Icelandic production company ACT4 has greenlit Vigilant, a six-part crime-thriller directed by Kari Skogland (The Handmaid’s Tale), in co-production with German broadcaster ZDF and ZDF Studios. The series will begin shooting in Iceland on 29 October. As the official announcement reads: “Combining a gripping thriller narrative with timely moral and societal questions, Vigilant examines the blurred lines between justice, vengeance and public accountability.”

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The series follows a journalist who is approached by a self-styled vigilante seeking to expose his violent campaign against sexual predators. Initially seeing him as a voice for the voiceless, she soon begins to suspect a darker truth: it is not justice he seeks, but revenge. As her reporting fuels a nationwide debate, the series explores a provocative question: can violence ever be justified when the justice system fails?

Vigilant is adapted from Stóri bróðir, a crime novel by Skúli Sigurðsson that won Iceland’s Blóðdropinn crime fiction prize in 2023 and was shortlisted for the Glass Key, the Nordic crime fiction prize. The television adaptation is written by Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, known for his roles in Severance and Trapped, who is also a partner at ACT4, alongside co-writers Víkingur Kristjánsson, Anita Briem, Teitur Magnússon and Anna Gunndís Guðmundsdóttir.

Ólafsson stated: “Skúli’s novel had a profound impact on me when I first read it. Beneath the thriller, I found a story asking difficult questions about justice, anger and what happens when people lose faith in the systems meant to protect them. Those questions have stayed with me throughout the process of adapting the book for television. I’m incredibly proud of the scripts we’ve created, and I can’t wait to see Kari bring this world and these characters to life with her extraordinary vision, alongside the incredible cast and creative team we’ve assembled.”

Skogland will direct all six episodes and serve as executive producer. Her television credits include The Handmaid’s Tale, for which she won a BAFTA and received an Emmy nomination; she has also directed six episodes of Marvel Studios’ The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Her more recent work includes The Loudest Voice, which snagged a Golden Globe, Smoke and the upcoming Apple TV+ series 12 12 12.

Skogland also commented: “Vigilant captivated me right from the first page. The characters are embedded in a world that takes us on twists and turns while exploring all-too-familiar behaviour and the collateral damage left behind closed doors. The characters walk their own paths of morality that continually make the audience question their own moral position. Everyone’s damage is exposed at some point, and their fragility and strength are tested in this fantastic landscape that is conducive to thought-provoking performance opportunities, all wrapped in a nail-biting thriller. It’s exactly the kind of project I love to sink into, and the cast and production team who have come aboard make it that much more exciting.”

Vigilant continues the collaboration between ACT4 and ZDF following Death of a Horse, the upcoming Icelandic crime-drama commissioned by Icelandic public broadcaster RÚV and ZDF through the New8 public-service broadcaster alliance. Produced by ACT4 in co-production with Germany’s Windlight Pictures, the series is scheduled to premiere in 2026 (see the news).

Icelandic telecommunications and media company Síminn has joined Vigilant as its local financing, broadcast and streaming partner. The series will premiere in Iceland exclusively on Sjónvarp Símans Premium. ZDF holds the German rights, while ZDF Studios will handle international distribution outside the USA, where Los Angeles-based Zero Gravity will oversee sales.