Nordic Crime Novel ‘Big Brother’ Set to be Adapted for TV by Act 4 (EXCLUSIVE)

Icelandic production company Act 4 is set to turn Skuli Sigurdsson’s award-winning Nordic crime novel “Big Brother” (“Stóri bróðir”) into a TV drama.

Act 4, founded earlier this year by a group of top Icelandic industry execs, has optioned Sigurdsson’s chilling debut novel with actor, producer and Act 4 co-founder Olafur Darri Olafsson (“The Tourist”) on board as showrunner and executive producer.

“Big Brother” tells the story of a detective and an investigative journalist who set out to solve a “mysterious case,” according to the logline. “Men are being severely beaten on every full moon by what seems like the same perpetrator. But the story is also told from the perspective of the perpetrator, who considers his crimes an act of retribution for old wrongdoings.”

The story asks tough questions of its audience when it comes to crime and punishment as well as being a critique of society’s failure to properly deal with sexual violence.

“I read ‘Big Brother’ last summer after hearing good things from multiple source,” said Olafsson, who is next set to appear in Season 2 of Apple TV+ hit “Severance.” “I was immediately drawn to the book, it is fantastically written, fast-paced and just felt so right to develop into a series. Our team at Act 4 is really excited about bringing Skuli’s book to the big screen and we know that fans of crime dramas will love it. It’s been a long time since I read such a fantastic debut novel as ‘Big Brother.’ I would also suggest that people watch out for Skuli’s books in the future as he just released his sophomore novel, ‘The Man from São Paulo.’”

Sigurdsson said: “I am most pleased and honored that Act 4 will be making a television series based on my novel ‘Big Brother.’ This has been in the works for some time and it is a pleasure to begin the journey. It’s an honour to work with a production firm as excellent as Act 4. Their vision for ‘Big Brother’ is strong and I look forward to the undertaking with Olafur Darri and company.”

As Variety exclusively reported, Act 4 was launched in January by Olafsson, Hörður Rúnarsson (“Black Sands”), Jónas Margeir Ingólfsson (“The Minister”) and Birkir Blær Ingólfsson (“Thin Ice”) after they joined forces with a group of international investors to develop, finance and produce high-end Nordic content.