Borgen (TV series)

Borgen (Danish pronunciation: [ˈpɒˀwn̩]) is a Danish political drama television series. Adam Price is the co-writer and developer of the series, together with Jeppe Gjervig Gram and Tobias Lindholm. Borgen is produced by DR, the Danish public broadcaster which had previously produced The Killing.

Borgen
Genre	Political drama
Created by	Adam Price
Written by	Adam Price Jeppe Gjervig Gram Tobias Lindholm
Directed by	Søren Kragh-Jacobsen Rumle Hammerich
Starring	Sidse Babett Knudsen Birgitte Hjort Sørensen Pilou Asbæk Søren Malling
Composer(s)	Halfdan E
Country of origin	Denmark
Original language(s)	Danish
No. of seasons	3 series
No. of episodes	30 (list of episodes)
Production
Producer(s)	Camilla Hammerich
Running time	58 minutes
Release
Original network	DR1
Original release	26 September 2010 (2010-09-26) – 10 March 2013 (2013-03-10)
External links
Website

Danish: Borgen, lit. '"The Castle"', is the informal name of Christiansborg Palace where all three branches of Danish government reside: the Parliament, the Prime Minister's Office, and the Supreme Court, and is often used as a figure of speech for the Danish government.

The programme tells how, against all the odds, Birgitte Nyborg Christensen (Sidse Babett Knudsen) a minor centrist politician, becomes the first female Prime Minister of Denmark. Other main characters are Birgitte Hjort Sørensen as Katrine Fønsmark, a TV1 news anchor; Pilou Asbæk as Kasper Juul, a spin doctor; Søren Malling as Torben Friis, news editor for TV1; Mikael Birkkjær as Birgitte's husband, Phillip; and Benedikte Hansen as Hanne Holm, a journalist.[1]

Three series, each comprising ten episodes, have been made. The first series was shown in Denmark in the autumn of 2010, the second in the autumn of 2011,[2] and the third beginning 1 January 2013.

In the UK, BBC Four started broadcasting the first series on 7 January 2012, with a repeat-showing starting on 13 June 2012.[3] The second series started on 5 January 2013,[4] with initial overnight viewing figures of over one million for the first episode.[5] The third series began on 16 November 2013, with two episodes being shown back-to-back.[6][7]

The series has been broadcast in most European countries, as well as in US, Canada, Mexico, South Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.[8][9][10][11][12]

Before the third series aired, Price said that it was likely to be the last.[13] It was announced on 29 April 2020 that, in a partnership between Netflix and DR, a fourth series with the original creative team and Sidse Babett Knudsen and Birgitte Hjort Sørensen reprising their roles is programmed for broadcast in 2022.[14]Seasons 1-3 are set to be added to Netflix globally in 2020. [15]

Birgitte Nyborg

The main character Birgitte Nyborg is sometimes believed to be based on Denmark's first female prime minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt, even though Thorning-Schmidt was not elected until after the second series of Borgen had been made.[16][17] Adam Price, the creator of the series, has stated, "I definitely want you to believe there is a shred of idealism in Birgitte Nyborg that is real. She's also become a very professional political being, but there is definitely that idealism, and that's important."[18]

Sidse Babett Knudsen plays Nyborg. In describing her relationship with the character, she said, "They liked to see a woman feeling guilty and I didn't like that ... I think [Nyborg] should be responsible for her feelings. And when she has to make unsympathetic decisions, she should stand by them. I don't want her to feel sorry for herself or suddenly become a soppy mess in her private life, because you wouldn't believe her as a prime minister if she did that."[19]

In the first episode, Birgitte is the leader of a minority political party, the "Moderates". However, as a result of a sequence of events following a closely fought general election, she finds herself a compromise candidate for the role of Prime Minister of Denmark and remains in this position until the end of the second series. In the first series, she is known as Birgitte Nyborg Christensen. She divorces her husband Philip Christensen in the elapsed time between the first and second series, and is then known as Birgitte Nyborg. In the elapsed time between the second and third series, Nyborg loses her position and becomes a businesswoman and public speaker, returning in the third series to form a new political party, the "New Democrats".[20]

