Production company Lunderskov Magic ApS, led by producer Michael Lunderskov (The Zookeeper), together with CMG Productions and producers Nicole Finnan (Alex Rider, Brideshead Revisited) and Allan Sperling (Reyka, Spinners) have announced new international co-production, Gunsmoke & Mirrors.
The high-end scripted series chronicles the epic transformation of Christian Rørmose Madsen, a Danish petty criminal, turned war hero and frontier legend. Spanning the late nineteenth century, the series explores the thin line between survival and manipulation as Madsen reinvents himself in the lawless crucible of the American West. Blending intimate personal drama with a broader historical and political perspective, the series shows how one man’s life became intertwined with the creation of modern America.
The series is created by Michael Lunderskov and based on Chris Madsen’s autobiography and contemporary accounts, along with the work of Frans Ørsted Andersen’s Et Liv På Kanten (A Life on the Edge), the life story of Chris Madsen, which the production companies have optioned. Alongside the scripted drama series, the production companies are also developing both a Danish and English language podcast, and a documentary, both of which will tap into new information that has come to light about Madsen and his impact on his adopted home country in the last year.
Lunderskov Magic ApS is founded and run by Danish producer, writer and media entrepreneur Michael Lunderskov who has worked across a range of international feature films and television productions over the last two decades, including The Zookeeper starring Sam Neill, Return to Sender starring Connie Nielsen and Aidan Quinn, A Song for a Raggy Boy starring Aidan Quinn and Iain Glen, The Black Pimpernel starring Michael Nyqvist and Prisoner of Rio starring Paul Freeman, Stephen Berkoff and Sonya Braga.
Gunsmoke & Mirrors marks CMG’s first drama project, joining its expanding slate of high-end original IP for the global market, with founders Rebecca Knight and Claire McArdle drawing on their scripted experience prior to founding the company.
CMG has worked with networks and studios including Netflix, Sky, ITV, NBC Peacock, and Paramount+. The company is known for premium documentary and factual storytelling, with credits including award-winning documentaries and true crime features The Footballer, His Wife and the Crash, The Footballer Fraudster, and Death in the Heartlands. CMG has also provided production services on major drama series including Mobland and The Agency. The company recently announced an original podcast deal with Stak.
Nicole Finnan, founder of Jaeger Media and former Managing Director and Executive Producer at Eleventh Hour Films has played a key role in major UK productions such as Alex Rider. She has executive produced feature films such as Becoming Jane, My Boy Jack and high-end television drama, including Case Histories and Toast for the BBC. At Caryn Mandabach Productions she served as Managing Director and was instrumental in extending the Peaky Blinders brand into Film, Gaming and YouTube and selling the business to Banijay in 2024.
Danish award-winning producer and media executive Allan Sperlingbrings over two decades of experience producing global content. During his tenure as Executive Head of Content at MultiChoice and Showmax, he spearheaded a “golden era” of local productions that gained unprecedented global recognition, including the first Emmy-nominated African drama, Reyka, Catch Me a Killer,, and Spinners, the first African series to compete at Canneseries. CMG co-founders Claire McArdle and Rebecca Knight are reuniting with Sperling for the project following their previous work together at Viacom International.
Claire McArdle, Co-CEO & Co-Founder of CMG Productions says: “Gunsmoke & Mirrors is a defining project for us as we expand our IP-driven scripted slate and build international co-productions across key markets. This partnership with Nicole, Michael and Allan brings together an exceptional group of international creatives with a shared ambition to deliver a series that stands out. Gunsmoke & Mirrors reminds us that the American West was won not just by gunslingers, but by immigrants who forged new lives and helped to build a nation.”
Nicole Finnan says: “Gunsmoke & Mirrors excites me because it has all the hallmarks of a fledgling brand we can build upon. The story is both grounded and universal, with the potential to spark debate about identity and the ability to reinvent oneself.. It is also very topical in these crazy and uncertain times.”
Allan Sperling says: “Gunsmoke & Mirrors is an incredible untold story of a Danish criminal turned frontier hero, with an amazing engaging team behind it.”
Michael Lunderskov says: “What drew me to Chris Madsen was the contradiction at the heart of him: a criminal who becomes the law, an immigrant who helps build America, and a man who spends his entire life trying to outrun who he once was. Gunsmoke & Mirrors is not a traditional western. It is a character-driven story about power, identity and reinvention seen through European eyes.”
Jon Creamer
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