Abstract
Several studies have addressed the international success of Danish television drama. Somewhat in the shadow of these success stories, we find Norwegian television drama, which has developed a different approach in which novel and digital distribution is a key component. In fact, two of the internationally best-known Norwegian television dramas, the NRK–Netflix production Lilyhammer (produced by Rubicon TV, 2012–2014) and the online teen drama SKAM (NRK, 2015–2017), share a novel approach to distribution for which they have become acknowledged as ‘digital flagship productions’, not only in Norway and Scandinavia, but also internationally. Based on industry reports, material from the trade press, and industry interviews, this chapter analyses Norwegian drama in the aftermath of the Danish success and the global lessons that can be taken from this.
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Notes
- 1.
- 2.
The informants are Camila Bjørn, Head of NRK P3 (interviewed 2018), Anne Bjørnstad, Showrunner of Lilyhammer at Rubicon TV (interviewed 2015), Nicolai Flesjø, Editorial Director for On-Demand Services at NRK (interviewed 2015), Marianne Furevold-Boland, project leader of SKAM at NRK (interviewed 2016), Arne Helsingen, Director of Television at NRK (interviewed 2015), Ivar Køhn, Drama Director at NRK (interviewed 2017), Pål Kruke Kristiansen, CEO of Rubicon TV and executive producer on Lilyhammer (interviewed 2015), Mari Magnus, online producer on SKAM at NRK (interviewed 2017), Kristian Tolonen, Director of Analysis at NRK (interviewed 2015), and Petter Wallace, Director of External Productions at NRK (interviewed 2015).
- 3.
A total of three seasons of eight episodes of Lilyhammer were made. Season 1 premiered on NRK 1 in January 2012 and on Netflix in the United States in February the same year. Seasons 2 and 3 premiered on NRK 1 in October 2013 and October 2014, and on Netflix in the United States in December 2013 and November 2014, respectively.
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Sundet, V.S. (2020). Drama as Flagship Productions: Small-Nation Television and Digital Distribution. In: Waade, A., Redvall, E., Majbritt Jensen, P. (eds) Danish Television Drama. Palgrave European Film and Media Studies. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-40798-8_8
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