Beyond the Bridge: Contemporary Danish Television Drama 9781350985520, 9781786731456

Citation preview

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Tobias Hochscherf is Professor of Film, Radio and Television at Kiel University of Applied Sciences and the University of Flensburg, Germany. Previously he worked as a senior lecturer at Northumbria University, UK. His research interests include film and television history, televisual representations of society and politics, and transnational media cultures. Hochscherf is the author of The Continental Connection: German-​speaking Émigrés and British Cinema, 1927–​1945 and has co-​edited the anthologies Divided, But Not Disconnected: German Experiences of the Cold War and British Science Fiction Film and Television: Critical Essays. He is an associate editor of the Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television. Heidi Philipsen is Associate Professor of Media Studies at the University of Southern Denmark. Her research interests focus on the creative processes and talent development within audiovisual media. Among other publications, she has written a comprehensive study of the National Film School of Denmark, The New Wave of Danish Film: Influences and Imprints from The National Film School of Denmark, and edited and contributed to several books, including Moving Media Studies and Designing New Media.

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‘In Beyond the Bridge, Hochscherf and Philipsen take us on an analytical ride into the creative context of transnational success and public service channel DR. This book is essential for anyone who wants to understand a fascinating phenomenon in international TV drama.’ – Ib Bondebjerg, University of Copenhagen ‘Integrating analysis of internationally acclaimed programmes and their reception by audiences, as well as TV production practices, this is an illuminating exploration of contemporary Danish TV drama. It tackles the key questions in current media culture about national specificity, public value and television, professional industry training and the relationship between TV and cinema in a globalised world.’ – Jonathan Bignell, University of Reading

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Popular Television Genres General Editor: James Chapman Television is the dominant mass-​entertainment medium of the modern age. Yet, while popular genres in film have received much attention, their television equivalents have remained relatively unknown and unexplored. Popular Television Genres explores the lineages and taxonomies of fictional television worldwide. Written by experts in the field, each book in the series focuses on a particular genre or cycle of popular television. The approach is methodologically broad, balancing the textual analysis of narrative with the need to place popular television in its cultural and historical contexts, as well as analysing its critical and popular reception. Intended for use on television and media studies courses, Popular Television Genres provides informed and accessible reading for scholars, students and general readers alike.

Titles: American Science Fiction TV: Star Trek, Stargate and Beyond Jan Johnson-​Smith Beyond the Bridge: Contemporary Danish Television Drama Tobias Hochscherf and Heidi Philipsen Beyond Dixon of Dock Green: Early British Police Series Susan Sydney-​Smith British Science Fiction Television: A Hitchhiker’s Guide John R. Cook and Peter Wright (eds) Cult TV Heroines: Aliens, Angels and Amazons Catriona Miller Saints and Avengers: British Adventure Series of the 1960s James Chapman The TV Detective: Voices of Dissent in Contemporary Television Helen Piper Up the Creek: Twenty Years of Teen TV Hannah Ellison

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Beyond The Bridge

Contemporary Danish Television Drama

TOBIAS HOCHSCHERF AND HEIDI PHILIPSEN

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Published in 2017 by I.B.Tauris & Co. Ltd London • New York www.ibtauris.com Copyright © 2017 Tobias Hochscherf and Heidi Philipsen The right of Tobias Hochscherf and Heidi Philipsen to be identified as the authors of this work has been asserted by the author in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or any part thereof, may not be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Every attempt has been made to gain permission for the use of the images in this book. Any omissions will be rectified in future editions. References to websites were correct at the time of writing. Popular Television Genres ISBN: 978 1 78453 356 4 eISBN: 978 1 78672 145 7 ePDF: 978 1 78673 145 6 A full CIP record for this book is available from the British Library A full CIP record is available from the Library of Congress Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: available Printed and bound by CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon, CR0 4YY

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Contents List of Illustrations Acknowledgements Introduction

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1 The Danish Audio-​visual Media Landscape: From Dogma 95 to Transnational Cooperation

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2 Danish Production Culture and Creativity Management through ‘Scaffolding’

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3 Does Crime Pay? Forbrydelsen (The Killing) and the Thriving of Nordic Noir

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4 Crime across Borders: Broen (The Bridge)

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5 Politics, Family Life and the Media: Borgen

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6 Family Noir: Arvingerne (The Legacy)

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7 The Danish Take on National Security and the War on Terror: Ørnen: En krimi-​odyssé (The Eagle)

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Conclusions: From Dogmas to Nordic Noir and Beyond

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Notes 215 Select Bibliography 245 Index 252

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List of Illustrations I.1 Øresund Bridge: The Øresund Bridge between Denmark and Sweden is a symbol of European integration and the setting of the transnational television drama Broen 1.1 DR: The Copenhagen headquarters of DR with production, news and administration all under one roof: DR Byen (‘DR City’) 2.1 National Film School of Denmark: The National Film School of Denmark on Holmen in Copenhagen offers four programmes: film, television, scriptwriting and animation 2.2 Design manual: Scaffolded production design in Forbrydelsen to ensure stylistic continuity 3.1 (parts a–​d) Forbrydelsen’s Nordic Noir production design: ‘It has to be dark and sometimes it’s okay not to see anything’ (DR 2007–12) 4.1 Broen: A transnational crossing as gloomy television location: the Øresund Bridge (DR/SVT 2011–) 5.1 (parts a–​d): Borgen: Montage sequences as animatics: the Borgen title sequence follows international stylistic trends (DR 2010–13) 6.1 (parts a–​d) Arvingerne: A rather unusual Christmas at the artist’s country estate of Grønnegaard in Arvingerne (DR 2014–) 6.2 (parts a–d) Borgen and Arvingerne: Interior Scandinavian design as attraction (DR 2010–13; DR 2014–) 7.1 (parts a–​d) Ørnen: The changed geopolitics as personal experience: Denmark during the war on terror (DR 2004–6)

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66 92

118 134

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174 181 198

List of Tables 6.1 Statistics illustrating the dominance of female leading protagonists and male writers in Danish television viii

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Acknowledgements Our research on contemporary Danish television drama has benefited from numerous discussions with colleagues at our home institutions and a number of international conferences and research seminars at the universities in Aarhus, Flensburg, Lübeck, Newcastle and Leicester. At Kiel University of Applied Sciences and the University of Southern Denmark we would like to thank colleagues and all students who have actively participated in research seminars on quality television. Many a brief conversation over lunch or in the corridor as well as classroom debate have helped us to reflect on some of our initial ideas. Matthias Bauer and James Chapman deserve our special thanks for their conceptual suggestions and interest in the topic. Far away from the dark and gloomy televised Scandinavian landscapes, in sub-​tropical Louisiana, David Culbert kindly offered to read the final manuscript. He directed our attention to inconsistencies and unhappy turns of phrase. Madeleine Hamey-​Thomas has provided invaluable suggestions on the manuscript during various stages of our research, Stefanie Jürgensen has assisted us in analysing and visualising the narrative structures of Danish television drama. John Irons has patiently helped with the proof-​reading and advised on overall consistency in the text. We deeply appreciate your help. We could not have written this book without your astute comments and rigorous observations. Thanks as well to Jaime J. Rodriguez for introducing us to fascinating new quality television beyond Scandinavia for comparison. Given that research which deals with the genesis of contemporary television is impossible without insight knowledge by those involved in actual production processes, we are particularly grateful to those at DR, TV2, Nimbus Film, Zentropa, and the many freelancers who have helped us with our research –​not least when we fired questions at them during busy production days. Special thanks thus to our interviewees Kaspar Munk, Nikolaj Scherfig, Karoline Leth, Jeppe Gjervig Gram, ix

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Acknowledgements

Bo Tengberg, Pernille Fischer Christensen, Lotte Lindegaard, Piv Bernth, Halfdan E (Nielsen), Peter Aalbæk Jensen –​and a number of other filmmakers from Zentropa. We are very grateful, too, for the interest in our book and the editorial assistance at I.B.Tauris. This book was written without a grant or the opportunity for research leave. We would thus like to express our deep gratitude to those who have not seen much of us during the busier phases of juggling our daily routine with research. Most of all, we would like to thank our partners and children for their generous support and enduring patience.

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Introduction

The last decade has been a golden era for Danish television drama. Denmark constitutes one of Europe’s smallest television markets, with just 2.5 million television households. Despite this, the country has produced a remarkable number of drama serials that have been acclaimed both at home and abroad. Currently, the third season of Broen (The Bridge, DR/​ SVT 2011–​) is dominating the television screens of Danish families every Sunday night. Issues related to the show are heavily debated in the Danish press, ranging from aesthetic and narrative matters to questions of representation, including whether the rather awkward character Saga is supposed to be staging autism or not. Besides subtitled versions of Broen that are shown in various countries, there are already two adaptations of the serial. An American remake (The Bridge, 2013–​14) is broadcast on FX and Mundo FOX as well as through Netflix, and a British–French co-​production (The Tunnel, 2013–) for the pay-​T V channel Sky Atlantic and the commercial channel Canal+. Just to further illustrate the success of contemporary Danish primetime drama, The Killing (Forbrydelsen, DR 2007–​12) attracted more viewers in Britain than Mad Men (AMC 2007–).1 It was shown in Germany as Kommissarin Lund and remade for network television in the US. Other Danish primetime serials fared equally well. Borgen (DR 2010–​13), for instance, headed the list of Denmark’s 1

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Image I.1  Øresund Bridge: The Øresund Bridge between Denmark and Sweden is a symbol of European integration and the setting of the transnational television drama Broen

most seen programmes in the first week of 2013, with viewing figures of 1.67 million –​a whopping audience share of 64 per cent.2 As Lauren Collins put it in a comprehensive article on the phenomenon of Danish television drama in The New Yorker, this ‘is like having a Super Bowl every Sunday night for ten weeks in a row’.3 Speaking for many, German scriptwriter and blogger Thilo Röscheisen asserts that ‘with Borgen and The Killing Denmark has demonstrated that first-​class television drama can indeed be produced in Europe’.4 The primetime drama Borgen, which revolves around the complex entanglements of politics and the media, was not only popular at home. It was sold to numerous Western countries such as Britain, France, Switzerland, Italy and the US as well as to more unusual markets for Danish televisual exports such as Turkey, South Korea and Brazil. As of October 2013, the show had been sold to over 70 countries.5 Underlining the critical acclaim and audience approval of contemporary Danish drama, the Sunday Times stated: 2

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Introduction For most of the past four centuries, ‘Danish drama’ has meant Hamlet. Then, last year, a few hundred thousand BBC4 viewers fastened onto a crime series called The Killing (Forbrydelsen) and told everyone they knew about it. Now, a jumper joke or two and an endorsement from David Cameron later, ‘Danish drama’ means ‘very good television’.6

Apart from viewing figures and global reach, another index of Borgen’s success is the many international awards it has received so far, including the Prix Italia for best drama series (2010), the FIPA d’Or Grand Prize (2010), a BAFTA (2012) and the award for best TV drama at the Festival de Télévision de Monte-​Carlo (2013). Newspaper reviewers, too, praised the show as a new kind of European drive for quality television on a par with acclaimed American shows on HBO or AMC. Speaking for many critics around the world, Newsweek simply called it ‘the best political show ever’.7 Borgen thus largely conforms with the critical reception of Danish drama as such. The British Independent, for instance, asked its readers in September 2012 ‘How does Danish TV company DR keep churning out the hits?’ and the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) –​a few months earlier –​stated ‘Danish drama wins global fanbase’.8 Nor does the success look like coming to an end any time soon. At the time of the writing of this book, the first and second season of DR’s The Legacy (Arvingerne, 2014–​) are being shown every Sunday at 8 pm. The programme is watched by more than 1.8 million Danes9 and is already on its way to being acquired by broadcasters around the world. Posing the question as to what British TV can learn from Danish dramas, fastidious cultural critic Serena Davies cannot hold back her enthusiasm for Arvingerne: ‘The scenes are impeccably acted and conjure a world possessing all the idiosyncratic detail of real-​life […] And then the episode’s second half-​hour socks a series of emotional events at you that left this viewer, at least, in tears.’10 Seen together with other critics’ responses regarding the narrative complexity, psychological depth and general ability of the shows presented here in raising many relevant questions about society, primetime quality television from Denmark seems to have come a long way since Theodor W.  Adorno’s scathing criticism that television through its trivial and 3

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repetitive content, cut-​and-​dried protagonists and predictable outcomes was seen as unchallenging, low-​brow and inevitably reactionary.11 Beyond the Bridge maps the field of recent Danish television drama over the last decade, providing a comprehensive and nuanced view of general contexts and particular programmes. The dramas analysed in this book are all from the public service broadcaster DR. They have been selected to represent a range of different genres and themes in Danish television drama. To this end, we are combining an exploration of the specificities of Danish television production culture with textual analyses and reception. Even if these approaches are often separated for a sharper focus, they are of course inextricably linked. The title of this monograph not only makes reference to the prominent serial Broen, it also serves as a metaphor for this book’s subject matter. Contemporary Danish television drama cuts across different themes, media and cultures. The programmes discussed in the following are thus indeed bridging different contexts and spheres. We follow the bridges from production conditions to production results and to the reception of the dramas. This book –​relying on film industry documents, statements, reviews, particular programmes and other sources  –​explores Danish production culture in general and the public service broadcaster DR in particular to try and pinpoint when and how it became a fertile ground for the production of small-​screen fictions. One thing that is distinctive about Danish production culture is the extent to which public service broadcasting and public funding actually influences the whole film and television industry –​ also including the independent production companies.12 This aspect is one argument that informed the choice of DR television dramas in particular. Studying production contexts more closely by speaking to industry experts also includes an inquiry into the ways in which television drama was informed or determined by personal authorial involvement as well as wider institutional and ideological requirements and orientations. One focus of interest is the organisation of creativity. A  few talented people who chanced to meet cannot explain the way Danish television repeatedly produces quality drama over such a long period of time. At the centre of Danish television’s success, we strongly believe, there must be more general developments that have facilitated a favourable production culture. Many senior members of DR staff, in particular the producers, have given their 4

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Introduction

‘inside-​story’ in numerous conversations with journalists and scholars. Those who contributed to contemporary Danish television drama in other capacities have not received the same level of attention by making public their views. So as to give a comprehensive account of production contexts from a number of viewpoints, we have conducted 60-​minute or longer interviews with a number of leading film and television practitioners. The list includes directors Kaspar Munk and Pernille Fischer Christensen, the writers Nikolaj Scherfig and Jeppe Gjervig Gram, producer Karoline Leth, cameraman Bo Tengberg, the head of TV2 Fiction Lotte Lindegaard, the head of DR Fiction Piv Bernth, and executive producer and chief executive officer at Zentropa Peter Aalbæk Jensen, as well as a number of other filmmakers from independent production companies. When talking about the phenomenon of contemporary Danish drama, their response in connection with close readings of exemplary dramas offers a nuanced view of the Danish television industry from different professional angles. Kaspar Munk, who made his first television series Tidsrejsen (The Time Travel) in 2014, was able to explain how DR tried to create a ‘cinematic touch’ by asking him as a film director to work for the public service broadcaster. In order to do so, he was allowed to bring in his own film crew to work with employees at DR in a ‘cross-​over-​production’. Pernille Fischer Christensen is a graduate from the National Film School of Denmark. She is best known for her collaboration with writer Kim Fupz Aakeson and the actress Trine Dyrholm. Their feature films En Soap (A Soap, DK 2006) and En du elsker (Someone you Love, DK 2014) about complex gender roles and family relations have been well received internationally. The writers Nikolaj Scherfig and Jeppe Gjervig Gram have contributed greatly to Danish television drama. Scherfig has been involved in Broen from season one and Gjervig Gram with Borgen. Karoline Leth is a filmmaker and producer. At DR, she has produced Arvingerne and thus implemented many of the important measures that have made possible the success of the family drama. Her case is atypical insofar as she joined the production team only after the first episodes had been produced. As a consequence, she had to get a grip on the show’s aesthetics, themes and narrative structures whereas everyone else was already informed. We have chosen the cinematographer Bo Tengberg because he has helped to promote the aesthetic quality of Danish drama series. Besides his regular 5

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engagements for films, he has shot many episodes of Forbrydelsen, Ørnen and Rejseholdet as well as the influential Taxa (DR 1997–​9) and the history drama Krøniken (DR 2004–​), which in many ways resembles the British Downtown Abbey (ITV 2010–). Being in charge of TV2 Fiction, Lotte Lindegaard has to find ways to compete with DR’s television drama. Coming from DR herself, she aims at implementing some of the measures at TV2 –​despite a rather different production culture and target audience. As head of the Drama Department of DR, Piv Bernth is one of the key people with regard to contemporary Danish television drama. Coming originally from theatre, she produced Forbrydelsen before following Ingolf Gabold as head of DR Drama. She works closely with the head of DR Fiction Nadia Kløvedal Reich to shape production culture at the public service broadcaster. Together with Lars von Trier, Peter Aalbæk Jensen leads the independent production company Zentropa. Along with their many acclaimed film projects, Zentropa has been involved in a number of television projects. Besides addressing questions of authorship and agency, we also look at the reception of individual programmes at Danish and international broadsheet newspapers and blogs devoted to individual shows. Such an analysis of responses by cultural critics and others sheds light on how particular television dramas have acquired certain meanings for different audiences. The use of several case studies, moreover, helps to combine an understanding of production processes and contexts with the advantages of close textual analysis; including narrative structures and dramaturgical, thematic and aesthetic considerations. The television drama discussed here has evolved from a strong public service remit. A mutual characteristic of the individual programmes –​ besides narrative and aesthetic aspects –​are the way they are all concerned with wider social, political and moral concerns. Repeatedly they explore issues and dilemmas that have significant cultural impact. The case studies of particular programmes explicitly mention such concerns by referring to the way they are being presented in the fictional world to contribute to a participatory democratic society. Taken together, the various successful Danish television dramas consolidate the image of a production culture that has acquired an aura of credibility in Denmark and worldwide. Within a few years, Danish landscapes, homes, motifs and storylines, actors and actresses have taken 6

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Introduction

international television screens by storm. When global audiences have then become au fait with television made in Denmark, this in turn helps producers and distributors from Denmark to sell their product internationally at trade fairs such as MIPCOM in Cannes, NABShow in Las Vegas and the ATF in Singapore as well as television festivals such as the Cologne Conference. Owing to Danish television’s degree of international esteem and the resulting market demand, individual shows earned money in a competitive international market environment. This subsequently helped to secure the funding for new drama projects beyond the sums that would have been raised in Denmark alone. Even if the amount of outside funding was relatively low in 2012 –​according to the head of DR Fiction, Nadia Kløvedal Reich, only four to five per cent was not provided by licence fee money13 –​this figure is likely to rise. In addition to DVD-​box-​set sales as a profitable source of income,14 a number of international co-​production, distribution and cooperation agreements were signed. Among the most important partners for Danish television are the public service broadcasters Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF) in Germany, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in the UK and Sveriges Television (SVT) in Sweden. As important is the pan-​Scandinavian cooperative venture of public service broadcasters Nordvision. Founded in 1959 with a mandate for Nordic cultural integration, its office is located at the DR headquarters (DR Byen) to encourage co-​production and programme exchange among all associated broadcasters: DR in Denmark, NRK in Norway, RÚV in Iceland, SVT and Utbildningsradio in Sweden, YLE in Finland, KNR in Greenland and Kringvarp Føroya on the Faroe Islands. The remarkable production of Danish drama seems as if it will last. In October 2013, the Nordisk Film & TV Fond, which was set up in 1990 to coordinate the international promotional activities of Scandinavian film and television, noted proudly that ‘the 2013 autumn television market for content on multi-​platforms in Cannes was an upbeat event for Scandinavian creators and sellers […] as demand from worldwide audiences –​and therefore broadcasters –​for high quality drama has never been so high.’ And, indeed, following the 2013 MIPCOM, Danmarks Radio (known as DR since 1996) in particular ‘reported new sales on [its] upcoming series The Legacy, on Borgen and remake deals pending with Russia and India on The Killing.’15 7

