The Coinbase Premium Index, a key indicator of institutional demand in the cryptocurrency market, is exhibiting a remarkable upward trend. This index, calculated for Bitcoin, has remained in positive territory for 14 consecutive days since April 9th, marking its longest run since its all-time high in October 2025.
According to the data, this indicator measures the price difference between US-based Coinbase and globally operating Binance. A higher Bitcoin price on Coinbase compared to Binance generally indicates strong buying activity by US-based institutional investors. Therefore, a sustained positive trend in the index is considered a significant signal of strong institutional demand in the market.
Analysts suggest that institutional buying, rather than individual investor activity, may be the driving force behind the recent recovery in Bitcoin prices. The increased interest in US spot ETFs and the re-entry of large funds into the market, in particular, aligns with Coinbase Premium data.
On the other hand, experts emphasize that this indicator alone should not be considered a definitive bullish signal. They state that market dynamics are multifaceted and that macroeconomic developments also play a decisive role in price movements.
However, the current trajectory of the Coinbase Premium Index stands out as a strong indicator of the growing influence of institutional investors in the Bitcoin market.
Grey’s Anatomy star Kevin McKidd will star in a new ITV thriller, The Only Suspect, adapted by Trigger Point‘s Simon Ashdown from Louise Candlish’s novel.
Produced by Red Planet Pictures, a Fremantle company, the show is set in a leafy London suburb and follows devoted couple Alex and Beth, whose picture-perfect life hides a devastating truth. “Moving between the present day and mid-90s Camden — at the height of Cool Britannia — the story opens during the sweltering summer of 1995, when a young man buries a body during a violent storm,” reads a plot synopsis.
It continues: “30 years later, another heatwave grips a very different world. The abandoned railway track where the body was hidden, running behind Alex and Beth’s street, is being transformed into a nature trail, spearheaded by Beth herself. What is a triumph for the neighbourhood instead threatens catastrophe for Alex. Because Alex is the young man who buried the body.”
The Only Suspect is said to explore obsession, deception, betrayal, the consequences of the recklessness of youth and secrets that refuse to stay hidden.
McKidd, also known for Trainspotting, said the project feels like a “coming home.” He continued: “As an actor, the complex and multilayered role of Alex is exciting to explore and I can’t wait to collaborate with Farren, the whole team at Red Planet Pictures and an amazing ensemble of great British actors.”
The four-part drama will be executive produced by Belinda Campbell and Tom Mullens on behalf of Red Planet Pictures, and Polly Hill and Huw Kennair-Jones for ITV.
The series will be distributed internationally by Fremantle, with filming set to begin in London this spring.
Anthropic is investigating potential “unauthorized access” to its Claude Mythos model that has been touted for its ability to find cybersecurity flaws, the company told Bloomberg. A group gained access to the model through a third-party contractor portal and by using internet sleuthing tools, according to the report. However, the group is only interested in trying the models and not using them maliciously, according to a person familiar with the matter.
“We’re investigating a report claiming unauthorized access to Claude Mythos Previous through one of our third-party vendor environments,” Anthropic said in a statement.
The Claude Mythos Preview arrived earlier this month as part of “Project Glasswing” with significant fanfare. Anthropic limited the preview release to a small number of trusted test companies including Amazon, Microsoft, Apple and Cisco. Another was Mozilla, which said the model helped it find and patch 271 Firefox vulnerabilities. A growing number of banks and government agencies have been seeking access as well in order to safeguard their own systems.
However, several unauthorized users (who reportedly have a private chat on Discord), supposedly gained access to Mythos through a developer portal and by making an educated guess as to where the model might be located. That same group may also have access to other unreleased Anthropic models, according to the report.
The new Mythos model has gained notoriety of late for its supposed ability to sniff out security flaws in operating systems and internet browsers. This has prompted some skepticism among security researchers but also fear that AI-generated cyber attacks could become a “real threat,” CTO of cloud security firm Edera Alex Zenla recently told Wired. Anthropic was recently designated as a “supply chain risk” by the US Department of Defense, but has been in talks with the Trump administration of late to have that label removed.
