Borgen
Danish with English Subtitles
Season 1 (2010) – 10 Episodes approx. 45 minutes each
Season 2 (2011) – 10 Episodes approx. 45 minutes each
Season 3 (2013) – 10 Episodes approx. 45 minutes each
Season 4 (2022) – TBA
4 out of 5 paws
Season 1
‘Borgen’ is a Danish drama about Birgette Nyborg, the head of a minor political party, who becomes Denmark’s first female prime minister after an upset in the elections. The first episodes deal with the election and Birgettes maneuvering amongst the coalition parties to get chosen as prime minister. The remainder of the first season deal with political intrigue, corruption, gender equality, social issues and the surprisingly intricate ins and outs of Danish politics. Birgette has to make decisions that don’t always resound well with her party, big industry, and foreign nations while trying to maintain her principals and sense of decency – and finding out that it’s a delicate balancing act. She is aided by Kaspar, her political spin-doctor, who appears to have his own agenda – and is under constant scrutiny by the media, led by anchor woman Katrine, who are on constant lookout for political corruption. Birgette has to deal with the heady world of politics while also trying to maintain a normal family life with her husband and two children. ‘Borgen’ is excellently acted and an eye-opener into the world of Danish politics.
Hjordis
Danish with English Subtitles
Season 1 (2015) – 4 Episodes approx. 28 minutes each
5 out of 5 paws
‘Hjordis’ is a spinoff from the popular Danish series ‘Rita’ on Netflix. It takes place in the same school during the time that Helle is the headmaster. Helle wants to have an ‘anti-bullying week’ and asks Hjordis to come up with some ideas. Hjordis has the idea of putting on a play and having the school’s misfits – a fat kid, a deaf girl, a boy who wants to be a princess, etc. – play the main roles. However, Helle – when she finds out that the Crown Princess Mary wants to see the play – doesn’t want misfits in the play and arranges for some kids from an acting school to take their place. This doesn’t go over well with Hjordis who finds the new kids to be bullies themselves, and gets her misfits involved instead. When the royal family cancels, the script for the play has to be rewritten; a parent won’t let his son be a princess; there are romantic fallouts amongst the cast; the music director has issues; and Hjordis has to get the play going with almost no time left to deal with the problems. The play goes on; everyone is happy; and Hjordis gets to fulfill a childhood dream. This is a fairly light weight series – but it’s a good story, deals well with bullying and low-esteem, and is exceptionally well acted.
Rita
Danish with English Subtitles
Season 1 (2012) – 8 Episodes approx. 40 minutes each
4 out of 5 paws
Rita is a Danish TV comedy drama about a single mother and school teacher who likes to do things her own way – her students adore her; her three children don’t understand her. She says and does whatever she wants – she is crude and rebellious, a chain-smoker who uses casual sex as an escape while being unable to commit to one man – 3 affairs with different men in the first season alone!! Her eldest son is getting married – Her youngest son is gay - her daughter is dyslexic – and Rita can’t stand her own mother. She is having sex with the school’s principal; with the father of one of her students (which gets her suspended at the end of Season 1) ; and the father-in-law of her eldest son – who was her first boyfriend many years ago. There are a lot of hilarious moments throughout the series, but many serious ones as well – dealing with abortion, disruptive teenagers, drugs, and autism. Rita is an excellent TV series – and Mille Dinesen is outstanding as Rita.
Rita
Season 2 (2013) – 8 Episodes approx. 40 minutes each
5 out of 5 paws
Rita is back teaching after her suspension for having an affair with the father of one of her students. Her other affair with Tom, a former boyfriend, has resulted in Rita getting pregnant – she has to choose whether to have an abortion or not. Rita then starts a normal relationship with Rasmus – the school principal – who moves in with her and her youngest son, Jeppe. Her eldest son Ricco gets a regular job at a youth support centre. Ricco’s wife, Bitten, gives birth to Rita’s first grandchild, Gustav. There are several situations in season 2 that deal with a student taking care of his bipolar mother; Hjordis not being allowed to bond with a child with Asperger’s Syndrome; a student bullying a teacher; Helle, the school psychologist, finally getting to be friends with Rita – and too friendly with Rasmus; and empowering / disempowering students; and other scenarios that involve Rita, her family, and other teachers at the school. Season 2 ends up with a shocker, a new principal, and Rita living alone for the first time in her life.
