The Heist Academy Opens in Norway
Henrik Farley, Jonis Josef and Martin Lepperød are among the most popular comedians and creators of many hit entertainment projects for TV and digital platforms in Norway. This year, they are taking on a whole new challenge – breaking into Norges Bank – in a new format which they developed with production company Monster for the public broadcaster NRK. The premise of The Heist Academy (original title Brekket) is simple: find and train the best team for the heist mission in a series of funny challenges.
The show premieres on November 1 on NRK TV and co-creator Henrik Farley, producer Mina Lystad and NRK Project Manager Marita Evjen were happy to share their excitement and expectations for one of the biggest entertainment premieres in Norway this year with Georgi R. Chakarov.
The show premieres on November 1 on NRK TV and co-creator Henrik Farley, producer Mina Lystad and NRK Project Manager Marita Evjen were happy to share their excitement and expectations for one of the biggest entertainment premieres in Norway this year with Georgi R. Chakarov.
Henrik, what projects have you worked on with Jonis and Martin before this one?
Henrik: We’ve been working together for close to a decade, so it’s been lots of projects! TV shows like Kasko, Orion and Førstemann, radio programs and podcasts like Karakter, Dynga, Terningkast Tre and På Tynn Is and live shows with standup and improv all across Norway and abroad (to mention a few).
How did you come up with the idea for the new show? Let me guess… you were watching Ocean’s Eleven?
Henrik: The Ocean’s movies have definitely been a part of it, but an episode of Rick and Morty (One Crew Over the Crewcoo’s Morty) really reminded me of how much I love the “let’s get the crew together” moment in heist movies. So, I started thinking “wouldn’t it be fun to try to make a TV format out of this”, and after I had put an early version of the format together, I asked Martin and Jonis if they wanted to be a part of this and they immediately said yes! We never say no to joining each other’s ideas, and I think that’s one of our strengths as a group!
Joke aside but probably many people will compare your format to the hit movie franchise. What will be some of the differences?
Henrik: The main difference is probably that we’re a bit more chaotic and far from as intelligent as the Ocean’s crew! But for what we lack in intelligence we make up for in friendship!
Mina, what was your reaction when the guys came up with the idea for the show? Why did you take on the project?
Mina: The idea had such an irresistible playfulness, that to take on the project was a no brainer. With a project who can contain film references, car chases, explosions, helicopters and competitions all led by three comedians, who would say no? To take a well-known genre like Heist movies and make a competition out of it really was a dream project to develop.
Is it hard to shoot this project and what do you think will be the key elements for its success?
Mina: One of the key elements of the show’s success is that this is really fun! In addition to this, the show’s premise is so relatable. To be in a Heist-movie is a lifelong dream for so many of us, having watched Hollywood-superstars rob banks and doing spectacular stunts for decades. The Heist Academy is obviously a universal theme, and nearly everyone will know the references from both TV and film, making it perfect for all ages.
The project is interesting to shoot and develop, because you need to find the balance between the humor and the action filled competitions. It needs to be both funny, and edge-of-your-seat exciting. In that sense, I think the final product landed somewhere between Heist-movies and Taskmaster.
How did you pitch the show to NRK? It doesn’t look like a typical format for a public broadcaster…
Mina: Obviously, it’s not every day you pitch a show where the end game is robbing a bank. But the broadcaster really understood the playful part of it. When creating entertainment from “criminal acts”, it’s crucial to balance genuine engagement from participants with a framework that clearly presents the content as playful. This has been our focus, as well as that of the public service channel, from the very beginning and throughout the development process.
Other than that, our focus in the pitch was the balance between humor and reality. The humor is essential to make a concept like this work, so the fact that the show has got three of Norway’s funniest comedians leading the audience through every part of it, was an important part of the pitch. In addition, it really needs to feel like there is something at stake for the contestants.
Will you be selling the show internationally?
