Cineflix’s Rights’ Leonard Cohen series starring Alex Wolff as the iconic singer-songwriter has revealed presales in the U.K., Greece and Cyprus, with ARD’s Fabfiction in Germany joining as a co-producer.
Titled “So Long, Marianne,” the drama has sold to ITVX in the U.K., Cosmote TV and Star Channel in Greece and Movies Best HD in Cyprus. ARD’s Fabfiction has joined original co-producers NRK in Norway and Bell Media’s Crave in Canada.
According to its official description, the series “tells the legendary love story of Canadian singer and poet Leonard Cohen, and his muse Marianne Ihlen who inspired the titular song. It’s an intimate tale of two lonely people falling in love during a period of their life when they are trying to figure out who they are and their place in the world, while one is becoming one of the most famous singers of all time.”
The story follows the two lovers around the world — spanning Norway, Greece, New York and Montreal — with the majority of the series filmed on the Greek Island of Hydra, where Cohen and Ihlen lived in the 1960s. “There, they joined legendary Australian novelists Charmian Clift and her husband George Johnston, the matriarch and patriarch of a bohemian group of writers, artists, poets and outcasts who were exploring a new world of free love, drugs and artistic freedom, but also experiencing the rivalries and jealousy that accompanied their intense, interwoven lives,” the description continues.
Beyond Wolff as Cohen, the cast includes Thea Sofie Loch Næss as Marianne, Anna Torv as Charmian Clift, Noah Taylor as George Johnston, Peter Stormare as Irving Layton and Simon Lööf as Göran Thunström.
“’So Long, Marianne’ is one of the most iconic love stories of the last century, set in one of the most beautiful locations in the world,” James Durie, head of scripted at Cineflix Rights, said in a statement. “Øystein and the creative team, working with an incredible cast, have delivered an enthralling drama which will captivate audiences everywhere. We’re thrilled to be announcing these presales to ITVX, Cosmote TV, Star Channel and Movies Best HD, and to have ARD’s Fabfiction on board as a coproducer alongside NRK and Crave, as we begin to roll the series out to international buyers.”
“So Long, Marianne” is developed by Ingeborg Klyve, Øystein Karlsen and Tony Wood. Karlsen and Jo Nesbø penned the script, while Karlsen and Bronwen Hughes direct. The series is co-produced by Redpoint Productions, Tanweer Productions and C3 Media, along with producers Klyve and Glenn Lund. Executive producers include Ales Ree for NRK, Richard Tulk-Hart and Tony Wood for Buccaneer, Klyve and Vegard Stenberg Eriksen for Redpoint Productions, Dionyssis Samiotis and Nancy Kokolaki for Tanweer Productions, and André Barro and Pablo Salzman for C3 Media. Cineflix Rights is handling distribution.