Cast

Actor	Character	Character's Role
Sidse Babett Knudsen	Birgitte Nyborg	Moderate leader – Prime Minister (season 1 & 2) – New Democrats party leader (season 3)
Nyborg-Christensen family
Mikael Birkkjær	Phillip Christensen	Birgitte Nyborg's husband – lecturer at Copenhagen Business School
Freja Riemann	Laura Christensen	Birgitte Nyborg-Christensen and Phillip Christensen's daughter
Emil Poulsen	Magnus Christensen	Birgitte Nyborg-Christensen and Phillip Christensen's son
Birgitte Nyborg's staff
Pilou Asbæk	Kasper Juul	Communications Chief for Birgitte Nyborg (season 1 & 2) – Journalist (season 3)
Morten Kirkskov	Niels Erik Lund	Prime Minister's Permanent Secretary
Iben Dorner	Sanne	Prime Minister's personal assistant
Hanne Hedelund	Jytte	Prime Minister's secretary
Channel TV1
Birgitte Hjort Sørensen	Katrine Fønsmark	TV1/Ekspres journalist (season 1 & 2) – Campaign Manager (season 3)
Benedikte Hansen	Hanne Holm	Journalist on TV1 (season 1 & 3) – Ekspres journalist (season 2)
Søren Malling	Torben Friis	TV1 news editor
Lisbeth Wulff	Pia Munk	TV1 editor
Thomas Levin	Ulrik Mørch	TV1 news anchor
Christian Tafdrup	Alexander 'Alex' Hjort	TV1 programme director
Anders Juul	Simon Bech	TV1 news anchor
Nyborg's Government
Lars Knutzon	Bent Sejrø	Finance Minister (season 1) – Birgitte's advisor (seasons 2 & 3)
Dar Salim	Amir Diwan	Green Party leader, Energy and Climate Minister
Stine Stengade	Henriette Klitgaard	Minister for business (Moderate Party)
Jens Jacob Tychsen	Jacob Kruse	EU Minister (Moderate Party), later EU Commissioner, later Moderate Party leader
New Democrats
Kristian Halken	Erik Hoffmann	Previously Vice-chairman of the New Right party
Julie Agnete Vang	Nete Buch	Previously Moderate member of parliament
Jens Albinus	Jon Berthelsen	Previously Moderate member of parliament
Lars Mikkelsen	Søren Ravn	New Democrats economics consultant
Labour Party
Peter Mygind	Michael Laugesen	Labour leader – Ekspres newspaper editor
Flemming Sørensen	Bjørn Marrot	Foreign Minister, Labour leader (replacing Laugesen)
Lars Brygmann	Troels Höxenhaven	Justice Minister and Labour Party deputy leader
Bjarne Henriksen	Hans Christian Thorsen	Defence Minister (Labour)
Petrine Ager	Pernille Madsen	Labour deputy leader; Minister for Equality – Minister of Finance)
Party Leaders
Søren Spanning	Lars Hesselboe	Liberal leader – Prime Minister (seasons 1 & 3)
Ole Thestrup	Svend Åge Saltum	Freedom leader
Marie Askehave	Benedikte Nedergaard	Freedom
Jannie Faurschou	Yvonne Kjær	New Right leader
Signe Egholm Olsen	Anne Sophie Lindenkrone	Solidarity Party leader
Members of the Danish Parliament
Fadime Turan	Aicha Nagrawi	Solidarity
Claus Bue	Parly Petersen	Labour
Mette Kolding	Inger Hansen	Liberal
Laura Allen Müller	Nadia Barazani	New Democrats
Other characters
Alastair Mackenzie	Jeremy Welsh	Birgitte Nyborg's boyfriend (season 3)
Claus Riis Østergaard	Ole Dahl	Communications Chief for Lars Hasselboe
Mille Dinesen	Cecelie Toft	Phillip Christensen's girlfriend – Paediatrician (season 2)