A peace agreement has yet to be signed between the US and Iran. Just before the two-week temporary ceasefire was due to expire, the mediating state Pakistan intervened, and Trump extended the ceasefire between the US and Iran.
Donald Trump’s extension of the ceasefire with Iran caused Bitcoin ($BTC) to rise again, climbing above $78,000 in the morning hours.
While bullish expectations for Bitcoin continue, the first hurdle expected to be breaking above $80,000 is anticipated.
While there is no clear direction for $BTC due to the uncertainty surrounding the outcome of a US-Iran war, analysis firm Tiger Research has announced a Bitcoin price target of $143,000.
Asia-based analytics and consulting firm Tiger Research has set a Bitcoin price target of $143,000 for the second quarter of 2026 in its new report.
The analysis firm noted that the macroeconomic environment was positive (global M2 reaching a record high of $134.4 trillion and ETF funds turning into net inflows).
Conversely, analysts argue that despite the Iran-related oil price shock pushing CPI up to 3.3% and the Fed slowing its pace of interest rate cuts, global liquidity will outpace short-term inflationary pressures.
It is stated at this point that a decrease in inflationary pressure will support Bitcoin’s long-term upward trend.
Analysts also added that on-chain indicators are moving out of the fear zone and towards a balance between undervaluation and equilibrium. This is seen as a classic signal of market bottom formation and early accumulation.
Bitcoin is nearing a decisive moment as it tests two closely aligned on-chain resistance levels, following roughly 75 days of sideways consolidation since its Feb. 6 local bottom at $60,000 as bitcoin climbs above $78,000.
The first metric is the True Market Mean, currently at $78,200. This metric, tracked by Checkonchain, reflects the average acquisition price of actively circulating supply, excluding lost or dormant coins. It effectively captures the aggregate cost basis of engaged market participants.
The True Market Mean filters out lost, dormant, and economically inactive coins, leaving only the cost basis of participants who are actually present in the market, making it a more precise gauge of where real selling pressure resides.
Just above sits the Short-Term Holder realized price (STHRP) at $79,200, according to checkonchain. This cohort, defined as investors holding coins for fewer than 155 days, tends to be more reactive to price swings. With spot prices below their average entry, these participants remain at a slight loss. Bitcoin tested the STHRP in mid-January around $98,000 and got rejected.
A sustained move above this zone could shift both levels into support, strengthening bullish momentum. Conversely, failure to reclaim them may prolong bitcoin’s consolidation phase, with potential downside.
Kevin Durant scores 23 for Houston but the Lakers bag a 101-94 win despite a depleted team, with Luka Doncic missing.
Published On 22 Apr 202622 Apr 2026
LeBron James compiled 28 points, eight rebounds and seven assists to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a 101-94 victory over the visiting Houston Rockets, taking a 2-0 lead in their first-round Western Conference playoff series.
With leading scorers Luka Doncic (hamstring injury) and Austin Reaves (oblique strain) watching from the bench on Tuesday, Marcus Smart added 25 points, including 5 of 7 from 3-point range, and Game 1 hero Luke Kennard contributed 23 points, which included 3 of 6 from deep.
“Just as hard as we played in Game 1, we had to double that in Game 2,” James said. “We understood what they wanted to come in [with], the desperation they were going to have, so we had to be even more desperate. And I thought we played a hell of a game.”
Kevin Durant, who missed the opening game with a right knee contusion, scored 23 points for Houston, but he had nine turnovers and was held to just three points after half-time.
Houston’s Alperen Sengun paired 20 points with 11 rebounds, Jabari Smith Jr had 18 points, and Amen Thompson posted 16 points and nine assists.
“The turnovers hurt us, but outside of the third quarter, [we were] decent overall,” Rockets coach Ime Udoka said. “But 7-for-29 from three, 8-for-20 on second-chance points, and shooting 40 percent is not good enough … [We’re] defending well enough, but not scoring. That’s the bottom line from these two games.”
