DR Sales, the international sales arm of Danish pubcaster DR, has boarded TV drama “The Best of Families” created by Maja Jul Larsen (“Cry Wolf “) and produced by Piv Bernth (“The Killing”).
The six-part limited series is based on real events involving Denmark’s ChemiNova chemical factory in the early 1950s and exposes the human and moral cost of the ChemiNova success story. First presented at Berlinale’s Co-Pro Series in 2025, the show is now in production, led by Bernth’s Apple Tree Productions that, as previously announced, will shutter at the end of this year.
“The Best of Families,” which is inspired by novelist Kim Blæsbjerg’s award-winning novel of the same name, spans ten years. It traces the rise of the ChemiNova chemical factory “that promises jobs and progress – while quietly poisoning the land and the people who depend on it,” says the synopsis.
The narrative is centered on three women: Margrethe, Karin, and Gudrun, and two brothers, Niels and Erik. The story unfolds “as prosperity gives way to silence, moral compromise, and, ultimately, a reckoning that can no longer be ignored.”
The series features a high-profile ensemble cast including Mikkel Boe Følsgaard (“The Chestnut Man”); Lars Ranthe (“Adam’s Apples”); and Ane Stensgaard Juul (“The New Nurses”) as well as new talents including Mathilde Eusebius, Tue Lunding and Morten Agerholm.
Commissioned by DR, “The Best of Families” is supported by West Danish Film Fund and the Nordisk Film and TV Fund and expected to premiere on DR in Feb. 2027 followed by a festival premiere.
The series is part of the N12 collaboration bringing together Nordic broadcasters NRK, SVT, Yle, and RÚV.
The plan is for “Best of Families” to premiere on DR in February 2027, with a festival premiere expected in spring 2027.
Piv Bernth and Maja Jul Larsen are pictured above (from left to right)