Award-winning prod co behind Wallander and Occupied opens for business in UK
Banijay Group, the leading independent creator, producer and distributor of worldwide content, is strengthening its international position in the scripted genre with the launch of Yellow Bird Productions UK.
Yellow Bird's current Chief Creative Officer Berna Levin will head up the UK business having been part of Yellow Bird since 2003. During that time she has been integral to several of the company's biggest international projects including the highly acclaimed Millenium Trilogy, and Jo Nesbo's Headhunters. As CCO she has overseen the development of the company's entire slate and acquisitions of all new projects. Yellow Bird was established in 2003 when it released a series of television films based on Swedish author Henning Mankell's renowned fictional detective Kurt Wallander. It is now one of Scandinavia's leading film and television production companies, responsible for many global hits including Occupied, Wallander, Asa Larsson's Rebecka Martinsson, and Stieg Larsson's Millenium Trilogy.
Yellow Bird Productions UK will focus on developing and creating original ideas with international appeal and a Scandi edge for the UK market, working with all broadcasters and platforms. Based in central London alongside fellow Banijay scripted production companies BlackLight TV and Fearless Minds, the new company will have close ties to the Stockholm-based Yellow Bird, run by MD Johannes Jensen and part of Banijay Zodiak Nordics.
The UK market will be familiar with many of Yellow Bird's scripted titles; dark political thriller series Occupied enjoyed a successful run on Sky Arts, with Banijay Rights launching the second 8 x 45' series at Mipcom this month. Whilst the new UK business will hope to build on the reputation of its Nordic parents and replicate their success, its focus will very much be on creating original and authentic IP for the UK market, collaborating with high-profile talent, authors and scriptwriters from start to finish.
The new entity will also be a part of Banijay Studios International, which coordinates all of Banijay's scripted activity and is headed up by Group Head of Fiction Takis Candilis. The studio has a number of high-end projects in development and the group now has scripted production in 12 of the 16 territories it operates in worldwide.
The creation of Yellow Bird Productions UK marks Banijay's continued push in scripted as set out by Candilis and Group COO Peter Langenberg, and as demonstrated with the recent addition of BlackLight TV and Fearless Minds. The group expects to announce further additions to its scripted family in the coming months.
Berna Levin, Creative Director, Yellow Bird UK, said:
Yellow Bird has always had the ambition of creating high-end drama for an international market and I am incredibly proud of what we have accomplished so far. Having already worked closely with talent and broadcasters in the UK, this feels like the natural next step and I'm very excited to be joining such an impressive and talented creative community. I look forward to many fruitful collaborations as we continue our quest to find great stories, and bring fantastic characters to life.
Takis Candilis, Head of Fiction, Banijay Group said:
The success of Yellow Bird has been recognised by industry professionals and worldwide audiences alike, so we are thrilled to have this opportunity to bring some of that creative magic to the UK. I have absolute confidence that Berna will bring all her enthusiasm, creativity and professionalism to the new company, making Yellow Bird UK a force to be reckoned with in the world market.
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
28/11/2025
Nadia Fall attends the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Brides at the Egyptian Theatre on January 24, 2025, in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Donyale West/...
28/11/2025
It's easy to ignore those little red update available badges. But when it ...
28/11/2025
WASHINGTON Federal Communications Commission has released a tentative agenda for the December Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, December 18, 2025 ...
28/11/2025
The Professional Fighters League is looking to super-serve fans of mixed martial...
28/11/2025
Fubo has released in beta on select Roku devices a new feature that lets users display up to four simultaneous streams at once....
28/11/2025
The WNBA playoffs and Week 4 of the NFL regular season highlight the list of live sports events airing on television this weekend....
28/11/2025
The 32nd class of honorees to the B+C Hall of Fame took to the stage at New York's Ziegfeld Ballroom on September 26 for a gala induction event. Click below...
28/11/2025
We hold in our hands the very last Next Text for Next TV, the weekly back-and-fo...
28/11/2025
DirecTV said it made a deal with EchoStar to buy EchoStar's video businesses, including satellite-TV provider Dish TV and virtual MVPD Sling TV, for $1 plus...
28/11/2025
The Broadcasting+Cable Hall of Fame, the premier industry event paying tribute to the influencers, innovators and shining lights of broadcast, cable and streami...
28/11/2025
Friday 28 November 2025
Sky Sports x Slawn drop limited-edition football jersey...
28/11/2025
Rohde & Schwarz shows resilience in a challenging environment, revenue exceeds t...
28/11/2025
Unwrapped: The Toy Show Appeal - airing this Sunday on RT One and RT Player- s...