Political parties and media

Parliament Seats, Series 1–2
Structure
Political groups	Government (83)      Moderates (31)      Labour (35)      Greens (17) Supported by (8)      Solidarity (6)      Centre-left Greenland/Faroe Islands parties (2) Opposition (88)      Liberals (32)      Centre-Right Greenland/Faroe Islands parties (2)      New Right (25)      Freedom Party (29)

Parliament Seats, Series Finale
Structure
Political groups	Government (82)      Liberals (46)      New Right (23)      New Democrats (13) Opposition (97)      Labour (42)      Greens (22)      Solidarity (12)      Freedom Party (12)      Moderates (5)      Greenland/Faroe Islands parties (4)

While the political parties in the series are fictional, they may be recognisable as their real-life equivalents.[21]

• The Moderates (De Moderate), Birgitte Nyborg's centre-left party in the first two series, is based on the Danish Social Liberal Party (Radikale Venstre)
• The Labour Party (Arbejderpartiet) is based on the Social Democrats (Socialdemokraterne)
• The left-wing environmentalist Green Party (Miljøpartiet) is similar to the Socialist People's Party (Socialistisk Folkeparti)
• The far-left Solidarity Collective (Solidarisk Samling) is similar to the Red-Green Alliance (Enhedslisten)
• The New Democrats (Nye Demokrater), Birgitte Nyborg's new centrist party in the third season is based on the New Alliance (Ny Alliance)
• The centre-right Liberal Party (De Liberale) is based on Venstre
• New Right (Ny Højre) is similar to the conservative Conservative People's Party (Konservative Folkeparti)
• The national-conservative Freedom Party (Frihedspartiet) is stated by party leader Svend Åge Saltum to be a successor party to Mogens Glistrup's Progress Party (Fremskridtspartiet), just like its real-life successor Danish People's Party (Dansk Folkeparti)

Following the 2011 parliamentary election, the Social Liberals, the Socialist People's Party, and the Social Democrats did form a coalition government, with parliamentary support from the Red-Green Alliance, and with Helle Thorning-Schmidt becoming Denmark's first female prime minister (though, in the real-life coalition, the Social Democrats were the leading party).[21]

The New Alliance (Ny Alliance) originally opposed the influence of the social conservatism of the Danish People's Party (Dansk Folkeparti) on the Government, as well as the alleged left-leaning opposition strategy of the Social Liberal Party. In 2008, the party moved somewhat to the political right, emphasising the liberal economic or libertarian components of its party programme, and changed its name from New Alliance to Liberal Alliance.

The fictional broadcasters and newspapers also have their real-life equivalents: the public broadcaster TV1 is based on DR1, the tabloid newspaper Ekspres is inspired by Ekstra Bladet, and the commercial 2'eren is similar to TV 2.

Episodes

Main article: List of Borgen episodes

Season		Episodes	Originally aired
			Season premiere	Season finale
	1	10	26 September 2010 (2010-09-26)	28 November 2010 (2010-11-28)
	2	10	25 September 2011 (2011-09-25)	27 November 2011 (2011-11-27)
	3	10	1 January 2013 (2013-01-01)	10 March 2013 (2013-03-10)

Reception

Adam Price with Peabody for Borgen at the 73rd Annual Peabody Awards

The series has been well received by critics and audiences alike.[22] It became a hit in the UK as well as Denmark, becoming one of several Danish series to do so in recent years.[22] Maggie Brown of The Guardian cited the strong female characters, originality and an ability to "uncannily forecast actual developments in Danish politics" as reasons for its success.[22] Jane Merrick of The Independent published a list of similarities from Series 2 to actual events in present-day UK politics following the conclusion of the series in the UK.[23]

