With original boundary-breaking content, thrilling plots and charismatic actors, Danish television series have captivated audiences worldwide in recent years.
The latest show to hit the small screen is Ride Upon the Storm , which is being distributed in almost 80 countries with a debut late January in Britain.
The new drama was created by Adam Price, the BAFTA winner behind the acclaimed drama Borgen , which followed the political and personal tribulations of a Danish woman Prime Minister.
Danish shows, with both exoticism and gritty realism, have quickly soared in popularity beyond their initial local Scandinavian viewership, said Pia Jensen, an Aarhus University communications associate professor specialising in television series.
Long known for the Nordic noir crime genre, the big international breakthrough for Danish shows came with The Killing , a hard-hitting series following a Copenhagen female cop’s investigations.
Then came crime thriller The Bridge in 2011.
The Nordic noir genre has proven so popular that its aesthetic and themes are now being replicated beyond Scandinavia’s borders, with shows such as Shetland and Broadchurch made in Britain, Ms. Jensen said.
Faith and family
But now Danish TV series have moved beyond Nordic noir.
Ride Upon the Storm is a character-led drama about faith and a family of Danish priests, dominated by Johannes Krogh, a tempestuous God-like father battling numerous demons.
Actor Lars Mikkelsen, known from The Killing and his role as the Russian president in Netflix’s House of Cards , plays Johannes, a role for which he won an International Emmy in November.
Mr. Mikkelsen “has set new standards for the portrayal of a main character in a TV series”, the show’s creator Adam Price said.
Johannes “is the 10th generation of priests, it’s a huge burden that haunts him and he lets it haunt his sons too”.
His eldest son Christian is lost and at odds with the family and society, while younger son August is married and following in his father’s priesthood footsteps before becoming a chaplain for troops in Afghanistan.
