Lone Scherfig’s ‘The Shift’ Renewed For Season 2
08.11.2023 - 10:27
/ deadline.com
EXCLUSIVE: Lone Scherfig‘s The Shift has been renewed for a second season and distributor Beta Film has struck a deal for the first with North American streamer MHz Choice and Australia’s SBS. The Killing star Sofie Gråbøl, who led the first run, is returning as guest.
Danish broadcaster TV2‘s The Shift follows goings-on in a maternity hospital. Season 2 will pick up two years on from the end of the first, moving to the children’s ward of the hospital, with each episode centering on a different young patient. Danish star Gråbøl, who played maternity ward boss Ella in Season 1, will play a bit part this time around, with cast comprised of Ann Eleonora Jørgensen (The Lord’s Ways) and Anders W. Berthelsen (DNA’), as well as the returning characters portrayed by Pål Sverre Hagen (Exit, Beforeigners), Mattias Nordkvist (The Restaurant) and Mette Horn (The Wave).
Scherfig, who achieved worldwide acclaim with triple-Oscar-nominated 2009 hit An Education, is showrunner and will direct the first two episodes of Season 2.
The Shift Season 1 achieved a 35% share of 20-60 year old viewers across linear and streaming, according to Beta, and has been remade in the Netherlands to strong ratings. A Slovakian remake is also being negotiated and Beta has struck deals with MHz Choice and SBS, along with platforms in Greece, Cyprus, Estonia, and Poland.
The show’s first season premiered at the Berlinale last year, with Deadline reviewer Damon Wise calling it “the work of a director taking stock and going back to life’s basics, in every sense of the word.”
“The success of the first season exceeded our expectations and we’re thrilled to return for another,” said Scherfig.
“While we are maintaining the same core themes, this season offers