Kari Skogland to Direct Icelandic-German Thriller Vigilant
Kari Skogland will direct Vigilant, a six-part vigilante crime thriller, Deadline reported on 21 October 2026. She will also serve as executive producer, the senior role that oversees a project as a whole.
The story follows a female journalist. A self-styled vigilante approaches her and runs a violent campaign against sexual predators. The series is adapted for television by Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, the actor who starred in Severance and Trapped. He based it on Stóri bróðir (Big Brother), a crime novel by Skúli Sigurðsson. Co-writers on the adaptation are Víkingur Kristjánsson, Anita Briem, Teitur Magnússon and Anna Gunndís Guðmundsdóttir.
The book's road to the screen started earlier. Variety reported in November 2023 that Icelandic production company Act4 had optioned the novel, meaning it had secured the right to develop it, with plans for a drama series.
Skogland's directing credits include The Handmaid's Tale, The Walking Dead and Vikings. Act4 is co-led by Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, and Variety reported in March 2026 that Act4 and Skogland were set to adapt Hildur Knútsdóttir's psychological thriller Dead Weight as a feature film.
Vigilant is a co-production, meaning several companies share the making and the cost. Act4 has greenlit it alongside German broadcaster ZDF and ZDF Studios, which gives the project its go-ahead. Iceland's Siminn is also on board and holds local rights in Iceland. ZDF holds the rights for Germany.
Selling the show abroad falls to ZDF Studios, which will handle international sales. Zero Gravity is handling sales in the United States.
Production begins on 29 October 2026 in Iceland, where the drama is set. For a crew, that start date is the moment a script becomes a working set, with cameras, locations and a schedule to keep. Viewers will have to wait a while longer, but the project now has a director, a writing team and a production start date.