The best-of-seven series shifts to Houston for Game 3 on Friday.
Trail Blazers win as Wembanyama suffers concussion
Scoot Henderson poured in a season-best 31 points as the visiting Portland Trail Blazers came back from 14 points down in the fourth quarter to outlast the short-handed San Antonio Spurs 106-103 and even their first-round Western Conference playoff series at one win each.
The teams will play Game 3 on Friday in Portland, and it is unclear whether the Spurs will have Victor Wembanyama available. The NBA Defensive Player of the Year hit his face on the floor in the second quarter and was diagnosed with a concussion. He is scheduled for further testing on Wednesday.
The Spurs, led by Stephon Castle’s team-high 18 points, carried a one-point lead into the fourth quarter but reeled off the first 13 points of the final period to build their advantage to 93-79. The Trail Blazers roared back to take the lead via a 7-0 run capped by a Jrue Holiday layup with 2:02 left and held on from there.
Holiday produced 16 points and nine assists, and Deni Avdija added 14 points for the Trail Blazers. The Spurs got 17 points from De’Aaron Fox, plus 16 points and 12 rebounds from Devin Vassell.
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama took a hard fall on the court [Eric Gay/AP Photo]
Celtics 97, 76ers 111
VJ Edgecombe and Tyrese Maxey combined to make 11 3-pointers and score 59 total points as the Philadelphia 76ers bounced back to even the Eastern Conference playoff series with hosts Boston Celtics.
Seventh-seeded Philadelphia shook off a dismal Game 1 performance, which included making just four 3-pointers in a 123-91 loss, with a complete reversal on the offensive end. With 19 points from Paul George, they shot a torrid 19 of 39 (48.7 percent) from beyond the arc in Game 2.
Jaylen Brown went for a game-high 36 points, and Jayson Tatum finished with 19 points to go with his game-high 14 rebounds for the Celtics. No other Boston player reached double figures in scoring, a stark contrast to Game 1, when the Celtics’ entire starting five notched at least 10 points.
Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey drives to the basket against the Boston Celtics [Charles Krupa/AP Photo]
Rebekah Vardy, who infamously took fellow footballer’s wife Coleen Rooney to court over an Instagram post, is set to get her own reality show.
Titled “The Vardys,” the series, from Orchard Studios, is due to hit U.K. network ITV (and its streaming platform ITVX) later this year. The showrunner for “The Vardys” is Josh Jacobs.
The series will feature Rebekah and her husband Jamie Vardy, a former soccer player for Leicester City. He has since moved to Cremonese in Italy. The show will follow the couple and their children as they decamp to the continent to start over.
Rebekah Vardy found herself in the headlines in 2019 after Coleen Rooney (wife of England soccer star Wayne Rooney) revealed on social media she had hatched a plot to find out which of her friends had been selling stories about her to the tabloids by posting fake news on a private Instagram account. She blocked her followers one by one until the only person left was Vardy, who, she concluded, was the one selling the stories. The fallout, which made waves across the nation, earned Rooney the nickname “Wagatha Christie” (“Wags” being the collective term for footballers’ wives and girlfriends in the U.K.)
Vardy sued Rooney for libel but after a showstopping 2022 trial that was covered widely by the press, the judge found for Rooney, leaving Vardy with an enormous legal bill and her reputation in tatters. The trial inspired a play and TV special while Rooney went on to have her own series on Disney+.
Now, according to ITV’s press release, Vardy is “ready for the next chapter.”
“As she manages the emotional and physical upheaval of the new move, she reflects on her recent challenges in the U.K., intent on putting the ‘Wagatha’ drama behind her and focusing on an exciting new chapter,” reads the release.
