{"id":5975,"date":"2018-01-29T22:48:43","date_gmt":"2018-01-29T20:48:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/?p=5975"},"modified":"2018-01-29T22:48:43","modified_gmt":"2018-01-29T20:48:43","slug":"nordic-noir-comes-to-showmax","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/blog\/2018\/01\/29\/nordic-noir-comes-to-showmax\/","title":{"rendered":"Nordic Noir Comes To Showmax"},"content":{"rendered":"

Seven years ago, her daughter disappeared. Now detective Eva Tho\u0308rnblad (Moa Gammel) has returned home after her father\u2019s suicide to discover that more children are vanishing – in the same forest.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Jordskott was the highest rated drama of the year on both SVT in Sweden and ITV Encore in the UK, winning the Kristallen award for Best TV Drama in Sweden, as well as the BANFF Rockie Award for Best Serial in Canada. It was also nominated at Camerimage for Best Pilot and was quickly renewed for a second season.<\/p>\n

\u201dDespite having next to no violent crime compared to South Africa, the Nordic countries have consistently told some of the best crime stories of the last decade, from The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (also on Showmax) to The Killing and The Bridge,\u201d says Candice Fangueiro, head of content: Africa at Showmax. \u201cWe\u2019re delighted to introduce South African streaming audiences to the genre and confident that local audiences will relate to the show\u2019s themes of corporate greed, environmentalism and the question of how far you\u2019re prepared to go to protect those you love.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why is Nordic noir so popular internationally? According to Moa, it\u2019s because \u201cScandinavian dramas have this realness to them. They\u2019re about everyday life and relationships and psychology. They\u2019re not like \u2018Who is the killer?\u2019 but more like \u2018Why is that person a killer?\u2019 If you combine that type of storytelling with the crime fiction that\u2019s somewhat larger than life \u2013 murderers and dead bodies and grim storylines \u2013 you get a new, fresh mix. That\u2019s what appeals to audience who maybe have seen glossier crime dramas about mobsters or whatever from the US.\u201d<\/p>\n

She also suggests that Nordic noir is less obvious than American crime shows. \u201cAudiences themselves are getting to solve the puzzle. Maybe in some American storytelling, they say the subtext but Scandinavian dramas rely on the idea that audiences will see the subtext for themselves. You don\u2019t always have to have someone say \u2018I love you\u2019 or \u2018I hate you\u2019. You can portray it instead and that makes it more compelling and interesting to watch. Audiences are so smart and they\u2019re used to watching movies and series. They\u2019re used to how stories are portrayed and sometimes they\u2019re one step ahead, so you need to rely on their intelligence.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

She also says part of the appeal is because Nordic noir is known for its strong, complex female characters. \u201cAnd they\u2019re over 30 or 40,\u201d she says – pointing out that Nordic noir paved the way for female-driven shows like Homeland and An Honourable Woman – and more recently Big Little Lies. \u201cThey also feature complex characters over 30 who have something different to them. It feels like people are looking to the Scandinavian countries and seeing the female characters on our shows. It\u2019s amazing that we can inspire them to see, \u2018We can do a series with a female lead and people will watch it.\u2019 They\u2019ve maybe been afraid before, like \u2018No-one\u2019s going to watch a show or a movie with a female lead because they\u2019re not interested in that\u2019 but they are and we\u2019ve shown that they are.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unsurprisingly, Moa says she has no desire to move to Hollywood to further her career. \u201cI\u2019ve met with some American agents and they\u2019re like \u2018Maybe you should whiten your teeth\u2026\u2019 I\u2019m not interested in playing a sexy Russian nanny. I\u2019m too old for that anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moa has been amazed at the global response to Jordskott. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to portray the folk tale soul of Sweden; all of our natural myths and fairy tales that have been told from mouth to mouth. It\u2019s part of our natural soul in a way and it\u2019s amazing that people respond to it abroad. It\u2019s like the local is global. The more local you dare to be, the more of a global allure it is, because it\u2019s something different.\u201d<\/p>\n