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Nationally Specific TV? Public Service Broadcasting and Trademark Dramas A particular focus on Danish broadcast television raises a number of questions. To somewhat limit our scope seems to go against the grain of recent television studies to accept the coalescence of audio-​visual culture across national boundaries and different media. Would it not be sensible to look at Scandinavian small screen dramas? Danish television, admittedly, is inextricably linked to Scandinavian, European and international networks –​whether or not they are informal or institutionalised. It is, moreover, true that neighbouring countries such as Sweden and Norway have also gained international recognition by some of their fictional TV drama –​ most notably through iconic Nordic Noir crime series.16 We are far from making premature claims for an isolated Danish exceptionalism. The programmes discussed in this book share many thematic, aesthetic and narrative concerns as well as cast and credits with other Nordic countries. Yet, Denmark has produced the largest output of quality television drama compared to other Scandinavian countries. If contemporary Danish drama is part of a new prosperous wave of Scandinavian small screen fiction, Copenhagen is the epicentre. The Danish capital and its periphery is the home of DR, the Danish Film School, a number of prolific private companies such as Zentropa and the office of the cooperative venture Nordvision by Scandinavian public service broadcasters. It is, moreover, the setting of many fictional television programmes. A particular focus on Denmark, of course, limits the scope. Yet, given the differences between the Scandinavian countries in production culture and society as such, themes that are eminently explored in Broen and other programmes discussed in the following, it would be problematic to conflate Scandinavia despite all differences. Why not study cross-​media storytelling and other aspects of media conversion in more detail? What about the drama’s international appeal –​were the individual programmes produced to meet with the approval of an international audience? Whereas most shows have supporting interactive platforms, they were not part of a recognisable cross-​media strategy. Contemporary Danish television drama is consumed rather traditionally despite some efforts to use social networks and the web more generally. 8

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Introduction

Since the most prestigious dramas are discussed widely among viewers and the media when they are first broadcast, most people want to watch them ‘live’ rather than time-​delayed through the broadcaster’s website. More traditional ‘flow television’ thus certainly has eligibility when the dramas are well-made and presented as the DR dramas discussed here illustrate. Danish drama television has been the object of much offline and online debate. We recognise such discussions. Recent Danish small-​ screen fiction –​regardless of whether programmes were co-​financed or later acquired by international broadcasters and their distribution arms –​ is almost exclusively funded by Danish licence fees and produced in Denmark with a Danish audience in mind. By looking at the various cooperation agreements with broadcasters in other countries, the cross-​border trajectories of TV professionals as well as the reception of Danish drama abroad, we do not altogether ignore such international connections. DR has been behind most of the acclaimed drama series. Founded under the name Statsradiofonien in 1925 as a public service broadcaster with principles comparable to those of the BBC under Director-​General John Reith, DR has become synonymous with the recent achievements of Danish television drama, as we will outline in more detail in later chapters.17 Producing trademark drama for its flagship television channel DR1 in-​house, its fiction department has not only made and exported the aforementioned shows but also Ørnen (The Eagle, DR 2004–​6), Rejseholdet (Unit One, DR 2000–​4), Livvagterne (The Protectors, 2008–​), Krøniken (Better Times, 2004–​) and many more. DR’s success is thereby linked to a specific model of vertically-​integrated public service broadcasting with its mandate to ‘inform, educate and entertain’ the public. It is financed by a relatively ample licence fee of currently DKK 2,477 (€332/​£258/​$ 376) which comprises television, radio, online and mobile services. Owing to its public-​service mandate, the impact of DR’s drama programmes might not only be measured by audience figures or international sales of its fictional programmes but also by the extent of reflective follow-​up communication and its overall socio-​cultural and political relevance. Fiction programmes by DR, for instance, have spawned a number of lively debates in the Danish press revolving around controversial issues addressed by individual episodes or entire seasons.18 Interestingly, such discussions exceeded the arts and culture sections and could also be found in the 9

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politics or economics pages. The cultural significance of DR’s drama thus tallies with the broadcasters overall status. As Collins notes, DR ‘dominates Danish cultural life to the extent that, each week, ninety-​seven per cent of the population listens to or watches something from its websites or one of its ten radio stations and six television channels […].’19 Besides looking at individual programmes, this book will also address broader questions. Examples include how public service broadcasting in Denmark tries to make use of the possibilities of television drama to fulfil its remit. What are the modes and genres through which programmes are informing, educating and entertaining their prospective audiences? Another query concerns the legacy of contemporary small-​screen fiction. In what ways are the individual shows helping to construct identity in the post-​industrial age of online media? Comparison with critical reception of Danish drama abroad, as we argue, shows parallels as well as some interesting differences as to how the fictional programmes discussed in this book were perceived at home. Why an international audience came to appreciate shows that were primarily produced with Danish or perhaps Scandinavian audiences in mind is not always easy to grasp. While many cultural critics from outside Denmark seem to share an appreciation of the dramas, they did so for differing reasons. First, the artistic clout of many a Danish television serial accords with the popularity of so-​called ‘noirish’ Scandinavian crime literature by authors such as Henning Mankell, Stieg Larsson, Håkan Nesser and Jo Nesbø. Continuing the tradition of the socially complex novels by Maj Sjöwahl and Per Wahlöö of the 1960s and 70s with their sophisticated moral ambiguity and representation of Swedish society as a nightmarish quagmire, they have revived interest in Scandinavian crime fiction. Second, Borgen Ørnen or Broen –​just like a number of critically acclaimed US-​imports such as Breaking Bad (AMC 2008–13) –​ exposed the shortcomings and drawbacks of other countries’ own domestic productions. This seems particularly true for Britain, continental Europe and other countries with public service broadcasters. When the multi-​channel, digital age caused the diversification of television landscapes with declining audience figures for individual channels, many broadcasters tried to resist the trend with ever-​new channels and new programme development. 10

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Introduction

Trying to avoid being labelled elitist, main reference points for strategic planning were audiences and markets.20 This often led to contradictory developments. Whereas information and news programmes remained at the top of their game –​showcasing, for instance, the strengths of impartial, well-​informed journalism that could rely on a worldwide net of foreign correspondents –​most fictional television followed the principles of the American concept of Least Objectionable Programming (LOP).21 By adhering to the lowest common denominator in audience taste –​as neo-​Frankfurt School critics, rightly or wrongly, accused public service broadcasters –​simplistic popular culture was given preferential treatment to ‘serious art’.22 With the exception of certain programmes such as prestigious films or made-​for-​TV mini-​series (such as literary adaptations and historical-​event films), television schedules, as is argued, are mostly dominated by light-​hearted and often altogether undemanding content. Such notions did not help to enhance the overall prestige of television. The situation in Germany could be seen as an index for other western European countries. There, a representative mass communication study that has been monitoring the reputation of different media clearly shows that fewer people regard television, for instance, as ‘challenging’, ‘versatile’, ‘informative’, ‘competent’ and ‘critical’.23 Where broadcasters, perhaps alarmed by such developments, tried to assure audiences of their commitment to discriminating content, prestigious Danish television drama has been brought in. This is particularly true for exceptional and experimental public service channels. Examples include the French-​German ARTE24, Canvas in Belgium, TG4 in Ireland, KCET in California, ZDFneo in Germany or BBC Four in Britain. The latter’s remit explicitly includes international arts and culture and seeks to ‘provide an ambitious range of innovative, premium programming that is intellectually and culturally enriching’.25 Interestingly, BBC Four has been showing programmes such as Forbrydelsen, Borgen and Broen in the original with subtitles in an attempt to fulfil its remit.26 Even if this is an anomaly for British television, the decision was taken as a strategic, conscious risk. The foreign programme acquisition by BBC Four, as Sam Ward argues, is ‘[…] instilled with a sense of expertise, although one that is tested ultimately by public appreciation. Crucially, this expertise appeals at once to commercial savvy and culturally exploratory 11

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sensibility.’27 The success was particularly significant given the programmes’ overall niche standing. Forbrydelsen, for instance, reached an impressive 94 in the British Audience Research Board’s (BARB) appreciation index.28 And although the overall audience share is nowhere near the show’s ratings in Denmark –​where a regular drama episode is now expected to be seen by no less than 1.3 million out of 2.5 million TV households29 –​BBC Four’s Sunday 9 pm timeslot has increased from 0.9 to 2.9 per cent since it regularly features subtitled Danish television drama.30 Whilst this rise cannot be attributed to Danish drama alone, the imported shows have played an important part in the broadcaster’s scheduling strategy.

Finding Answers: The Reasons Behind the Prosperity of Danish TV Drama All things considered, the prosperity of Danish small-​screen drama can hardly be a fluke. Whereas Danish television personnel had visited American productions in an attempt to reorganise production conditions at home in the mid-​1990s, the world now comes to study Danish television as a possible role model for contemporary European quality television.31 Whilst it seems difficult to pin down the success of contemporary Danish drama to a few developments and measures, one can nevertheless identify a number of developments that facilitated it. Indeed, by looking at individual shows within the interplay of a wider production and reception context, this book seeks to elaborate on a number of aspects, all of which contributed to the prosperity of Danish fictional television. Beyond the Bridge will explore some of the reasons as to why Danish TV drama was able to thrive at home and abroad. It looks more closely at individual television texts as well as the production culture that has produced these. The focus is on five dramas that have had significant international impact and esteem: Forbrydelsen (The Killing), Broen (The Bridge), Borgen, Arvingerne (The Legacy) and Ørnen: En krimi-​odyssé (The Eagle). They were all shown during the prestigious Sunday evening time-slot for domestic drama at DR1 and were sold to many different countries afterwards. The underlining question when investigating the programmes is 12

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Introduction

whether or not there is a certain Danish production culture that facilitated their success. In the event of such a Danish model, it will be helpful to consider if it is sustainable and perhaps can be emulated by broadcasters elsewhere. A number of developments and conditions proved beneficial to the success of Danish serials. First, the general appeal of Nordic Noir fiction mentioned earlier has provided aesthetic and thematic formulas that were happily adopted by DR and other broadcasters. As scholars such as Pia Majbritt Jensen and Anne Marit Waade argue, the narrative and aesthetic features of Nordic Noir seem to be more than a marketing tool for television. In their view, the exoticism and peculiarity that characterise the production values of Forbrydelsen, Borgen and Broen are central to the fascination felt by non-​Scandinavian viewers. Such elements, in their own words, ‘become an added value –​or, as we would like to term it, a cultural mark-​up in the minds of broadcasters, viewers and critics.’32 Glen Creeber maintains that the rise of socially-​committed and multi-​layered detective drama could be linked to a change in broadcast culture. Or, as he puts it, ‘Now that we can enjoy television as we can read a book (anytime, anywhere and for any length of time), it is no surprise that the “small screen novel” has finally arrived. Nordic Noir has been instrumental in shaping both its form and content, helping TV drama to adapt to the unique conditions of this new broadcasting age.’33 Whilst the impact and relevance of Nordic Noir is undisputed, one should not be looking exclusively at crime fiction, as this might obscure a more comprehensive assessment of Danish drama. DR’s output, as such, cannot be limited to one genre. Besides crime drama that has come to the fore over the past few years, serials such as Borgen and Arvingerne clearly demonstrate that there is more. As Eva Redvall, among others, has already shown, DR has fundamentally altered the way it has been organising the production of television drama across all fiction programmes.34 This meant that internal changes of policy went hand in hand with a growing interrelationship between the Danish television and film industries ever since the acclaimed Dogma 95 films.35 By looking at this in more detail, we seek to expand and develop ideas by Chris Bilton and Heidi Philipsen on creative production and training schemes.36 As they have demonstrated, rules and constraints –​the 13

14

Beyond The Bridge

so-​called ‘scaffolding’ –​are a powerful means to reduce the stress and chaos involved in creative audio-​ visual processes. While we explain the importance of scaffolding in more detail in ­Chapter 2, the point on handling frustration with scaffolding will be noted many times. In this way, we go beyond existing scholarship on contemporary Danish drama by arguing that the idea of scaffolding is an important, and not so well-​described, ingredient to the success of Danish drama production. In short, we argue that the learning methods and the overall curriculum at the respected Den Danske Filmskole (the National Film School of Denmark) have an important effect on Danish television. It provides training for many of those who now work in the television industry and the exchange of senior staff links the two institutions on a personal level. An important development in institutional collaboration, furthermore, is the introduction of a special television semester for producers and writers that is organised by the Film School in collaboration with DR. Above all, strategies that are used to foster creative processes at the film school are being absorbed within DR’s processes, from the pre-​to the post-​ production stage. One such example is the ‘scaffolding’ learning model, which uses such constraints as a creative impetus (e.g. predefined themes, actors, teams, genres etc.). While the ‘model’ is part of the training at the film school at various levels, it was picked up by its graduates (including, among others, the directors Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg) and is visible in the prescriptive constraints laid down for instance by Dogma 95. DR, too, formulated its own rules with fifteen so-​called television dogmas for production. The impact of the principles is such that they can help to explain why DR was able to establish a more or less coherent appeal and corporate style even though the personnel behind its drama differed significantly. At a time when digital technology (through compositing and other techniques) stands for a rapid development of new opportunities, the frameworks introduced by DR offer a guideline or safety net. They, for instance, prioritise relevant and appealing narratives over effect-​driven sensation. Central here is ‘dogma number one’, which advocates the concept of ‘one vision’ by specifying that the main writer should not only play a key role during the early stages of programme development but also throughout 14

  15

Introduction

the entire production process. This –​combined with other reasons –​has transformed the screenwriter’s position in Danish television drama.37 The ‘one vision’ concept apparently helped to generate coherent, intricate plots and dramatis personae. Interlocking narrative strands and layers based on different protagonists, motifs or settings can always diverge or coincide, adding intelligent zest to the evolving plot. By adhering to these measures, Danish drama was able to make most of the opportunities offered by serial storytelling. The second principle or ‘dogma’, too, plays a key role as it insists that relevant themes are not only ‘broached’ but that they become an integral part of the drama. This means that the respective series or serials are primed for international public service broadcasters. By showing Danish drama, they fulfil their own remit, too, as DR adheres to the same principles that are made explicit in dogma number two, namely the necessity to link a compelling plot to relevant discourses in society. The people at DR call this strategy a ‘public service layer’, ‘philosophical layer’ or ‘double storytelling’.38 It means that each of the main storylines must combine dramaturgical considerations with cultural, ethical, social, or political considerations. As Creeber puts it in connection with crime drama, ‘[…] the central crime at the heart of each narrative is simply a motor that enables the whole narrative world to revolve […] Although the crimes will eventually be solved, the moral, political and social problems that produced them are not. These are issues that audiences are left to consider long after the final climatic episode has come to an end.’39 Closely related to DR’s ‘television dogmas for production’ is the global adaptability of Danish drama. Entire seasons or individual episodes consciously interweave a cause-​and-​effect narrative, for instance, onto crime with broader socio-​political themes. The latter may include equal rights, sustainability, political participation, abuse of power, an ageing society, work-​life-​balance, or social security. Given that such matters apply to most countries, as we argue throughout this book by identifying such underlying issues, what appears to be very Danish in terms of characterisation and Nordic aesthetics becomes palatable abroad. As such, one could perhaps use Scott Robert Olson’s useful term ‘transparent narratives’ to describe the international adaptability of Danish drama. The term refers to the ability of certain texts to appear familiar regardless of their foreign origin. Olsen is 15

16

Beyond The Bridge

using the phrase to explain Hollywood’s global success by the competitive advantage of its storylines: This transparency effect means that American cultural exports, such as cinema, television […] manifest narrative structures that easily blend into other cultures. Those cultures are able to project their own narratives, values, myths, and meanings into the American iconic media, making those texts resonate with the same meanings they might have if they were indigenous.40

While some of his ideas are not altogether new –​narrative theorists such as Vladimir Propp, Tzvetan Todorov and Joseph Campbell already describe many of the archetypes, tropes and structures Olson emphasises –​he links ideas of general adaptability with postcolonial theory to explain cross-​ national cultural transmission. Danish drama, and this is where Olson’s concept seems helpful, combines Scandinavian exoticism (or at least eccentricity) with American-​inspired models of storytelling to explore themes that resonate with a public service broadcasting ethos. ‘Transnational infotainment drama’ might be a way to refer to such fictional television. By using effective hooks, themes of general interest and provocative topics, Danish television drama can be read as a public-​service-​broadcasting-​informed transparent narrative. This means that even if Danish drama consciously uses Hollywood narrative and aesthetic templates, part of its appeal is its perceived ‘Europeanness’ as a marker of differentiation from the bulk of US imports. The television drama covered by this book is normally organised in three main story arcs. The first narrative strand –​often the main storyline –​consists of an event-​driven dramaturgy (e.g. a terrorist plot, an accident or a murder case). In doing so, this part of the plot can be easily understood and transculturally adapted. The complementing storylines, however, are very different. They are often linked to more nationally specific themes, landscapes or characters from Northern Europe, the Scandinavian peninsula or, sometimes, just Denmark. These storylines place more emphasis on character development and culturally relevant themes. The shows presented here thus combine an international, accessible leitmotiv or central theme with more Danish elements as a differentiation strategy. This is accentuated by a Nordic Noir aesthetic, including open forlorn spaces, 16

  17

Introduction

muted lighting, eccentric characters, limited dialogue, monochromatic colour design and studied moments of reflection. A combination of an action-​packed, fast-​paced narrative progression known from many a US television drama and the rather slow-​paced, dialogue-​based scenes and complex tableaux-​like visuals modelled after European art cinema are combined with a Scandinavian zeitgeist. This combination would not have come about without a sincere attempt to learn from others. The close ties to other public service broadcasters and American television as a model for inspiration, but also differentiation, resulted in international collaboration. Coming from a very small country, Danish television producers have sought to establish a wide network. When Danish drama had to reorganise from the mid-​1990s in order to sustain an in-​house production model, they first studied British and American productions. Visiting the sets of shows such as NYPD Blue (FOX 1993–​2005) or L.A. Law (NBC 1986–​94), they brought back a number of ideas such as the ‘relay structure’, the role of ‘show-runners’ or the organisation of ‘writers’ rooms’ –​all of which are discussed in Chapter 1.41 Whereas Hollywood provided specific models of production and storytelling, Danish producers seem to have studied continental European broadcasters mainly with an eye to distribution and financing. Besides Scandinavian broadcasters, German ZDF was instrumental in co-​producing and distributing a number of shows, helping DR to become visible internationally. A third aspect of production that proves to be useful is the permeability of the film and television industry. With the advent of quality television, it has become increasingly normal for film personnel to work for television and vice versa. While this happened in many countries around the globe, Danish broadcasters particularly encouraged such cross-​media activities.

