Nordic Entertainment Group (NENT) and Banijay-owned Filmlance International are partnering to produce a new adaptation of Astrid Lindgren’s Ronja the Robber’s Daughter. The family fantasy series (pictured) will premiere exclusively on NENT’s Viaplay SVOD in 2023, with 12 episodes spanning two seasons.

Scripted by Hans Rosenfeldt (The Bridge) and directed by Lisa James Larsson (Victoria), the live-action project will be executive produced by Sara Askelöf for NENT, with Bonnie Skoog Feenery and Mattias Arehn serving as producers for Filmlance International. It’s in casting now.

The story of Ronja the Robber’s Daughter follows a young girl born into a band of thieves in a medieval Scandinavian fortress. It’s based on one of Lindgren’s best-known books after Pippi Longstocking and The Children of Noisy Village. Translated into 100-plus languages, her collective work has sold more than 165 copies worldwide and been adapted into upwards of 70 feature films and TV shows.

Ronja was actually turned into a separate kids TV series recently by Studio Ghibli. Serious Kids managed the international rollout and distribution for the show, which premiered on Japanese pubcaster NHK in 2015 before joining the lineup on Amazon Prime and running for 26 episodes.

NENT has been quite actively engaged in expanding its kids content portfolio lately, partnering with Moonbug on an original Little Baby Bum spinoff called Mia’s Magic Playground and picking up 500 episodes from Stockholm studio and distributor SF Studios.