The US critics have been similarly positive, with Newsweek dubbing Borgen "the best TV show you have never seen"[24] and bestselling novelist and Entertainment Weekly columnist Stephen King put the series on the top of his top 10 list of the best TV shows of 2012.[25] The New York Times also offered praise, describing Borgen as a "bleaker, Nordic version of The West Wing" and saying it "finds a remarkable amount of drama and suspense in center-left alliances, pension plans and televised debates."[26]

With several middle of the road 3/6 star ratings, the Danish media's reaction to the third series was noticeably less positive than for the first two series. Politiken commented that the third series "ended like a soap opera" and "never succeeded in breaking free from predictability";[27] with Berlingske's review declaring that whilst the third series "tied up the loose ends in pretty bows and was, like the rest of the series, well performed, it was also insidiously dull".[28] Tabloid paper BT however claimed that the series "finished on a peak" and with this third season had "become the best Danish series in years".[29] The critique came after several months where storylines from the third series in an unprecedented manner for a Danish drama series had sparked media headlines and created hefty debates in real life Danish politics on, among other issues, prostitution and pig farming, epitomised by Danish MP Mai Henriksen from Conservative People's Party, who was widely accused by colleagues and journalists of advocating a bill of rights for prostitutes, solely because she was inspired by Borgen.[30]

Awards

Award Show	Year	Category	Nominee(s)	Result
International Emmy Award	2012	Best Performance by an Actress	Sidse Babett Knudsen	Nominated
Monte Carlo TV Festival	2011	Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series	Sidse Babett Knudsen	Won
	2013	Best International Drama TV Series	Borgen III	Nominated
		Best European Drama TV Series	Borgen III	Won
		Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series	Birgitte Hjort Sørensen	Nominated
British Academy Television Awards	2012	International Prize	Borgen	Won
	2014	International Prize	Borgen	Nominated
Prix Italia	2010	Best TV Drama – Series and Serials	Borgen	Won
Festival International de Programmes Audiovisuels	2011	Best TV Series and Serials	Borgen	Won
		TV Series and Serials: Best Music	Halfdan E	Won
Peabody Award	2013	Area of Excellence	Borgen	Won[31]

Awards for the show include the 2010 Prix Italia for best drama series,[32] a Golden Nymph to Sidse Babett Knudsen for Outstanding Actress in a drama series at the 2011 Monte-Carlo Television Festival,[33] and the Fipa Grand Prize for Best TV Series as well as for Best Original Soundtrack at the 2011 Festival International de Programmes Audiovisuels.[34] The program also won the award for Best International TV series at the 2012 British Academy Television Awards.[35]

Radio

DR1 produced a spinoff radio serial, Udenfor Borgen ("Outside the Castle"), to accompany the release of the television show. The main character is Hans Gammelgard (voiced by Danish actor Finn Nielsen), private secretary in the Ministry of the Environment, who faces unexpected adversity after he tries to push for a controlled approach to the cultivation of genetically modified crops by Danish farmers.[36][37]

Beginning in December 2013, BBC Radio 4 aired an English-language translation of the Danish radio serial, entitled Borgen: Outside the Castle, starring Tim Pigott-Smith as Hans Gammelgard.[38] Reviewer Fiona Sturges of The Independent thought the radio version was "wholly pointless", and noted in particular that, unlike the television series, the radio program was "relegating its female characters to the fringes, casting them as secretaries and anxious mothers."[39] On the other hand, Gillian Reynolds of The Telegraph gave the radio show a positive review, approving its complex treatment of the intricacies of the civil service.[40] In 2015 Deutschlandfunk broadcast this radio serial with German explanations for some of the wordplays such as MOM=MON for Momentum=Monsanto.[41]

Remake

In September 2011, it was announced that NBC would produce a US remake of Borgen, with a pilot being developed by David Hudgins and Jason Katims of Friday Night Lights fame.[42] The NBC remake never materialized, but in November 2013 it was confirmed by Adam Price that HBO and BBC Worldwide were set to begin production on a U.S. remake of the series.[43]

Merchandise

DVD

All three series have been made available in Denmark and the UK on DVD. Both are coded Region 2 format and consist of the complete episodes as screened on DR1 and BBC4.

