Netflix announced today that it has ordered to series Young Wallander, a loose adaptation of the Henning Mankell novel series following titular Swedish detective Kurt Wallander.
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Set in contemporary Sweden, the series will follow Wallander investigating his gripping first case and his personal and professional experiences as a graduated police officer in his early twenties.The series will feature a cast of British and Swedish performers and will feature a story told over serialized six episodes.
The character of Kurt Wallander has appeared in twelve novels, of which has been one of the best-selling international novel series. The novel series has also been adapted into both film and TV series prior, including nine films between 1994 and 2005 starring Rolf Lassgård in the lead role, a Swedish series than ran for three seasons and received generally mixed reviews with Krister Henriksson in the titular role and a British series that ran for four seasons and received critical acclaim with Murder on the Orient Express‘ Kenneth Branagh in the titular role.
“The Wallander novels have sold 40 million copies and been translated into over 40 different languages, while still being true and authentic to the Swedish noir that Mankell helped create,” Erik Barmack, Vice President, Head of International Originals at Netflix said. “And the series created by Yellow Bird have also been fantastic global and local successes. Netflix is thrilled to continue this tradition and add new layers to the fantastic legacies that Mankell and Yellow Bird have created.”
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Young Wallander is created and produced by Yellow Bird UK, a Banijay Group company and the producer of the Branagh series adaptation.
“Henning Mankell’s beloved detective Kurt Wallander has a special place in our hearts as his eponymous series was the first Yellow Bird ever produced. So, it is with tremendous joy and pride that we embark on this new journey together with Netflix as our first production through Yellow Bird UK,” Berna Levin, Creative Director of Yellowbird UK said. “Getting to meet Wallander as a young man and explore how the times and his new experiences will shape him to eventually become the man we already know and love is a thrilling opportunity. We are confident he will captivate new audiences and delight longstanding fans once again with his sharp intelligence, youthful enthusiasm, and unmistakable humanity.”
Production on Young Wallander is slated to begin sometime next year.
