Nobody Wants To Watch Something They Think They Might Have Seen Before

Michael Hedges September 16, 2013 Follow on Twitter

The great masters of television are tuning their antenna far and wide for the special chemistry appealing to viewers with shortened attention. Dark themes, quirky characters and lots of anticipation are hit combinations. It’s a great time for creative energy and no time to waste.

The second season premiere of drama series Lilyhammer last Wednesday night attracted 922,000 viewers and 51.3% share for Norway’s public broadcaster NRK plus the 27 thousand web watchers. For those hibernating for the last two years, Lilyhammer is the icon of new media’s reach into television. It’s the quirky tale of a New York crime boss, portrayed by Steven Van Zandt, relocated to Norway in witness protection. It made history being the first TV drama series co-produced by streaming video distributor Netflix.

“We are very happy,” said NRK series manager Tone Rønning to Kampanje (October 24). NRK is broadcasting the series, eight episodes, the old fashioned way, once a week. Norwegian viewers get first viewing. In January the rest of the world joins in. Red Arrow Entertainment, marketing subsidiary of German ProSiebenSat.1 Media, has shopped it in 130 countries. Then, too, Netflix subscribers can watch all eight episodes back-to-back or over and over, binging, so to speak.

Lilyhammer is among several Scandinavian TV dramas to make an international splash in recent years. Tele-films of detective writer Henning Mankell ‘s Wallander novels, leading to a multi-year series for Swedish public broadcaster SVT and cult-hit status in the UK, marked the entrè of the ‘Nordic noir’ on television. Police procedural The Killing (Forbrydelsen) debuted in 2007 on Danish public TV, ran for three seasons in 120 countries and won international recognition. Sub-titled TV drama was suddenly cool, except in the United States where broadcasters opted for remakes.

NRK commissioned Norwegian production house Rubicon TV for Lilyhammer’s first season, Netflix becoming co-producer and streaming video distributor shortly thereafter. Big broadcasters including the BBC picked it up. Then fans waited – and waited – for news of a second season.

Mr. Van Zandt, who plays mobster Frank Tagliano, has a day job – night job, actually – as a member of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band. After a bit of negotiation over a product placement issue and Mr. Van Zandt’s participation, the second season was finally shot earlier this year in Norway and New York. The plot-line has been extended to include several British actors, perhaps a tip to the BBC where the series dubuted a year ago to 400,000 viewers.

”These are good numbers, at a time when television viewing is on the way down,” said Mr. Rønning. As for a third season for Lilyhammer, “We are in negotiation” but “season three will include more fun.”

“We'll take it one season at a time,” he continued. “Some series last very many seasons, but that’s not in NRK’s tradition. The closest is Himmelblå (Sky Blue) with three seasons.” Sky Blue, based originally on a British script for the BBC, ran in Norway, Sweden and Iceland between 2007 and 2010.

Two of Denmark’s best known and most exported TV series – The Killing and Borgen – have been recognized for “more than excitement and drama,” awarded the Crown Prince Couple Culture Award, reported public broadcaster DR (October 28). The Killing has been called “the most successful (Danish) export since Carlsberg.” (Copenhagen Post, October 18). Political thriller Borgen, called “the best political drama on television (Forbes, October 15), might be re-made for UK audiences, suggested producer Paula Milne to the Guardian (October 25).

So excited about Scandinavian scripts and plots major league producers begin circling as soon as pilots are filmed. 20th Century Fox Television, production subsidiary of 21st Century Fox, acquired an option on yet-to-be aired NRK drama Mammon. It’s a six-part drama portraying six days in the life of a journalist who discovers graft and corruption. Peter Chernin, CEO of News Corporation until 2009, will co-produce the US adaptation with Chernin Entertainment executive producer Katherine Pope. NRK has already contracted a second season.

“When he (Chernin) sits down and watches a series, it's very imposing,” said Mammon and Himmelblå producer for NRK Vegard Stenberg Eriksen.

Interest in and success of Scandinavian TV drama - Nordic noir, if you will – is easy to understand. First and foremost, it’s story and that Nordic tradition of dark tales appealing in many ways to the current zietgiest. Equally, Scandinavian public TV broadcasters are willing and able to entertain risk. “Our obligation is to be creative and innovative and go a little further than commercial channels would,” said DR head of drama Piv Bernth, quoted by Copenhagen Post (October 18). “The whole luxury of working for a public broadcaster is that you don’t necessarily depend on the financing as the financing is always there. I didn’t have to worry if the commercials weren’t sold.”

Scandinavian public broadcasters, coincidentally, aren’t necessarily looking for the everlasting series. Wallander ran for three seasons with two-year breaks between each. Three seasons, often with anticipatory breaks, seems to be the limit. Writers, directors and actors, it would seem, have greater incentive to move on to the next story.

“After 30 or 40 episodes, you begin to start copying stuff and creating strange characters to make it more entertaining,” said Ms Bernth. “As a result the stories become thinner and thinner.”

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