NENT Group launches Börje Salming biopic as latest original series
- Hockey Hall of Famer Börje Salming is one of Sweden’s greatest-ever ice hockey stars and played 1,100+ NHL games
- English-language series created and directed by Amir Chamdin (the Canneseries 2020 winner ‘Partisan’) and stars Valter Skarsgård (‘Arn’)
- NENT Group to premiere at least 40 original productions in 2021
The dramatic career of Börje Salming, one of Sweden’s greatest-ever ice hockey players, is the subject of the next Viaplay Original from Nordic Entertainment Group (NENT Group), the Nordic region’s leading streaming company. Valter Skarsgård (‘Arn’) takes on the title role in an ambitious English-language production that depicts Salming’s trailblazing journey from his humble roots north of the Arctic Circle to become an NHL legend. The show is created and directed by Amir Chamdin, whose most recent series for NENT Group, ‘Partisan’, was awarded Best Series at Canneseries 2020.
The first Swedish player inducted into the prestigious Hockey Hall of Fame, Börje Salming broke numerous records, captured the hearts of millions of fans and paved the way for countless Europeans to forge careers in the NHL, the world’s best ice hockey league. Salming played over 1,100 games for the Toronto Maple Leafs across 16 seasons (1973-1989), notching 148 goals and 620 assists, and in 2017 was named one of the 100 greatest NHL players in history.
Börje Salming: “It’s flattering and exciting that my story will become a series. When we began discussing this project, I reflected over everything that’s happened in my life, from taking care of myself at a young age after my father passed away, to the journey from Kiruna to the NHL, and I realised there’s a lot of screen potential there. It will be really exciting to see the show when it’s ready.”
Filippa Wallestam, NENT Group Chief Content Officer: “Börje Salming’s sporting achievements rank with fellow Swedish superstars Björn Borg and Ronnie Peterson. Today, when 10% of NHL players come from Sweden, it’s easy to forget that Europeans were once thought too weak for this unforgiving competition. This is a story of remarkable talent, athleticism and perseverance that deserves an international streaming audience. On his 70th birthday, we hope this launch is a fitting homage to the man known simply as ‘The King’.”
Valter Skarsgård: “This is the scariest and coolest thing I’ve ever done. It’s fantastic to get to know Börje personally – he tells such amazing stories with complete humility. His attitude was always to do things his way and enjoy it, and I’ll try to bring the same approach to the task of playing him.”
Filming will begin in 2022 and the series will premiere exclusively on NENT Group’s Viaplay streaming service. The show is written by Martin Bengtsson (‘Agent Hamilton’) and is produced by Warner Bros. International Television Production.
About NENT Group’s original productions
NENT Group is set to premiere at least 40 original productions in 2021. In the past three months, season two of ‘Those Who Kill’; ‘Huss’; ‘Delete Me’; ‘We Children from Bahnhof Zoo’; and season two of ‘Hammarvik’ have premiered on Viaplay.
Recently announced originals include ‘Fadime’; ‘Taylor’s Island’; ‘Kin’; ‘What about Monica’; ‘Trom’; ‘Glacier’; ‘THE KINGDOM EXODUS’; ‘Made in Oslo’; ‘Estonia: The Last Wave’; ‘A Class Apart’; ‘Threesome’; ‘Suedi’; season two of ‘Stella Blómkvist’; season two of ‘Wisting’; ‘The Box’; ‘Two Sisters’; ‘Thunder in My Heart’; ‘Furia’; ‘Close to Me’; ‘Try Hard’; ‘Max Anger’; ‘Dystopia’; ‘Suck It Up’; ‘The Swarm’; season two of ‘The Truth Will Out’; ‘Harmonica’; ‘Perfect People’; season two of ‘Face to Face’; season three of ‘Fixi in Playland’; season two of ‘Honour’; ‘Home Invasion’; and ‘Margeaux’.
NENT Group has established a UK-based joint venture with FilmNation Entertainment and invested in US studio Picturestart.
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NOTES TO EDITORS
Nordic Entertainment Group AB (publ) (NENT Group) is the Nordic region’s leading streaming company and our vision is to become the European streaming champion. Our Viaplay streaming service is available in every Nordic country and in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Viaplay will launch in Poland and the US in 2021, followed by five additional markets by 2023. We operate streaming services, TV channels, radio stations and production companies, and our purpose is to tell stories, touch lives and expand worlds. Headquartered in Stockholm with a global outlook, NENT Group is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm (‘NENT A’ and ‘NENT B’).
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