‘My Dead Ex’s Katherine C. Hughes & ‘Zac & Mia’s Kian Lawley To Front Finnish Comedy Series ‘Perfect Commando’
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EXCLUSIVE: Zac & Mia star Kian Lawley and My Dead Ex star Katherine C. Hughes are set to front Finnish comedy drama Perfect Commando for SVOD service Elisa Viihde.
The U.S. teen stars, familiar to Awesomeness TV viewers, will feature alongside a cast of Finnish actors in the 10-part comedy.
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The English and Finnish-language comedy follows two young characters; Van and Rachel who have led carefree lives in their home of California. However, Van’s first ever trip to his mother’s home country of Finland takes an unexpected wrong turn as soon as he steps off the plane when due to Van’s dual American-Finnish citizenship he is thrown into Military service. Forced out of his comfort zone, will this privileged kid from LA survive this tough new life in the army barracks with a bunch of oddballs and rise to the challenge of Army Commando?
Johannes Holopainen (Heavy Trip), Fanni Noroila (HasBeen) and Tommi Korpela (Bullets) also star. It is directed by Jalmari Helander, who worked on Samuel L. Jackson and Jim Broadbent’s Big Game and written by Mikko Pöllä (Black Widows).
Filming for the ten-part series starts at the end of July and it will air next year. Fire Monkey is producing the show, while Red Arrow Studios International is in charge of the international distribution. The series has been produced in collaboration with Business Finland.
“When I read the script, I immediately decided to take the job. The concept of the show, as well as the unusual combination of a comedy and drama really impressed me. It is great to be involved in making a series with such a strong cast,” said Helander.
“We wanted to make a comedy that would be youthful, international and edgy. Even though the main characters are American, the series also represents a contemporary Finland. The comedy effect stems from the interests of individuals and a community colliding. Pieces fly here and there,” added Roope Lehtinen, Fire Monkey’s Executive Producer.
“Finnish drama attracts more and more viewers from abroad, and we’re now seeing Finnish comedy rousing a lot of international interest. Perfect Commando is the first Finnish comedy series to be co-financed by an international distributor right from its inception. Our slate of original series are our most popular content, so it’s fantastic to be involved in developing such high quality drama and comedy shows that meet international standards,” said Ani Korpela, Head of Content at Elisa Viihde.
“Original Finnish content – particularly from Elisa Viihde – is really starting to make a name for itself internationally and we are delighted to be partnering with them and producers’ Fire Monkey to bring Perfect Commando to the small screen. A combination of quirky, younger-skewing storylines and the well-known cast will really help open doors around the world”, added Alex Fraser, EVP Acquisitions & Content Investment at Red Arrow Studios International.
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