Rita
Season 3 (2015) - 8 Episodes approx. 40 Minutes
5 out of 5 paws
Jeppe, Rita’s youngest son, has moved out to be with his boyfriend. Rita is living home alone – and the silence is deafening, no children, no boyfriend, and not a lot going on. Helle, the former school counselor, is now the principal. Rasmus - the former principal and Rita’s boyfriend – is now an education administrator for the school board. Hjordis’ boyfriend, Uffe, is now a teacher at the same school. Rita gets involved with the ‘inclusion’ students – who are actually being excluded by the other students – and gets their own space built for them. Rita gets involved with the brother of one of the ‘inclusive’ students – but as with her other relationships, it is pretty well doomed. Helle has a nervous breakdown – and her replacement as headmaster is taken up by – Rita. Lots of good stories, well written and very well acted.
Rita
Season 4 (2017) - 8 Episodes approx. 40 Minutes
5 out of 5 paws
In season 4, Rita has lost her job at the school and is working in a fast food restaurant. She does find a teaching post – at the same school she went to where she grew up after her mother left her and her father. The school is in danger of closing, but is hiring new teachers. Hjordis, wanting to stay with her friend Rita gets a job teaching at the school and convinces her husband Uffe to move to the town. One of the first parents Rita meets is her best friend from high school. Through a series of flash backs to 1985 we get to see how Rita became the person she is today. The principal Bjarne wants to keep to keep the school open but the town counsel is determined to close it. Can Rita save the school? Will Hjordis have to look for a new job? This is a great series and I can hardly wait until Season 5 starts up in September.
The Chestnut Man
Season 1 (2021) – 6 Episodes approx. 45 minutes each
4 out of 5 paws
“The Chestnut Man” is a serial killer murder mystery set in Denmark. The first episode starts off with a flashback to 1985 – a police officer is investigating a disturbance at a farmhouse. On arriving he finds a family that has been horribly slaughtered – only one boy has been left alive. … And the killer is still on site … unfortunately for the police officer. Back to the present … a young woman has been brutally murdered – and blinded in one eye … and one hand cut off. A stick figure of a chestnut man is left at the scene. Detective Naia Thulin is assigned to the case – although she wants a transfer to another department – along with a new partner; Mark Hess – who has been reassigned from Interpol. They soon link the evidence (the chestnut man) to a case from the previous year – a young girl who went missing and is presumed dead. … And she also happens to be the daughter of a minister in the Danish government. Over the next couple of weeks even more women are brutally murdered – each one missing an additional limb (hand, foot, eye, etc.). Hess and Thulin set out to track down the serial killer … and how he got started … and the relationship of the murders to the missing girl. “The Chestnut Man” is excellent – the acting superb, the script tight and well-written (based on a novel of the same name), and will keep you guessing until the end who the mysterious serial killer is.
