Award-Winning Drama Series VANGUARD Starring Prolific Actor Jakob Oftebro as Real-Life Media Mogul and Visionary Tycoon Jan Stenbeck Makes Exclusive US Debut Tuesday, November 18, 2025 on Viaplay

"Well acted and definitely worth watching" - Göteborgs-Posten

"Painfully skilled... 4 stars" - SvD

"Sweden's The Wolf of Wall Street... 4 stars" - Filmtopp.se

"Sharp, relevant, and of international calibre" - Upsala Nya Tidning

Kristallen Awards 2025 (Swedish Emmys) - win for Best Actor (Jakob Oftebro) and nominations for 'Best Drama' and 'Best Supporting Actor' (Malin Crépin)

Monte-Carlo TV Festival 2025, Wins for Best Series and Best Actor awards

The award-winning Viaplay Original series Vanguard is a fast-paced, cinematic look at the rise of a real-life visionary disruptor who turned bitter family feuds into a media empire that reshaped Nordic TV and influenced global players. This powerful five-part drama series echoes a real-life Succession, showing the price of ambition through high-stakes deals, groundbreaking innovation, and fierce family rivalries. Based on Per Andersson's book, Stenbeck: A Biography of a Successful Businessman, Vanguard makes its exclusive U.S. debut on the European streaming service, Viaplay on Tuesday, November 18, 2025, with two episodes at launch, then one episode per week through Tues., Dec. 9. The series is both English and Swedish, with English subtitles.

At 35, Jan Stenbeck (Jakob Oftebro, Black Crab, Agent Hamilton, Kon-tiki) appears to have it all: a prestigious career at Morgan Stanley, a glamorous life in New York City, and a budding romance with American socialite Merrill McCloud (Zoe Boyle, Downton Abbey, Frontier). But when tragedy strikes his family in Sweden, he is thrust into a leadership role at Kinnevik, the family's esteemed industrial empire.

Armed with bold ideas from the U.S., Jan has no interest in continuing Kinnevik's legacy of steel and forestry. Instead, he launches a radical transformation, turning the conservative conglomerate into a telecom and media powerhouse. What follows is a high-stakes battle between the old guard and innovation, as Jan's visionary ideas clash with his siblings' traditional approach (Malin Crépin as sister Margaretha). His relentless ambition reshapes the Nordic media and telecom landscape - breaking Sweden's telephone monopoly and launching TV3, Scandinavia's first commercial channel. His bold strategies don't just transform the Nordic market - they influence global players, inspiring Rupert Murdoch's Sky TV model and laying the groundwork for Vodafone's rise. At his peak, Jan is worth $800 million, founds 20-30 companies annually, and helps shift Sweden from a traditional industrial society into a leader in global communications.

However, his meteoric ascent comes at a cost. Haunted by loneliness and strained family ties, Jan's life is as tumultuous as it is game-changing. Vanguard is the story of a visionary who revolutionized modern media, but paid a personal price for his groundbreaking impact.

Directed by Goran Kapetanović (Caliphate, The Congregation, My Aunt in Sarajevo) and written by Alex Haridi (Quicksand, Love & Anarchy), Lotta Erikson (The Hunt for a Killer), and Helene Lindholm (The Hunt for a Killer), Vanguard stars Jakob Oftebro (Black Crab, Agent Hamilton, Kon-tiki, Netflix's upcoming The Case) in the lead role, alongside Zoe Boyle (Downton Abbey, Frontier), Malin Crepin (When the Dust Settles, Oslo, August 31st), Julia Marko Nord (Borg McEnroe, Before We Die), Iggy Malmborg (Comedy Queen, Midnight Sun), and Nils Wetterholm (Young Royals, The Congregation, Caliphate). The series is produced by FLX for Viaplay in collaboration with the N8 alliance, with Lejla Bešic (The Breakthrough, Suburbia) serving as producer.

(5 episodes x 45', English and Swedish with English subtitles)

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Director Statement on 'Vanguard'

We want to tell the story of Jan Stenbeck's life in a rich and vibrant drama. The story is fast paced, energetic and capricious, just like Jan Stenbeck himself. Like a Greek drama with power as the central theme, we follow a family where power means more than relationships. It's a story about how power shapes people and how they act in relation to it. The story is also about change. About the global transformation from industry to technology, and how the world entered a new era of free capitalism where companies became the masters of change. Other underlying themes are loneliness, lovelessness and inner emptiness. How hard it is, despite extremely privileged circumstances, to overcome your inner demons.

COMING UP ON VIAPLAY US:

· Thurs., Oct. 2-23: Darkness: Those Who Kill, Season 4 - The most recent season of one of the biggest ongoing Nordic Noir series follows the murder investigation of a young gang member recently released from prison. (Trailer)

· Thurs., Oct. 16: Little Did I Know - Based on a best-selling novel, this award-winning film stars one of Sweden's most popular actresses, Alexandra Rapaport (The Sandhamn Murders, No Time to Mourn, Veronika), and follows a woman's journeys of self-discovery spanning different life stages (50 and 15), offering a hopeful yet painful view on love. (Trailer)

· Thursdays, Oct. 30 - Nov. 27: A Life's Worth - This riveting, landmark drama series follows young soldiers thrown into Bosnia's brutal conflict in 1993, navigating the treacherous line between duty and humanity and exploring the resilience and bonds that form in the face of conflict. (Trailer)

About Viaplay:

The Viaplay streaming service features thousands of hours of premium Nordic and European series and films from Scandinavia's largest and most recognized television/streaming platform. Viaplay's US content offering focuses on the Nordic region's high-quality and psychologically penetrating titles: from atmospheric and suspenseful crime dramas and provocative and stylish young adult series to award-winning dramas and riveting documentaries. On par with the best on television, Viaplay series feature first-rate production values, incredible scenery, award-worthy acting, and edge-of-your-seat storylines. Viaplay is available as an add-on subscription on Prime Video Channels, The Roku Channel, Comcast Xfinity, and more for only $5.99 a month. All titles are available in their original language with English subtitles. Link: http://amazon.com/video/viaplayus