater”). A work based on the novel by Lynn Ullman.
“Our goal is to offer series with distinct genres that will captivate and entertain many viewers,” emphasizes the drama chief.
“Summer of 1985”
The recipe for a dual narrative with an interesting plot plus ethical and social layers is true to the Swedish pubcaster’s DNA, but the new focus is on “hopeful and kind stories that bring warmth and comfort when the outside world is dark.” Gardare points to the 2025 hit “Love in Session” (“Parterapi i Gagnev”) written by Wilhelm Behrmann (“Pressure Point,” “Caliphate”), a romantic comedy set in a “kind and trusting community” that captures the zeitgeist well.
traveling series
Most importantly, Gardea has had to prioritize storytelling and quality over quantity to combat internal budget cuts and soaring production costs, strict measures that many of its European peers have already put in place.
“Production budgets have doubled in the last five to 10 years, but the problem is that the investment in each show has remained the same, around 50 to 60 percent. We can’t afford to make so many shows, so we have to raise more coin overseas,” explains Gardea, who says the ripple effects of cuts to the drama sector will not be felt for the first time until 2028. “Development costs, which were key to delivering high-end content, have been reduced by 10% and from 2028 only 7 series will be commissioned,” she says.
Looking ahead, Gardea said he will continue to focus on co-productions, particularly with the Nordics and within the framework of the N12 Nordic and New8 European Alliance, which have successfully expanded the drama offer at SVT.
Three of the upcoming releases, N12 co-produced, are Burden of Justice Seasons 1 and 2 and Thin Blue Line Christmas Special, which will be distributed in Denmark (DR), Norway (NRK), Finland (YLE) and Iceland (RÚV). The other two are New8 titles, so they are alongside the same partners in Scandinavia, in addition to VRT in Flanders/Belgium, ZDF in Germany and NPO in the Netherlands.
Regarding the collaboration with the global streaming service, which has produced 11 shows since 2017, Gardea said SVT will be flexible, prioritizing the first window model and considering the second window on a case-by-case basis. “In fact, we have a second window with SkyShowtime on the drama-comedy ‘When the Sun Always Shines’ which is doing very well on our platform and ‘The Trio’ scheduled for October 2026 on SVT Play. We have since co-produced again with Netflix to produce the upcoming ‘Bonus Family’ Season 5, which Netflix will release six months after ours.”
Asked about his biggest hopes for 2026-2027, Gardea said he was looking forward to the release of Summer 1985 and said: “I hope the Cannes series and the Swedish audience love it as much as we do!” – and to the premiere of “The Thin Blue Line, Christmas Special.”
“More broadly,” she added, “we hope that we as commissioners will dare to take more risks to ensure creative renewal and innovation in TV drama. We also hope that indie producers will support us as commissioners in challenging this space and striving to slow the trend towards 100% series financing so that we can maintain constant volume and sustain the industry.”
Let’s take a closer look at SVT Drama’s 2026 lineup and 2027 tentative titles.
2026
“The Responsibility of Justice” (“Hundarna”, 8X45′)
A legal drama thriller directed by Lisa Linnert from Snubber Cash creator Jens Lapidus. Produced by Strive Studios in collaboration with N12 and Film i Väst. Premiered in February. Sold by DR Sales
“Responsibility for justice”
“When the sun always shines” (“När solen alltid Skiner”, 6X30′)
The Sky Showtime Original is co-produced with SVT. A dark drama from hit specialist Felix Hengren and his outfit FLX. A Swedish couple’s new life on Mallorca comes with many surprises. Premiered in March.
“Danish Woman” (“Danska Konen”, 6X50′)
An Icelandic-French co-production drama directed by Benedikt Erlingsson. Co-produced by Arte/ZDF, Slot Machine, Gullslottid and ZikZak Filmworks. The drama, about an eccentric Reykjavik secret agent, had its world premiere at Series Mania 2025 and premiered in Sweden in March 2026. Distributed by The Party Film Sales.
