Christian Wikander: Last News

Alex Ritman European TV giant Banijay Entertainment — whose more-than 60 labels have produced recent shows such as “Rogue Heroes,” “Ripley” and “The Rig” — has expanded the roles of two execs as it rejigs its global scripted division. As part of a new combined leadership structure, Steve Matthews has been named head of scripted, creative and Johannes Jensen head of scripted, business.

Steve Matthews and Johannes Jensen have been handed new roles in Banijay Entertainment’s central scripted division.

EXCLUSIVE: Nina Lederman, Sony Pictures Television’s (SPT) global scripted boss, is exiting amid the slowdown.

Alex Ritman French TV giant Banijay is losing its chief commercial officer. The company confirmed to Variety that Owain Walbyoff is stepping down from his role, adding that the London-based exec — who was formerly at Endemol Shine Group and was hired in August 2020 following Banijay’s $2.2 billion acquisition — would be leaving on Feb. 29.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Christian Wikander, the well-respected Swedish executive who joined Banijay nine months ago as global head of scripted, will be stepping down from his role on Feb. 2.

EXCLUSIVE: Christian Wikander, Banijay‘s Global Head of Scripted, is exiting after a year in post.

Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International The inside story behind the ascent of Finland’s outgoing prime minister, Sanna Marin, is the subject of a new three-part docuseries from HBO Max. The streamer has unveiled the Finnish original “First Five,” which is billed as an “intimate” portrait of Marin and her headline-grabbing female cabinet. The project comes just weeks after Marin and her centre-left Social Democratic Party was defeated by the conservative National Coalition Party. Marin was sworn in as prime minister in December 2019. At just 34 years old, she was the country’s youngest PM, and formed a cabinet with four other women — a number of whom were also under 35. Mere months later, the group was thrown into an unprecedented challenge when the COVID crisis hit Finland.

Christian Wikander, the scripted specialist who left HBO Max as part of cuts to the streamer in Europe this summer, has a new role.

Warner Bros. Discovery has set another of its European management teams, as Nordic chief Christina Sulebakk lays out the structure of her unit.

Manori Ravindran International Editor Warner Bros. Discovery is laying off 29 people in Europe over the next 15 months as it shifts its originals model for HBO Max, Variety has confirmed. Variety was first to report in July of HBO Max’s decision to retreat from original programming in a number of European markets, and warn of layoffs within the programming team. Under the new model, Warner Bros. Discovery will continue to invest in local European commissions and acquisitions but original programming will be handled by the local linear and streaming teams. No shows will be commissioned solely for streaming.

FBOY Island, the hit U.S. dating series, is to be made into local versions by HBO Max in Denmark, Spain, Sweden and the Netherlands.

Annika Pham Versatile Finnish helmer A.J. Annila (“Sauna,” “Shadow Lines,” “Peacemaker”) is on board to direct the thriller series with a working title of “ID” which marks HBO Max’s first commission of a Finnish premium TV show.Set in the art fraud world, the six-part series is co-created by seasoned writer Aleksi Bardy (“Tom of Finland,” “Moscow Noir”) and Mia Ylönen (“Bad Apples,” “Moscow Noir”) for Finnish production powerhouse Helsinki-Filmi, a subsidiary of Finland’s Aurora Studios.“ID” revolves around art fraud investigator Emma who goes undercover to infiltrate an auction house in Stockholm in order to investigate the firm’s connection to a notorious money launderer known as Blanko.