27/11/2025
LONDON Vizrt has added several AI-driven advanced features offering improved speed, intelligence and accuracy in the newest version of its media asset managemen...
27/11/2025
Prime Video has launched AI-powered video season recaps in a beta version for select English-language Prime Original series in the U.S., a move Amazon is callin...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Netflix's Raat Akeli Hai: The Bansal Murders Marks a Grand...
27/11/2025
27 Nov 2025
GSMA brings M360 Eurasia 2026 to Samarkand in partnership with VEON...
27/11/2025
Tahar Rahim and Izuka Hoyle star in the gripping six-part Sky Original from Acad...
27/11/2025
Thursday 27 November 2025
Sky Arts Reveals the Nation's Greatest Basslines - and Queen Reign Supreme
The UK's most iconic basslines have been revealed...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Stranger Things 5': Prepare for One Last Adventure With O...
27/11/2025
The media industry has a paradox at its core. It's an industry built on light, color and imagination, yet behind the scenes, it's powered by one of the ...
27/11/2025
Rating reflects rating progress across areas including policies, diversity & inclusion, health & safety and Net Zero leadership
Winchester, UK, 27 November 202...
27/11/2025
What are the industry standards for Retail Media? Kathryn explains that certification is based on the IAB Europe Retail Media Measurement Standards and the IAB ...
27/11/2025
World champion boxer and Irish sporting icon Katie Taylor will be in studio this...
27/11/2025
Roblox, one of the world's most popular online gaming platforms for primary ...
27/11/2025
Black Friday is leveling up. Get ready to score one of the biggest deals of the season - 50% off the first three months of a new GeForce NOW Ultimate membership...
26/11/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Prime Video EP Mike Muriano Previews Massive Black Friday Slate Fe...
26/11/2025
A cinematic snow sculpture at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival. Photo by Randall Michelson...
26/11/2025
Book podcasts are booming. On Spotify, you'll find everything from celebrity book clubs to deep dives with bestselling authors. And in markets where audiobo...
26/11/2025
Mumbai, November 24, 2025: In a first-of-its-kind initiative, JioStar, in collab...
26/11/2025
LONDON Factual content producer ITN Productions has launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins....
26/11/2025
MIAMI TelevisaUnivision said it struck a new multiyear distribution agreement with YouTube TV that includes distribution of TelevisaUnivision's U.S. network...
26/11/2025
OpenDrives, Inc., a leader in software-defined data storage and data services, today announced the launch of the Atlas Corporate Creative Solution. This new Atl...
26/11/2025
Disguise, the industry-leading company powering the world's biggest live performances, is partnering with pioneering LED wall manufacturer DVS to give atten...
26/11/2025
HighField AI, the pioneer in agentic and multimodal automation for broadcast and media production, today announced the expansion of its global channel partner n...
26/11/2025
As high-stakes Premier League fixtures approach and additional premium content launches, with MONO positioning themselves to dominate Thailand's sports stre...
26/11/2025
Hosting a wide variety of events from high-intensity NHL games to complex live music concerts and major entertainment productions, Montreal's 21,000 capacit...
26/11/2025
Vizrt, the leader in live production technology revolutionizing viewer engagement and experience, releases AI-driven advances focusing on speed, intelligence, a...
26/11/2025
ITN Productions, an award-winning factual content producer, today launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins. Responsible for delivering a leading...
26/11/2025
Ikegami reports ongoing advances throughout 2025 in developing and delivering coordinated television production solutions that maximize quality, versatility and...
26/11/2025
Following the Nov. 21 blackout of NBCUniversal channels on Fubo, the two sides have traded barbs about their inability to reach a new carriage deal....
26/11/2025
LONDON As TV sports rights become increasingly important for both broadcasters and streamers, Ampere Analysis predicts global investment in the genre will surpa...
26/11/2025
LOS ANGELES Vubiquity said it has achieved the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Media & Entertainment Competency as part of the AWS Partner Network (APN). This designa...
26/11/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement Bureau said it has entered into a consent decree with Comcast calling for the cable company t...
26/11/2025
Berklee Named to the Hollywood Reporters Top Music Schools List The publication highlights the college's screen scoring program, industry partnerships, and ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
Animated Series Love Through a Prism' Casts New Light on ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
NALIP Unveils Fifth Cohort of Director Incubator
Social Impact
26 November 2025
United States
Link copied to clipboard
The National Assoc...
26/11/2025
YouView Achieves Greenly Gold Certification for SustainabilityNov 26, 2025
YouView is proud to announce a Gold Certification award from Greenly for our perform...
Award-winning prod co behind Wallander and Occupied opens for business in UK