ITV’s commissioning editor for entertainment and reality, Louise Major, who ordered the show alongside Katie Rawcliffe, said: “We’re thrilled to be working with the Vardys on this series for ITV1 and ITVX. At a pivotal moment in their lives, this is a rare and revealing look behind the headlines – from the highs of Jamie’s football legacy to the realities of starting over as a family, with Rebekah sharing her reflections on one of the most talked-about stories of the last decade.”
Dan Grabiner and Nat Lippiett, executive producers for Orchard Studios, added: “The Vardys are an iconic and brilliantly entertaining family, and this behind-the-scenes insight into their big move shows them as you’ve never seen them before: candid, unfiltered and completely unpredictable. Welcome to the Vardy party.”
$SPK, the native governance asset of the Spark protocol, is up 1.21% during Tuesday’s U.S. market hours to currently trade at $0.027. The buying pressure followed a capital rotation to leading protocol Sparklend as its major competitor AAVE got caught in the recent Kelp DAO rsETH exploit. The price jumps offer a major breakout from key resistance level, signalling an opportunity for potential recovery in near-term.
Sparklend Gains $1.4B as Kelp DAO Hack Shakes DeFi Markets
On April 18, 2026, Kelp DAO was exploited in a devastating $293 million attack, the biggest DeFi hack of the year. The attacker manipulated a vulnerability in the protocol’s LayerZero-powered bridge, which relied on a flawed single-verifier configuration. The hacker created 116,500 unbacked rsETH (18 percent of the total supply) by forging cross-chain messages and shared these fake coins with over 20 different networks.
The collapse instantly froze Aave. Though its core contracts were protected, the acceptance of rsETH as collateral by the protocol was a crucial flaw. The attacker leveraged the useless rsETH to borrow around $236 million of high-quality assets such as WETH, placing Aave in almost the same position with almost 196 million in bad debt. This sparked a massive liquidity crisis; panicked users withdrew over $5.4 billion, pushing ETH utilization to 100% and effectively trapping remaining funds in a “liquidity crunch.”
This volatility led to a great exodus of capital to protocols seen as more robust, a flight to quality. The main beneficiary of this shift was Sparklend. Whilst Aave had to freeze its markets to test its Umbrella safety module, Sparklend had registered an unprecedented net deposits and loan growth of $1.4 billion and $350 million, respectively, in a span of 48 hours. According to the data, the inflows of April 18th and 20th are by far the largest in all of 2026.
The success of Sparklend was based on its proactive risk management. Spark already halted the rsETH and other low-liquidity assets in January 2026, and had no exposure to the forged tokens. This enabled it to keep on operating fully as competitors were hampered by contagion. The enormous rush of USDS and DAI testifies to the fact that the investors perceived Sparklend as a safe haven, effectively seizing a large portion of liquidity leaving the market in the panic.
Spark Price Gives a Decisive Breakout From 4-Months Consolidation
Following a significant correction in 2025, the Spark price shifted its trajectory to sideways above the $0.019 support. For over four months, the $SPK price remains in a confined range between the horizontal level of $0.026 and $0.018.
This consolidation acted as an accumulation zone for $SPK buyers, evidenced by a rising slope in momentum indicator RSI. The building bullish momentum bolstered price to rebound from the aforementioned despite the geopolitical tension in the middle east.
Furthermore, the Kelp DAO rsETH exploit acted as triggered for capital rotation to Spark price, giving a decisive breakout from the range resistance on April 20th. If the breakout holds, the Spark price could drive a 25% rally to $0.034, followed by a leap to $0.046.
ZetaChain has onboarded Kimi K2.6 from Moonshot AI and Alibaba’s Qwen 3.6 Max, moving toward a vision where AI models operate natively across blockchain ecosystems. The platform positions itself as a universal layer where applications can run across chains and models simultaneously while maintaining private, persistent user memory that belongs to the user rather than the platform.
. @Kimi_Moonshot K2.6 and @Alibaba_Qwen 3.6 Max are now onboarded on ZetaChain.
The model layer is moving fast. The memory layer is just getting started.
