Finland Bets on Black Humor and ‘Bold, Risky’ Topics at Series Mania (EXCLUSIVE)

Adam Rippon met his now-husband Jussi-Pekka Kajaala on Tinder back in 2017 and they secretly got married on the final day of 2021.

Denmark striker Rasmus Højlund is the leading scorer after the opening set of qualifying matches for Euro 2024.

Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz, USA’s Taylor Fritz, Russia’s Andrey Rublev and Finland’s Emil Ruusuvuori all hit the practice courts during the Miami Open tennis tournament on Monday (March 27) at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.

The Manchester United takeover process does not look like ending anytime soon.

The battle to takeover Manchester United rumbles on this week following the drama of the last few days.

After beating Manchester United 6-0 last week, Manchester City under-21 coach Brian Barry-Murphy pointed to the number of international call-ups for the club's academy players as an indicator of their progress this season.

Finnish entrepreneur Thomas Zilliacus has ruled out an approach to bid for Liverpool after making an offer to buy Manchester United earlier this week.

Manchester United takeover bidder Thomas Zilliacus has listed four aims he would wish to carry out should he become the club’s next owner.

While Manchester United are enjoying a fine first season with Erik ten Hag at the helm, it's fair to say that the month of March ended up being a mixed bag for the Reds.

Manchester United supporters have been left shocked following Finnish businessman Thomas Zilliacus' proposal to buy the Reds.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent While she retired prematurely at the age of 39, Brigitte Bardot has left an indelible mark on France’s popular culture in the 1960’s and 1970’s. With her wild blonde mane, smoky eyes and pouty lips, Bardot became a symbol of a modern and effortlessly sexy French woman, and a style emblem that continues to inspire current trends. The event series “Bardot,” which is penned and directed by Daniele Thompson (“The Queen Margot”) and Christopher Thompson (“La bûche”), world premiered at Series Mania Festival to unanimous praise and has been pre-sold by Federation nearly worldwide. “‘Bardot’ is like the French ‘The Crown’ because Bardot embodied France, and through her journey we reminisce about many parts of France’s history and popular culture in the 1950’s and 1960’s,” Federation’s boss and “Bardot” producer Pascal Breton told Variety.

Finnish entrepreneur Thomas Zilliacus says he has submitted a unique bid to buy half of Manchester United and says he will allow fans to buy the other half.

Eurovision 2023 Semi-Final running orders have been revealed – check it out below.The 2023 Eurovision Song Contest will take place at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool from May 9-13, with Mae Muller set to represent the UK with ‘I Wrote A Song’.The UK city was announced to stage the contest on behalf of Ukraine, after organisers deemed the country unable to host the event due to the ongoing war with Russia.You can find all the songs that are entered for this year’s competition here.This week, Eurovision shared the running order for the Semi-Final shows, which take place on Tuesday, May 9 and Thursday, May 11.Norway will kick off proceedings for the first Semi-Final, closed out 15 acts later with a performance by Finland. The second event is set to be opened by Denmark, with Australia hitting the stage last.We got #Eurovision2023 Semi-Final running orders ✨➡️ https://t.co/V1tz85qvRD pic.twitter.com/hSjYqudp6j— Eurovision Song Contest (@Eurovision) March 22, 2023The Big Five participants – France, Germany, Italy, Spain and United Kingdom, which make the biggest financial contributions to the contest – along with Ukraine, automatically qualify for the Grand Final.Check out the full schedule below.First Semi-Final Eurovision 20231. Norway2. Malta3. Serbia4. Latvia5. Portugal6. Ireland7. Croatia8. Switzerland9. Israel10. Moldova11. Sweden12. Azerbaijan13. Czechia14. Netherlands15. FinlandSecond Semi-Final Eurovision 20231. Denmark2. Armenia3. Romania4. Estonia5. Belgium6. Cyprus7. Iceland8. Greece9. Poland10. Slovenia11. Georgia12. San Marino13. Austria14. Albania15. Lithuania16. AustraliaMeanwhile, Eurovision final 2023 tickets sold out in just 36 minutes.Tickets for all nine shows including the live Grand Final went on sale

