Endemol Shine Group today announces that Caliphate, the critically acclaimed series from Swedish production company Filmlance is now the biggest success ever on SVT’s streaming service SVT Play.

In Sweden, Caliphate attracted an average of over 600,000 adult viewers per episode during the first month, a record for SVT Play, where it will be available on until July 8^th.  Meanwhile, the acclaimed thriller is now available globally on Netflix, where it launched in March.

Caliphate is a tense eight- part drama, focusing on five young women, whose fate is intertwined in an examination of how religious fundamentalism can seduce individuals and destroy lives.

The series is written by Wilhelm Behrman and Niklas Rockström (‘Before We Die’) and directed by Goran Kapetanović (Goldbag-Awarded ‘My Aunt in Sarajevo’). Produced by Filmlance, part of Endemol Shine, Caliphate is a joint production between SVT, Filmlance and Film Capital Stockholm.

“There is always a great desire for strong and engaging stories and Caliphate also has a strong current connection to our time. The complex subject has not only been an audience favourite but also sparked great debate here in Sweden and we are incredibly proud that this show is now available to a global audience on Netflix.” says Tomas Michaelsson, producer for Filmlance.

“It is clear that Caliphate is a riveting series that grabs the attention of viewers and makes them want to talk about and discuss, engaging in depth about the multifaceted topic. All these discussions, opinions and debate have broadened the audience and increased interest in watching the series.” says Anna Croneman, Programme Director for Drama at SVT.

Award-winning production company Filmlance are part of Endemol Shine Group’s unrivalled network of scripted producers around the world. The company’s scripted footprint is growing year on year with 92 dramas airing last year, 69 of which were non-English dramas such as Beforeigners (HBO Europe), Matadero (Antena 3) and Queens (Hot) and many many more.

Spearheaded by Lars Blomgren, Endemol Shine’s existing diverse and award-winning labels from EMEA include Filmlance (Sweden), Rubicon (Norway), Germany (MadeFor), Netherlands (NL Film), France (ES Fiction), Iberia (Diagonal), and scripted teams in Italy, Israel, Poland, Russia, India and Finland.