Taelgia – new series premiering on SVT this fall

This fall, the suspense drama TAELGIA premieres on SVT. In Södertälje, families, police and criminals are caught in a crossfire of loyalties, demands and guilt. Meanwhile, some young people are trying to find a way to a better life. Surrounding the adult criminals are the younger ones, the runners. They sell drugs and rig getaway mopeds, until one day they are forced to take on more dangerous missions with a mixture of fear and pride. This is their story. It is also the story of their families: wondering siblings and desperate parents struggling to keep their children on the straight and narrow.

The idea and basic concept are the responsibility of Jens Östberg, who is also the main writer and director of the series. Jens Östberg made his debut with the Guldbagge Award-winning feature film Flugparken. The cast includes Guldbagge-winning Jonay Pineda Skallak (Vinterviken), film debutants John Hanna and Ranja Jan Barvary, and Sara Shirpey (Handen på hjärtat, Spelskandalen).

GABRIEL has just started automotive engineering high school when his family is forced to move to Ronna, a suburban housing project in Södertälje, after Gabriel’s father gambled away their home. The slightly older MARKO, the king of the runners, takes Gabriel under his wing and a friendship soon develops before Gabriel realizes how dangerous it is. Marko leads the young drug dealers on behalf of his surrogate brother BALOO, a more serious criminal. The impulsive Marko soon makes a spectacular mistake that causes anger higher up the criminal hierarchy. He is now indebted to the boss JANO.

SIBEL is a newly qualified police officer, returning to Södertälje after a few years in a smaller town. Deeply rooted in the Syrian culture, she quickly becomes an asset to URBAN, the head of the investigation, but at the same time her colleagues are becoming increasingly irritated. They see her as an invader, a politically correct alibi. But Sibel soon comes under fire from the Syrian community as well. She is subjected to hatred and pressure and is called Judas. She gradually realizes that her mission is far more difficult than she thought, perhaps even impossible.

Gabriel’s basketball-playing sister MAGDA has just moved up to Södertälje’s elite team Taelghia. When she is offered to earn big money in a betting game, she faces the hardest choice of her life: the money can solve her father’s gambling debts.

Filmlance International, part of Banijay, is producing TAELGIA in collaboration with Garagefilm International and in co-production with Sveriges Television and Film Stockholm, as well as in collaboration with Viaplay and with the support of the Nordic Film and TV Fund. TAELGIA will be published and broadcast in 6 episodes of 60 minutes each on SVT Play and SVT1. The planned premiere is September 2023.

Idea, basic concept and main author: Jens Östberg
Storyline: Jens Östberg, Pauline Wolff and Jörgen Hjerdt
Director: Jens Östberg
Producer: Mimmi Spång
Executive Producers: Hanne Palmquist, Anders Landström, Kristian Hoberstorfer, Anna Croneman, Camilla Rydbacken, Anne-Marie Söhrman Fermelin, Kristina Colliander.
International distributor: Wild Bunch