DR Sales Scores Deals on Hit Danish Drama ‘Cry Wolf’ (EXCLUSIVE)

DR Sales, the distribution division of Denmark’s public broadcaster DR, has closed a raft of deals on “Cry Wolf,” a searing social drama created by Maja Jul Larsen (“Borgen”) and co-directed by Pernille Fischer Christensen (“Becoming Astrid”).

The eight-episode limited series tells the intense and emotional story of a teenage girl who has written a vivid school essay detailing her stepfather’s physical assaults. The parents deny the accusations and take their own daughter to court, creating some ambiguity as to whether this abuse occurred as described. The show is set against the backdrop of Denmark’s rigid child protection process.

Since premiering on Oct. 11 on DR’s primetime slot, “Cry Wolf” has drawn a consistent average of over a million viewers.

DR Sales, which is taking part in the virtual Content London market, has sold the show to France (Salto), Telefonica (Spain), SBS (Australia), Belgium (BETV), Telepool (Germany), M7 (Czech Republic and Slovakia), RTVS (Slovenia) and Canal+ (Poland). The outfit is in negotiations with buyers in Asia, New Zealand, U.S., Benelux, Baltics and Italy.

“‘Cry Wolf’ is nerve-racking social realism and has audiences questioning the truth until the very end. The world has seen a spike in domestic violence cases during COVID-19 and we hope that ‘Cry Wolf’ will be the much-needed conversation starter,” said Freja Johanne Nørgaard Sørensen, DR’s sales executive.

The series marks the first TV drama for Fischer Christensen, whose credits include the award-winning films “Becoming Astrid,” “Someone You Love” and “A Family.”

Besides Fischer Christensen, the series was directed by popular Scandinavian helmers such as May El-Toukhy (“Queen of Hearts”), Samanou Sahlstrøm (“Follow the Money”) and Niclas Bendixen (“Ditte & Louise”). The series stars Bjarne Henriksen (“The Hunt”), Flora Ofelia Hofman Lindahl (“Land of Glass”), Christine Albeck Børge (“Love and Other Catastrophes”) and Peter Plaugborg (“Submarino”).