Norsemen (TV series)

Norsemen is a Norwegian comedy television 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 filmed 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[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 leading role as the series develops. The story covers the life of Vikings in the village of Norheim, with day-to-day happenings and strife 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 finds a route to sail west, and is in possession of 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 right-hand man.

Episodes
SeriesEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
1621 October 2016 (2016-10-21)25 November 2016 (2016-11-25)
263 November 2017 (2017-11-03)3 November 2017 (2017-11-03)
3621 February 2020 (2020-02-21)13 March 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 Torgersen21 October 2016 (2016-10-21)N/A
22"The Escape"Jon Iver Helgaker & Jonas TorgersenJon Iver Helgaker & Jonas Torgersen28 October 2016 (2016-10-28)N/A
33"The Funeral"Jon Iver Helgaker & Jonas TorgersenJon Iver Helgaker & Jonas Torgersen4 November 2016 (2016-11-04)N/A
44"The Raid"Jon Iver Helgaker & Jonas TorgersenJon Iver Helgaker & Jonas Torgersen11 November 2016 (2016-11-11)N/A
55"The Siege"Jon Iver Helgaker & Jonas TorgersenJon Iver Helgaker & Jonas Torgersen18 November 2016 (2016-11-18)N/A
66"The Duel"Jon Iver Helgaker & Jonas TorgersenJon Iver Helgaker & Jonas Torgersen25 November 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 Torgersen3 November 2017 (2017-11-03)N/A
82"Slavebound"Jon Iver Helgaker & Jonas TorgersenJon Iver Helgaker & Jonas Torgersen3 November 2017 (2017-11-03)N/A
93"Hand Job"Jon Iver Helgaker & Jonas TorgersenJon Iver Helgaker & Jonas Torgersen3 November 2017 (2017-11-03)N/A
104"Vengeance"Jon Iver Helgaker & Jonas TorgersenJon Iver Helgaker & Jonas Torgersen3 November 2017 (2017-11-03)N/A
115"The Thing"Jon Iver Helgaker & Jonas TorgersenJon Iver Helgaker & Jonas Torgersen3 November 2017 (2017-11-03)N/A
126"The Last Domino"Jon Iver Helgaker & Jonas TorgersenJon Iver Helgaker & Jonas Torgersen3 November 2017 (2017-11-03)N/A

Season 3 (2020)
No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date [5]Norway viewers
(millions)
131"Thin Up Top"Jon Iver Helgaker & Jonas TorgersenJon Iver Helgaker & Jonas Torgersen21 February 2020 (2020-02-21)N/A
142"Bachelor Party"Jon Iver Helgaker & Jonas TorgersenJon Iver Helgaker & Jonas Torgersen21 February 2020 (2020-02-21)N/A
153"Wedding and Sacrifice"Jon Iver Helgaker & Jonas TorgersenJon Iver Helgaker & Jonas Torgersen28 February 2020 (2020-02-28)N/A
164"War Table"Jon Iver Helgaker & Jonas TorgersenJon Iver Helgaker & Jonas Torgersen6 March 2020 (2020-03-06)N/A
175"Do You Believe in Dragons?"Jon Iver Helgaker & Jonas TorgersenJon Iver Helgaker & Jonas Torgersen6 March 2020 (2020-03-06)N/A
186"Scrotum Whipping"Jon Iver Helgaker & Jonas TorgersenJon Iver Helgaker & Jonas Torgersen13 March 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 (25 April 2016). "Vikingane: New Comedy Series Spoofing Vikings Filming in Norwegian and English". The Euro TV Place. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
  2. "Vikingane goes global as Norsemen on Netflix". nordicdrama.com. 30 June 2017. Archived from the original on 15 August 2017.
  3. Jorn Rossing Jensen (21 August 2017). "Haugesund: NRK's Ivar Køhn on Norway's TV Drama Build, Nordic Noir as a Brand". Variety. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
  4. "'Norsemen' season 3 will 'tell the story that led up to season 1' but 'won't stray too far', say creators". MEAWW. 16 May 2019.
  5. "Vikingane Episodes Guide and Summaries". The Futon Critic. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
  6. "Nesten én million har sett premieren". NRK. 24 October 2016. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
  7. Poniewozik, James; Hale, Mike; Lyons, Margaret (4 December 2017). "The Best TV Shows of 2017". The New York Times.
  8. Hale, Mike (30 December 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. 30 November 2017.
  10. "Komiserien "Vikingane" er vekselvis hylende morsom og underbukse-platt". Dagbladet.no. 14 October 2016. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
  11. "Norsemen review - Monty Python meets Game of Thrones in this Norwegian comedy | Television & radio". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
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