Siri (Matilda Kallstrom) agrees to a threesome with Camille (Alma Jodorowsky) and her boyfriend. Photo courtesy of Viaplay
LOS ANGELES, March 1 (UPI) — Drama stars Threesome, Fury And Trom said their shows, airing Wednesday on Viaplay in the United States, will show American audiences atypical examples of Nordic television.
Triois Matilda Kallström, Furyby Ine Marie Wilmann and Pal Sverre Hagen, and TromUlrich Thomsen of recently spoke with UPI by Zoom to explain how the shows differ from the usual Nordic dramas – and what each series offers American viewers.
‘Threesome’ Fixes ‘Bad Sex Scenes’ Story
The Swedish drama Trio stars Kallstrom as Siri, a woman who agrees to have a threesome with her boyfriend David (Simon Loof) and another woman, Camille (Alma Jodorowsky).
Stockholm-based Kallstrom said she was unhappy with the portrayal of sex on Swedish television, despite nudity being allowed on air.
“We did a lot of bad sex scenes,” Kallstrom said of Swedish TV. “With Threesome, we really wanted to focus on making good scenes of intimacy that were authentic and that you could relate to.”
Kallstrom said her complaints about previous sex scenes were related to brief shots of simulated sex that didn’t convey the plot. Kallstrom said the trio and love scenes between Siri and David are important to the plot.
“Every sex scene has a purpose,” Kallstrom said. “It must mean something.”
In the first episode, it’s Siri’s idea to explore the trio with Camille. Afterwards, Siri feels disturbed upon seeing David put his arm around Camille in their sleep.
“During the trio, I feel like [Siri] is the one who takes control and wants to do it,” Kallstrom said. “It’s after that she reflects and sees the trio in a different light.”
Trio is Kallstrom’s first starring role. Kallstrom said her previous roles ranked her in comedy.
“It was really nice to have a role that was more meaningful to me and more relevant,” Kallstrom said.
‘Furia’ is more topical than the usual Norwegian show
The Norwegian drama Fury stars Hagen as Asgeir, a police officer who investigates an anti-Islam terrorist group. Ragan (Wilmann) goes undercover with the cult and Asgeir nearly blows his cover.
While American dramas have many shows like Country And 24, Hagen said such shows about timely political crimes are rare in Norway.
“The big picture is something we share a lot with the United States,” Hagen said. “We’re all in this together, so hopefully the American public will tune into that.”
Wilmannn said she hopes Furia will highlight real local and global issues. Norway has been the target of two terrorist attacks in 2011including a car bomb in Oslo and a shooting in Utoya.
Wilmann said Furia deals with fears that have plagued Norway since Utoya.
“[Ragna] becomes almost an extremist herself in the fight against extremism,” Wilmann said. “How far will you go and how much damage will you cause on your way to the goal of doing good, to yourself and in the world?”
Wilmann said his research for Furia was “a dark time” due to his immersion in documentaries and articles on “right-wing extremism and extreme Islam”. She said she also wanted to transform physically.
Willmann played figure skater Sonja Henie in the 2018 film, Sonja: the white swan. Wilmann felt like her figure skater body wouldn’t be convincing as an undercover agent in a terrorist cell.
“I had to do a lot of fighting and gunplay,” Wilmann said.
Hagen said Asgeir is simpler than Ragna. Asgeir retired from special ops to care for his daughters after his wife was killed on the job.
Now Asgeir finds himself on another dangerous mission, but one he cannot ignore. Asgeir helps Ragna bring down the terrorists just to prevent an attack that could threaten his children.
“It’s perhaps the most basic type of instinct a human can have, to protect their child,” Hagen said.
‘Trom’ presents a unique location
The Danish drama Trom stars Thomsen as journalist Hannis Martinsson. Hannis receives a video of Sonja (Helena Hedinsdottir) pretending to be his daughter.
When Sonja’s body appears in the Faroe Islands, Hannis recognizes the location from her video and begins his own investigation. The local police do not appreciate his intrusion.
Thomson said Trom is the first production shot entirely in the Faroe Islands. Other productions got Faroese footage, but Trom represents the attempt of the islands to set up production infrastructures.
“You could easily shoot science fiction, a moonscape there,” Thomsen said. “It’s got its own vibe and look, so it’s not typical craziness.”
The cast and crew of Trom stayed in hotels in the Faroe Islands. Thomsen said the islands are building studios and training locals to work as crew members.
He said Trom also reflects a real problem facing the Faroe Islands. The murder is related to the whaling industry.
The Faroese have been whaling since they settled on the islands and have been regulated since 1948. Documentaries like The islands and the whale And A taste of whale chronicled attempts by animal rights activists to end the practice.
“It’s not for the survival of the population to kill all these whales,” Thomsen said. “I don’t think it’s necessary.”
American viewers have seen Thomsen in other international productions. He was in the Pierce Brosnan James Bond outing The world is not enough, the thing prequel and TV banshee And Counterpart.
Thomsen said being fluent in Danish, English and German increased his opportunities.
“I’m glad I’m not dependent on Hollywood,” he said. “I could always go back.”
Thomsen has also made two films and is preparing a third, which will be called Sugarabout young girls looking for rich men to date and support themselves.
“The idea is that you want to sweeten your life,” Thomsen said.