ZetaChain enables: – Model-agnostic memory – Persistent user context – Private, user-owned data
The model layer is moving fast. The memory layer is just getting started, and that’s where the real infrastructure gap exists.
About ZetaChain & How It is Different
ZetaChain isn’t building another blockchain to chase transactions. It’s building the infrastructure so apps can work across chains and AI models without developers having to wire up each one separately.
An app on ZetaChain picks Kimi, Qwen, or whoever else is onboarded, routes the request to whichever model makes sense for the job, and does it all from one interface.
The cross-chain stuff works the same way. An app executes transactions and accesses liquidity across multiple blockchains without anyone managing bridges, wrapped tokens, or chain-specific integrations. ZetaChain handles those details. You don’t see them.
That abstraction is powerful because it removes the fragmentation that currently makes Web3 applications unnecessarily complex. Users shouldn’t need to understand which chain a liquidity pool lives on to swap assets. Developers shouldn’t need to deploy the same application separately to every blockchain. ZetaChain removes those requirements.
The Memory Layer Is the Real Feature
The model layer with Kimi and Qwen is impressive, but the memory layer is where ZetaChain is making its actual bet on what comes next. Current AI interactions are stateless. You ask a question, you get an answer, and the next conversation starts fresh with no context from what came before. That limitation creates friction for any application that depends on understanding who the user is and what they’ve done previously.
ZetaChain’s memory layer changes that by giving users persistent, private, user-owned context that AI models can access across interactions. An AI agent helping manage a crypto portfolio needs to know what positions the user currently holds, what their risk tolerance is, and what trades they’ve already executed.
Without persistent memory, the agent starts from zero with every interaction and can’t provide intelligent, contextual help.
The private, user-owned part matters as much as the persistence. Current AI services store interaction history on company servers and use that data to train models or sell insights. The memory layer is different from how every other AI service works.
The memory stays with the user. It’s encrypted. It’s theirs. The AI model can read what it needs to give smart responses, but the user owns the data. They can revoke access anytime. They can switch to a different model and their history moves with them.
How This Changes the Pricing Model
The economics are completely different from cloud AI services. Instead of paying a subscription for access to a model, users own their memory and can choose which models to interact with.
A developer building on ZetaChain doesn’t need to host infrastructure. They build the application logic, and ZetaChain handles the model routing, memory management, and cross-chain execution.
That shift moves the economic incentive from locking users into a single platform to providing the best tools and infrastructure for applications that users actually want to use. It’s the difference between renting compute and building applications that control their own infrastructure and data.
Conclusion
ZetaChain onboarding Kimi and Qwen demonstrates the model layer working. The memory layer is where the platform’s actual innovation lives. Users getting persistent, private memory across AI interactions while developers build without managing their own infrastructure represents a genuinely different approach to how AI and Web3 combine. The model layer is moving fast. The memory layer is where the real value starts to compound.
According to the series producer Anna-Klara Carlsten, the international division of U.S. studio Media Res has signed a first option on Lindqvist’s follow up book “Summer of 1986” (“Sommaren 1986-Lovisa och Melinda”) to be published in Sweden Aug. 17.
Both IPs are set in the Stockholm Archipelago over a seemingly peaceful summer holiday and deal with friendship and courage, through the stories of young characters whose lives are rocked by unexpected events.
In “Summer of 1985,” ‘the summer of Live Aid’ as Lindqvist underscores on his website https://www.johnajvidelindqvist.com/book.php?id=35, we follow seven teen boys and girls. The discovery of a drowned local boy and a mermaid on the mysterious island of Svärtan, “plunge them into a perilous world where both their friendship and their survival are at stake,” reads the logline.
Meanwhile In “Summer of 1986” – or the ‘Chernobyl summer,” according to Lindqvist – the plot turns on two younger female characters, Lovisa and Melinda.
“For Media Res International, securing a first option on “Summer of 1986” gives us an exciting opportunity to stay ahead of the curve with a story that organically expands a world which audiences have already connected with,” the banner said in a statement.