In the US, MHz Networks released all three series and the complete series box set on DVD coded Region 1.

DVD Name	Episodes	DVD release dates
		Region 2 (Denmark)	Region 2 (UK)	Region 1 (US)
The Complete First Series	10	3 February 2012 (2012-02-03)	6 February 2012 (2012-02-06)[44]	12 March 2013 (2013-03-12)[45]
The Complete Second Series	10	30 May 2012 (2012-05-30)	4 February 2013 (2013-02-04)[46]	25 June 2013 (2013-06-25)[47]
The Complete First and Second Series	20	3 April 2013 (2013-04-03)	4 February 2013 (2013-02-04)[48]	–
The Complete Third Series	10	14 November 2013 (2013-11-14)	16 December 2013 (2013-12-16)[49]	21 January 2014 (2014-01-21)[50]
The Complete Series	30	–	16 December 2013 (2013-12-16)[51]	21 October 2014 (2014-10-21)[52]

Book

A novelisation of the first series of Borgen was released in Denmark, The Netherlands and France on 19 February 2013. The Danish release from DR in conjunction with publisher Lindhardt & Ringhof is written by Jesper Malmose.[53] Head of DR Sales Anders Kjærsgaard Sørensen hopes to have the book available in the UK soon.

Music

On 26 February 2013, DR Salg, the commercial distribution arm of DR, made Borgen (Original TV Series Soundtrack), nineteen tracks of Halfdan E's original compositions for the show, available for digital download on iTunes.[54][55]

Based on the music from the show and entitled 'Borgen 2010', Halfdan E has also made a longer composition available through SoundCloud.

