Struggling to sell drama series, believes we are in a reality wave – NRK Culture and entertainment

– «The game» has gone insanely well, says Mastiff boss Jostein Olseng, who has produced the series for TV2.

The concept comes from South Korea, and Norway is the first country outside the mother country to create its own version.

Betting on that series in Norway would prove to be a good idea.

The program has an average of 900,000 viewers per episode, and over a million have seen the first episode.

Mastiff has been creating reality for many years, and is among other things behind “Paradise Hotel”.

– We now see that the demand for large reality formats is increasing. That means we have a lot to do during the day, says Olseng.

«Kompani Lauritzen», «Norway’s Toughest», «The champion of champions», «The baking championship», «Married at first sight», «Paradise Hotel», «71° north», «The farm», «Farm Celebrity», «Torpet» and «The game».

It’s a small selection of the reality series that are either running right now, or have been on TV recently.

Creative director at the production company Fenomen, Tom Marius Kittilsen, believes we are in a reality wave.

– Quite obviously. After all, TV 2 has great success with its reality series. And it’s great fun and really important.

Struggling to sell drama

But in other parts of the TV industry, the situation is different.

Several production companies NRK has spoken to, which make drama series, are struggling to sell their ideas to TV channels and streaming companies.

– We find that the eye of the needle is narrower than ever, says Kittilsen in Fenomen.

They have previously made drama series such as “Rådebank” and “Vi lover et helvete”.

The company Rubicon also notices that these are tough times.

– It is quite difficult to sell new drama series at the moment, says general manager Ivar Køhn.

I think the market is saturated with drama

Neither Køhn nor Kittilsen believes that increased interest in reality TV is to blame for difficult times in Norwegian drama, and both think that a lot of good Norwegian reality is being made now.

Nevertheless, they believe it is an advantage that reality is cheaper to make.

– The signals from the market have been that they are betting more on reality. It is a faster process and a cheaper price compared to drama, says Køhn.

One of the major streaming services that has invested heavily in drama is Viaplay. They have had series such as “Pørni”, “Wisting” and “Furia”.

But then the company ran into financial problems. Ivar Køhn says the entire industry was hit when Viaplay had to make major budget cuts.

This meant that Viaplay could not buy new drama series, but also that they sold several of their ongoing projects on to others.

– I think that the market is very saturated with drama series right now, says Køhn.

Viaplay is not alone in having to save money. Both NRK and TV 2 have made major cuts in recent years.

– What separates drama from other productions is that it is a more expensive genre, and therefore a higher risk for us who are going to commission this type of programme, says program editor at TV 2, Trygve Rønningen.

“From golden age to tough times”

“Norwegian drama has gone from a golden age to tough times in a short time”, says media researcher Vilde Schanke Sundet.

The consequences? Kittilsen in Fenomen fears young, clever people disappearing from the industry for good.

– We are of course afraid that we will miss out on the very good ideas and the exceptional talents.

He also believes that the public will notice that the content on TV is becoming more similar, because the channels have to make safer choices in tough economic times.

Program editor at NRK, Petter Wallace, thinks Kittilsen may be right about that:

– Because if it becomes more difficult to reach an audience, you will often go for the projects that you know have a high chance of reaching many people. And which doesn’t cost the shirt to make in addition. So that danger is there, but I think it is probably greater for others than for NRK.

Rønningen in TV 2 says he is also concerned, and believes that NRK and TV 2 in particular have a responsibility to contribute to good development in Norwegian drama.

– I am very interested in finding good and sustainable solutions together with the industry, so this is a shared responsibility.