Mina: The show has already gained international attention, and our hope is that this will reach a global audience.
Marita, why did you decide to commission this format?
Marita: The Heist Academy is a new and innovative format. It combines humor and reality in a way we have never seen before. We want to push boundaries and create formats that will leave the audience wanting more, and we believe this show will do exactly that.
What do you expect will be the reaction of the audience to the show?
Marita: This is something completely new, so you never know how the audience will react. We hope they will laugh and root for their favorite contestant. We also hope they find it so exciting that they can’t wait for the newest episode to come out.
Henrik: We’ve been working together for close to a decade, so it’s been lots of projects! TV shows like Kasko, Orion and Førstemann, radio programs and podcasts like Karakter, Dynga, Terningkast Tre and På Tynn Is and live shows with standup and improv all across Norway and abroad (to mention a few).
How did you come up with the idea for the new show? Let me guess… you were watching Ocean’s Eleven?
Henrik: The Ocean’s movies have definitely been a part of it, but an episode of Rick and Morty (One Crew Over the Crewcoo’s Morty) really reminded me of how much I love the “let’s get the crew together” moment in heist movies. So, I started thinking “wouldn’t it be fun to try to make a TV format out of this”, and after I had put an early version of the format together, I asked Martin and Jonis if they wanted to be a part of this and they immediately said yes! We never say no to joining each other’s ideas, and I think that’s one of our strengths as a group!
Joke aside but probably many people will compare your format to the hit movie franchise. What will be some of the differences?
Henrik: The main difference is probably that we’re a bit more chaotic and far from as intelligent as the Ocean’s crew! But for what we lack in intelligence we make up for in friendship!
Mina, what was your reaction when the guys came up with the idea for the show? Why did you take on the project?
Mina: The idea had such an irresistible playfulness, that to take on the project was a no brainer. With a project who can contain film references, car chases, explosions, helicopters and competitions all led by three comedians, who would say no? To take a well-known genre like Heist movies and make a competition out of it really was a dream project to develop.
Is it hard to shoot this project and what do you think will be the key elements for its success?
Mina: One of the key elements of the show’s success is that this is really fun! In addition to this, the show’s premise is so relatable. To be in a Heist-movie is a lifelong dream for so many of us, having watched Hollywood-superstars rob banks and doing spectacular stunts for decades. The Heist Academy is obviously a universal theme, and nearly everyone will know the references from both TV and film, making it perfect for all ages.
The project is interesting to shoot and develop, because you need to find the balance between the humor and the action filled competitions. It needs to be both funny, and edge-of-your-seat exciting. In that sense, I think the final product landed somewhere between Heist-movies and Taskmaster.
How did you pitch the show to NRK? It doesn’t look like a typical format for a public broadcaster…
Mina: Obviously, it’s not every day you pitch a show where the end game is robbing a bank. But the broadcaster really understood the playful part of it. When creating entertainment from “criminal acts”, it’s crucial to balance genuine engagement from participants with a framework that clearly presents the content as playful. This has been our focus, as well as that of the public service channel, from the very beginning and throughout the development process.
Other than that, our focus in the pitch was the balance between humor and reality. The humor is essential to make a concept like this work, so the fact that the show has got three of Norway’s funniest comedians leading the audience through every part of it, was an important part of the pitch. In addition, it really needs to feel like there is something at stake for the contestants.
Will you be selling the show internationally?
Mina: The show has already gained international attention, and our hope is that this will reach a global audience.
Marita, why did you decide to commission this format?
Marita: The Heist Academy is a new and innovative format. It combines humor and reality in a way we have never seen before. We want to push boundaries and create formats that will leave the audience wanting more, and we believe this show will do exactly that.
What do you expect will be the reaction of the audience to the show?
Marita: This is something completely new, so you never know how the audience will react. We hope they will laugh and root for their favorite contestant. We also hope they find it so exciting that they can’t wait for the newest episode to come out.