References

1. Gilbert, Gerard (5 January 2012). "Nothing Like A Dane". The Independent. London. Retrieved 5 January 2012.
2. ml TV tid 11 March 2011 (in Danish): Der kommer en tredje sæson af Borgen (There will be a third season of "Borgen") Retrieved 7 January 2012
3. "Borgen Series 1". BBC. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
4. Frost, Vicky (5 February 2012). "Lilyhammer series could provide just the tonic for bereft Borgen fans". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 5 February 2012.
5. Sweney, Mark (7 January 2013). "Tm Daley Splash ITV ratings". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
6. Frost, Vicky (15 February 2013). "Borgen to return to BBC for third series". Guardian. London. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
7. "Borgen returns to BBC for final series". BBC. 17 February 2013. Retrieved 17 February 2013.
8. "Une femme au pouvoir". La Presse.ca.
9. "Portada". Canal 22. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
10. "여총리 비르기트". JTBC. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
11. "New buyers for Borgen". c21media. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
12. Borgen: How did this become Europe's hottest show?, Stuff.co.nz, 25 January 2015
13. "Borgen series three will likely be its last, reveals the show's creator". Radio Times. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
14. "Netflix Teams With Denmark's DR To Revive Political Drama 'Borgen'". Deadline. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
15. "Seasons 1-3 of 'Borgen' Coming to Netflix in June 2020". What's on Netflix. 6 June 2020.
16. "Borgen supremacy: DR reveals the secret to its success", The Copenhagen Post, 20 January 2012 Archived 23 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Accessed 20 December 2013
17. "Sidse Babett Knudsen: 'We had no idea Borgen would have any appeal outside Denmark", The Guardian, 1 February 2012. Accessed 20 December 2013
18. "Borgen creator Adam Price on what's next for Birgitte Nyborg in the show's third and final series", The Guardian, 14 November 2013. Accessed 20 December 2013
19. "Borgen: Sidse Babett Knudsen interview", The Telegraph, 27 Jan 2012. Accessed 20 December 2013
20. "Clive James: Losing sleep over beautiful Birgitte", The Telegraph, 20 November 2013. Accessed 20 December 2013
21. "Revealed: the real Borgen", The Radio Times, 4 February 2012
22. Brown, Maggie (14 January 2012). "Borgen: Inside Danish TV's thriller factory". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
23. Merrick, Jane (3 February 2013). "From rainy Copenhagen, to wet and windy Westminster". The Independent. London. Retrieved 19 February 2013.
24. Borgen: The Best TV Show You’ve Never Seen
25. King, Stephen (21 December 2012). "Stephen King: The Best TV I Saw in 2012". Entertainment Weekly.
26. Stanley, Alessandra (20 October 2011). "Cover-Ups, Personal and Political". New York Times. Retrieved 13 March 2013.
27. "Borgen ended like a soap opera" (in Danish). Politiken. Archived from the original on 12 March 2013. Retrieved 11 March 2013.
28. "Behind the walls" (in Danish). Berlingske. Retrieved 11 March 2013.
29. "Why Borgen will be sorely missed" (in Danish). BT. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
30. "Conservative politician: Borgen was used as leverage for debate on prostitution" (in Danish). Information. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
31. 73rd Annual Peabody Awards, May 2014.
32. IMDb: Awards for Borgen Retrieved 15 January 2012
33. "Golden Nymphs Awards Listing Palmarès des Nymphes d'Or. 10 June 2011 – 10 Juin 2011, Grimaldi Forum, Monaco" (PDF). MONACO MEDIAX. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 August 2011. Retrieved 7 January 2012.
34. "Jury and Awards – Series and Serials – FIPA 2011 – International Festival of Audiovisual Programs". FIPA. Archived from the original on 4 August 2012. Retrieved 7 January 2012.
35. "Two DR shows vie for glory". Copenhagen Post. Retrieved 6 May 2012.
36. "Udenfor Borgen" [Outside the castle]. DR (in Danish). 23 September 2010. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
37. Stroyer, Rasmus (7 October 2010). "'Udenfor Borgen' fanger lyttere ind" ['Outside the Castle' captures listeners]. DR (in Danish). Retrieved 11 December 2014.
38. "Borgen spin-off to air on BBC Radio 4". BBC News. 27 November 2013. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
39. Sturges, Fiona (19 December 2013). "Borgen: Outside the Castle – The Week in Radio: appalled by a British Borgen that's an insult to women". The Independent. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
40. Reynolds, Gillian (18 December 2013). "Borgen – Outside the Castle, Radio 4, review: Gillian Reynolds reviews the week in radio and admits that she's hooked on the audio version of the Danish political drama". The Telegraph. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
41. "Politthriller im englischen Original" (in German). Deutschlandfunk. 2015. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
42. Andreeva, Nellie (26 September 2011). "NBC to adapt Danish drama Borgen with FNL's David Hudgins and Jason Katims". deadline.com.
43. "Borgen to get a US remake on HBO". Retrieved 4 February 2017.
44. Amazon UK: Borgen – Series 1 Relinked 14 December 2013
45. Amazon US: Borgen – Season 1 Relinked 14 December 2013
46. Amazon UK: Borgen – Series 2 Relinked 14 December 2013
47. Amazon US: Borgen – Season 2 Relinked 14 December 2013
48. Amazon UK: Borgen – Series 1 & 2 Relinked 14 December 2013
49. Amazon UK: Borgen – Series 3
50. Amazon US: Borgen – Season 3
51. Amazon UK: Borgen – Trilogy
52. Amazon US: Borgen – The Complete Series
53. "Borgen goes from the screen to bedside table" (in Danish). DR. Archived from the original on 23 February 2013. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
54. "Borgen goes from the screen to bedside table" (in Danish). DR. Archived from the original on 23 February 2013. Retrieved 14 February 2013.
55. "Halfdan E – Borgen (Original TV Series Soundtrack)". iTunes. Retrieved 14 February 2013.

External links

• Borgen's official website (in Danish, but with season 3 synopsis available in English)
• Ekspres (Danish)
• Borgen on IMDb
• Borgen at Rotten Tomatoes