Hero Of The Seas Awaits Green Light From NRK

An epic drama based on Hero Of The Seas (En sjøens helt) by Jon Michelet, who died on Saturday, is in development for NRK with a budget of NOK 130-150 million. The series of novels has sold 800,000 copies so far and the sixth volume, Krigerens hjemkomst, will be published this autumn.

If greenlit, season one will be an adaptation of the first volume in the series, Skogsmatrosen, where 18-year-old Halvor Skramstad joins the Norwegian merchant navy in December 1939, and finds himself part of the World War II convoy between England and the United States.

Producer, John M. Jacobsen, told NRK: “It is a fact that convoy traffic between the United States and England was incredibly important. Churchill said that if it had not been for the Norwegian merchant navy, they would have lost the war in 1941 due to starvation.”

“This is the first TV series to touch upon this story and we have received some interest from England and the United States, so this could be really big if we get the series up and running.”

Hero Of The Seas has been in development for over two years and, while casting has yet to be decided, Jarl Emsell Larsen (Eyewitness) is confirmed to direct and will write the feature-length first episode. A final decision from NRK as to whether the series will go ahead is expected soon, and could air in 2020.