Studying Contemporary Danish Television Drama Because of Danish drama television’s notable achievements, international critics and producers have been scrutinising the thriving Danish audio-​visual landscape. Academic researchers, too, are increasingly taking an interest. Surveys on Danish cinema, for instance, include sections on television.42 It would thus be inaccurate to suggest that this is a largely 17

18

Beyond The Bridge

under-​researched area. There are, after all, at least some larger works that examine Danish film and television within a broader Scandinavian context.43 Even so, this interest is a recent phenomenon. The vast majority of academic publications consists of articles and book chapters on individual aspects of Danish drama –​many written in Danish. Examples include the studies on Danish television and crime fiction by Gunhild Agger or Ib Bondebjerg’s work on fictional Danish television.44 Perhaps the most comprehensive English-​language investigations are a dossier in the Journal of Popular Television we have edited with Matthias Bauer, which looks at contemporary Danish drama from various angles, and Eva Redvall’s book, Writing and Producing Television Drama in Denmark: From The Kingdom to The Killing.45 As the title suggests, Redvall’s analysis primarily looks at idea development, screenwriting and certain production processes at DR. She proposes a Screen Idea System to describe the complexity, stability and self-​reflexiveness of practices involved. Her analysis thus –​without saying so explicitly –​draws on essential assumptions put forth by Niklas Luhmann in his system theory.46 The Screen Idea System was developed by creativity researcher Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, who posits that creativity processes ought to be studied by taking into account wider societal, cultural and personal contexts. Applying his concept helps Redvall to analyse the dynamic interplay of leverage on creative processes, principally story development and writing at the pre-​production stage. One could argue that Redvall redresses the conceptual imbalance of Danish film and television research by focusing on creative mindsets and production processes instead of audiovisual texts and their reception. Besides Redvall, only a handful of scholars (including Ib Bondebjerg and Mette Hjort) have looked behind the scenes and screens of Danish media. Hanne Bruun and Kirsten Frandsen suggest that this situation has historical causes. They argue that media studies evolved out of the humanities and still relies on approaches, theories and methodology that were borrowed from literary studies.47 There are other reasons for the fact that production analysis has been minimised for some time now in film and television studies. Besides traditional foci of interest that tend to concentrate on aesthetic, thematic or semantic areas of interest, there are more mundane reasons. Access, for instance, is an issue as the industry tends not to grant access to production facilities –​either to protect intellectual property or 18

  19

Introduction

simply because of a general shortage of time. The overall complexity of audiovisual production, moreover, makes it difficult for outsiders to follow the entire production process. We are convinced that a closer look at production processes and strategies will help to explain why the success of Danish television drama has been so sustainable. Research into the processes and the structures that have informed the making of television could, moreover, shed light on how creativity or innovation can be instituted and maintained in the audiovisual industry. Such a perspective, though, must not altogether replace close textual analysis and other forms of investigating Danish television drama. As Glen Creeber notes in connection with Redvall’s book: ‘While I appreciate the reasons for employing a production studies approach, it means that the very fabric of the drama is, in my view, left surprisingly sketchy.’48 Bearing this in mind, the case studies that follow the more contextual chapters in this book consider more than production and reception. What we propose is to actually trace the textual analysis to investigations of production cultures. Beyond the Bridge applies a triangular methodology that relies on written documents (such as production manuals, broadcaster’s websites, reviews, secondary literature) as well as interviews with industry representatives and close textual analysis that comprises aesthetics, narrative development and character portrayal. Taking into consideration the entanglements between the Danish cinema and television industries, the role of public service broadcasting, creative aspects of the production stages and culture, transnational cooperation, digital developments, cross-​media strategies and a global fad for Scandinavian crime fiction, this book aims at providing a comprehensive study of the wider developments and measures that have facilitated Danish television’s worldwide success. In order to understand contemporary Danish television drama and the driving forces behind it, the first two chapters thus take a closer look at the specifics of the Danish media landscapes, the self-​conception of DR as public service broadcaster, and the more general audio-​visual training schemes and conditions of programme development. Creativity and innovation play a central role for the study of Danish drama. Ideas borrowed from the fields of corporate policy and management in creative industries have proved useful. Chris Bilton, for instance, 19

20

Beyond The Bridge

presented a number of useful approaches to this kind of study. He maintains that ‘[c]‌reativity requires that we make or think something new, or a new combination of existing elements […] To be creative, the idea must also be useful or valuable […] Creative ideas must demonstrate fitness for purpose.’49 In his approach to creativity and innovation Bilton is quite close to other contemporary creativity scholars, all of whom stress the importance of original, productive and purposeful ideas.50 Looking at how creativity and innovation inform the production processes for broadcasters and television production companies certainly helps to understand the making of Danish drama. There are, however, other aspects that have an impact. In order to study the role of individuals as well as institutional frameworks, we also look at ways of cross-​over productions (across companies and media) and different forms of so-​called ‘scaffolding’. The latter, as we describe in the first two chapters, is a chief characteristic that derives from a learning model that is widely used in Danish audiovisual culture. The chapters that follow, then, offer case studies of programmes that exemplify specific genres, aesthetic tropes and/​ or overarching themes: serial killings and murder in Broen (The Bridge, DR 2011–), anti-​terrorism and organised crime in Forbrydelsen (The Killing, DR 2007–) and Ørnen: En krimi-​odyssé (The Eagle, DR 2004–​6), how to juggle family life and politics in Borgen (DR 2010–​13) and generational changes and family feuds in Arvingerne (The Legacy, DR 2014–​). Unlike Scandinavian television drama from other countries –​such as the Swedish Wallander series –​all shows covered here were specifically written for the medium. The choices presented here, moreover, point to wider developments as they either follow from earlier shows or paved the way for subsequent television drama. As such, there are numerous links to other shows that are not dealt with in detail such as Rejseholdet (Unit 1, DR 2000–​4), Livvagterne (Protectors, DR 2008–​), Nikolaj & Julie (DR 2002–​3), Sommer (Summer, DR 2008), Anna Pihl (TV2 2006–​8) and Den som dræber (Those Who Kill, TV2 2011). An overview of each serial –​its aesthetics, main themes and protagonists –​is followed by some contextual information. It includes a look at critical responses at home and abroad, using daily newspapers and news websites from Denmark, Britain, Germany and the US. The focus is on how critics from various countries compared and contrasted Danish drama to quality 20

  21

Introduction

television elsewhere and the ways in which the Danish serials sometimes initiated debates. This approach provides insight into how Danish drama acquires new meanings through processes of acculturation and transcultural reception. A comparative perspective looks closely at the organisation of plotlines. By way of close textual analysis, we make visible narrative and dramaturgical structures. This is not an easy task as hitherto discrete televisual ways of continuous storytelling such as series (told through self-​contained episodes) and serials (plots that are arranged over a number of episodes to be concluded in the final instalment) are increasingly conflated. The new opportunities offered by hybrid narrative strategies –​combining overarching and shorter storylines with an intricate plot –​often lead to a complex ever-​evolving structure. Just to illustrate this, the US drama The Wire (HBO, 2002–8) features some 80 characters in a number of interconnected threads.51 By means of diagrams of the first two or three episodes of each season, we illustrate the main storylines of the chosen dramas and their interdependencies as well as central plotlines. Using this structural method helps to show what Robin Nelson and Glen Creeber describe as ‘flexi-​narrative’, an unfolding, multi-​layered narration that combines main and sub plots of the series and serial.52 The diagrams, which prove to be a valuable study resource, reveal how the flexi-​narrative structure advances psychological complexity, character density, and thematic ambiguity to deal with social, political and cultural issues. Referring to Nelson’s work on the police series Hill Street Blues, Creeber notes that ‘[b]‌y weaving together a number of interrelating, continuous, connecting and disconnecting storylines, […] [Hill Street Blues] produced a heightened form of realism that enabled it to explore and examine social and human issues in a more “authentic” manner’.53 The narrative strands of individual episodes are visualised as flow charts that can be downloaded online.54 Given that the narrative and dramaturgical strategies are largely consistent, the first three episodes of the first season are analysed. So as to ensure that the narrative concepts are not changed from one season to another, the first two episodes of a subsequent season are used to verify the findings. The charts show simultaneous plotlines and chronological progression. They delineate main developments and the main characters. Special attention is paid to dramaturgical structures, too. To this end, stars are used to 21

22

Beyond The Bridge

mark prominent plot points and key narrative moments. As described by screenwriting lecturer Syd Field, plot points are more or less sudden developments that reveal significant new information to the audience, often diverting the action to a new direction. As such, they are essentially what Aristotle describes as ‘reversal’ (or peripeteia) in his Poetics. According to Field, feature films usually contain two plot points. These moments are commonly arranged to mark the transition between acts in a three-​act dramaturgical structure. As he notes, ‘Plot Point is defined as any incident, episode, or event that hooks into the action and spins it around in another direction’.55 So as to avert any confusion over terms used by Field such as inciting event, key event and plot point, and to take into account that the television drama described here feature more complex narratives than most feature films, plot points refer to any seminal dramaturgical twist. We differentiate between plot points that are sudden events (e.g. a murder, a car crash, etc.), new and often surprising information revealed about main characters (character traits or habits that have either not been known to the audience or that were somewhat nebulous and now become more concrete) and motif-​driven developments that encircle thematic motifs of wider social or political issues (e.g. the reconciliation of work and family life, homelessness, etc.). Besides aesthetic, thematic and narrative considerations, the ways in which Forbrydelsen, Broen, Ørnen, Borgen and Arvingerne portray major characters are revealing. Part of the critical acclaim of contemporary Danish quality television can be attributed to the specificities of character development. The night Forbrydelsen won a British Academy Television Award in 2011, the head of DR Drama, Piv Bernth, simply mentioned the name of Sofie Gråbøl, who played Sarah Lund in the crime drama, and the audience applauded enthusiastically as a tribute to her role and acting. In order to study the performances and characters of drama television, we refer to both Andrew Horton and Murray Smith. Horton proposes that audiences engage the most with complex (‘polyphonic’) and unfolding characters, constantly developed to reveal new traits. He differentiates between two narrative levels: first, the internal driven narrative (with the main character or characters in focus) and, second, one driven by external situations and developments. The more successful these are intertwined, the more compelling the drama  –​at least in 22

  23

Introduction

theory.56 Looking specifically at how audiences engage with characters, Murray Smith suggests that three concepts are mainly responsible. He suggests a so-​called ‘structure of sympathy’ that differentiates between ‘recognition’, ‘alignment’ and ‘allegiance’. Whereas recognition is used to link a fictional character to well-​known characteristics and frames of understanding, alignment refers to the relationship that the viewer establishes to characters through knowledge of his or her actions, background and feelings. Allegiance, then, is the audiences’ moral evaluation of fictional characters.57 The model essentially helps to explain why audiences engage even with unsympathetic and morally dubious characters in many a contemporary Danish drama, including Sarah Lund in Forbrydelsen who is repeatedly shown as someone who lets her family down but still seems close to audiences. This means that characters such as Lund but also Saga Norén from Broen offer a somewhat more sophisticated way of showing female inspectors than usual.

Global Formula or Danish Exceptionalism? The Relevance of Danish Small Screen Fictions When we put together a preliminary dossier on the timely issue of Danish television drama for the Journal of Popular Television, we stressed that it remains debatable if the primetime series by DR are comparable or even better than American shows that were made for a niche audience rather than the general public.58 It is –​de gustibus non est disputandum –​in the mind of viewers whether they prefer any Danish series to for example AMC’s Breaking Bad (2008–​13), Netflix’ House of Cards (2013–​) or HBO’s Games of Thrones (2011–​). Our premise is that the foremost Danish drama series are on a par with anything produced for a mainstream audience. Hence the shows discussed in this book might well attest to the courage of the public service broadcaster to transform current debates, sensitive issues and everyday challenges into serialised drama television for a broad audience. While an identification of the above factors of success might well provide a suitable ‘blueprint’ for other nations, the international entanglements underline the fact that Danish production companies and broadcasters are in fact far from operating in frigid Scandinavian isolation. In view of the 23

24

Beyond The Bridge

multi-​faceted developments that change the role of public service broadcasting in a digital, increasingly fragmented global age, bold claims of Danish exceptionalism seem premature. Its successful practice of in-​house public-​service productions, moreover, does not mean that this system is superior to private producers in other countries. The success of independent European production companies that have been working closely with public service broadcasters to develop programmes, such as UFA Fiction in Germany or Kudos in Britain, demonstrates that the Danish model is not without alternatives. Aside from the prestigious shows discussed in this book, Danish television is hardly better than in most countries. Audiences around the world, indeed, only see Danish TV when it travels. A comparison of Danish drama at its best with televisual mainstream elsewhere is thereby a prejudicial and misguided approach.59 The complex circumstances and transnational flows of genre-​based drama as well as its overall status side-​by-​side other genres and formats, as a consequence, problematise attempts to define national television cultures exclusively by way of their ‘quality’ productions –​however such aspects may be defined.60 Beyond The Bridge therefore offers an in-​depth analysis of acclaimed shows and the particular contexts that have facilitated their success, and must not be read as a comprehensive study of contemporary Danish television. We for instance totally neglect daytime and reality television. To avoid offering a simple celebratory appraisal of Danish drama, the scope of this book is not limited to the success story of DR. By directing attention to a number of series that had but a mixed reception and only some international release, we seek to look beyond small-​screen drama in high point. Drawing perspectives to TV2 –​the state-​owned but private broadcast network –​seems important in this regard. When DR has been producing ever more acclaimed and financially-​sound programmes, TV2 has been struggling to measure up to its success. Its 2011 crime show Den som dræber (Those Who Kill), which has been exported to more than 25 countries and was remade for American television by A&E, seems to be an exception. The broadcaster, which has an office in Copenhagen but is based in Odense, is particularly known for its American imports including The Sopranos (HBO 1999–​2007), Six Feet Under (HBO 2001–​5), 24 (FOX 2001–​10) and Desperate Housewives (ABC 2004–​12). The question here is why TV2 has not often been able to benefit from the international 24

  25

Introduction

interest in Danish drama and the Danish ways of cultivating creative audio-​visual talent. Beyond The Bridge is not limited to those interested in individual drama series. The programmes discussed here also help elucidate how a small, privileged nation –​as Mette Hjort notes61 –​positions itself in a globalised world. First, at the level of representation, by including storylines on themes such as the interdependence of Danish and foreign politics, cross-​border organised crime, gender-​related issues, global warming, multi-​national corporations and European integration. Second, at the level of television industries, by competing with big-​budget American series through strategies of both imitation and differentiation. Beyond questions of reception, individual storylines and issues of representation, our book thus focuses on questions of specificity with regards to authorship and agency. To this end, a central point of interest is the creative and organisational processes behind contemporary Danish television series. It seeks to discuss why and how the shows are being interpreted internationally as coming ‘from the same team’62 regardless of the fact that the casts and credits often differ quite substantially. Whereas Forbrydelsen and Borgen, for example, were seen abroad as if they belong together, the production teams featured different head writers (Adam Price and Søren Sveistrup), producers (Camilla Hammerich and Piv Bernth), directors and episode writers. Nevertheless, one legitimate reason for emphasising a connection with recent Danish television drama could be the number of recurring aesthetics, themes and motifs. Writing for The New York Times, Alessandra Stanley, for instance, enthusiastically noted: ‘[…] the same team behind the original version of The Killing created Borgen, and it too focuses on a strong woman, only this time she leads not a homicide investigation, but an entire country.’63 Gender politics and perspectives, as will be argued in this book, is but one of the unique aspects of television drama made in Denmark. But –​as it will occur to the reader when going through the analysis of the individual television series in our book –​quite a remarkable and significant one. Taking the recent success of Danish television drama at home and abroad as a point of departure, Beyond The Bridge not only draws attention to some of the reasons for the success of Danish small screen fiction, it also discusses issues of wider interest. These include the role of television and national identity, the relationship between regional, national, transnational 25

26

Beyond The Bridge

and global television cultures, the cross-​fertilisation between the film and television industry. Looking at public service broadcasting in the digital network era, moreover, helps to explain the importance of quality television. Fiction, as we intend to show, is important insofar as it helps publics to make sense of their lives by way of engaging with wider political, social and cultural issues.

26

  27

1 The Danish Audio-​visual Media Landscape: From Dogma 95 to Transnational Cooperation

The exceptional status of the Danish Broadcasting Corporation DR within the country’s media landscape helps to explain much of the discussion that surrounds its programmes. From the early days of radio and television, the broadcaster never really had much competition. From 1954, when daily broadcasts began under its initial name Statsradiofonien, it remained the sole provider of television until 1988. Its radio monopoly had ended two years previously, after more than sixty years. This, however, also meant that the broadcaster –​despite very high levels of approval among the Danish public –​was under scrutiny throughout its history as to whether or not it offered the best-​possible service for its generous funding and complied with its cultural and social mandate. As in many other European countries, today’s Danish television landscape was largely formed in the 1980s. Yet, as media historian Henrik Søndergaard notes about the transformation from a monopolistic television landscape to a multi-​channel system, ‘what sets Danish broadcasting history apart is that this process […] was much slower than elsewhere, resulting in a somewhat delayed deregulation’.1 Following the establishment of local television broadcasts in 1983 with TV Syd, then under the auspices of DR, a second channel was launched with TV2 in 1988. It had originally been co-​financed by licence fee money 27

28

Beyond The Bridge

as well as advertising revenue but in 2003 was converted to a commercial broadcaster (as the limited liability company TV2 Danmark A/​S). Only its regional services still receive licence fee subsidies.2 Inspired by the relative success of local television experiments that were launched in the Copenhagen area in 1984 as an alternative to DR, Kanal 2 and Weekend TV, TV2 offered a very different programme than DR from the outset. Looking at other private channels abroad, it introduced a number of sound elements (such as trailers and jingles), commercials and a different programming schedule, with an emphasis on entertainment formats.3 In so doing, TV2 aimed at a very different target audience, as Søndergaard explains: ‘TV2 is most popular with the young, the less educated, and those living west of the Great Belt, while DR especially attracts the more highly educated, the middle-​aged, and the people living in metropolitan Copenhagen.’4 TV2 now operates a number of channels besides its main programme, including TV2 Zulu and TV2 Charlie. Since TV2 –​despite its commercial orientation –​remains in public hands, its status is comparable to that of Channel 4 in Britain. Original plans to complete its partial privatisation were shelved amidst outspoken political resistance to the plans as well as economic difficulties. As to the difficult financial situation, an official government committee report from May 2009 found that mismanagement by TV2’s board or directors was to blame.5 Since the Danish state still covers TV2’s substantial deficit after banks had expressed doubts about the broadcaster’s business model, the European Commission  –​as requested by TV2’s competitor Viasat –​raised objections. Even if the so-​called ‘Amsterdam Protocol’ recognises the right of each EU member state to define, organise and fund public service broadcasting in its own way, the status of TV2 raised questions about a possible violation of trading conditions and fair competition.6 The EU action was the latest development of a wider initiative by commercial television companies to restrict public interference. As media scholar Trine Syvertsen noted before the EU interference: ‘private media operators […] put pressure on policy makers to withdraw privileges and tighten obligations so as to make the public broadcasters less of a threat.’7 The European Commission, however, ultimately approved the rescue aid of one billion Danish Kroner (€134 million/​$183 million), provided that TV2 refrained from launching new radio or television channels.8 28

  29

The Danish Audio-visual Media Landscape

Today, DR also offers a variety of channels. Besides its ten terrestrial, online or DAB radio stations and its main television channel DR1, it operates DR2, DR3, a news channel (DR Update), an HD channel aimed primarily at a younger audience (DR HD), a children’s programme (DR Ramasjang) and a channel that specialises in cultural programmes (DR K). This extensive portfolio as well as a very costly move to a new 133,000 m2 complex (DR Byen  –​DR city) in the Ørestad district of Copenhagen meant that DR faced a funding crisis in 2007. The crisis led to political turbulence, since it coincided with the financial difficulties at TV2 and showed the government’s media policy in a bad light. The results included the replacement of DR’s senior management, the elimination of about 300 jobs, and the downsizing of its services and operations.9 The measures included the sale of sports rights and the closure of DAB radio DRX. The DR Fiction and DR Drama departments, however, remained largely unaffected by the cuts. This was not all that much of a surprise, given the importance of these departments. Whereas TV2, for instance, was more popular in 2013 than DR in average viewing time, this was not at all the case when looking at drama and fiction. Looking at viewing time for this type of programme, DR achieved 4,778 minutes compared to 2,525 minutes for TV2.10 Although DR and TV2 are competitors, there is some cooperation as part of nation-​wide initiatives to strengthen the audiovisual industry. This, for instance, holds true for the DFI funding schemes and collaboration with the Film School. Besides institutional links, many of the existing private film and television companies as well as practitioners have been working for both DR and TV2. This lively to and fro, however, has become rather one-​directional lately as DR’s success with television drama has attracted talented staff. Among those who joined DR coming from TV2 are Adam Price and Rumle Hammerich. Combined, the public service broadcaster DR and the currently state-​ owned TV2 dominate the Danish television market, despite resourceful private competitors that today are part of large international broadcasting corporations. Following a first private Danish-​language programme (TV3) that appeared in 1987 via satellite from London, channels were set up by Viasat (formerly part of the German broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG, now owned by the Swedish media company Modern Times Group, 29

30

Beyond The Bridge

MTG AB) and the Scandinavian Broadcasting Systems (SBS Discovery, formerly also part of ProSiebenSat.1 Media and now owned by the Discovery Communications Inc. in the US). In 2014 they had a market share of about ten per cent each (MTG: 10.9; SBS Discovery: 9.6) while DR’s and TV2’s main and offspring channels had a combined market share of nearly 70 per cent (DR: 33.7; TV2: 34.9).11 The state’s extensive involvement and the small market size have made it difficult for private corporations. As a consequence, Denmark is among the few countries in Europe that saw an increase in the public service audience share from 1998–​2008, as a recent British report has shown.12 At times when public service broadcasting has lower audience shares than commercial competitors in most EU countries, Denmark is clearly an exceptional case.13 Without notable new commercial television channels on the horizon, competition could only be provided by digital on-​demand streaming. Both HBO and Netflix launched a special Scandinavian streaming service in autumn 2012. Whether or not this will change the face of Danish broadcasting remains to be seen. To add to the overall success of public service broadcasting in Denmark, a 2009 audience survey found that 70% of Danes were satisfied with DR. This is a remarkable figure, particularly compared to the situation in other Western countries, including Britain, where public service broadcasters, rightly or wrongly, are accused of no longer ‘speaking to and for the nation’.14 This means that DR –​with due care and attention –​ could be a possible role model for other public service broadcasters when it comes to audience approval. From a position of actual strength at home, Danish public service television thus allowed production teams a level of freedom that is rather unusual in other countries’ competitive markets. It, too, allowed DR and TV2 to resist many trends, such as diversification, commercial narrowcasting and consumer-​driven models of ‘least objectionable programming’. DR’s secure income streams in particular are partly responsible for its dilatory stance on new developments. DR Drama, one might say, provides good traditional television –​not cutting-​ edge crossmedia entertainment. While its public service status prohibits the conflation of content development and merchandising through tie-​in marketing or sales of merchandise products, DR Fiction has also been slow in encouraging new 30