“The novel carries Lindqvist’s signature blend of the ordinary and the uncanny, and by shifting the focus to a younger set of siblings – set against a year marked by major moments in Swedish history, from the assassination of the Prime Minister Olof Palme to the aftermath of Chernobyl, it offers a fresh entry point that could meaningfully extend the life of the series.”
“I’m actually in the middle of reading the book!” admits Carlsten on a video call, sitting alongside “Summer of 1985” concept director Björn Stein and head-writer/co-director Amy Deasismont, as the three unpack for Variety the making of the series, ahead of its world premiere in Cannes, April 27.
Fifth Season“Summer of 1985,” ordered by Swedish pubcaster SVT, and co-produced by ZDF Neo and Film Stockholm, is repped internationally by Fifth Season. The six-part coming-of-age thriller with magical elements weighs in as the first Swedish series produced by “The Morning Show” and “Scenes from a Marriage”’s Media Res international production arm.
Its journey from book to screen started when Lindqvist’s literary agent offered the novel to Media Res head of international Lars Blomgren in spring 2023, who then submitted it to Carlsten a couple of months later. The latter, whose credits include the Netflix feelgood “Tore” and Viaplay YA drama “Thunder in My Heart,” was instantly drawn to the project.
“I had done a lot of coming of ages; this was familiar territory yet totally new, in the thriller-mystery genre. “There’s literally a mermaid and a dead body!”
Carlsten, who officially joined the Media Res’ Stockholm outpost in 2025 as part of the outfit’s international push, felt “Summer of 1985” was the perfect Swedish-rooted IP to draw in a large international audience. It combined Lindqvist’s brand name (attached to the earlier successful adaptations “Let the Right One In,” “Border” and “Handling the Undead”), a catchy sense of nostalgia, music from the 1980s, and picturesque setting in the Stockholm archipelago.
Head-writer Deasismont who had worked with Carlsten on “Thunder in My Heart,” was matched with rising scribe and Columbia University graduate Melina Maraki.
“I had two writers born in the 1990s. After 1985 when the story is set, I started thinking: which director aged 50+ can I bring in?” Carlsten quips. “Lars (Blomgren) had a long-standing relationship with Björn; they had worked on several projects including “The Bridge.” I felt it would be a perfect combo with him.”
Deasismont said she fell in love with the characters, the nostalgia that reminded her of her own summers with friends, “when you have all the time in the world; you grow up together and maybe share the darker parts of becoming an adult.”
A big Lindqvist fan, she was stunned by his generosity and openness when it came to sharing his literary material with her and Maraki. “When we visited him at his house, we thought we would get some answers, particularly regarding his interpretation of the mermaid, but he was like-oh, I’ll leave it to you to figure it out, which set our creativity going,” says Deasismont.
Stein for his part said he was approached by Blomgren when he was “on a completely different track, busy developing two series and a movie.” But he was quickly lured by the quality of the existing scripts and chance to dive into Lindqvist’s universe. “At the same time,” he recalls, “I literally just bumped into Tomas Alfredson and Dino Jonsätter [director and editor of ”Let the Right One In” respectively]. I said, ‘You guys put the bar pretty high. It will be difficult to live up to it. But then I embraced the challenge.”
While Lindqvist’s literary work provided the backbone to the storyline, screen references included Rob Reiner’s classic coming-of-age “Stand by Me” “for its warm portrayal of friendship,” says Deasismont, and the HBO show “Sharp Objects,” for the exploration of memory.
After a challenging casting process which involved viewing 1,300 kids, the lead role of teenager Johannes landed in the hands of newcomer Linus Rogsgård. “He was one of the few who was not stuck to his lines,” says Deasismont who enjoyed “seeing the group of amateur kids blossom as actors.”
Among the seasoned actors, Rolf Lassgård who plays one of the boys’ grand-fathers, was a natural choice. “He’s the biggest actor in Sweden and we had a really good relationship on “Whiskey on the Rocks;” it was fun to continue that collaboration,” Stein says.
