Scripted

Cineflix Rights has signed deals with SBS (Australia), AMC Networks International Southern Europe, and TVO (Canada) for gripping Icelandic political drama The Minister. The sales follow the recently announced acquisition of the series by North American streamer Topic, with more in the pipeline.

The Minister (8x60’, Sagafilm for RUV Iceland, DR Denmark, NRK Norway, SVT Sweden, and YLE Finland) stars Ólafur Darri Ólafsson (Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, Trapped, True Detective, The Missing) as a populist Prime Minister whose worsening mental health condition threatens the stability of the government and the lives of those around him. The series recently was nominated in the TV Fiction category at the Prix Europa and by the Venice TV Awards for Best TV Series.

The Minister has just launched on RUV Iceland, SVT Sweden, and YLE Finland, with RUV reporting a 41.1% rating and 94.4% share for the premiere of the first episode.

James Durie, Head of Scripted, Cineflix Rights said: “The Minister showcases Sagafilm’s success in combining an exceptional cast, led by Darri, with a compelling plot about populist politics which echoes the current zeitgeist. These latest deals reflect the huge international interest we’ve already had as we continue to roll out the series to global buyers.”

The deal with SBS Australia was brokered by Chris Bluett, SVP, Sales, Asia Pacific and Benelux; Sabrina Ayala, SVP, Sales, France, Italy, Iberia, and Latin America brokered the deal with AMC Networks International Southern Europe; and the TVO Canada deal was brokered by Lucinda Gergley-Garner, SVP, Sales, North America and German Speaking Territories.

“We are very pleased with how The Minister has hit home here in Iceland with a large portion of the Icelandic population turning into the show on Sunday nights prime time in linear programming and discussing live on social media while the show is running. Even Icelandic politicians!” says Hilmar Sigurdsson, CEO of Sagafilm and one of the Executive Producers of The Minister.