MIPTV 2012: Steven Van Zandt’s Mobster Dramedy ‘Lilyhammer’ Hits France

AB Groupe is now the Gallic boss of the series about a mafia man in a small Norwegian town.

Nordic mobster dramedy Lilyhammer has made a killing in France with AB Groupe stealing the rights to the series starring Steven Van Zandt at MIPTV, the show’s global sales force SevenOne International said on Wednesday.

Sopranos star Van Zandt plays a mobster who, after testifying against his Mafia boss in New York and entering the Witness Protection Program, ends up in small Norwegian town Lillehammer.

Massive posters featuring Van Zandt and the tagline “A New York Mobster in Norway. Really?” were plastered all over the Croisette during the market for the series produced by Rubicon.

Lilyhammer has already aired on Netflix in the U.S., Canada and Latin America and set ratings records on Norway’s NRK1, outperforming the channel’s average by 292 percent. BBC 4 picked up the series for the U.K. and Netflix will co-produce the show’s second season.

"With sales to Netflix, the BBC and now AB Groupe, Lilyhammer once again proves its international appeal. I am absolutely thrilled to see Stevie hit the French screens!" SevenOne’s regional sales manager France Aline Avedikian said.

MIPTV wraps Wednesday in Cannes.