Mermaid Look For the mermaid, one of the biggest visual challenges, the team opted for practical rather than CGI effects, for budget reasons but also to allow for more realistic scenes.
According to Stein, most shots were made with an actor and dancer (Rebecca Labbé) in a wetsuit, and Media Res International hired VFX geek and makeup artist Göran Lundström from EffekStudion. The two-time Oscar nominee (“Border,” “House of Gucci”) created the antithesis of Disney’s gentle Ariel – a scary creature, “more fish than human, and with six boobs”, which wasn’t our idea,” Stein quips.
For the director, Lindqvist’s mermaid embodies “the fluid coming-of-age feeling experienced differently by the kids, an expression of their subconscious.”
“She symbolizes the loss of innocence,” adds Deasismont. “She can be dangerous, like the journey into adulthood that our kids in the middle of puberty undergo.”
Filming in the Stockholm archipelago kicked off May 20, 2025 and lasted for approximately 70 days, with a five-week pause in July due to a tourist influx.
On the production side, Carlsten says SVT’s commitment was quintessential to “build trust, attract talent and financial partners including German pubcaster ZDF.”
Following the Canneseries launch, the show will land on SVT Play in July.
As the Swedish show “Summer of 1985” based on a novel by John Ajvide Lindqvist (“Let the Right One In,” “Border”), is set to make a splash at Canneseries’ competition, its production banner Media Res International is sitting on a possible sequel, Variety has learned exclusively.
According to the series producer Anna-Klara Carlsten, the international division of US studio Media Res has signed a first option on Lindqvist’s follow up book “Summer of 1986” (“Sommaren 1986-Lovisa och Melinda”) to be published in Sweden Aug. 17, 2026.
Both IPs are set in the Stockholm Archipelago over a seemingly peaceful summer holiday and deal with friendship and courage, through the stories of young characters whose lives are rocked by unexpected events. In “Summer of 1985,” ‘the summer of Live Aid’ as Lindqvist underscores on his website https://www.johnajvidelindqvist.com/book.php?id=35, we follow seven teen boys and girls. The discovery of a drowned local boy and a mythical mermaid on the mysterious island of Svärtan, “plunge them into a perilous world where both their friendship and their survival are at stake,” reads the logline.
Meanwhile “Summer of 1986,”, or the ‘Chernobyl summer,” per Lindqvist, the plot turns on on two younger female characters, Lovisa and Melinda.
“For Media Res International, securing a first option on “Summer of 1986” gives us an exciting opportunity to stay ahead of the curve with a story that organically expands a world which audiences have already connected with,” said the banner in a statement. “The novel carries Lindqvist’s signature blend of the ordinary and the uncanny, and by shifting the focus to a younger set of siblings—set against a year marked by major moments in Swedish history, from the assassination of the Prime Minister Olof Palme to the aftermath of Chernobyl, it offers a fresh entry point that could meaningfully extend the life of the series.”
“I’m actually in the middle of reading the book!” admits Carlsten on a video call, sitting alongside “Summer of 1985” concept director Björn Stein and head-writer/co-director Amy Deasismont, as the three unpack to Variety the making of the series, ahead of its world premiere in Cannes, April 27.
Fifth Season “Summer of 1985” ordered by Swedish pubcaster SVT, and co-produced by ZDF Neo and Film Stockholm, is repped internationally by Fifth Season. The six-part coming-of-age thriller with magical elements, hails as the first Swedish series produced by “The Morning Show” and “Scenes from a Marriage”’s Media Res international production arm.
Its journey from book to screen started when Lindqvist’s literary agent offered the novel to Media Res head of international Lars Blomgren in the spring 2023, who then submitted it to Carlsten a couple of months later. The latter whose credits include the Netflix feelgood “Tore” and Viaplay YA drama “Thunder in my Heart”, was instantly drawn to the project.