“Something Familiar” (“Skillsmässobarn”, 8X30)
A drama about grown children dealing with the emotional burden of their parents’ divorce. It was co-produced by Felix Hengren’s daughter Vera Hengren and co-star Felicia Danielsson. Directed by FLX co-writer Patrick Gilstrom (The Congregation) in association with YLE, it premiered April 17 on SVT.
“Summer 1985” (“Svartan”, 6X45 minutes)
A coming-of-age thriller with elements of magic realism, based on the book by John Ivide Lindqvist and adapted by Amy Diasimont and Melina Malachi. Bjorn Stein, creator of The Bridge, will serve as concept director. The Cannes Series 2026 competition film is produced by Media Res International in collaboration with ZDFNeo and Film Stockholm. It will premiere in July and will be marketed by Fifth Season.
“Diagnosis” (“Diagnostician”, 6X40′)
Produced by FLX in collaboration with SVT, Film i Väst, and in collaboration with YLE and RÚV.
Co-created by author Jessica Erichstam, Maria Nygren, and Lynn Gottfridsson. Sophia Adrian Jupisar (“Limbo”) is the concept director. The drama focuses on Bella and Elliot, their family, and the daily disruptions that come with living with ADHD and autism. It will premiere on SVT early this fall.
“The Trio” (“Trion”, 6X30)
The SkyShowtime Original is produced by SF Studios in collaboration with SVT, Film Stockholm and North Train Media.
A passionate coming-of-age film directed by Anders Haselius and adapted by Veronica Zacco (Top Dog) from the novel by Joanna Hedman. It will premiere in October on SVT and will be distributed by Eccho Right.
“Thin Blue Line Christmas Special” (“Tunna blå linjen, July Special”, 4X60′)
After three successful seasons, the popular realistic police drama set in Malmö is making a comeback as a special Christmas gift for fans from production company Anagram Sweden. It was co-directed by Sara Kantel and Pontus Kleberge, and written by creator Cilla Jacquardt. Film i Skåne, a co-production with N12, is distributed by ITV.
“The Accidental Santa” (“Den of Reveridge Tomten”, 24X15′)
A Christmas calendar by Art & Bob, producers of the acclaimed Pressure Point, co-produced by SVT and Film Stockholm. Directed by Michael Silen. First published in December 2026.
From 2027 to present
“Burden of Justice” Season 2 (“Hundarna S2” 8×45′)
The hit legal drama starring Björn Bengtsson, Irvin Kananian, Kit Walker Johansson and Tiril Wishman returns for another season. Filming on the Strive Studios series will begin in September and is scheduled to premiere in March 2027 on SVT. Co-produced by N12 and Film i Väst, and distributed by DR Sales.
“Cold Song” (“Det Dilbala”, 6X45′)
Produced by Miso Film Wednesday in co-production with SVT, Film i Väst and New8. A psychological thriller that explores the strength and fragility of family bonds, based on the best-selling novel by Lynn Ullman and adapted by Anna Basche-Wig, Siv Rajendram Eliassen, and Maren Louise Koehne. Michael Marchimain (Blackwater) will direct and co-write the screenplay. Premiered in April 2027. Freemantle is in charge of sales.
“Shadow of Guilt” (“I skuldens skugga”, 6X45′)
A crime drama based on the ideas of best-selling author Camila Reckberg and her world of Fjellbacka Murder, directed by Lisa Farzaneh (Young Royals, Quicksand). Filming begins on August 18th on the show, which is co-produced by SVT, Film i Väst and New8 and produced by Creative Society Production. A premiere is scheduled for summer 2027.
“Bonus Family S5” (Bonus Family 5, 6X45′)
Season 5 of FLX’s hit drama comedy co-produced by SVT and Netflix. Bela Vitali and Erik Johansson will reprise their roles as Lisa and Patrick, who move on with their lives with their children and ex-lovers. It was directed by Mance Herngren and written by Ditta Bongenhilm and Moa Herngren.
Johanna Gardea
