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The investigator from the Russian side teaming up with the Estonian to hunt down a serial killer operating in both countries will be named Maxim Kazantsev. Controversial Russian actor Mikhail Porechenkov has been chosen for that role.

Russia's NTV Channel has commissioned Endemol Shine partner company Weit Media to produce 20 episodes to run over two seasons, with a storyline sparked by the discovery of a body on the Narva Friendship Bridge on the border between Russia and Estonia.

Production will begin on the series in June for transmission in 2017, with season two being filmed consecutively, the report said.

Edgar Savisaar, 65, is leader of the Center Party, the biggest opposition force in Estonian parliament that over 80 percent of the country's Russian-speaking voters have named as their preference in party affiliation surveys. His 37-year-old son, Erki Savisaar, is a member of the Center Party group in parliament.

The original edition of 'The Bridge' was made by Sweden-based Filmlance International, which is owned by Endemol, working with Danish counterpart Nimbus Film. The producers behind 'The Bridge' said they prefer working with partners on both sides of the border, and discussions are ongoing for a broadcaster on the Estonian side to air the new show, the Guardian said.

Porechenkov has been blacklisted by Latvia and Ukraine after a video posted online in 2014 showed him shooting a machine-gun at the positions of Ukrainian soldiers in eastern Ukraine while wearing a helmet with the text "PRESS."

The actor later dismissed the firing of the machine-gun as a salute and denied having tried to relay any message with the helmet.

"Mikhail Porechenkov arrived in Donetsk as part of the armed gang, personally took part in the shooting at the units of the Ukrainian armed forces with automatic weapons. The video was shown on all TV channels, demonstrating this Russian citizen committing a crime in the territory of Ukraine. According to the Criminal Code of Ukraine, the offense is punishable by imprisonment for a term of 7 to 12 years," Ukraine's Interior Minister Arsen Avakov wrote on Facebook at the time.

Acting on the request of the Ministry of Culture, the national security service and the Union of Cinematographists, the Ukrainian National Film Agency in 2014 banned all films and series featuring Porechenkov.

The Russian actor was blacklisted by Latvia in the same year for expressing support for the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic.

A native of St. Petersburg, Porechenkov attended the Soviet Army Construction Forces Higher Political School in Tallinn at the end of the 1980s.

Porechenkov became famous after his lead role as FSB Agent Alexey Nikolayev in the TV series 'National Security Agent' (1999–2005). In 2008, Porechenkov produced, directed and starred in D-Day, a Russian remake of the 1985 American action film 'Commando.' He has also played in the television series 'Liquidation,' 'Issayev' and 'Spetsnaz.'

The original 'The Bridge,' set on the border between Sweden and Denmark, is set to return for a fourth series. The show has proved popular internationally, attracting an average of 1.5 million viewers on BBC4 in the UK – high for a foreign-language production and the channel's top-rated show in 2014.