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The Danish Audio-visual Media Landscape

forms of audience interaction –​particularly interaction between its drama serials, websites and social media. Although DR’s internet activities are limited by its remit – ​to strengthen competition with the private sector –​this clearly goes against the grain of Danish media usage. The country has quickly developed into a digital society where all official communication with public authorities can (or in fact must) be done online. Denmark tops all EU countries when it comes to internet usage since 2006. In 2013, 85 per cent of Danes used the internet on a daily basis.15 In stark contrast to current affairs programmes and on-​demand players, areas in which DR are doing very well with their services on www.dr.dk, the new opportunities provided by the internet have not yet been high on the agenda of DR drama. Even if second-​screen activity might simply be impossible –​DR’s dramas with their visually-​told complex narratives require audiences’ full attention –​other more suitable forms of audience interaction through website surveys, cross-​ media storytelling, webchats, online updates, the use of social networks or spin-​off programmes could have provided much scope for experimentation. In comparison to other countries that have been exploring and using such offerings for some time, DR has just begun to toy with viral activities and social media integration. One example of how cross-​media approaches have been used is Sommer. The family drama, first aired on 1 January 2008, revolves around the dementia of a physician and the consequences for his family. Following the screening on TV, there was a follow-​up radio feature with more or less the same cast that continued the story. The official programme’s website (www.dr.dk/​ DR1/​Sommer) invited audiences to find out about very personal matters  –​secrets of the leading protagonists. As such, they were presented with familiar sets of the television series and invited to explore these to piece together the different parts of information to gain a more thorough understanding of relationships and character traits. This included reading private letters, phone messages, books, plus playlists of a portable music player. As Heidi Philipsen has demonstrated, this cross-​media broadcast had an impact on the reception of the series.16 Compared to this playful way of using transmedia interaction, Forbrydelsen constitutes an example of DR’s rather timid use of cross-​media possibilities: The show’s website invited audiences to speculate as to the actual killer. Limited 31

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interaction such as this does not necessarily mean actual participation, as online users were not able to influence the course of events. This is a point that has also been raised in response to Henry Jenkins’ optimistic account of conversion culture in general.17 Nico Carpentier, among others, has noted that the increased interaction that can be observed rarely represents genuine forms of participatory culture.18 With regard to its drama programmes, DR is certainly not making the most of the opportunities offered by many recent phenomena ranging from prosumer culture, fanfiction and fan cultures, to storyworlds, remix culture, mashup TV, and crossmedia interaction. Here, shows such as The West Wing, with its online election campaign that eventually decided upon the show’s final episode, have certainly been more innovative. This lack of convergence culture for fictional shows, however, is not necessarily a lack or disadvantage. DR television drama offers numerous opportunities for real-​life participation by other means. The shows have repeatedly demonstrated the salience of topics as they were picked up by other media (both traditional and interactive online media) and political circles. Any critique of DR’s mindful exploration of convergence media thus ought to take into account the problems associated with such endeavours. Most ‘story worlds’ and convergence media from the Marvel Universe, to Star Wars with their numerous offshoots and spin-​offs ultimately follow a commercial logic rather than a genuine interest in providing a platform for pluralistic democratic exchange. American culture and communication scholar Sarah Banet-​Weiser terms this the commodification of creativity –​media convergence follows a capitalist impetus.19 By definition, DR has to ignore such motives. The limited use of the internet may, if at all, just be seen as a minor caveat for the Danish public service broadcaster. Coming from a comfortable market position, DR (but to a lesser degree also TV2) was without question able to reconcile its place in a market environment that requires productions that are nationally specific but could also be promoted internationally. What appears to be a dilemma, seems to work in the case of many recent Danish shows. The drama series made by DR, at least, have explored the possibilities of televisual storytelling –​one that relies not so much on the internet but on the strengths of television as a medium for complex immersive narratives that appeal to audiences at home and abroad. 32

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The Danish Audio-visual Media Landscape

Image 1.1  DR: The Copenhagen headquarters of DR with production, news and administration all under one roof: DR Byen (‘DR City’)

Public Service Television in Denmark As in other countries, the mission of public service broadcasting in Denmark is closely linked to social, cultural and political concerns. Its universal mandate to serve the public, for instance, includes a commitment to diversity, pluralism and political neutrality as well as a detachment from all forms of vested interests.20 Through the Reithian ‘trinity’ of information, education and entertainment, DR has offered a variety of fictional and non-​fictional shows to nurture an informed citizenship. Its remit not 33

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only states that it ought to be independent from economic, commercial and political interests and that it forms an indispensable part of democratic debate, but that also fulfils an important role as creator and facilitator of Danish art and culture. This orientation comes in part from fears of marginalisation. As a 2007 study on Danish broadcasting puts it, there is a great awareness that ‘[…] the survival of [Denmark’s] language and culture would be problematic in the absence of public support’.21 State intervention was closely linked to the realisation of public values and the protection of Danish interests against market values. It was designed to promote a desired national identity at the expense of individual responsibility and freedom of choice. Søndergaard attributes the importance of social and cultural aspects to the role of the Social Democrats (Socialdemokraterne) in post-​war Danish politics: The Social Democratic dominance has […] meant that radio and television have primarily been considered as matters of cultural politics, while their economic and industrial aspects, given significant weight in other countries, have only had a limited influence in their Danish development.22

The protectionist and paternalistic Danish media policy can be criticised of being patronising and against the idea of a free market economy. It, however, still has impact. As viewing figures and subsequent public discussion of fictional shows have suggested for some time, Denmark’s public service culture retains significant cultural and political leverage. To this day, public service broadcasting policy falls into the Ministry of Culture’s responsibility rather than the Ministry of the Interior or Economics. Under the sway of the ministry’s public service remit, spelled out by a public service contract, DR has a commitment to the production of in-​ house drama such as the television series featured in this book. Today the broadcaster prefers its own production over purchased content or formats from external companies. This marks a watershed in Danish television programming history. Up to the mid-​1990s, there was a strong trend in favour of more foreign than domestic fiction. As film and television scholar Ib Bondebjerg explains, relatively ‘small stations such as DR, TV2 and TV3 can buy 5–​20 times more viewing time with imported (American/​English) programmes, compared to the price of one hour of domestically produced 34

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The Danish Audio-visual Media Landscape

programmes’. Referring to research carried out by Karl Henrik Bentzon, he adds that ‘out of the 31 per cent of total fiction in 1990 on DR and TV2 only 4.4 per cent were national productions on DR and only 1.8 per cent on TV2’.23 In a climate of increasing market aggregation –​not least owing to the reduction of trade barriers in a single European market –​diversification and privatisation, DR and TV2 sought fundamentally to change television production. From the mid-​1990s onwards, more emphasis has been placed on domestic programmes. In doing so, this probably helped DR to thwart accusations faced by public service broadcasters in other countries that public service and commercial programmes essentially coalesced as a result of international format trading and globalised television markets.24 Whereas other countries with a more market-​oriented production culture have increased the number of imported shows or seen the phenomenon of ‘runaway productions’, a term used to denote a trend to produce in countries with significant cheaper labour costs, DR was required to invest in home-​grown talent and facilities. With an audience share of well above fifty per cent, Danish primetime drama, moreover, still adheres to what Trine Syvertsen has identified as a foremost competence of public service broadcasters in the multi-​channel digital age, namely the ability to address the entire nation –​particularly with the successful television series –​rather than discrete target audiences of niche channels.25

Danish Television Dramas Now and Then The fundamental elements of DR’s public service remit have not changed dramatically over the past decades; its production culture and organisation has. Our purpose here is not to offer a comprehensive overview of Danish television history, which has already been done by a number of Scandinavian scholars. Yet, in order to understand how fundamental the changes to production culture have been since the mid-1990s, one has to briefly compare and contrast them to the development of Danish television drama from previous years. A useful delineation is by Gunhild Agger, who proposes three main strands of fictional programmes that characterise Danish fictional television: realist dramas, modernist or innovative shows and popular genre television.26 She, moreover, suggests 35

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a periodisation of Danish fiction television, first, from 1951 to about 1964 the ‘theatre plays’ period’ with its signature broadcasting of playhouse dramas; second, the ‘modern and the public breakthrough’ from 1964 to 1988 that saw an increasing experimentation with narratives and aesthetics; third, from 1988 to 1997, what she refers to as the ‘popular breakthrough’. Fictional television in Denmark has assumed an important role since the beginning of broadcasting in the early 1950s. Just as in most other countries with a comparable public service system in place, DR’s list of television fiction programmes in its early years consisted predominantly of classical drama adaptations broadcast live. Prerecording and more sophisticated broadcast technology enabled production teams in the mid1960s to make more complex programmes with a more cinema-​inspired aesthetic. DR, as a consequence, toyed with serial forms that differed from what had been essentially theatrical stage performances. In 1964 DR deemed fictional television important enough to establish two departments responsible for it: a Theatre Department (Teaterafdelingen) mainly for television plays and programmes considered to be high-​brow and an Entertainment Department (‘Underholdningsafdelingen’) for easy-​going, more popular programmes.27 Regnvejr og ingen penge (Rainy Weather and No Money, 1965) was the first actual series by DR rather than a stand-​ alone play. The series, which consists of four episodes and was written by Henning Ipsen, represented a new era of fiction television in Denmark by offering a complex narrative, realist aesthetics and psychological depth. It revolves around the life of a Danish family on the Island of Bornholm in the years after the liberation from National Socialist occupation. It was directed by Gabriel Axel, one of DR’s television pioneers who made more than 60 television plays as well as feature films from the 1960s to the 1980s. The crime genre also has its roots in the 1960s with Ka’ de li’ østers? (Do You Like Oysters?, 1967), written by Leif Panduro and directed by Ebbe Langberg. Panduro, here, is important for the development of Danish drama television. As Redvall explains, his dramas are often singled out for ‘telling realist, mainstream stories with a social-​psychological core based on the principles of classical narration’.28 DR’s monopoly ended in the 1980s. As a result, the number of fiction programmes multiplied in but a few years, a trend that has not yet come 36

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The Danish Audio-visual Media Landscape

to an end. DR reorganised its departmental structure. Its two subdivisions responsible for fictional programmes were merged in 1989 into a TV Fiction department, and later to DR Drama. Besides combining knowledge and skill, the new structure represents an attempt to overcome the hitherto divide between high art and popular entertainment. The emphasis was on television drama challenging and popular with a mass audience. The individual shows were now made with episode lengths of half an hour to an hour that would fit the broadcaster’s newly established time-slot structure. DR introduced a special ‘Drama slot’ every Sunday at 8 pm to promote its domestic dramas. About a third of the entire Danish population followed the dramas that were broadcast. Even if Agger is certainly right in pointing out that television dramas of the 1990s kept a couple of the key features from earlier years –​not least owing to the relative stability of DR’s public service remit before and after the end of its monopoly and the legacy of individual television practitioners –​there are also notable differences. One important development was that DR increasingly looked across the Atlantic for inspiration. Another notable change was the increasing hybridisation. Whereas in previous years one could identify dominant genres such as contemporary realist drama, historical drama, soap operas, thrillers, comedy and satire,29 these forms were increasingly merged in the course of the 1990s. The 56 popular episodes of Taxa (DR 1997–​9), for instance, was the first Danish prime time soap. It was certainly made after American models such as Dallas (CBS 1978–​91) or Dynasty (ABC 1981–​9) that, among other elements, comprised love stories, white collar crime, intrigues and hard-​boiled suspense. Taxa, moreover, highlights a new DR tendency for using team writing as a production method. This method has been used ever since. Even if historical drama has also played an important part for DR domestically with Matador (1978–​81), Kald mig Liva (Call me Liva, 1992) and Krøniken (2004), crime thrillers and realist dramas are most notable today. As the programmes that are discussed on the following pages illustrate, crime dramas such as Forbrydelsen, Ørnen and Broen as well as the political serial Borgen and the family drama Arvingerne are the most popular. As well, the international success of crime and contemporary realist drama since the end of the 1990s represents a new era of Danish fictional television. 37

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Internationalising Danish Television Drama There is a marked difference between reception at home and internationally. For Denmark, the shows discussed in this book –​through their reach in terms of audience share and follow-​up communication in various media –​might well possess a community-​building capacity. They provide a vantage point for discussions of national identity and public discourse. Abroad, their integrative power works in a rather different way. Shown by niche cultural-​entertainment channels with a commitment to premium drama such as BBC4 in Britain, the French–German channel Arte, and LaEffe in Italy, the reaction was largely limited to the intellectual elite. Through processes of intercultural appropriation –​including dubbing, subtitling, the re-​editing of episodes and changed expectations –​Danish television acquires different meanings abroad.30 Rather than topping audience figures or dominating the political agenda, the international reception of drama series from Denmark is closely linked to discussions of quality television and the opportunities and benefits of public service broadcasting in the multi-​channel digital age. It is tempting to emphasise the merits of the Danish broadcasting system when its fictional programmes enjoy tremendous success around the world, but this is not the whole picture. The achievement of public service broadcasting in Denmark also eclipses –​or even frustrates –​the development of certain kinds of viable private television enterprises. Everything that cannot (or will not) be shown on public service channels, or anything that has no chance of public support through subsidy schemes, will have little chance of being made. Independent production companies such as Zentropa or Miso Film that have gained significant cultural clout on their own, can hardly realise any of their ideas without working for or at least with one of the two public channels DR and TV2 or by receiving grant money allocated to individual projects by the Danish Film Institute. The results are more often than not projects with a cultural purpose and not necessarily a popular one. In the area of reality television, to give but one example, which is familiar on private channels, there are no Danish companies equal to such prosperous global players as Strixx in Sweden, Endemol in the Netherlands or the RTL Group subsidiary Freemantle Media. Under close surveillance by politicians, the 38

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The Danish Audio-visual Media Landscape

EU commission and the general public, DR has been eager to avoid accusations of obstructing the private sector. One way of doing so was close cooperation through cross-​over productions where such a collaboration was seen as advantageous. This was certainly the case with innovative film companies.

Production Culture across Film and Television Owing to its market share and a very generous per capita public funding, DR has been in a position to commission or co-​finance a number of ambitious projects, including various Danish New Wave films. In return, Danish television certainly has benefitted from the artistic acclaim and international connections of the Danish film industry. This means that besides countering political accusations of DR’s dominant market position, such collaborations have proved constructive artistically. As Bondebjerg and Redvall point out: The issue of where to find new talent if one only produces high profile drama with no room to fail is an issue that is often discussed from the Danish perspective. [Head of DR Drama] Ingolf Gabold would like to see more Danish drama production in shorter formats and for less profiled slots than Sunday nights at eight o’clock where new talent can be tested and new ideas explored […]. While this is not the case as of right now, both Gabold and Sven Clausen emphasise the importance of the collaboration between the drama department and the National Film School of Denmark, where the screenwriters and producers team up for half a year during their education to develop a potential series to pitch for DR.31

In order to explain the fruitful collaboration across film and television, one has to understand the role of the Danish film business, an industry that –​ despite its small size –​has become an economic and creative force to be reckoned with on the global film stage. As Andrew Nestingen and Trevor G. Elkington note: [T]‌he globalization of cinema should not be implicitly understood as a threat to Nordic national cinemas. One way the role

39

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Beyond The Bridge of transnational interconnection can be seen to have stimulated Nordic cinemas is by providing film workers opportunity to influence colleagues and audiences outside the region […] In the search for marketable cinema, the studio-​based industry has increasingly looked outside its own sphere for talent and inspiration, leading to the ‘crossing over’ of directors […] and others.32

This lively exchange between film and television has proved beneficial on many levels. Production companies, for instance, rely on a higher number of skilled crews, and the crews have improved their income streams. The preferable economic situation of pooling resources at the time of market aggregation means that many experts stayed in Denmark and not countries with a bigger audiovisual industry. The close-​cooperation of Scandinavian public service broadcasters also improved the opportunities for those working in national audiovisual industries. What Andrew Nestingen and Trevor G. Elkington argue in connection with the transnational character of Scandinavian cinema might also apply to the making of television drama: ‘Film production and reception in the Nordic region draw from diverse sources […] Financing the Nordic cinema productions is often multinational; the cultural political bodies that provide funding for cinema cannot be fitted neatly within the borders of a single nation-​state; and the networks of production, distribution, and exhibition through which all films pass are transnational.’33 Although Denmark’s audiovisual culture was marginalised internationally for the most part of the 20th century, globalisation has offered an opportunity to re-​establish and modernise. The careers of directors Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg suggest how some remarkable Danish filmmakers managed to thrive within and beyond the European art house cinema scene. This ‘crossing over’ was apparent across different media. It was through the fruitful collaboration of broadcasters with a number of young talented graduates from the National Film School of Denmark, many of whom participated in successful cinema projects, that laid the foundation for the current accomplishments of Danish television series. The success of Danish television now arguably surpasses the success of Danish cinema; a cinema which –​despite a number of problems ranging from a home 40

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The Danish Audio-visual Media Landscape

market too small to sustain a viable film industry to a language that precludes international distribution –​has offered a successful blueprint for how a minor cinema can offer a successful global response to Hollywood. Even if the Dogma films are but one strand of the Danish New Wave films of the 1990s, they played a major part in putting the relatively small country on the international cinema map. More than the succès d’estime of individual films, it was the fact that they were accompanied by a manifesto, the so-​called ‘vow of chastity’, that helped Dogma to command international attention. In part a radical alternative to mainstream cinema, in part a well-​ staged promotion activity staged by Lars von Trier in his typically provocative manner, the manifesto proved successful. Even if it seems tempting to tell the story of how the success of the Danish New Wave films, above all the films associated with Dogma 95, paved the way for the later television series discussed in this book, this is only part of the story. The Danish cinema of the 1990s certainly received international attention in the wake of the Dogma manifesto and films such as Festen (The Celebration, Thomas Vinterberg 1998), Idioterne (The Idiots, Lars von Trier 1998) and Mifunes sidste sang (Mifune, Søren Kragh-​Jacobsen 1999). These films, however, were actually partially-​financed by DR and supported by the then-cultural minister Jytte Hilden. The significant media attention on the films and its critically acclaimed auteurs, moreover, tend to overshadow the fact that many of the filmmakers involved have repeatedly taken part in television projects, some unknown outside Denmark. Thomas Vinterberg co-​wrote and directed the television drama Slaget på tasken (Battle in a Bag, 1993), and Lars von Trier’s innovative series, Riget, consists of eight episodes broadcast by DR in 1994 and 1997. In addition, Ole Bornedal, who was not associated with Dogma but with the internationally successful thriller, Nattevagten (Nightwatch, 1994), made four episodes of the road-​ movie-​inspired comedy series Charlot og Charlotte (Charlot and Charlotte, DR 1996). This series is a good example of how Danish public service can integrate a typically American genre (road movie) and transform it into compelling Danish television drama. The television assignments were not only lucrative in a financial sense. In a creative way, Riget also helped von Trier to renew himself as an artist by mixing different generic and national traditions: Danish realism and American fantasy, hospital drama, soap opera, comedy and crime 41

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Beyond The Bridge

series.34 In a similar way, Bornedal combined elements from the American road-​movie tradition with Danish realism.35 Both variations of nationally specific forms of expression with dominant tropes of entertainment are reasons behind their success. The way in which both directors handle conventions and audience expectations, in particular, demonstrates a playful variation of existing role models rather than simply emulating Hollywood formulas. This makes Riget and Charlot and Charlotte creative shows which transformed the Danish television domain. The films and programmes are appealing as they offer a new dramaturgical take on specific –​but ultimately universal –​topics. They are also interesting in the way they locate such themes within a distinctively Danish environment such as the Jutland countryside or the Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen. They are both global and parochial at the same time. As Glen Creeber notes in reference to Riget: ‘[…] the serial offers the viewer a contemporary television drama that actively goes against the apparent tide of global television practice, presenting a less than conventional television narrative centred around issues of a uniquely local nature’.36 Both Bornedal’s and Trier’s experimental and creative use of television helped to change television’s reputation for the audiovisual industry, policy makers and the wider public. Indicative of this change are a number of personal career trajectories and institutional transformations. Other examples concern independent production companies specialised in both film and television productions. The production company Zentropa, founded in 1992 by von Trier and producer Peter Aalbæk Jensen, is a good example. Even if the company is primarily associated with feature films to the general public, Aalbæk Jensen highlights the significance of Riget as the company’s most notable success.37 When von Trier and Aalbæk Jensen established their company – today the largest in Scandinavia – they introduced a very Danish production environment. Rather than a hierarchical organisation found elsewhere, they fostered a ‘village-like’ egalitarianism with a transnational vision that encompassed both television and film. A lot has changed since the late 1980s and early 1990s, when Danish national television production was insular, with no real signs of cross-​traffic between film and television.38 In retrospect, the requirements formulated 42

