16/10/2024 - The six-episode show, boarded by REInvent International Sales, is inspired by the infamous case of three Norwegian girls imprisoned in Bolivia after being caught with cocaine in their bags in 2008

Actress Ella Øverbye on the set of Escaping Bolivia (© REInvent International Sales)

A brand-new true-crime series, Escaping Bolivia, is now filming in Cape Town, South Africa, after an initial shoot in Oslo. What’s more, Scandinavia’s leading sales outfit, REinvent, has boarded the show. The project is being helmed by Anna Gutto (Paradise Highway [+see also:
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The six-part series, penned by Beck with Helena Nielsen and Ingrid Haukelidsæter, is inspired by the infamous case of three Norwegian girls aged 17, 18 and 21, who were imprisoned in Bolivia after being caught in 2008 with 22 kg of cocaine in their bags. Two managed to escape – one with a child, helped by a journalist – while the third stayed behind.

In detail, we follow Ida, her sister-in-law Michelle and Ida’s lover, Cecilie, as they get arrested at the airport in Bolivia with suitcases packed with cocaine. They are sentenced to jail in one of the world’s most dangerous female prisons. Soon enough, Ida discovers that she can’t trust her friends, nor the Norwegian authorities’ ability to bail her out. She starts planning her escape.

The cast is led by Jakob Oftebro (the series Agent Hamilton, Margrete – Queen of the North [+see also:
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“After eight years of development and research, it feels great that we’re finally filming. I’m sure that Escaping Bolivia will touch, engage and challenge viewers. The series focuses on friendship, betrayal and love, as well as something as unique and beautiful as motherhood and doing everything you can for the people you love. At the same time, the series is also about what you’re willing to do and to sacrifice to save yourself, and having to grow up behind bars,” Beck commented.

Escaping Bolivia is being produced by Fenomen and 4 ½ for TV2 Norway, in co-production with German pubcaster NDR and the Oslo Film Fund. Delivery is slated for 2025.