The Rain
Danish with English subtitles
Season 1 (2018) – 8 Episodes approx. 40 minutes each
4 out of 5 paws
‘The Rain’ is a Danish post-apocalyptic drama about when a deadly rain borne virus devastates the population of Scandinavia. The first episode starts with a tense situation – Simone, a young student – is pulled out of class by her scientist father who insists that they have to leave before it begins to rain. Simone and the rest of the family survive a traffic accident and end up at a hidden bunker built by her father’s company – Apollon. The father leaves after telling Simone to take care of her younger brother Rasmus – the mother dies shortly afterward when she is accidentally exposed to the deadly rain. Apparently the father is the only one who can save everyone from the virus, which he created to cure an unknown disease that Rasmus had. Simone and Rasmus remain in the bunker for six years – all they know is that when it rains, it kills people on contact. Eventually they begin to run out of food and Simone makes the decision to leave the bunker to discover what has happened. Unknown to her she is spotted by a group of young survivors, who desperate for food attack the bunker and take Simone and Rasmus prisoner. Simone slowly gains their trust as she leads the small group to another bunker where they can stock up on food supplies. They decide to try to get to the headquarters of Apollon where they might get answers and whether the rest of the world exists. Each episode begins with a flashback of one of the survivors – how they initially escaped from being exposed to the rain, and how they became members of the group. ‘The Rain’ kind of follows the format of ‘The Walking Dead’ – but with no zombies – survivors trying to escape the ‘Quarantine Zone’ while being hunted by a mysterious group only known as ‘The Strangers’. Each episode slowly reveals the story line, but with enough teasers to keep you watching. I’ve watched the first season and found it to be very well done and acted – the plot has been done before, surviving an apocalypse, but ‘The Rain’ shines on all levels.
The Rain
Season 2 (2019) – 6 Episodes approx. 40 minutes each
4 out of 5 paws
Season 2 of ‘The Rain’ picks up right from the end of Season 1 – Apollon has caught up to the gang of survivors. Simone and Rasmus’ father is shot and killed by Apollon, but not before passing on a crucial piece of information to them – the location of rogue scientists who might be able to cure Rasmus. They escape to Roskilde in Denmark where they meet up with two biologists Jakob and Fie who run the research facility. Jakob, while attempting to cure Rasmus, discovers that Rasmus is ‘pure virus’ - but not in time to prevent Rasmus releasing a cloud of virus that kills everyone in the operating room. Thanks to her father's research on the virus, Simone is able to work with Fie on a cure. However, they don’t realize that any time that Rasmus / the virus is provoked, it mutates into a deadlier strain that is even more dangerous than what was originally contained in the rain. Rasmus strikes up a relationship with Sarah, Jakob’s sister, who herself is ill and has no immune system. Simone and Fie do come up with an antidote, but it backfires when in injected into Rasmus and inadvertently kills Lea, another member of the group. Apollon finds a way to invade the facility, but accidently kills Sarah – resulting in Rasmus going on a killing rampage killing everyone with the exception of Martin, Simone, Jean, and Fie. Simone realizes that Rasmus is too dangerous to let live, so she shoots him. Does that work? Uh, no – he self heals and decides to surrender himself to Apollon. As the last episode ends, Sarah comes back to life, now infected with the virus. So ends Season 2.
Warrior
Season 1 (2018) – 6 Episodes approx. 44 minutes each
4 out of 5 paws
Warrior is a police crime drama, set in Copenhagen but with flashbacks at the beginning of every episode to Afghanistan. At the beginning CC is a Danish army officer attending the funeral of his best friend Peter. Peter died in battle – CC was his commanding officer who sent him to his death. CC is wracked with guilt and he tells Louise, Peter’s wife, that if she needs anything at all to call him. Louise is a police detective who has been trying to capture Tom, the leader of a motorcycle gang called ‘Wolves’, who deals in drugs and crime for years. There is a war brewing between the ‘Wolves’ and another rival gang led by Achmed – and there is a looming drug deal for 300 kilos of cocaine that both gangs want. Louise asks CC, who has retired from the army, to try and infiltrate the ‘Wolves’ and find out when and where the drug deal is going to happen. The series deals with CC infiltrating the gang, trying to get over his guilt, and getting Tom to trust him enough to reveal the details of the deal. How much is CC willing to do? Will he injure unsuspecting police officers? Will he do drugs with the gang? Is he willing to murder people in order to track down the deal? Does he fall in love with Louise? It’s a short series – only 6 episodes of about 48 minutes each – but it is well done and well acted. The series ends without a satisfactory conclusion – is this meant to be an opening for Season 2?