Rolf Lassgard and Linus Rogsgard in Summer of 1985. Credit: Johan Paulin / SVT
“I had done a lot of coming of ages; this was familiar territory yet totally new, in the thriller-mystery genre. “There’s literally a mermaid and a dead body!”
Carlsten who officially joined Media Res’ Stockholm outpost in 2025 as part of the outfit’s international push, felt “Summer of 1985” was the perfect Swedish-rooted IP to draw in a large international audience. It combined Lindqvist’s brand name (attached to the earlier successful adaptations “Let the Right One In,” “Border,” “Handling the Undead”), a catchy sense of nostalgia, music from the 1980s, and picturesque setting in the Stockholm archipelago.
Head-writer Deasismont who had worked with Carlsten on “Thunder in My Heart” was matched with rising scribe and Columbia University graduate Melina Maraki.
“I had two writers born in the 1990s, after 1985 when the story is set. I started thinking: which director aged 50+ can I bring in?” Carlsten quips. “Lars (Blomgren) had a long-standing relationship with Björn; they had worked on several projects including “The Bridge”. I felt it would be a perfect combo with him.”
Deasismont said she fell in love with the characters, the nostalgia that reminded her of her own summers with friends, “when you have all the time in the world; you grow up together and maybe share the darker parts of becoming an adult.”
A big Lindqvist fan, she was stunned by his generosity and openness when it came to sharing his literary material with her and Maraki. “When we visited him at his house, we thought we would get some answers, particularly regarding his interpretation of the mermaid, but he was like-oh, I’ll leave it to you to figure it out, which set our creativity going,” says Deasismont.
Stein for his part, said he was approached by Blomgren when he was “on a completely different track, busy developing two series and a movie.” But he was quickly lured by the quality of the existing scripts and chance to dive into Lindqvist’s universe. “At the same time,” he recalls, I literally just bumped into Tomas Alfredson and Dino Jonsätter (director and editor of ”Let the Right One In” respectively). I said you guys put the bar pretty high. It will be difficult to live up to it. But then I embraced the challenge.”
While Lindqvist’s literary work provided the backbone to the storyline, screen references included Rob Reiner’s classic coming-of-age “Stand by Me” “for its warmth portrayal of friendship,” says Deasismont, and the HBO show “Sharp Objects” for the exploration of memory.
After a challenging casting process which involved viewing 1,300 kids, the lead role of teenager Johannes landed in the hands of newcomer Linus Rogsgård. “He was one of the few who was not stuck to his lines,” says Deasismont who enjoyed “seeing the group of amateur kids blossom as actors.”
Among the seasoned actors, Rolf Lassgård who plays one of the boys’ grand-father, was a natural choice. “He’s the biggest actor in Sweden and we had a really good relationship on “Whiskey on the Rocks;” it was fun to continue that collaboration,” Stein says.
Mermaid Look Then for the mermaid, one of the biggest visual challenges, the team opted for practical rather than CGI effects, for budget reasons but also to allow for more realistic scenes. According to Stein, most shots were made with an actor and dancer (Rebecca Labbé) in a wetsuit, and Media Res International hired VFX geek and makeup artist Göran Lundström from EffekStudion. The two-time Oscar nominee (“Border,” “House of Gucci”) created the antithesis of Disney’s gentle Ariel, a scary creature, “more fish than human, and with six boobs”, which wasn’t our idea,” Stein quips.
For the director, Lindqvist’s mermaid embodies “the fluid coming-of-age feeling experienced differently by the kids, an expression of their subconscious.” “She symbolizes the loss of innocence,” adds Deasismont. “She can be dangerous, like the journey into adulthood that our kids in the middle of puberty undergo.”
Filming in the Stockholm archipelago kicked off May 20, 2025 and lasted for approximately 70 days, with a five-week pause in July due to overtourism.
On the production side, Carlsten says SVT’s commitment was quintessential to “build trust, attract talent and financial partners including German pubcaster ZDF.”
Following the Canneseries launch, the show will land on SVT Play in July.
