Norsemen (TV series)

Norsemen is a Norwegian comedy TV series about a group of Vikings living in the village of Norheim around the year 790. It originally premiered in Norway under the name Vikingane (Vikings) on NRK1 in October 2016. It is produced for NRK by Viafilm. The series is written and directed by Jon Iver Helgaker and Jonas Torgersen.[1]

Norsemen
Vikingane
From left: Kåre Conradi as Orm, Silje Torp as Frøya, Trond Fausa Aurvåg as Rufus, and Henrik Mestad as Olav
GenreComedy
Created byJon Iver Helgaker
Jonas Torgersen
Developed byViafilm
NRK
Written byJon Iver Helgaker
Jonas Torgersen
Starring
Composer(s)Johannes Ringen
Country of originNorway
Original language(s)Norwegian (Norway)
English (International)
No. of series3
No. of episodes18
Production
Executive producer(s)Marianne Arsky-Andersen
Odd Gunnar Iversen
Producer(s)Anders Tangen
Øyvind Thoen
Running time30 minutes
Release
Original networkNRK1 (Norway)
Netflix (International)
External links
Website

The series is recorded in the village of Avaldsnes in Karmøy municipality, Rogaland, Norway, and it was recorded simultaneously in both Norwegian and English-language versions by filming each scene twice.

  • The first season of the English version was made available on Netflix's video streaming service in August 2017 under the name Norsemen, and season two was made available in October 2018.[2]
  • Season two was filmed in early 2017.[3]
  • Season 3 is named 'Season 0' as it tells the story that led up to season 1, but "won't stray too far" as the creators said.[4]

The first season won the Gullruten award in 2017 for Best Comedy Show, and it was also nominated for Best Sound Production (Peter Clausen and Erling Rein).

Plot

Norsemen takes place in 790s Norway, with various characters taking the leading role as the series develops. The story covers the life of Vikings in the town of Norheim and them dealing with day-to-day life and conflict of varying comedic degrees. As the series progresses, disputes with neighboring villages, including a rival tribe led by the ruthless Jarl Varg, and the efforts of a Roman slave, Rufus, to modernize Norheim's culture result in ongoing conflicts.

Cast
  • Henrik Mestad as Chieftain Olav, the leader of the village. He found a route to sail west, and from this has a much-coveted map.
  • Marian Saastad Ottesen as Hildur, Olav's wife
  • Nils Jørgen Kaalstad as Arvid, the chieftain's second-in-command. He loves to go on raids but he also wants to settle in the village.
  • Kåre Conradi as Orm, husband of Frøya and acting chieftain while his brother Olav, the chieftain is on a raid
  • Silje Torp as Frøya, Orm's unhappy wife and a shield-maiden who rapes men on raids
  • Trond Fausa Aurvåg as Rufus, an enslaved actor from Rome who befriends Orm and plans to modernize the village
  • Øystein Martinsen as Kark, a freed slave who has voluntarily returned to his life as a slave
  • Jon Øigarden as Jarl Varg, a rival chieftain, who desires the map to the west
  • Kristine Riis as Liv, a farmer's wife whose husband is killed by Arvid in a duel, so that Arvid can marry her and own the farm
  • Bjørn Myrene as Torstein Hund, Varg's literal right-hand man.

Episodes
SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
16October 21, 2016 (2016-10-21)November 25, 2016 (2016-11-25)
26November 3, 2017 (2017-11-03)November 3, 2017 (2017-11-03)
36February 21, 2020 (2020-02-21)March 13, 2020 (2020-03-13)

Season 1 (2016)
No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateNorway viewers
(millions)
11"The Homecoming"Jon Iver Helgaker & Jonas TorgersenJon Iver Helgaker & Jonas TorgersenOctober 21, 2016 (2016-10-21)N/A
22"The Escape"Jon Iver Helgaker & Jonas TorgersenJon Iver Helgaker & Jonas TorgersenOctober 28, 2016 (2016-10-28)N/A
33"The Funeral"Jon Iver Helgaker & Jonas TorgersenJon Iver Helgaker & Jonas TorgersenNovember 4, 2016 (2016-11-04)N/A
44"The Raid"Jon Iver Helgaker & Jonas TorgersenJon Iver Helgaker & Jonas TorgersenNovember 11, 2016 (2016-11-11)N/A
55"The Siege"Jon Iver Helgaker & Jonas TorgersenJon Iver Helgaker & Jonas TorgersenNovember 18, 2016 (2016-11-18)N/A
66"The Duel"Jon Iver Helgaker & Jonas TorgersenJon Iver Helgaker & Jonas TorgersenNovember 25, 2016 (2016-11-25)N/A