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The Danish Audio-visual Media Landscape

by Bondebjerg in the mid-1990s for a prosperous Danish television culture were very perceptive: ‘[…] if national television is to survive the next decade [it must] do [so] with increased co-​operation at an international level, and with a particularly strong emphasis on European co-​operation. But it also seems necessary to increase the co-​operation between the film production milieu and television production.’39 Reflecting on the changes in Danish film/​television, Nadia Kløvedal Reich (DR) asserts that ‘[Today, our] TV industry works very closely with the film industry. We continuously exchange talents, influence and inspire each other.’40 The Film School wanted to support developments in new directions and selected film producer Vinca Wiedemann as the new head of the School in 2014. And as writer Nikolaj Scherfig, furthermore, explains with regards to the situation of writers, film and television production are very much linked in Denmark. Although there are a number of reasons for this, DR’s commitment to the production of serious drama in the early to mid-1990s played a role as ‘[…] they had to take [personnel] from the film milieu because there wasn’t this tradition of television writers […] [Today] a lot of the writers […] hop from one format to another. And this interaction between film and television is really important.’41 To encourage this cross-​media interaction, many members of the production crews from cinematographers to editors are only employed for certain episodes while others are made by different crews. Production guidelines and show-runners guarantee a similar approach despite this rotation of staff. Cross-​over productions between film and television, of course, are not unique to Denmark. John Thornton Caldwell’s research on production culture in the US has shown that the overlap and interaction between film and television is a general trend.42 Yet, in contrast to the situation in Southern California that Caldwell describes, crossover production and interaction is not predominantly a phenomenon of ‘below-​the-​line-​crafts’ such as technicians but includes directors, writers and producers.43 The gulf that traditionally divided film and television production and consumption has disappeared. Denmark has been at the forefront of these developments, not least because of the exceptional status of its public service broadcasting culture and the fact that it has always been difficult to achieve a successful 43

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Beyond The Bridge

career in such a small country. As a result, the decision to work for television is generally not regarded as a second-​best choice but rather seen as a respected career path. When television journalist Poul Nesgaard was appointed head of the National Film School in 1992, this was widely seen as an index for cross-​ media interaction a few years after the break of the DR monopoly and the competition from TV2 in 1988. He originally came from television, where he had produced a number of ambitious programmes and now shaped Danish audiovisual culture as head of the School in the eminent period from 1992 to 2014. He was soon working on new didactic methods. He introduced initiatives such as an animation programme. Led by Gunnar Wille (who has produced animation for television himself), this programme linked together television and film, something which has increasingly influenced cross-​media thinking at the School. The end of the television monopoly and the success of the Danish new wave cinema have turned the Danish capital into an international audio-​ visual centre. A number of production companies and production service companies –​founded in the early to mid-​1990s and mostly established by filmmakers from the National Film School –​are thriving. A second wave of corporate foundations followed after the year 2000 with Miso Film, Copenhagen Bombay and Fine & Mellow Productions. They helped revolutionise the Danish production culture as more resources became available in terms of money, expertise, equipment and facilities. Without their impact, the internationalisation of the relatively small Danish cinema industry would have been impossible. Many of the companies such as Zentropa, Nimbus Film, M&M Productions A/​S, Thura Film A/​S, the Danish branch of Svensk Filmindustri (SF Film A/​S) and Cosmo Film A/S have provided support for up-​and-​coming film and TV personnel. Some of them also have their own talent development programmes, such as ‘småtter’ at Zentropa. They have, moreover, become involved in a number of television projects themselves. Nimbus Film, for instance, was one of the production companies behind Broen, in collaboration with DR and other partners, and Cosmo Film A/​S produced the comedy-​drama series Lærkevej (Park Road, 2009–​) for TV2. Located in Copenhagen, the Svensk Filmindustri teamed up with TV2 to produce the drama series Rita (TV2 2012–​) revolving around the life of a dedicated school teacher. When DR 44

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The Danish Audio-visual Media Landscape

and TV2 collaborate with independent production companies, the creative origin of projects comes from broadcasters. As the executive producer of Rita, Karoline Leth, stated in 2012: ‘Right now in Denmark, it’s not really the independent producers that are developing ideas, it is often the TV stations that are developing ideas and then we have to capture [their idea] and then unfold it and produce it.’44 When Danish production companies began to flourish, this development was aided by an array of public and private efforts to strengthen audio-​visual culture. This includes the founding of regional film funds (e.g. FilmFyn since 2003), festivals (e.g. the Copenhagen International Film Festival since 2003), and new university programmes on film, television and screen-​writing. The connection between Danish cinema and public-service broadcasting has perhaps grown even stronger since the year 2000. As the cast and credits reveal, many of the people involved are identical, raising questions of a very Danish case of media conversion. Danish director, Søren Kragh-​ Jacobsen, one of the key figures of Dogma, for instance, not only directed two episodes of Ørnen but also instalments of the equally successful television series Livvagterne and Borgen. Another example is the career of Kaspar Munk. Having been commended for his feature films Hold om mig (Hold Me Tight, 2010) and You and Me Forever (2012) that he made for Nimbus Film, he was contracted to direct the prestigious DR Christmas series Tidsrejsen (The Time Travel, 2014) which turned out to be a national success. This professional mobility between cinema and television provides opportunities for young talented filmmakers. The movement of key personnel was not only across media but also across institutions. The head of the National Film School of Denmark, Poul Nesgaard, for example, has to date been involved in a number of DR projects (including the comedy talk show De uaktuelle nyheder, DR 2002–). Two years after Nesgaard was appointed, the former director of the Film School Rumle Hammerich, himself a graduate of the School, assumed control of DR’s Drama Department. He now partly works at the Norwegian Film School. His work for the school is not a coincidence, but rather part of a wider initiative to help foster inter-​Scandinavian relationships. The school’s principal, Thomas Stenderup, has also been involved in a number of cross-​media projects as a producer himself. When Hammerich left DR, it did not mark the beginning of a shift in production processes and strategic planning. His 45

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ideas and approaches to television production were developed further by his successor, Ingolf Gabold, who formulated the 15 dogmas for television at DR. Gabold was head of Drama at DR from 1999 to April 2012. Besides DR’s Culture Director, Morten Hesseldahl, two people in particular have left their mark on the broadcaster’s drama production ever since Gabold’s departure: Piv Bernth as head of Drama and Nadia Kløvedal Reich as head of Fiction. The former had previously worked as a film and television director and has been with DR as a producer since 1998, whereas the latter has a background in theatre and management and worked for DR from 2008 to 2014, crucial years in the development of DR drama production. Looking back at the successful collaboration, Hesseldahl stressed continuing the modernisation process: [Piv Bernth and Nadia Kløvedal Reich have] played a key role in DR Fiction’s generational shift. They have carried further the legacy from DR Fiction’s grand old man Ingolf Gabold and have created a new era for DR’s drama productions based [on] both a maintenance and development of the traditions. They have built a solid organization, capable of handling work on several major productions in parallel, and as part of this, they have put together a strong new team of writers, producers and directors.45

Other examples of the lively institutional exchange include the new TV2 programme director, Lotte Lindegaard, who came from DR and was a former consultant at the DFI; and Rasmus Horskjær, who worked in the radio​ and television industry before moving into the film business, the DFI and back to the television business. Moreover, Horskjær, together with Jenny Lund Madsen (from television) taught at the the screen development educational programme (Manuskriptudvikling) launched at the University of Southern Denmark in September 2014. The film/​television practitioners, Horskjær and Madsen, thereby helped to start a new educational programme with a focus on writing for the film domain but with an awareness that today’s media transfer, even when one writes the screenplay for a film. These examples are illustrative of wider cross-​media developments. They point to the fact that the Danish industry is closely interconnected, favouring a few major institutions, and that in Denmark one cannot work for one single medium and still make a living. All in all, the research for 46

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this book has revealed that dovetailing has enabled a vital interchange for a robust network. In comparison to Southern California for instance, where some 250,000 people work directly for film and television in a variety of capacities,46 it is easier to formulate general conclusions. The coherence of production culture in Denmark, however, does not mean that television forms a unified, homogeneous entity. Quite the contrary, a closer look reveals that one of the key traits of Danish television is the level of freedom at various levels of production. Beyond personal decisions and connections, this cross-​media interchange was promoted by a consistent media policy. The Ministry of Culture is not only responsible for public service broadcasting but also the National Film School of Denmark and the DFI. Besides the commitment to Danish productions that is part of the public service remit –​a measure that resulted projects being directly funded by DR and TV2 –​a number of collaborative programmes between cinema and television were instigated to invigorate audio-​visual production. One such example is the Talent Development Programme with the involvement of DR and TV2, 2003 to 2006 with a budget of a hundred million kroner (approximately, in millions, €13.5/​£9.3/​$14.9) available to young filmmakers.47 The follow-​up programme, ‘New Danish Screen’, which had been allocated 112 million kroner (€15 million) from 2011 to 2014, is a joint programme by the Danish Film Institute (DFI), DR and TV2. It is designed to offer subsidies ‘[…] to productions in all genres and formats, and on all platforms, including pilots of TV series.’48 Additionally, the Public Service Television Fund was established in 2007 to help creating high-​quality documentary and fictional productions.49 These programmes were complimented by an institutionalised television semester for producers and writers at the Film School that was introduced in collaboration with DR. According to screenwriter Jeppe Gjervig Gram, this collaboration not only made possible his own career as a writer (he was, among other programmes, behind Borgen and Bedrag in 2016) but also keeps on forming new talent that oriented towards both film and television.50 In addition to the exchange of personnel, new funding opportunities and training schemes, there were other developments that helped to support the production of fictional series for television. When DR decided 47

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to abandon quiz and game show formats as well as television films in the 1990s, this was a seismic shift in Danish television programming.51 It gave way to the production of more drama series as a number of time-​slots and production capacity became available  –​though not everything DR has been doing ever since adheres equally to this programming strategy.

Experimenting with Complex Narrative Structures The success of 1990s’ Danish television series with high production values then made possible new concepts as the broadcasters, particularly DR, became more daring in trying out new and longer serial formats. Reflecting on the new departures in Danish television at the beginning of the 1990s, film scholar Peter Schepelern had earlier singled out the influence of the Thorsboe brothers –​Stig and Peter –​who wrote a number of series such as Landsbyen (The Village, DR 1991–​6) and Taxa (Taxi, DR 1997–​9) and these certainly belong to the story of DR’s success: ‘The central creative force in this evolution [of television now focusing on drama series] was the writing brothers Stig and Peter Thorsboe […] [who] with trend-​setting success presented TV series fiction with American-​oriented dramaturgy and effective cinematic form.’52 The brothers have continued to play an important role ever since, specialising in crime/​police drama: Rejseholdet (Unit One, DR 2001–​4), Ørnen: En krimi-​odyssé, Livvagterne and Mord uden grænser (The Team, DR 2015–​). Danish drama before the 1990s  –​as in other European countries  –​ had been predominantly structured as serial narratives with concluding storylines. In contrast to the multiple, never-​ending storylines of serials (as in soap operas), the dramatic arcs of series had been explored for one instalment (or over a very limited number of instalments in case of a mini-​series) to form a more or less self-​contained dramatic structure that could be shown in almost any order. What the Danes learned from many American shows was an increased generic hybridity that combined elements of the serial, the series and the miniseries.53 Danish television, in fact, learned from such American productions as NYPD Blue to mix the advantages of dramatic closure (allowing viewers to enter the narrative continuously) with cumulative, open-​end character development and narrative progression (which allows more complex storytelling). This means 48

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that what Glen Creeber says about American television holds good for many Danish productions ever since the 1990s: The increasing hybridity of television drama (particularly the apparent merging between the serial, series and miniseries) means that the unique style and structure of the television serial is probably not always as pronounced as it once was. However, it also means that the serial form is increasingly flexible, that it can adopt various genre styles and structures within a loosely defined narrative structure. While it is true that series are now emulating serials and that serials are now emulating series, it is also equally true that narrative fluidity between types of drama is more flexible than ever before.54

The conscious mixing and matching of series, serials and miniseries, as Creeber suggests, allows for ‘new and surprisingly novel ways of reflecting and dramatizing the contemporary world’.55 The phenomenon of fluid narration has been labelled differently by scholars. Robin Nelson coined the term ‘flexi narrative’; Mittel speaks of ‘complex TV’; and Newcomb uses ‘cumulative narrative’ to denote this new type of narrative progression.56 Referring to Edgar Morrin’s thoughts on complexity,57 Kathrin Rothemund, in her analysis of storytelling in US television fiction, notes that narrative complexity is not only a quantitative category (the sheer number of characters, sets, storylines, etc.) but also the quality of these (level of details, the facets of their design, stylistic variability, etc.) and how these are interconnected. She describes five categories as markers of complexity: plurality and complexity of factors and junctures; non-​linear narration; open storylines; and narrative contingency.58 Danes habitually differentiate between the different narrative structures. A series is named episode serie (Rejseholdet would be an example for this) and a serial is referred to as føljeton (such as the 2014 DR historical drama 1864 by Ole Bornedal about the Second Schleswig War). A mix of the two is a ‘hybrid format’, a drama in which smaller problems are solved by the end of each episode whereas larger issues are dealt with for entire seasons and beyond from different angles (Broen exemplifies this type). In our book we do not differentiate between series and serials. This, too, is in line with most articles about Danish fictional drama, where the two terms are repeatedly used as synonyms. We do, however, look closely 49

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at different aspects of narrative strategies: how many strands appear; how detailed they are; and how they are arranged across different episodes and entire seasons. Looking at the on-​going success of DR’s drama series, TV2’s newly assigned programme director, Lotte Lindegaard, has expressed her determination to support the development of new drama series. Her remarks are a reaction to TV2 falling behind when compared to DR, despite the broadcaster’s success with such series as Anna Phil, Den som dræber and others. Talking about the disparities between DR and TV2 in November 2013, she said that ‘the biggest difference is that DR Drama has a long tradition, over 20 years, and has built up a creative culture among talents based on ideas mainly from Ingolf Gabold. They have created good and “safe” or one could say “scaffolded” environments for their talents. In addition, DR1 has put a lot of money into drama production.’ In order to compete with DR, TV2 must ‘dare to take more risks’.59 The way in which some of the 1990s’ television series such as Lars von Trier’s Riget explored the opportunities of serial storytelling and offer playful versions of familiar genre conventions and TV formats illustrates the creative freedom television can offer. The wealth of recent achievements suggests a more general attractiveness of television for Danish film personnel. The way in which television opens up possibilities to combine socially relevant themes with cinema aesthetics by way of a multi-​layered serial dramaturgy, offers an attractive alternative to film work. Or, to put it differently, whereas the themes of one-​off television plays were often seen as inferior to the big cinematic screen –​despite its status as ‘an experimental arena for talents and co-​operation’60 –​it is now television series that allow for a coupling of ambitious topics with the possibilities of overarching, continuous narratives and complex character development. In addition to financial reasons that played a part in the decision to work for DR or TV2, many filmmakers gravitated to television for artistic reasons, too. Nikolaj Scherfig, who wrote episodes of Taxa alongside Stig and Peter Thorsboe, Adam Price and others, before becoming head writer for Rejseholdet and Broen, stresses the credibility of contemporary Danish drama: ‘When I started to work for TV in the mid-​1990s, […] it was a relief to work for such a long time with a story and to develop the characters […] When you are working on a TV 50

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series, you can enter into it. And this was so satisfying.’61 What was once labelled ‘the small screen’ –​a medium marred by a number of alleged constraints –​opened up a potential for peripatetic, interwoven plots and dramatis personae. The Dogma representatives Vinterberg, von Trier, Kragh-​Jacobsen and Levring used television for an interactive, experimental television show on the New Year’s Eve of the new millennium. Together they produced the live drama D-​Dag (DR 1999/​2000) from four different character’s perspectives. Set in Copenhagen on New Year’s Eve, the perspectives were filmed separately by different production teams and screened simultaneously on different channels. The directors were able to give live instructions to the actors and thereby retained a high-​level of dramaturgical control. The scenes were aired live so that the viewers were able to edit the scenes themselves by changing the channels, switching to another version of the story.

A Northern Television Aesthetic between Nordic Noir and Candid Documentary Style A significant trademark of contemporary Danish drama, besides narrative complexity that interweaves particular storylines with tensions in culture and society, is certainly their look. More than anything else, the term ‘Nordic Noir’ has been used internationally to refer to contemporary Scandinavian crime fiction in film and television. What began as a brand name for marketing purposes has been picked up by academics to analyse the aesthetic and thematic resemblance of such fictional accounts. Although scholarly accounts did not go as far as exaggeratedly claiming that ‘the Nordic nations gave the world Norse mythology, Henrik Ibsen and Ingmar Bergman [a]‌nd now they can add Nordic Noir to their list of creative achievement’ like the trade journal miptv news,62 they nevertheless agree that there are common thematic and stylistic patterns that have been evolving for a decade now. A very obvious influence is that of literature, namely Scandinavian crime fiction. Five important factors that have been identified by Kerstin Bergman as common denominators of Nordic crime fiction include, first, ‘the Stieg Larsson effect’, by which she refers to a worldwide interest in Scandinavian crime dramas after the success of Larsson’s Millenium 51

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trilogy; second, ‘welfare state criticism’; third, ‘gender equality and strong women characters’; four, ‘exotic landscapes and settings’ and; five, ‘a strong bond to the Anglo-​American crime fiction tradition’.63 Whereas these attractions may well explain the appeal of Nordic Noir on a number of levels, the role of aesthetics is particularly important. Most dramas that have been labelled Nordic Noir are, after all, characterised by their gritty melancholic atmosphere. As Creeber puts it, ‘Nordic Noir is best understood as an umbrella term that describes a particular type of Scandinavian crime fiction, typified by its heady mixture of bleak naturalism, disconsolate locations and morose detectives.’64 And he adds that Nordic Noir television dramas ‘[…] are typified by a dimly-​lit aesthetic (hence its implicit reference to Film Noir) that is matched by a slow and melancholic pace, multi-​layered storylines and an interest in uncovering the dark underbelly of contemporary society.’65 The cinematic look of an atmospheric drama was very much what the people behind DR drama have aimed for. As the writer of Forbydelsen, Søren Sveistrup explains: ‘Typical television is just close-​ups. There would be a close-​up with you and the a close-​up with me. Talking heads. But I wanted to make it more epic –​visually more epic. Larger pictures. Spaghetti Western stuff […] I still use [the example of Clint Eastwood westerns] to remind me not to get too busy with dialogue. Remember the pictures. Always the pictures. And the characters.’66 Talking about the cinematic-​inspired look and somewhat slower pace of Danish drama, Creeber argues that Nordic Noir ‘stands out from the television “flow” by appearing so different from other programmes. In particular, it is the opposite of what John Caldwell refers to as “televisuality”, a contemporary aesthetic style typified by a faster narrative pace and a tendency towards visual and aural hyperactivity’.67 Combining features of the American Film Noir with specific characteristics associated with Northernness, Nordic Noir has been used as a common denominator for contemporary Scandinavian crime drama. With films Noirs, many of the Danish television dramas share a number of features, including its tone and mood, a general feeling of discontinuity, troubled and dubious characters, echoes of social realism, violence, vigilantism, psychological complexity and disorientation as well as moral ambiguity.68 Linking such aesthetic and thematic elements to commercial 52

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considerations, Anne Marit Waade and Pia Majbrit Jensen argue that ‘[…] Nordic Noir constitutes a set of production values utilised and conceptualised to make Danish television series attractive in the international market’.69 Looking more closely at Forbrydelsen and Broen, they demonstrate how a typically Nordic climate, light, language, manners and general setting constitute a recognisable aesthetic that is part of a conscious marketing strategy. However different the programmes, they look like they belong together. The term Nordic Noir seems to have been invented only after many of the respective dramas had been screened. Bo Tengberg, who has helped to establish the look of many Danish television dramas including Ørnen and Forbrydelsen as cinematographer, for instance, comments: I heard people talking about [Nordic Noir]; actually a friend of mine works for Ridley Scott at the moment in London and they talk about this Scandinavian look. Honestly I don’t know what precisely they mean by this. Our references [when we worked on the programmes] were American TV series. We took [their ideas] to Denmark and maybe made our own look of them, but still, the references were from there […] I can reveal to you that we definitely do not use the expression ‘Nordic look’, because we are not aware that we have one. I don’t think we do. Maybe retrospectively we can say that this is a Nordic look.’70

Nordic Noir and Film Noir seem to share more than aesthetics, personae and themes. Film Noir was described as an ‘idea’ rather than a genre or cycle of films by James Naremore as the term was first used by French critics after World War II and later by academics as a means of classification. At the time of their production no one had used the term. The Hollywood studios had simply referred to them as crime and gangster films or police thrillers.71 As Naremore puts it: If we want to understand [Film Noir], or to make sense of genres or art-​historical categories in general, we need to recognize that film Noir belongs to the history of ideas as much as to the history of cinema; it has less to do with a group of artifacts than with a discourse –​a loose, evolving system of arguments and readings, helping to shape commercial strategies and aesthetic ideologies.72

