In the latest consolidation move among content creators in Scandinavia, Sweden’s top production banners Art & Bob and streaming-oriented Breakable Films have come together under the newly formed media group CoStudios, owned by H&M heir Tom Persson’s private investment group C0_Made.
Joining the two film and TV production outfits in the new group is Scandinavian podcast outlet Third Ear Studio.
The long-standing Art & Bob is credited most recently for the David Dencik-led realistic prison drama “Pressure Point” which bagged the coveted Nordic Series Script Award in Göteborg, as well as the mini-series “Dreaming of England” from head-writer Lisa Ambjörn (“The Young Royals”). The outfit is currently producing Netflix’s first period drama “The New Force” lined up for a 2026 launch.
Meanwhile the four-year-old Breakable Films, co-founded by Viktor Linnell and Mikael Ljung, has fast made its mark on the Nordic scripted market, with several films and series targeting the streaming generation. These take in dramedy feature “One More Time” which launched globally on Netflix in April 2023 and the Berlinale Series Market Selects 2023 “Out of Touch”, sold to numerous territories by REinvent.
Linnell now serves as co-CEO of Stockholm-based CoStudios, next to Azra Osmancevic, former CEO of Third Ear Studio and IP lawyer specialist at Mannheimer Swartling. For his part Ljung, a former head of development at Breakable Films, will oversee the group’s overall content strategy, while Janca Hodann Söder continues to lead Art & Bob and Breakable Films as CEO.
In a joint statement, the CoStudios’ leadership trio said they will “primarily focus on intellectual property rights and the synchronised development of these rights across multiple verticals, both within and outside the company.”
Under the new set up, Art & Bob, Breakable and Third Ear Studios will continue to operate under their own unique profiles, while gradually implementing a new joint integrated strategy.
“Co-Studios has just been established and it’s now our priority to assess our companies, the trends in the market all together, and set a plan for how to reach our financial targets for the group in the coming years,” Linnell, Osmancevic and Ljung told Variety, before adding: “Down the line, we want Art & Bob, Breakable and Third Ear Studios to have an exchange in both talents and personnel, but also in how they work with IP in the bigger CoStudios context.
Art & Bob are already in financed development on several projects that started out as Third Ear podcasts. We want to continue building on this and make sure our rights can develop and grow seamlessly between different formats.”
Outlining CoStudios’ overall strategy, Linnell added: “We are focusing on acquiring and accelerating established IPs that have made a significant impact in the Nordic region and deserve to be preserved for future generation. With strong financial backing, the leadership team’s extensive experience in rights management, brand development, and legal expertise, we have the resources and knowledge needed to ensure long-term and sustainable growth. Our vision is simple: we aim to establish a next generation media company.”
For Ozmancevic, CoStudios’ strategy based on the vertical integration of IP rights, sits well in today’s Nordic ecosystem and shifting global media landscape. “The way content is produced for film, TV, and podcasts is evolving rapidly. By making strategic acquisitions and embracing new technology, we can take advantage of these changes and ensure that our rights, brands, and production companies remain strong in the future,” she said.
“The Little Ghost Godfrey”
In a decisive move illustrating the group’s ambitions and financial clout, CoStudios also announced it has acquired the Swedish outfit Tre Sandberg, which exploits the rights to Inger and Lasse Sandberg’s beloved children books and characters, such as the “The Little Ghost Godfrey” (aka “Lilla Spöket Laban” or “The Little Ghost Laban”), “Little Anna and The Tall Uncle.”
“Lilla Spöket Laban” and his friends are an important and beloved part of Swedish cultural heritage,” said Ljung about the IP whose recent feature film version stayed on Netflix’s children’s top chart in Sweden for over a year. “We look forward to preserving and expanding upon the wonderful characters created by the Sandberg family, as well as further developing the rights business to ensure that Inger and Lasse’s creations continue to live on for many generations.”
Speaking on behalf of Tre Sandberg, the outfit’s former CEO Dan Lunqvist said “it feels absolutely right that CoStudios is taking over the rights to Inger and Lasse Sandberg’s storytelling legacy. Viktor, Azra, and Mikael share the same values as Tre Sandberg, and we felt the right connection from our very first meeting. We are confident that CoStudios will handle the rights with care and develop the stories and characters for future generations. The Sandberg family thanks everyone for 60 years of work with these rights and looks forward to seeing how CoStudios carries them forward.”
Stockholm-based private group Co_Made has investments in various storytelling outfits across TV, film, XR and other media, including Garagefilm (“The Hypnosis,” “Painkiller”), Penrose Studios and Warpin Media.