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent LILLE, France —  “Yours, Margot,” from  “Compartment No 6’s” Juho Kuosmanen, Guatemalan Cannes Camera d’Or winner César Díaz (“Our Mothers”) and Brazil’s Beatriz Seigner (“Los Silencios”) have won the three prizes on offer at the first edition of Seriesmakers. A mentoring program for filmmakers making their TV creator debut, after an inaugural edition delivering one of the most talent-packed project lineups at any festival, film or TV, in 2023, Seriesmakers backers Beta Group and Series Mania opened on Wednesday a call for admissions for a second edition.   Though all three series range hugely in setting and creators, all three see their protagonists go back to a recent past to explore events that have impacted their family (“Yours, Margot”), their modern-day country (“The Invisible Ink”), or traumas in the present (“Amigas”). 

A project from Finland and a Belgium-Uruguay co-production have won the Seriesmaker initiative here at Series Mania.

Ed Meza @edmezavar International distributor Eccho Rights has inked landmark deals for Turkish drama series “Golden Boy” with broadcasters in Sweden and Finland.The show, which has enjoyed huge success on Turkey’s Star TV since launching in September 2022, is the first Turkish drama to be picked up by Swedish and Finnish broadcasters. In Sweden, TV4 acquired “Golden Boy” for its TV4Gold and Sjuan linear channels, as well as streamers CMore and TV4 Play. In Finland, Eccho Rights’ deal with MTV Oy represents the first time ever that a Turkish series has been licensed by a Finnish broadcast group, with “Golden Boy” to stream on CMore and Katsomo in Finland.

EXCLUSIVE: Ilkkas’ Creative Studio (ICS), the Nordic creative hub launched last year, is planning to shake up Finland’s approach to international scripted content.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent The duo behind the hit Nordic franchise “Snabba Cash,” helmer Jesper Ganslandt and screenwriter Oskar Söderlund, have re-teamed on “Cry Wolf,” an action thriller series starring British musician-turned-actor Eliot Sumner (“No Time to Die”). Ordered by Swedish broadcaster TV4, “Cry Wolf” is based on “Vargasommar,” the anticipated debut novel of Hans Rosenfeldt, the BAFTA-nominated creator of “Bron” (“The Bridge”) and British series “Marcella.” Fifth Season has boarded international sales. “Cry Wolf” will also star Eva Melander (“UFO Sweden”) and Henrik Dorsin (“Triangle of Sadness”). It will start filming in in Haparanda, near the border of Finland, in July. Melander is set play Hannah Wester, a 54-year-old police officer whose quiet life in Haparanda gets turned upside down after a wolf is found dead. The ordinary investigation becomes a sprawling criminal case connected to a bloody drug deal in Finland and sparks a series of brutal events.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent “Mobile 101, a Nokia Story,” a series about the dramatic rise and fall of the Finnish phone company, has been acquired by Disney+ and Walter Presents in multiple territories. The series was produced by Finland’s Rabbit Films and is represented in international markets by the outfit. The six-part series, which sheds light on how a small Finnish company specializing in rubber boots became the world’s biggest mobile manufacturer at the turn of the 21st century, has been picked by Disney+ Italy, Netherlands and Belgium. Walter Presents, meanwhile, bought it for the UK & Ireland. RUV Iceland has also acquired season one of the series.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Viaplay’s newly launched U.S. streaming service has unveiled the trailer for its anticipated original crime series “Cell 8” which will premiere exclusively in North America on the platform on April 13. The 6-episode series shot in both Swedish and English, and revolves around the justice system and death penalty. “Cell 8” tells the story of a man presumed dead who is arrested on a ferry between Sweden and Finland. Detectives Mariana Hermansson (Mimosa Willamo) and Ewert Grens (Leonard Terfelt) who proceed to the arrest are thrown into a mysterious and increasingly dark series of events. The case soon reveals a personal connection not only to Hermansson herself, but to a Death Row prisoner in the U.S. and a grieving parent consumed by the quest for revenge.