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Pretty much the same can be said about Danish contemporary crime dramas –​although the circumstances are of course very different. Danish television dramas, too, have been described as Nordic Noirs only after they reached the international scene. Cultural critics have used it to review Scandinavian films and television serials, producers had used it to finance their new projects and distributors had found it to be a valuable brand name. The term then, captivated the minds and language of Danish production crews, who happily used it retrospectively to give their creative work a name. Summing up the discussion of what actually constitutes a Nordic Noir, Emma Robinson states that it is the amalgamation of Scandinavian crime literature often dealing with ‘cultural anxieties and contradictions of the developing postwar welfare state’ and the Film Noir genre that itself developed out of the disillusionment of the 20th century and was characterised by a dark tone and mood.73 As Gunhild Agger’s research demonstrates, there are links to both Hollywood films and Anglo-​American hard-​boiled detective fiction as well as a Nordic tradition of art.74 Looking closely at elements of mise-​en-​scène shows how striking such references to, for instance, Scandinavian landscape painting, photography and interior design are. Consider the photography of Per Bak Jensen, whose gloomy landscapes, monochromatic colours and soft light captures landscapes often devoid of admiration and human warmth. He aims for a somewhat detached look at Scandinavian nature and civilisation. In many television dramas, too, there is a monotonous, largely post-​ industrial landscape. Literature also played a part. When asked about the Nordic atmosphere and melancholy of Forbrydelsen in particular, the former head of DR Fiction Ingolf Gabold explained that the show was in fact moulded around Henrik Nordbrandt’s well-​known tongue-​in-​cheek poem ‘The Year Has 16 Months’ (‘Året har 16 måneder’, 1986) about the long cold seasons in Denmark: The year has 16 months: November, December, January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, November, November, November.’75 Production design and cinematography clearly created this hibernal mood: The gloomy, cold atmosphere of Scandinavian autumn and winter with the typical setting sun that creates a blazing red twilight early in the afternoon. Natural light is only available for a few hours above 55 degrees 54

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north. Sparsely populated land-​and cityscapes without dramatic geological landscapes create a sense of isolation. This understated, minimalistic look is often continued inside the modern homes and offices of main protagonists. The interior design, desirable for many middle-​class viewers, suggests that problems and horrors can well intrude even into too-​ perfect model homes. Homogenising classifications, are often too general. The same is true for ‘Nordic Noir’. Not every contemporary Danish television drama made for Sunday night primetime is a crime drama with similar aesthetic characteristics. This problematises approaches that suggest that the crime genre is Nordic Noir. Just as Film Noir can be found in numerous genres, Nordic Noir encompasses this ‘genre’, too. And Borgen and Arvingerne, for instance, focus more on politics and family feuds than crimes. Nor do they precisely share a cold somewhat detached look, with monochromatic colour palettes of white, grey, green and blue. What Glen Creeber describes as Nordic Noir aesthetics, namely ‘a rather slow and understated pace, the dialogue often sparse, monosyllabic and the lighting frequently muted’,76 is true of some dramas but not all. Some episodes consist of fast-​paced investigations, with long discussions and dialogues. A better characterisation is perhaps the use of studied dilatory moments. After scenes of action and suspense, there are ‘long moments of stillness and reflection’, to cite Creeber once again, that allow audiences to deliberate on the consequences of what they have just experienced. Besides several overlaps in substance and looks with Hollywood’s dark screens, another characteristic of Nordic Noir is that it also stands in the tradition of Danish realist cinema. The way in which Danish realism can be positioned between art film practices with their progressive narrative structures, and more traditional audiovisual forms of storytelling, shows parallels with many quality television dramas. Though Danish realist films are more than a set of stylistic or narrative features, they are as Birger Langkjær argues ‘[…] a kind of film practice […] that can be positively described as dealing with defining oneself as a social agent inside a given social situation […] Realism is about how personal space is to be defined within a given social space.’77 While this ethical dimension and educational attitude accords with the public service remit of DR, it describes a very flexible and adaptable practice. As Langkjær continues: ‘Realism 55

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is neither a style, nor a narrative form in and of itself. Realism is open to stylistic, narrative and conflictual variations in a continuous revitalisation across changing cultural and aesthetic sensibilities of what realism is all about.’78 Television drama incorporates such a broad psychological approach to realism. Meryl Shriver-​Rice notes that the Danish notion of realism ‘[…] allows for sensitive topics to be portrayed in such a manner that a viewer feels invited to observe, to act as a voyeur on another’s life experience, an incredibly active rather than passive viewer of an unfolding reality’.79 As audiences are not only introduced to public spaces but also private and intimate ones, observational practices create a close relationship between viewers and protagonists. Audiences are put in a privileged position to find out more about the characters, portrayed individualistically and not as stereotypical personae with a limited narrative function. Such realist practices are part of a wider concern of a humanistic audiovisual culture that aims at ‘[…] establishing a heightened register for empathetic engagement’.80 Tengberg specifically attributes much of the aesthetic qualities of conetemporary Danish television drama to documentarist practices: Especially with [early DR dramas] Taxa and Reiseholdet, I think, the producers were inspired by series such as NYPD Blue. The hand-​held look, that wasn’t really hand-​held if you know anything about it, has this documentary feeling. [Even though we took great care to create a style], we still ensured that it has this kind of realistic touch […] It had a feel of reality. And I think [a vital aspect were] the stories as well. Specially with Reiseholdet the stories were inspired by real events that had happened, that were reported by the police. They had a quite close collaboration [with DR].81

Combining a number of cultural traditions, Nordic Noir is the only prolific Danish televisual export product. It has, in fact, given rise to an international trend. Many television dramas seem to reproduce its foremost traits. As the trade journal miptv news puts it: ‘[…] international series including True Detective, The Missing, Les Revenants and Fortitude all have a little Nordic Noir in their DNA’.82 Whereas Denmark had looked at the US for inspiration in the mid-​1990s, producers from around the world may now come to Denmark to study its very own model of quality television drama. 56

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Production Culture across Borders Because the predicament of a small nation comes with positive as well as negative aspects, this has shaped Danish audio-​visual culture. A specific factor that makes the Danish production culture different from, for instance, that of the USA comprises two significant characteristics:  First, during every film and television project everyone involved has to find a good balance between being ‘honest’ and ‘friendly’, because the chances are that they will probably meet again some other production. Second, anyone in the film and television business, even the biggest names, must be willing to work across different media domains –​from film to broadcast television and commercials –​in order to pursue a professional career. Beyond this necessary cross-​media dimension, cross-​cultural projects are an additional trait of Danish audio-​visual culture. The two leading public service broadcasters, DR and TV2, have engaged in pan-​European cooperation by forming alliances with continental European and British public service broadcasters. In so doing, they challenged many a private broadcaster’s reliance on Reality TV formats as an appropriate reaction to the cost pressures stemming from market diversification and the increasing danger of (at least daytime) television becoming a mere background medium. Rather than cutting costs, they believed in ‘must see TV’ to reverse the trend of declining market shares. All serial television programmes discussed and analysed in the following chapters are thus part of a production strategy and trend for quality television that can be ‘distinguished by the compulsive viewing practices of dedicated audiences who organise their schedules around these shows’.83 The close links between DR with other Scandinavian public service broadcasters played its role in explaining the recent success of drama television. Central to this collaboration is Nordvision with its secretariat at DR Byen. Founded as early as 1959, the consortium today comprises the public service broadcasters in Denmark (DR), Finland (Yleisradio YLE), Norway (Norsk Rikskringkastning NRK), Sweden (Sveriges Television SVT) and Iceland (Ríkisútvarpið RUV) as well as associated members from countries such as Greenland and the Faroe Islands with the aim of ‘offer[ing] their public service partners most of the programs they own 57

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rights to, either via program exchanges or co-​production’.84 The ‘establishment of the Nordvision Fund in 1988’, as Bondebjerg and Redvall note, ‘supporting both the development and production of bigger Nordic co-​ productions, is now an important source of financing for major drama productions.’85 Most of the drama series analysed in this book were made as co-​productions with two or three Nordic public service broadcasters. DR, moreover, is member of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Founded in 1950 in Torquay, England, with the aim of exchanging news content and programmes, assisting collaboration across different countries and establishing technical standards amongst Western European public service broadcasters, the alliance has now become international with 73 members in 56 countries. It was behind the first international live broadcast (the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953) and organises broadcast events to this day, most notably the annual Eurovision Song Contest. DR, in addition to Scandinavian partners, also collaborates with the fellow EBU members ZDF in Germany (and its distribution arm ZDF Enterprises (ZDFE)) and the BBC. These partnerships are strategic; while the collaboration with the BBC World Services opens up English-​speaking markets, ZDF and ZDFE have a very extensive distribution network above and beyond mainland Europe and the German-​speaking countries Germany, Austria and Switzerland.86 The association with ZDFE, which began about 2005, had proved particularly important. Today, the German company is involved in financing, promoting and distributing programmes and rights for a number of Danish dramas, from Forbrydelsen to Broen as well as other multi-​national co-​productions such as the Belgian, Danish, German, Austrian and Swiss crime drama The Team (2015–​). ZDFE, according to its vice-​president for drama acquisition Tasja Abel, ‘invest in shows early and distribute remake rights for some of the shows as well as the originals […]’.87 This close collaboration was helped by similar expectations and a common public service ethos. As Abel notes: We were looking for outstanding European crime projects and were very impressed by the great storytelling and creative talent we met. A mutual understanding of key creative values and a shared sense of culture were significant too. We […] were involved most of the time quite early in key decisions.88

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For broadcasting and distribution rights, foreign partners provided up to 30 per cent of the overall budget for a drama such as Ørnen.89 For DR such arrangements reduce the financial risks involved in producing primetime television drama and help to improve production values. Such business partnerships also come with certain obligations or at least expectancies. In the case of Ørnen, this meant that several episodes were set in Berlin rather than the Danish capital. Nadia Kløvedal Reich thus points out that while ‘[DR is] looking at increasing the co-​production and co-​financing of future projects’, DR has to have the final say: ‘We will never go into coproduction where we do not have the control of the creative process and we will never jeopardise the “one vision and producer’s choice thinking”.’90 The latter shows how people at DR are mindful –​or in fact protective –​of the particular working practices and production guidelines that have been identified as reasons behind the success of its dramas. The people in charge at DR thus respond to an rising dilemma: While some income streams for dramas are now coming from international sources, the broadcaster is still accountable to the Danish public. In the wake of its international success, DR has established a number of ways to employ external funding other than its regular licence fee income. Besides funds by the DFI, or regional programmes such as Film Fyn or Film I Skåne, they increasingly come from international sources. Pia Majbritt Jensen, Jakob Isak Nielsen and Anne Marit Waade identify five main foreign sources of income: ‘co-​funding with external partners’, ‘canned programme sales’, ‘pre-​sales of canned programming’, ‘format/​remake sales’ and ‘international funds’.91 Co-​funding agreements with other broadcasters and distributors are very helpful as early as the pre-​production stage, the sale of existing programmes –​either after they were broadcast at home (canned programme sales) or before (pre-​sales of canned programmes) –​ or remake rights secure funding for future projects that are not linked to any specific drama. Yet, in the case of remakes, there is of course the danger of giving up a level of authorial control over its dramas, as Jensen, Nielsen and Waade observe: ‘DR may more easily lose control of the original creative idea of the series, meaning that DR’s brand could be damaged if the remake fails or is somehow unfaithful to the original idea, which in turn could damage sales in other territories.’92 59

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The various funding opportunities, however, are only possible because there is an increasing interest in Danish drama on the international stage. This interest was made possible because DR substantially restructured its modes of production during the 1990s, when competition put the broadcaster in a very difficult position.

Television Production Facilities and Working Practices When audience shares dropped significantly for DR, because of competition, from 45 per cent in 1990 to 30 per cent in 1994,93 this led to a strategic re-​orientation for the nearly 40 members of staff at DR Fiction and DR Drama responsible for producing roughly 40 hours of drama.94 Striving for informative programmes that dealt with relevant political, social, cultural or environmental issues, the newly-​appointed head of DR Fiction, Rumle Hammerich, introduced guidelines for production in the mid-​1990s that are discussed in Chapter 2. Known as television dogmas, they strengthen the position of writers and give more artistic freedom to production teams. In many ways, they are based on auteurist modes of filmmaking, as well as DR’s positive experiences with the establishment of The Documentary Group in 1988, an attempt to establish ‘a more creative and self-​governing environment which functions as a collective, critical forum for productions’.95 The status of the dogmas for television cannot be stressed too much. While the licence fee offers financial security, it is the dogmas that offer creative and organisational stability. Notwithstanding the fact that each production will be governed by a different group dynamic, the principles lay out the parameters for these arrangements and more or less informal codes of conduct that characterise the production of every drama. The implementation of the dogmas entailed a sort of seal of approval that stood for the combination of a Nordic-​Noirish aesthetic with challenging storylines about relevant socio-​cultural issues. The dogmas institutionalised a public-​service version of quality television particularly appealing to those critical of the hegemony of US television, and who recognised the ways in which Borgen, Forbrydelsen and other shows deviated from the bulk of US imports in their progressive (or at least different) representations of genre, politics, sexuality and family roles. 60

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The dogmas regulated responsibilities, workflows and the overall aims of DR Fiction, but the public service broadcaster benefitted from a number of other measures, too, particularly the conflation of different departments at the new DR Byen complex in Copenhagen. Unlike other production facilities in use by DR Fiction (including TV Byen in Copenhagen) the new complex of buildings had newsrooms, production facilities and administrative offices under one roof. Borgen, shot there, made good use of the existing journalists’ hubs and news studios to add a sense of authenticity. In addition to the multiple-​use of space as setting, the conflation of different departments at DR Byen also provided scope for a new sense of cultural identity when working for a prestigious broadcaster. Being part of a large public service ‘family’ was consensus-​forming. The success of this in-​house concept confirms what the former DR Director General Christian S. Nissen had hoped for when he promised ‘to have productions as part of the everyday life of the broadcaster, so that one could meet people in costumes in the canteen and get a sense that things were going on […]’.96 As a general rule, as Piv Bernth notes, today ‘all the high profile [sic] dramas that we produce [at DR] are in-​house […].’97 There are of course some exceptions, particularly with regard to mini-​series. One of the cases in which DR is collaborating with independent production companies –​and thus handing over levels of control –​is the opulent television war drama 1864 (DR 2014) on the Battle of Dybbøl. The historical drama, directed by Ole Bornedal and produced by Miso Film, represents an special case, as it received significant external funding rather than licence fee money allocated to DR Drama. The budget of DKK 173  million ($30.7  million) was provided by ten different international partners and the Danish government, and is the most expensive production in the history of DR-​television fiction production.98 When shows could not be produced at DR Byen and had to use alternative production facilities  –​as was the case with Forbrydelsen and Arvingerne –​so-​called ‘production hotels’ were used. Rumle Hammerich imported the idea, as Redvall notes, from Sweden, where he worked for the public service television broadcaster SVT for six years. The idea is that the cast and crew who work on a production are located at the same site –​to further strengthen a sense of identity and belonging. The aim is a locale for new ideas with horizontal hierarchies that allow for formal and informal exchanges of information.99 61

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Other measures taken by DR concerned the organisation of actual production. They were gradually introduced after DR personnel had looked across the Atlantic to study US production processes. Danish television production of the 1980s and early 1990s had been severely criticised as unprofessional and static, particularly in comparison with American shows.100 This meant that rather than defining themselves in opposition to Hollywood –​as the Dogma manifesto and various strands of European art cinemas had done –​production teams at DR sought to use American television as a suitable blueprint for their own strategic decisions. When a number of television executives and producers visited US production sets and story departments in the mid-​1990s,101 and subsequently remodelled Danish production facilities and work processes accordingly, this changed the face of programme development and production. In her comprehensive study of writing and producing television drama at DR, Redvall lists a number of methods that were imported from abroad: Relay production describes a practice that aims at incorporating American experiences with shooting long hours in shifts but that had to be modified in order to satisfy Danish union regulations. At DR, regular shooting days during production are nine hours long, including lunch and shorter breaks. Filming on weekends or at night are rather unusual within the Danish context. When DR producer Sven Clausen and others visited the sets of NYPD Blue (ABC 1993–​2005) at the Fox Studios in Los Angeles, California, they learned that shooting for ten hours over seven consecutive days proves to be cost-​effective and helps to ensure the coherence of different storylines. Back in Denmark, shooting was correspondingly organised in blocs of two to three episodes so that all scenes set on one location at different moments of the story could be filmed at once rather than episode by episode.102 This helped to obey the rather strict Danish working day regulations and still have some of the American model’s advantages. Different studio spaces and exterior locations could be used simultaneously on parallel shifts. As different crews and casts work on different sets at the same time, they have to adhere closely to the script and the visions and ideas of a show-​runner, another concept that has been incorporated from abroad. American production teams use the term to refer to the person or small group of people who are essentially in charge of the creative 62

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inner meaning and idea of a show. Many of the writer-​producers known as show-​runners worked for the film business before coming to write for television, trying to combine the aesthetic qualities with the opportunities of serial narration. They are typically associated with one particular broadcaster. Well-​known examples are Alan Ball (Six Feet Under, HBO 2001–​5 and True Blood, HBO 2008–​14), David Chase (The Sopranos, HBO 1999–​2007), Jenji Kohan (Orange is the New Black, Netflix 2013–​), David Simon (The Wire, HBO 2002–​8 and Treme, HBO 2010–​2013), Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing, NBC 1999–​2006), Shonda Rhimes (Grey’s Anatomy, ABC 2005–​and Scandal, ABC 2012–​), Matthew Weiner (Mad Men, AMC 2007–​15), Vince Gilligan (Breaking Bad, AMC 2008–​13 and Better Call Saul, AMC 2015–​), and Dan B. Weiss (Game of Thrones, HBO 2011–​). Combining responsibilities of writers, directors, creators and producers,103 the show-​runner perhaps comes closest to what film studies commonly refer to as auteur. Redvall thus closely links Danish versions of the show-​runner such as Adam Price (Borgen), Peter Thorsboe and Mai Brostrøm (Rejseholdet and Ørnen) and Maya Ilsøe (Arvingerne) to the auteur concept in that they are the vital creative force behind the series.104 As in America, where shows such as Breaking Bad or The West Wing owe much of their appeal to the creative vision of Gilligan and Sorkin respectively, the influence of creators or show-​runners is an integral part of the television dogma for production number two (‘one vision’). Most show-​ runners habitually work closely within a team that often forms for the duration of one show. This means that, despite their seminal impact, the overall drama production cannot and must not be reduced to any one person. Instead, the different production stages are marked by a creative cluster of team work and collaboration. According to Karoline Leth, the great sense of teamwork has developed because of the relatively small size of the industry that forces people to ‘change companies all the time’ to work in different teams. She also mentions the positive influence of the Film School: ‘I do think it is wise to give away some of the power [as producer]. This is because I believe that work is getting better when several people dare to have a look and talk about it. I also believe that the National Film School had a part in this, I must say […] you already discover companionship at the School.’105 63

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Danish television production has been somewhat standardised in recent years. The production of Tidsrejsen (The Time Travel, 2014) illustrates the process well. Produced by DR as the broadcaster’s annual Christmas drama, it was produced within the following time frames according to its director Kaspar Munk: Pre-​production (scriptwriting, screenplay, casting, budgeting, other general planning etc.) twelve months. It was collaboratively written by Poul Berg (main writer), Mikkel Bak Sørensen, Tine Krull and Bo Hr. Hansen. The actual production phase (the actual filming) took seven months. The post-​production (editing, colour grading, compositing, etc.) took eight months. Within these months, 24 complex interwoven half-​an-​hour-​long episodes were produced. Munk described the work environment and production conditions given by DR –​even though they call for hard work –​as fruitful and inspiring. This was not least because of the scaffolded working environment provided by DR.

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2 Danish Production Culture and Creativity Management through ‘Scaffolding’

When Rumle Hammerich introduced far-​reaching changes as Head of DR Fiction in the mid-​1990s to ‘rescue’ Danish television production, he dubbed the undertaking ‘Operation Morning Breeze’1. As part of the renewal process, DR followed a dual strategy of emulating American production processes, as we have already mentioned, and creating Danish approaches to television drama. He first sent personnel abroad to study American television production, to identify work practices such as showrunners, shooting rotas and using writers’ rooms as a blueprint for DR. Hammerich and his team of producers then had to find ways to implement these ideas at DR despite varying levels of institutional and individual opposition. One aspect, for sure, was to convince production teams of the value of the changes. Above all, however, the new concepts had to be aligned with the public service remit that demands an engagement with themes and topics relevant to Danes and eligibility for export markets (mainly Scandinavian and European countries with cooperation treaties). The latter collaboration with public service broadcasters in, for instance, Britain (BBC) and Germany (ZDF) was encouraged for financial as well as artistic reasons, including the exchange of ideas and an awareness of (trans-​)cultural diversity. 65

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This threefold orientation towards international standards and developments, national themes of interest, and transnational necessities requires a tightrope act. Part of DR’s formula for success is a specific code of production. The agreements formulated in writing, or passed on informally, aimed at laying down the parameters of production, and aiding creativity as prerequisites for successful quality television. In doing this, DR not so much looked at the US but at Dogma 95 and at the Danish National Film School for inspiration. The more the worlds of film and television production have coalesced, the more the National Film School, as the country’s premier institution for audio-​visual training, impacts upon work environments. By implementing some of its didactic approaches –​whether explicitly or implicitly –​DR acknowledges that the School has a record of fostering creative talent that is essential if Denmark hopes to sustain a viable television production culture.

