Negotiations reportedly are progressing for a third season of the hit Norwegian TV series “Lilyhammer,” but it’s already shaping up to be the most expensive production in Norwegian television history.
Newspaper Dagsavisen reported this week that costs for another run of the series that stars American musician and actor Steven Van Zandt have already reached NOK 120 million (about USD 20 million). The negotiations are going on among Van Zandt, NRK, Netflix and Rubicon TV.
Part of the rise in costs is linked to the proposed addition of more non-Norwegian actors and celebrities that the producers want to hire for the third season. They’ll all need to work and live in Norway while the show is under production, and that’s an expensive prospect in itself. The Norwegian cast and crew, meanwhile, will also travel to work on locations outside Norway.
“We expect to boost quality all around, to appeal to the international market, and we want to produce the show quickly,” Rubicon TV’s program chief, Anne Kolbjørnsen, told Dagsavisen. “That costs money.”
NRK will be investing a relatively large amount in the production, while Netflix will take on a large investment obligation as well, according to Peter Wallace, NRK’s drama chief. The Norwegian Film Institute (Norsk filminstitutt) prodded the talks along this week by contributing NOK 3 million to the show’s funding. Kolbjørnsen of Rubicon said she hopes to have an agreement in hand by New Year.
newsinenglish.no staff
