A dystopian medical thriller in a short format for young viewers. 12 girls are trapped in a mansion, but why are they there, and is it for real? (Please note, this review may contain spoilers.) Scandinavian public broadcasters are required by law to offer programming for children and teens, including drama series. This is something…
Today the first two episodes of Hidden aired on Viaplay. The series is the latest big budget effort in an improving Scandinavian mainstream fantasy scene. Since only two episodes have aired, we’ll leave a complete review for later, and only look at a few things in the first episodes. “Aired” is not the correct term,…
The Scandinavian TV & streaming network Viaplay is jumping on the local supernatural / fantasy wagon with Hidden, an urban fantasy drama based on a bestselling novel by Filip Alexanderson. After having been an actor since 2002, Filip Alexanderson published his first novel in 2015, called Förstfödd (First born). In November 2017 it was announced…
Now showing is the new Danish TV drama The Rain, set in a post-apocalyptic Scandinavia where a virus killed most of the inhabitants. Premiering on Netflix today on May the 4th, The Rain was filmed in Denmark and Sweden from June 2017 and a few weeks into the summer, and is Netflix’s first original Danish…
The Norwegian Christmas countdown calendar The Christmas King was well received when it aired on NRK in 2012. Does it still hold up? Written by Bjørn-Åge Borger Kevin is 9 years old and lives in a village called Silverwood. Dad is an accountant who works for Randi Krohn (practically “Randi Coyn”), who rules the community. Mum…
Today, TV channels across the Nordic region launch the annual highlight for many children; the TV calendars. The tradition has become a spearhead for fantasy based children’s entertainment. For almost 60 years, televised advent calendars in the form of short 24-episode drama series for children have aired in the Nordic region between December 1st and…
Currently showing on Viaplay is the second season of Occupied, the Norwegian science fiction drama that is based on an idea by The Snowman author Jo Nesbø. When the first season of Occupied premiered in Norway on TV2 in 2015, it was the channel’s biggest drama effort until then, and one of the most expensive…
The second season of Jordskott has just launched in Sweden. The mystery series is a unique blend of Scandi-noir crime and mythology. The first series aired in 2015 and was described by one viewer as “a TV series based on fairy tales set in an adult setting rather than a childlike one”. The story followed…
In a few days, the Nordic public broadcasters unleash some of their biggest efforts throughout the year; the Christmas Calendars, aimed mostly at children and airing every day from December 1st to 24th. The Nordic region has a long tradition of Christmas countdown TV drama for children, so-called Christmas calendars, which are the TV equivalent of…
In April and May 2014, the new supernatural teen drama Heartless aired in Denmark. After 5 episodes and an unresolved ending, the fate of the series was uncertain. But now, three new episodes will wrap up what is a unique effort in Nordic TV drama. Three years ago, the Danish commercial broadcaster Kanal 5 (part of the…
Premiering on TV2 in Norway on Sunday is the channel’s biggest drama effort ever. Occupied is set a few years into the future, when oil production is deliberately ended, and Russia does not like it. Created by bestselling crime author Jo Nesbø (the Harry Hole and Doctor Proktor franchises), Occupied is a 10-episode science fiction…
Currently airing in Sweden is the supernatural thriller drama Jordskott, which combines the successfull Scandi-crime mystery with mythology. 1.6 million viewers sit down on Mondays to watch Jordskott, the latest SVT crime drama (along with Arne Dahl season two), which goes beyond the traditional cop-investigates-crime formula which has been a staple of Swedish crime drama…
Currently rerunning on Swedish television is Energina, a superhero action series for children. The titular character is a little girl whose arch-enemy Doctor Dominator tries to take over the city where they both live. Originally broadcast on Swedish national television SVT in 2013, Energina is a 10-part TV series about Gina (Sara Månberg), who gets…
One of the most beloved franchises in Sweden, Pippi, is being upgraded by SVT and audiences all over Scandinavia are outraged. Created in the early 1940s by world famous author Astrid Lindgren as a comforting tale for her sick daughter, and published for the first time in 1945, Pippi Longstocking is one of the most…
In spite of lackluster viewing numbers and a reluctant broadcaster, the Danish supernatural series Heartless will continue, and hopefully round off in good fashion. While penned by many reviewers and abandoned by viewers, the most surprising part about the 5-part TV drama was that the first season ended on a cliffhanger, and nothing suggested the…
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