Image 2.1 National Film School of Denmark: The National Film School of Denmark on Holmen in Copenhagen offers four programmes: film, television, scriptwriting and animation

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Although other newly-​ established Danish film and television schools such as Super 16 in Copenhagen, 18 Frames, or Screenwriting Development on Funen have gained recognition, the status of the National Film School remains largely unrivalled. It has established a reputation, not least through its long list of successful alumni. Located at a square that was named after its founder, Theodor Christensens Plads 1 in Copenhagen, the School offers programmes on film, television, screenwriting and animation. Given the school’s significant role, it is appropriate to look closer at some of the didactic concepts that, in one way or another, found their way into production at DR as well as TV2. The Film School is connected to the success of Danish film and television. When, for instance, the crime series Ørnen (The Eagle) won an Emmy in New York, Poul Nesgaard explicitly acknowledged the School’s impact by saying: We consider the Film School a totally crucial player in connection with the business, The Film Institute, DR and TV2. And it is all of these participants and individuals that have to be put together in order for Denmark to receive and Emmy or other prestigious prices.2

Creativity made the current success possible. Many of the School’s ideas, in fact, are inscribed in the Dogma 95 manifesto and the dogmas for television that were introduced to offer guidance on drama production.3 The latter were instrumental in establishing something like the DR ‘seal of approval’, a hallmark of quality that all DR drama productions have in common, despite eventual differences in the people involved, genre, theme and location. So as to describe some of the learning methods, it seems apt to go beyond voices of the film and television professionals whom we interviewed for this study. We propose to borrow terms from learning theory and behavioural psychology to describe production processes, first within film, then television. Concepts helpful in explaining, for instance, the path from a dogmatic concept to a creative film or television product are ‘scaffolding’, or ‘the zone of proximal development’. Scaffolding, in short, means to support a person (here film-​or television-​maker) in the appropriate way in a learning process. ‘The zone of proximal development’ 67

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(originally a term from psychologist Lev Vygotsky), refers to what a person needs to be helped and challenged in a suitable way.

Harnessing Creativity through Different Levels of ‘Scaffolding’ The renewed interests in creative industries –​as an artistic, cultural and economic factor, as well as a determinant for a dynamic urban development –​4 led to an interest in processes that assist creativity. The more scholars investigated the key factors of creative work, the more they suggested suitable models for the audio-​visual industry. Seemingly obvious, theorists concerned with creativity and management, such as Chris Bilton and Teresa M.  Amabile, argue that creative knowledge and processes are the basis for invention. Their research, however, demonstrates that creativity is not so much an inborn trait of a few artistic minds, but rather a skill that can be developed. Going against the Romanticist notion of the universal genius, a concept that reverberates with the politique des auteurs in film studies, current research is helpful for an understanding of why and how certain production companies –​or creative industries more generally –​are more successful than others in coming up with innovative storylines and concepts. Bilton suggests that the alignment of creative and strategic thinking allows for more effective innovation. When he stresses that ‘[…] it is the collision of different thinking styles which sparks the creative process’,5 this goes beyond recruitment strategies by including the organisation of work. Amabile and Mueller’s model for creative processes promotes the idea that the interplay of the working environment, knowledge of creative processes, and relevant skills and intrinsic motivation determines the success of creative outputs.6 Along similar lines, American psychology scholar Mihály Csíkszentmihályi notes that creativity thrives under the influence of three components: a domain, experts, and individual skills. Within this triangular model, a creative person or team develops a domain based on a ‘set of symbols, rules and procedures’.7 He rejects the idea that creativity is an innate trait of an individual, asserting that ‘[…] an idea or product that deserves the label “creative” arises from the synergy of many sources and not only from the mind of a single person. It is easier to enhance creativity 68

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by changing conditions in the environment than by trying to make people to think more creatively.’8 Similarly, Bilton notes that ‘real creativity does not lie in the self-​contained and self-​sufficient “creative” team but in an ability to make connections between different ways of thinking and different types of people.’9 For DR this means that they not only must find the right people but implement procedures that manage and transform group-​based interaction. Acknowledging that groups or teams rather than artistic individuals give audio-​visual media a meaning (and ultimately aesthetic quality and cultural significance), the collaborative nature of film and television production is stressed. This marks a shift away from individual figureheads and well-​received shows to a broader corporate branding or identity. Quality television, in this sense, expands exceptional fictional programmes to resonate with other activities and organisational culture, making DR an important public service provider. This corporate or organisational perspective helps to align activities with audiences.10 The introduction of production guidelines serves a dual purpose: to promote a corporate identity (for instance a shared language about a production) and to optimise actual production processes. As to the latter, a principle objective for production units is to foster creativity and simultaneously minimising uncertainty resulting from varying teams. Strict line-​management structures no longer seem fit for interactive creative work. Given that production contexts are complex and habitually unpredictable, the strategic measures aimed at regulating and moulding group dynamics must offer a flexible framework responsive to different circumstances. In Denmark, such frameworks are often specified, explicitly or implicitly, at different levels and often as concepts. When people at DR looked at the arrangements, structures and constraints that generated at the National Film School since the 1980s, this proved a watershed moment. Numerous strategies used to foster creative processes at the School were incorporated into DR’s methods, from pre-​production to post-​production. DR worked towards improving its own production culture as well. A concept from the 1980s and 1990s, TV-​SUM (‘Tv Som Udtryks Middel’, ‘Television as a means of expression’) was aimed at renewing ways of telling stories at DR.11 Together, TV SUM and DR’s dogmas for television are examples of 69

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concepts which use constraints as a creative impetus for large-​scale productions similar to methods used at the Film School. In contrast to a global trend, described by John T. Caldwell,12 towards poor working conditions, low-​cost labour, collapsed digital workflows, and the promotion of ‘stress aesthetics’ in audio-​visual production industries, scaffolded conditions in Denmark helped to create favourable working conditions. Strict labour protection laws, and the strong position of trade unions, meant constraints and production frameworks did not so much induce stress, as guidance and support. Whilst claims that ‘[…] limitation is a great impetus for the creation of art’ might well be criticised in less-​ protected production contexts, as Caldwell does, they work well within Denmark under certain circumstances.13 Redvall argues that, in opposition to US screenwriting collaborations, Danish production teams have carried out some changes to the way members of a team interact: […] DR has successfully implemented certain work methods from the American industry, but managed to integrate them into a public service mindset and the local production culture. Among the methods inspired by the US mode of production is the establishment of a head writer/​episode writer structure of production since the late 1990s.14

The rule-​based thinking that influences Danish television production has spread from the National Film School to an increasing number of production teams, ultimately spreading across Danish production culture. It is at the heart of prescriptive constraints laid out both by Dogma (1995), The Five Constraints (2003), and by DR’s dogmas for television. The idea, however, did not originate in Denmark. Based on the Russian Lev Vygotsky’s aforementioned ‘zone of proximal development’,15 Anglo-​American educational psychologists David Wood, Jerome S.  Bruner and Gail S.  Ross developed ‘scaffolding’ as a learning theory in 1976.16 By looking into tutor-​assisted learning processes of little children, they found that limitations and boundaries assist learning processes, and, ultimately, achievement. Wood, Bruner, and Ross outline six levels of scaffolding, which they categorise as: recruitment, reduction in the degrees of freedom, direction maintenance, marking critical features, frustration control, and demonstration. Applied to creative processes, the idea of scaffolding means that the 70

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reduction of freedom and choices offers valuable sources of support rather than unlimited poetic licence. Writing more recently, Bilton agrees on the importance of frameworks (scaffolding) for creative media processes when he states: ‘I argue that creative processes and creative people actually thrive on constraints and boundaries’.17 People at the National Film School or DR adapted different aspects of ‘scaffolding’ for their own purposes. Today, scaffolding –​broadly understood as constraints and guidelines that support the creation of television production –​exists on various levels in Denmark. At the macro level, the Ministry of Culture sets the general parameters of Danish media policy through a very specific and demanding public service contract. At the miso level, institutions and agencies, including the Film School and the DFI, are responsible for the specifying and implementing media policy, and for aligning these with the practical requirements of the audio-​visual industry. At the same level, broadcasters, such as DR and TV2, formulate constraints or norms that help media practitioners to establish a specific production strategy and culture. At the micro level, production teams or individual makers of film and television realise more manageable processes through restrictions. Taking a closer look at these scaffolded production environments is, we believe, the key to an understanding of Danish television dramas’ success. We consider creativity not only as a psychological and individual phenomenon but also an organisationally influenced interactive phenomenon.

Macro-​level Scaffolding: The Public Service Contract and Danish Media Policy Public service radio began in 1926, when an economic crisis permeated the world; one of the hopes associated with it was that it would give people a sense of belonging and community as well as a sense of ‘good’ culture and education.18 As an example of social engineering, this intention to create a homogenised public rather than publics was later expanded to acknowledge more diversity. Influenced by the Frankfurt School’s critique of the culture industry, its remit to provide impartial information and entertainment that treat audiences not as customers but citizens, has been reaffirmed with the advent of private competitors. DR’s status –​as that of fellow public service broadcasters in other countries –​is now guaranteed 71

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by law. This means that DR operates under a so-​called public service contract (‘public service kontrakten’) between the Ministry of Culture and DR’s senior management. The contract specifies privileges and commitments and spans a four-​year period. Although it could be criticised that such a contract ‘[…] shifts the centre of decision making […] away from an open parliamentary and public debate to technical, covert negotiations between a single government department and the top management of the public broadcasting system’,19 as some observers note, it has also led to a number of benefits. What can be inferred from quadrennial contracts in Denmark is that DR obtains greater planning reliability since its remit as well as expectations are clearly spelled out. Even so, the broadcaster retains a high level of self-​responsibility and freedom. Having compared and contrasted the public broadcasting policy of several EU member states, Tomas Coppens and Frieda Saeys argue that: […] public service contracts definitely suggest that the broadcaster enjoys greater autonomy in his relations with the government. The Government can restrict its interventions to a periodical description of the targets that the public broadcaster must attain. For its part, the broadcaster can formulate policy on how to attain the targets that have been set, and in principle can do so autonomously.20

The budget DR allocates to in-​house productions through ‘DR Fiction’ and later ‘DR Drama’ has varied from year to year, but the licence-​fee income provides a stable financial base. Out of the approximate overall funding of 3.5 billion Danish Kroner a year, an average of 120 million Danish Kroner has been earmarked for fictional content development and production.21 DR Fiction and DR Drama certainly made good use of the licence granted by its contracts from 2007 to 2010 and 2011 to 2​ 014. The departments, for instance, continued to lay emphasis on domestic productions to meet government objectives. The public service contract requires that DR must produce Danish drama (‘DR skal videreføre omfanget af nyproduceret dansk dramatik’)22. Central to this endeavour is the Sunday 20.00–​ 21.00 drama time-​ slot (the so-​ called ‘drama-​ slot’) established in the mid-1990s.23 All DR serials adhere to similar objectives, also part of the public service contract. 72

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Borgen, which was shown on Sunday evenings and seems characteristic of DR’s primetime drama in many ways, illustrates this. The show fulfils DR’s remit as spelled out by the current kontrakt: It strengthens citizens’ activeness in a democratic society (‘Styrke borgernes handleevne i et demokratisk samfund’) through the show’s central theme of politics and media, represents contemporary Danish society (‘Samle og spejle Danmark’) by way of incorporating many political as well as socio-​demographic groups, stimulates culture and language (‘Stimulere kultur og sprog’) through well-​ written dialogue, complex narrative, dramatic plot, a high-​end production design, and promotes knowledge and understanding (‘Fremme viden og forståelse’) by covering a wide range of political issues and decision-​making processes.24 This explains why all dramas produced by DR, to different degrees, expose the defects of Danish society and link fictional accounts to true events or news stories. Borgen, and other DR dramas, must also meet with audience approval, offering entertaining television. The programming-​related strategies at DR must therefore ensure both audience loyalty and compliance with the requirements spelled out in the contract to reaffirm its public service status. What is considered to be successful television, then, is not only linked to audience figures, but other performance indicators as well: the way in which culturally and socially relevant issues are part of individual shows and the impact fictional television has on national discourses. The scaffolded conditions, as a direct result of the public service contract’s objectives, thus comes with a significant amount of freedom, namely to rely less on audience figures alone as a key performance indicator. DR, as a result, is willing to take more risks with programmes and –​as many television professionals stress –​to think creatively. Danish director Kaspar Munk, for instance, notes: ‘[DR] are okay about losing […] audiences […] in order to be open towards experiments’. At the same time, he continues, creative personnel are spared the onerous task of collecting funding.25 Having said this, there is of course an expectation of a minimum audience figure. Piv Bernth feels that chances and new kinds of developments are part of the bone structure of drama production at DR.26 DR not only tries to recruit new people from the film and television industries, but is prepared to end a show after three seasons instead of ‘milking a success’.27 To illustrate this, Forbrydelsen was planned as a trilogy around Sarah Lund; this 73

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was not changed even when the series proved to be very successful. Instead of creating yet another season of the popular show, DR developed new dramas, such as Bedrag (Follow the Money), written by Jeppe Gjervig Gram. The conscious change of programmes opens up opportunities to talented young practitioners. Looking more closely at the credits of past and current shows, illustrate some typical career paths within DR. Gram, for example, was a freelance episode writer for the DR productions Sommer (2008) and Borgen before he became head writer with a long-​term contract. While the perspective of being given a more secure and creatively challenging position is enticing, one knows that all show-runners or head writers agree to a contract that requires for every drama a minimum of 1.3 million Danish viewers.28 Many dramas increase the salience of topics on the public agenda. If public service television is to fulfil its manifold cultural and social obligations, it must stress the relevance of topics to Danish society. DR certainly contributes to the concepts of a public sphere and a knowledge society.29 The focus on content and follow-​up debates means that other characteristics of ‘good’ television such as aesthetics  –​even if important to most drama –​play an ancillary role. The fact that all DR drama shows adhere closely to the aims spelled out by the public service contract also influences their reception abroad. Even if the public service objectives were drafted for Denmark and Danish viewers, in fact, they are in accord with aspects identified as markers of quality television.30 John Bignell, for instance, notes that quality television drama, which is used for writer-​producer-​led or creator-​led American or British series and serials, ‘[…] means an aesthetically ambitious programme type with the literary values or creative imagination, authenticity and relevance. As a mode of production, it is where writing and mise-​en-​scène are prioritised.’31 Debates about quality in academic texts are often restricted to American or British television, but critics from around the world make similar claims about the drama series discussed in this book. They praise the high production values and cinematic aesthetics; nuanced characters; complex overarching storylines; challenging themes about relevant subjects presented in a serious way; and the reflexive nature of plotlines containing numerous intertextual references.32 74

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Danish drama abroad, essentially, stands for everything that is not mainstream, and, what is perhaps equally important at least in continental Europe, offers an alternative to US imports. Whereas the aesthetic qualities match American quality drama, the way in which the content deviates from many older series on politics in Denmark –​not least through its representation of genre, politics, sexuality and family roles –​is widely praised by critics.33 German film critic Rabea Weihser, for instance, notes Borgen’s Europeanness as a welcome distinction: What we learned from The Ides of March, The West Wing or The Newsroom about the political parquet […] now crosses the Atlantic:  Finally the audience is not taken away to far-​ away power centres of American superpower but to the heart of a European seat of Government. Not only the geographical proximity to the neighbouring Denmark but also cultural and political communality make Borgen interesting to the German viewer.34

Danish quality drama on foreign screens not only challenges American hegemony but also deviates from cost-effective mainstream television. It offers an alternative to the private broadcaster’s reliance on Reality TV formats. People at DR create ‘must see TV’ to reverse the trend of declining market shares. All serial television programmes discussed in the book are thus part of a production strategy for quality television ‘that aims at very loyal audiences that are looking forward to the next episode of their favorite TV show’.35 Given the close relationship between the different strands of audio-​visual production culture, Danish television culture has benefitted much from the Danish film policy reforms in the 1980s and 1990s.36 The changes culminated in the pooling of film-​related capacities, duties and responsibilities under the umbrella of the DFI in 1997. This de facto concentration of film policy under one well-​resourced agency helped coordinate support for the country’s film culture. The DFI, just like DR, operates under the Danish Ministry of Culture, helping the ministry to formulate a coherent audio-​ visual strategy for both film and television. This strategy is formalised as a four-​year agreement (Filmaftalen) passed by the Danish parliament in cooperation with all parties. Whilst the DFI is mainly funded by taxes, it is given a 75

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significant amount of freedom in its decisions to support the Danish audio-​ visual industry.37 Even if the DFI’s primary role is to promote Danish cinema, it underscores television production as a second opportunity in the media industry. The DFI contributes to the Copenhagen TV Festival, maintains an extensive trade directory for both film and television professionals and it supports the ‘New Danish Screen Fund’, a talent development scheme in collaboration with DR and TV2. To strengthen commercial media services, the DFI’s ‘Public Service Fund’ also aims at co-​funding television for private channels such as SBS Discovery and MTG. DR, as can be inferred from debates surrounding the current media policy agreement for 2015 to 2018, has partially become ‘the victim of its own success’.38

Institutional Scaffolding: DR’s Dogmas for Television and the National Film School of Denmark Miso-​level scaffolding is evident in the broadcasters’ production cultures. DR’s dogmas for television have set the parameters for how the country’s most important television institution produces in-​house dramas. Trying to balance DR’s striving for audience approval with the demands of its public service contract, the dogmas have a fundamental impact on the way shows are to be made by the DR Fiction and Drama departments. By delineating a general framework for production, the dogmas established the essential qualities of DR dramas –​a fact that helped, firstly, to thwart criticism of the broadcaster’s generous public financial support and, secondly, to promote new shows internationally through a presumptive seal of approval. The dogmas, in connection with special manuals for individual production, are a very strong indicator that the success of Danish television drama is not just a welcome surprise, but the outcome of strategic production planning and fruitful conditions for creativity. The dogmas mean something different at the different stages of any given production. Most of all, they impact upon senior producers’ decisions to accept or refuse programmes. As such, they serve as criteria to assess proposed programmes and to guarantee certain favourable conditions to those programmes selected. Those who contribute to programmes in other capacities –​including editors, cinematographers, actors, production 76

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designers –​might have never heard of them. The dogmas have not been explained to Bo Tengberg or Kaspar Munk, for example. Yet, they have their own frameworks and guidelines that are drafted in accordance with the dogmas, including detailed scripts, extensive production handbooks and, what is perhaps rather unique to Danish production culture, special design manuals that largely replace storyboards. Manifestos are not new to audio-​visual culture, but are commonly associated with cinema. European new waves, from the British Free Cinema to the Oberhausen Manifesto and the Nouvelle Vague, have used artistic and ethical frameworks to produce and promote their work internationally. The latest European wave is the purist Danish Dogma 95 movement, initiated by Trier, Levring, Vinterberg and Kragh Jacobsen. In television, however, such movements are unknown. Neither the British Workshop Agreement of the early 1980s, nor HBO, AMC or Netflix with their recent drive towards quality television have presented coherent principles. This is different in Denmark. Rules can assist creative processes and help to form a corporate brand. When a screenwriter from the Film School declares ‘I love constraints […]’,39 this reflects the emphasis that the School has been giving to such learning methods by way of its so-​called ‘pen-​tests’ (penneprøver), which each student takes eight times during an educational programme. Pen-tests require students to write and produce a scene of a film or television show with a specific theme, within a certain deadline, and under precise conditions concerning the use of camera, actors etc. The scaffolding exercises are meant to provide a creative flow of ‘positive stress’. At the Film School, 30 new students are accepted every second year for the film education programme, to ensure close supervision and guidance. Some 100 students study at the School, taught by 30 members of staff. The constraints and guidelines that form a didactic concept at the School help students cope with high expectations. The introduction of constraints as a didactic tool, and, sometimes, a heuristic device, has been a feature of the school since its establishment in 1966 by Theodor Christensen. The Danish director formulated his own educational concepts, insisting on the positive effects of constraints. When students fought against the limiting effects of constraints in the 1970s, his 77

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ideas were markedly revised. More responsibility and freedom of choice was given to the students themselves. By the mid-​1980s, the former head of the Film School, Henning Camre with Mogens Rukov reintroduced the principles laid down by Christensen. Interviews with former Film School students mention the usefulness of a scaffolded working environment. Actor and screenwriter, Flemming Klem, for instance, says: I love constraints. I might be a masochist or something, […] but I just think that you then don’t have to decide on a lot of things. If I know, that [the script] must be five pages long and that there are two persons, and the alliance switches between those two, or three and the alliance switches between those three, and God knows what, then it’s fantastic, then […] some things have been decided already, and I think that’s a great relief, because it presents a challenge to your imagination’.40