Season 2 (2017)
No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateNorway viewers
(millions)
71"East vs West"Jon Iver Helgaker & Jonas TorgersenJon Iver Helgaker & Jonas TorgersenNovember 3, 2017 (2017-11-03)N/A
82"Slavebound"Jon Iver Helgaker & Jonas TorgersenJon Iver Helgaker & Jonas TorgersenNovember 3, 2017 (2017-11-03)N/A
93"Hand Job"Jon Iver Helgaker & Jonas TorgersenJon Iver Helgaker & Jonas TorgersenNovember 3, 2017 (2017-11-03)N/A
104"Vengeance"Jon Iver Helgaker & Jonas TorgersenJon Iver Helgaker & Jonas TorgersenNovember 3, 2017 (2017-11-03)N/A
115"The Thing"Jon Iver Helgaker & Jonas TorgersenJon Iver Helgaker & Jonas TorgersenNovember 3, 2017 (2017-11-03)N/A
126"The Last Domino"Jon Iver Helgaker & Jonas TorgersenJon Iver Helgaker & Jonas TorgersenNovember 3, 2017 (2017-11-03)N/A

Season 3
No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date [5]Norway viewers
(millions)
131"Pour the Hat"Jon Iver Helgaker & Jonas TorgersenJon Iver Helgaker & Jonas TorgersenFebruary 21, 2020 (2020-02-21)N/A
142"Bachelor Party"Jon Iver Helgaker & Jonas TorgersenJon Iver Helgaker & Jonas TorgersenFebruary 21, 2020 (2020-02-21)N/A
153"Wedding and Blót"Jon Iver Helgaker & Jonas TorgersenJon Iver Helgaker & Jonas TorgersenFebruary 28, 2020 (2020-02-28)N/A
164"War Table"Jon Iver Helgaker & Jonas TorgersenJon Iver Helgaker & Jonas TorgersenMarch 6, 2020 (2020-03-06)N/A
175"Do You Believe in Dragons?"Jon Iver Helgaker & Jonas TorgersenJon Iver Helgaker & Jonas TorgersenMarch 6, 2020 (2020-03-06)N/A
186"Whip the Balls"Jon Iver Helgaker & Jonas TorgersenJon Iver Helgaker & Jonas TorgersenMarch 13, 2020 (2020-03-13)N/A

Reception

The first season averaged more than one million viewers in Norway, a country with a population of a little over five million.[6]

The New York Times called Norsemen one of the 10 best international TV series in 2017,[7] and one of the best international TV shows of the decade.[8] The Guardian ranked Norsemen the 29th best TV show of 2017.[9]

Norwegian writer Marie Kleve praised the parody violence and how it reflects stories from our time while the characters are living in the Viking era.[10]

The Guardian gave the show a glowing review, and described it as "Monty Python Meets Game of Thrones."[11]

References
  1. Linda Jew (April 25, 2016). "Vikingane: New Comedy Series Spoofing Vikings Filming in Norwegian and English". The Euro TV Place. Retrieved August 27, 2017.
  2. "Vikingane goes global as Norsemen on Netflix". nordicdrama.com. 2017-06-30. Archived from the original on 2017-08-15.
  3. Jorn Rossing Jensen (August 21, 2017). "Haugesund: NRK's Ivar Køhn on Norway's TV Drama Build, Nordic Noir as a Brand". Variety. Retrieved August 27, 2017.
  4. "'Norsemen' season 3 will 'tell the story that led up to season 1' but 'won't stray too far', say creators". MEAWW. May 16, 2019.
  5. "Vikingane Episodes Guide and Summaries". The Futon Critic. Retrieved February 13, 2020.
  6. "Nesten én million har sett premieren". NRK. 2016-10-24. Retrieved 2016-10-27.
  7. Poniewozik, James; Hale, Mike; Lyons, Margaret (2017-12-04). "The Best TV Shows of 2017". The New York Times.
  8. Hale, Mike (December 30, 2019). "The 30 Best International Tv Shows of the Decade". The New York Times.
  9. "The 50 best TV shows of 2017: 50-1". The Guardian. 2017-11-30.
  10. "Komiserien "Vikingane" er vekselvis hylende morsom og underbukse-platt". Dagbladet.no. 2016-10-14. Retrieved 2016-10-17.
  11. "Norsemen review - Monty Python meets Game of Thrones in this Norwegian comedy | Television & radio". The Guardian. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
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