Icelandic public broadcaster RÚV and Germany’s ZDF have greenlit Death of a Horse, a new crime drama set in the world of competitive Icelandic horsemanship.
Produced by Iceland’s ACT4 and Windlight Pictures, the German label under ITV Studios, Death of a Horse marks RÚV’s first official project under New8, a European alliance involving RÚV, ZDF, Denmark’s DR, Sweden’s SVT, Norway’s NRK, Finland’s YLE, the Netherlands’ NPO, and Belgium’s VRT.
The story follows a skilled horse rider whose prized stallion is mysteriously found dead on the day of the national championship final. With local authorities unwilling to investigate, she launches her own search for the truth, uncovering dark secrets within Iceland’s elite horse breeding circles.
Ásthildur Úa Sigurðardóttir will lead the series, along with Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson (Game of Thrones), Lára Jóhanna Jónsdóttir (Black Sands), Eysteinn Sigurðsson (The Last Kingdom), Marlina Mitterhofer (The Fox), and Gabrielle Scharnitzky (Those About to Die).
Death of a Horse was created by Jónas Margeir Ingólfsson (CEO of ACT4, known for Thin Ice and Reykjavik Fusion) and Birkir Blær Ingólfsson (Head of Development at ACT4), who also co-wrote the script with Judith Angerbauer (Das Boot, Bauhaus – A New Era).
Óskar Þór Axelsson (Operation Napoleon, Trapped), Álfheiður Marta Kjartansdóttir (Black Sands, Vinátta), and Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson (Balls, Last Call) will direct the series.
Producers include Jónas and Birkir, along with ACT4’s Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, Hörður Rúnarsson, and Milla Ósk Magnúsdóttir, and Moritz Polter, Cosima Degler, Andreas Kohl, and Tanja Piller from Windlight Pictures. Erik Barmack’s Wild Sheep Content will distribute the series.
Source: C21media
