Viaplay – the leading Nordic streaming service, and part of Sweden’s MTG Group – has signed Canadian actor Keanu Reeves (the Matrix franchise) for Swedish Dicks, its first original TV comedy series, which has started filming in Los Angeles and is set to air on Viaplay this autumn.

Swedish actor Peter Stormare and comedian Johan Glans co-star in the American production by Los Angeles-based Viking Brothers Entertainment and Swedish producer Peter Settman’s Brain Academy, part of MTG-controlled Nice Entertainment.

“I love how progressive the whole show is. The scripts are amazing, and it was great to have the opportunity to work with Stormare again,” said Reeves, who has performed with the Swede in several films, most recently in British director Malcolm Venville’s Henry’s Crime (2011).

Created by Viking Brothers, Andrew Lowery and Peter Settman, the first ten episodes of the series are set in Downtown Los Angeles and centre on Ingmar (Stormare), an ex-stunt man now trying to survive as a small-time private detective. One day, he stumbles into Axel (Glans), a former, somewhat successful DJ; together, they start the private investigator company Swedish Dicks.

The new PI partners take on the strangest and wildest cases in LA, but at some stage Ingmar’s past catches up with him, and they have to solve the murder mystery of his former stunt buddy Tex (Reeves). The cast also includes Vivian Bang, Felisha Cooper, Traci Lords and Eric Roberts.

“The list of talented stars really reflects the potential of this series and the high quality of the production,” explained Jakob Mejlhede Andersen, executive vice-president of Programming and Content Development at MTG. “We are already seeing a lot of interest from other international broadcast and TV companies.”