Responses from other graduates are similar. The writers, Jeppe Gjervig Gram and Anders August, for instance, agree that constraints, as well as specially-​defined boundaries and restrictions, can be a useful part of the filmmaking process.41 The two are responsible for some of Denmark’s recent television successes. August contributed to three episodes of Arvingerne, and Gjervig Gram is one of the co-​authors of Borgen and the main writer of Bedrag (2016–). They emphasise how they still use constraints creatively. Not everyone, of course, was immediately convinced about the necessity of scaffolding. Director Martin Strange Hansen, who graduated in 2001, says he found the constraints specified in the pen-​tests very frustrating. He became furious when he was forced to make, for instance, a scene with a specific theme, within a specific deadline, and with other restrictions concerning the use of camera, actors etc. Yet, looking back, he agrees that working within certain rules proved immensely helpful. The constraints, he notes, made him feel secure, inspired, and focused; they also made him experiment. The learning methods, he feels, resemble professional conditions by requiring an awareness of deadlines, genre norms, budgets etc.42 Since the establishment of the Film School, there has been a continuing debate about its purpose. Some feel that taxpayers should not pay to 78

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train artists for the film and television industry. The fact that the public or the press are normally only allowed inside the School when graduates release their final-​year film projects (which is the case every other year by documentary, fiction film or animation students), does not weaken the criticism. What could well be interpreted as an expression of an insular institution, a members-​only club for a chosen few, is also part of the learning and teaching strategy. The students’ peace of mind is a general principle of the School. The endeavour to provide a safe environment as part of the student experience means that work in progress is only discussed with staff and fellow students. This shielded atmosphere compensates for the various constraints that are part of the assignments. The Film School is expensive. A lot of film equipment is required and many teachers and administrative staff members benefit only the few lucky students. This radicalises sceptical views held by some members of the media and the public. The School, as a result, has to demonstrate that it is providing good service for its money. In order to justify its existence, it has to perform well in terms of, for instance, winning renowned prizes such as student Academy Awards, or by producing promising new film graduates. When the Ministry of Culture in 2010 asserted that the Danish model of film education and funding ought to be ‘praised for its large crowd of film talents, also encouraged by a successful support system that effectively fosters the development of a creative and artistic production environment’,43 this included the efforts by the School. A pattern of criticism has emerged in recent years, accusing the films by final-​year students of an alleged uniformity of storylines and aesthetics. The students were thought to shy away from taking risks. This debate rekindled in the autumn of 2013, when Nesgaard re-​applied for another term as head of School after 21 years; he was replaced by former School graduate Vinca Wiedemann in March 2014.44 Well-​known people from the Danish film business like film directors Nicolas Winding Refn, Nicolaj Arcel, producers Louise Vesth and Julie Waltersdorph Hansen loudly criticised films and directors educated from the School for the lack of new energy and creativity and linked this to the management of Nesgaard.45 An article by journalist Kjeld Hybel for Politiken cites numerous filmmakers who are in favour of a change at the School: ‘Danish Film Industry: the Danish Film School Needs a Kick in the Pants’ (‘Filmbranchen: Den Danske Filmskole trænger til et los i røven’).46 79

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After 21 years under Nesgaard’s leadership, the need for new ideas might have well required a new head of school. When Widermann replaced Nesgaard, she introduced a number of changes, including that writers are now educated for four years instead of two. In spite of such new measures, however, she also continued some of the traditions and methods that have worked well previously. The fact that the change of director received broad media coverage and that many people did care about its strategic course, is an index of the School’s public status. The debate revolved around more than whether or not Danish taxpayers are given value for their substantial contributions to the School. As with public service broadcasting and audiovisual subsidy schemes through the DFI, taxpayer contributions are highly valued. Those in favour of a publicly-​maintained Film School as well as the activities by the DFI stressed that they not only invigorate Danish film and television, but that their public status actually safeguarded their independent artistic orientation and cultural awareness. In particular the School’s method of providing a protected work environment with rather strict scaffolded production frameworks, nurtures good craftsmanship, experimental approaches, and artistic individuality, but also prepares students to work in teams and to observe the requirements of the film-​and television business. The success stories of recent years  –​including television drama serials by School graduates as well as films such as A Royal Affair (En kongelig affære, Nicolai Arcel 2012) and The Hunt (Jagten, Thomas Vinterberg 2013), expanded the Danish model of state support for the industry through the Film School, the DFI and DR. Pivotal to their impact are the very methods in all three institutions. Coming originally from the Film School, they were taken up by branches of the audio-​visual industry (e.g. the productions companies Nimbus Film started in 1993 by the former students Birgitte Hald and Bo Erhardt; or Masterplan Pictures A/​S started in 2013 by the former students Bo Damgaard Hansen and Julie Waltersdorph Hansen), organised in concentric circles linking institutions, businesses and work methods. Some argue that the School has been ‘a language school’ in that it influenced the way in which Danish film and television professionals talk and think about their profession.47 The result is a sense of unity among Danish audio-​visual 80

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professionals despite very different career trajectories and individual artistic visions. It may be argued, as we do, that the renaissance for constraints through pen-​tests, has been one of the driving factors behind the success of Danish audio-​visual production since the 1990s.48 The similarities between the Film School’s pen-​tests and the Dogma 95 rules or, later, the framework of dogmas at DR, are obvious. Vinterberg, von Trier and other filmmakers associated with Dogma 95 transformed pen-tests into aesthetic principles; they are also closely related to actual production processes. In this regard, von Trier’s and Jørgen Leth’s experimental De fem benspænd (The Five Obstructions, 2003) is a good illustration of how this kind of scaffolding actually works.

DR’s Dogmas for Television Ingolf Gabold and Rumle Hammerich have used the pen-​test model as a basis for a more general kind of television production culture. Through rules for production –​the dogmas –​DR established an element of authorial agency that many other broadcasters lack. The dogmas have subsequently been discussed amongst international television professionals as an effective strategy for complex narratives and characterisation, socio-​ cultural relevance, overarching themes and a coherent aesthetic. The dogmas for television have already been rephrased several times. A first, rather rustic English version, was published in the Nordvision Annual Report for 2011–​12: 15 Dogmas for Controlling DR Fiction Productions Inhouse: 1. The writer is the pre-​condition for the existence of the DR Fiction department. The writer must be treated with respect for the ONE VISION concept. The writer developes [sic] his or her scripts in close coorporation [sic] with DR Fiction so that our developement [sic] expertise makes a clear mark on the final product. 2. Our public service status requires that our productions contain not only ‘the good story’ but also an overriding plot with ethical or social connotations. In other words, we have to tell two stories at once.

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Beyond The Bridge The balance between these stories will always depend on the historical and cultural discourses in society at any given time. 3. There is a cross over between writers and directors from the filmindustry [sic] and DR-​Fiction. 4. There is a cross over between productionteam [sic] from the filmindustry [sic] and DR-​Fiction. 5. The executive producers at DR-​Fiction must be able to balance the director’s intentions against those of the principle writer. 6. The Head of Fiction delegates responsibility for each prodduction [sic] to the producer concerned. 7. With due respect for the overall finances, resources and the use of team the producers [sic] is given as much Producers Choice as possible. 8. The Head of Fiction serves as a coach to the executive producer and the executive producer serves as a coach to his key team. Both work under the divice [sic]: Not in control of, but in charge of… This management philosophy does not encourage consensus decisions. 9. With the best planning possible  –​including delivery of scripts on time –​the productionteam [sic] are ensured reasonable working conditions. 10. To achieve the greatest synergy possible, DR Fiction productions are implementet [sic] with the respect for the communication triangle between viewers, writers and the production. 11. DR Fiction and the controllers must see eye to eye on the choice of repertoire. 12. Rolling long-​term planning repertoire and finances (5 year plan) is in place between the controllers and DR Fiction. 13. There is a continual contact between DR TV Media Research and DR Fiktion [sic] with a view to research on DR Fiction productions and this includes sundry tests. 14. DR Fiction continually develops its need for innovation in partnership with PP on programmes and productions, including the productionteam [sic]. 15. DR Fiction spend at least 2% of it’s overall annual budget on developing new fiction.49

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Conflating the above with Ingolf Gabold’s version, used for in-​house presentations, Eva Redvall offers a more comprehensive, slightly different version: DR Fiction –​15 dogmas to guide our productions 1. The author is –​to DR Fiction –​a prerequisite for the existence of this department. Here, ‘the author’ does not necessarily mean the screenwriter in the usual sense –​the author could also be (in fiction genres other than the ‘traditional drama’) the editor, the director or somebody else. What is essential is that the author is the one with the vision to drive the fiction onwards when it comes to a particular project by DR Fiction. The author is treated with respect in relation to the term ‘ONE VISION’. The author develops his/​her scripts in close collaboration with DR Fiction, so that our expertise with regards to development can clearly impact on the final product. ln terms of its plans for production, DR Fiction has a certain number of ‘in-​house screenwriters’. Between productions, they can be hired on a monthly salary to develop new series. 2. DR’s public service status demands!hat our productions contain –​besides ‘the good story’ –​an overall plot with ethical/​social themes. ln other words, we must always have a dual narrative. The weight of each of these two narratives in relation to one another will always depend on society’s historical-​cultural discourse. 3. There will be a crossover between the writers and directors from the industry and those from DR Fiction. 4. There will be a crossover between the production staff from the industry and those from DR Fiction. 5. DR Fiction producers must have a clear sense of the director’s intentions in relation to the head writer’s intentions. 6. The Head of Drama delegates his/​her responsibility for any individual production to its producer. 7. Taking DR Fiction’s total finances, resources and staff into account, the producer must be offered as much choice as possible. 8. The Head of Drama acts as a coach in his relationship with the producer –​just as the producer acts as a coach to his/​ her key staff. Our motto as Ieaders is: not in control –​but

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Beyond The Bridge in charge. This attitude does not encourage consensus decisions. 9. By ensuring the best possible planning –​including the delivery of scripts on time –​the production staff will be ensured reasonable working conditions. 10. ln order to achieve the best possible synergy between the production, the medium and the audience DR Fiction strives to develop its productions with an eye on this triangle of communication. 11. There must be a clarified relationship between the Senior Editorial Board and DR Fiction when it comes to choice of content. 12. There is an ongoing long-​term plan for content and finances between the Senior Editorial Board and DR Fiction: Adult TV fiction five years, Children’s fiction three years, Radio drama two years, Youth drama –​ongoing. 13. There is ongoing contact between DR’s media research and DR Fiction with regard to gathering research for the departments’ different productions, including various tests/​trials. 14. DR Fiction focuses on innovation in repertoire, production processes and staff through collaboration between the Senior Editorial Board and HR. 15. DR Fiction spends an annual 2 per cent of its overall budget on developing new drama.50

Dogmas have certainly contributed to the success of Danish television drama, four ideas have played a prominent role. Dogma number one describes the concept of ‘one vision’: it specifies that the main writer should not only play a key role during the early stages of programme development but also throughout the entire production process. This ‘one vision’ concept helps to generate coherent, complex plots and dramatis personae. Every series gains an authorial signature. The exceptional status of the head writer or show-runner, however, does not mean that television production is turned into a one-​person operation. Head writers manage the various collaborative teams (e.g. writers’ rooms) he or she is also part of. When Jeppe Gjervig Gram shows Lauren Collins around Borgen’s writers’ room, a location Collins describes as ‘an airy space, with a big table and while boards’, he explains that they made a pact with Adam Price: ‘he 84

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would be the showrunner, but that we would have a very democratic writers’ room. Whenever someone didn’t like a decision, we would try to find another way. It’s been a playful room, and we’ve really been enjoying ourselves.’51 As dogma number eight explicitly states: ‘not in control but in charge’. By adhering to these measures, Danish drama has been able to make most of the opportunities offered by serial storytelling and the creativity possible in groups of people. As Redvall notes: ‘The structure of a head writer working with episode writers is now firmly established and writers decide the extent to which they want to involve a variety of collaborators along the way. In terms of sufficient control, the process involve numerous people, but they are marked by the talent of contributors feeding into the overall vision of the [head] writer.’52 Surprised by Danish television’s success, professionals and critics from around the world have looked to Denmark and its prolific production culture. Writing for The New Yorker, Lauren Collins, for instance, singles out the preproduction phase and the role of storytelling. She writes: ‘A ten-​ episode season of a show like Borgen is made on a relatively small budget of about eight million dollars, but DR lavishes its writers with time and indulgence. An incubation period of several years is customary.’53 The extensive planning phase differs from the practices in many other countries of paying freelance writers for accepted scripts only. This has significant economic and textual consequences: freelancers tend to be cautious. In contrast to the Danish system, authors might tone-​down their scripts so as not to offend anyone who decides on the purchase of a script. In Denmark, where teams of writers are employed on a monthly basis ‘under reasonable working conditions’ (as dogma number 9 states), they dare to take more risks. When a synopsis or draft script has been accepted for publication, they retain significant leverage. They have the final say. As writer Nikolaj Scherfig puts is: When you write for film, the director is the king. When you work for television, the writer, or the head-​writer, is the king. But also when you are an episode writer you are at the centre of the powerhouse. This [function] is quite a satisfactory way of doing it.54

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Even if the directors are subject to a marked loss of influence compared to cinema projects –​a fact that is ever more obvious given the cross-​over of film and television in Denmark –​they do not seem upset. Kaspar Munk, for instance, admits his limited power in directing for DR Fiction, but also says it is a privilege to have a department working with you all the way.55 Another favourable aspect of keeping the writers on the payroll from the early pre-​ production stages throughout the postproduction processes means that lessons learned from the production can influence the writing of new episodes and vice versa. As Redvall notes, ‘the framework for writing and production at DR Fiction is built around letting the on-​going production influence and improve the writing process. The two stages of conception and execution thus partially blend together, leaving room for the production process to feed back into not only future episodes but also the episodes at hand.’56 Dogma number two stresses DR’s socio-​cultural remit. What DR has been doing here, was the application of Scott Olsen’s concept of ‘narrative transparency’ that he originally developed to explain Hollywood’s global TV dominance.57 The term refers to the ability of certain texts to appear familiar regardless of their national origin. By using for instance affective hooks and provocative topics, Danish television drama can be read as a public-​service-​broadcasting-​informed transparent narrative. Whatever the name, Borgen’s producer Camilla Hammerich stresses the neo-​Reithian public service ethos of DR by pointing out: We have to tell […] ‘the double story’. It could be crime or family drama, but on top of that we have to tell something more about society, about ethics. It is kind of old-​fashioned, isn’t it? Well, it kind of has an educative purpose.58

The double story, moreover, helps to explain the adaptability of Danish drama abroad. As Scherfig explains concerning the remakes of Broen in France/​Britain (The Tunnel, SkyAtlantic/​Canal+ 2013–​) and the US (The Bridge, FX 2013–​), the ‘high concept’ of the show allows for transcultural adaptation even though many of the show’s specific Danish–Swedish themes cannot be adequately translated: It’s a border story where you have two different cultures [and two protagonists] that have to work together to solve a

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Danish Production Culture and Creativity Management crime –​[this] can travel all over. [While you] cannot use the societies in Scandinavia in the French/​English version, you can use the clashes and differences between French and English culture and in America with the US and Mexico […] And somehow it functions well, because you then get into other issues but the high concept of it can thrive.59

The third and fourth dogmas underscore the importance of crossover productions between writers and the director of the film industry with DR Fiction. This intention does not clash with dogma number one. Liaising with film directors, for instance, does not mean that they are a factor in the story development process. Quite the contrary, they are out of the loop until late in the production process. Dogmas six and seven are influence for producers. They communicate with and arbitrate between the head writer, the director and the DR Fiction department. He or she, moreover, is given a ‘producer’s choice’ to work with preferred persons rather than those already chosen by the department. This means that while DR is offering rather favourable employment conditions, there are no lifelong positions. The Danish model positions itself between the unstable freelance culture of US audio-​visual production culture and the quasi tenure-​track system of other European public service broadcasters, so as to maintain a high level of job security without denying the advantage of flexibility and outside stimulus.

Filmmakers under Televisual Conditions The director Munk is an example of a young filmmaker working within scaffolded conditions at DR right now. Having directed the critically-​ acclaimed film You and Me Forever (2012), he was awarded the film and TV industry’s talent award ‘Nordisk Film Pris’ in 2013. His action-​adventure science-​fiction production Tidsrejsen (DR 2014)  was realised with the writers Poul Berg, Mikkel Bak Sørensen, Tine Krull Petersen and Bo Hr. Hansen. Munk was not introduced to the writers, who according to the one-​vision concept have the final say, before shooting began. The measure limited Munk’s impact on the aesthetic qualities of the production, not its narrative. What is meant by dogma number three is that DR works with 87

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writers and directors from the film industry for different reasons. Directors are not sought for much of the pre-​production process (i.e. in arranging the storylines to a script) but to influence aesthetic qualities. What Munk had to offer was a much-​admired cinematic look associated with quality primetime television. According to the time management for a typical primetime drama season of about twelve hours of screen time, preliminary time needed for developing the basic idea of a programme to a treatment of synopsis, takes twelve months for the preproduction phase; seven months for the actual production; and eight months for post-​production.60 Given that working hours regulations are very strict in Denmark, this is an ambitious schedule. It is only achievable because of the various frameworks and supporting guidelines in connection with a highly-​skilled workforce and a clear-​cut division of labour. The working days for writers at DR Drama are shorter and more scaffolded than in a US television writers’ room. Danish writers at DR habitually work from around 9 am until around 3 to 4 pm. Of course, this time frame can be expanded in the final stages just before handing in a manuscript or parts thereof, but overall working conditions are still very favourable at DR –​not least if compared to writers in other countries, or those working for private companies. Central elements are the extensive production manuals as DR producer Karoline Leth stresses; in the case of Arvingerne, such a production manual comprises 40 pages.61 Leth joined the production team of Arvingerne for the last two episodes of season 1 in 2014. The manual helped her to understand the production in terms of organisational matters, as well as artistic ones, including narrative development and stylistic patterns. As Leth says: ‘I entered Arvingerne and saw that there is substantial tacit knowledge to guide the production process. Since it usually takes a long time to get accustomed with a television drama, we produced a compendium so as to express the existing tacit knowledge and support us understanding the serial.’ She adds that ‘tacit knowledge became open knowledge.’62 The manuals are similar to the concept papers of the television term at the Film School. They combine artistic elements with financial and marketing information and could be seen as a pre-​production portfolio that combines the usual documents for a film project (synopsis, treatment, 88

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script, production schedule and production cost allocation) with a television format bible that also includes reliable market data.63 The manual, as such, encompasses general information such as the programme’s title, a logline and the genre, as well as more detailed descriptions of its premises, themes, characters, settings and locations; cast and crew; style and mood; and sound elements. The manual delineates story arcs for different seasons, synopses of episodes and seasons, major storylines, cliffhangers, includes a script and information on the target audience, production details (budget, schedule, etc.) and marketing opportunities.64 According to Leth, the manual, or, as she calls it, the companion, helps production teams as a supporting framework:  ‘I’m an old Film School teacher, so I think, after all, working within frameworks is not a bad thing; in fact, it is better than working free-​style because it can also be creatively challenging to make something within frames.’65 She thus defines her most important task as producer to ‘redeem the writer, cinematographer and director [so as to give] them the creative space’ they need.66 Producers, in line with DR’s dogma for television numbers five to eight, take on an important role beyond finances and general administration. According to Leth, ‘the producer is no longer just the “moneyman”, but creative’.67 DR producers assume the role of production managers and ‘balance the director’s intentions against those of the principal writer’ (television dogma number 5). For this task, producers are given as much ‘Producer’s Choice as possible’ (dogma number 7). The manual or production compendium sets out in writing what the production team has agreed upon. The manual is thus meant to answer a number of production-​related questions beforehand, leaving more room for artistic and creative considerations once the production has started. Bo Tengberg, among others, notes the importance of the manuals: [We create the look at all stages of the production process], of course the general look is created on the set through lighting and we use camera is that a very light sensitive. We don’t necessarily light much, but of cause colour grading is an important factor to create the final look. […] [While the writers are important at every stage] […] it’s of course the director of cinematography [the production designer,] and the director that develop the concept. So you are making a key to what it’s

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Beyond The Bridge going to look like. I have never been told any rules about the look of a TV series. But of course it’s an obligation that you are part of a concept, so you have creative freedom within the concept but of course you relate to what has been done before and what’s going to happen thereafter. And most of us directors of cinematography shoot maybe two or three episodes, then do something else and somebody takes over. Maybe we come back next season and of course [the overall drama] has to have an equal look [that follows] the idea, the concept. It’s creativity within limits.68

The overall workflow, including production materials, has been optimised in recent years, to fit the Danish production model of independent teams that are temporarily assembled for an entire season, or a number of episodes. New people can be brought in at various stages and parallel shooting with different crews still results in a similar look. Talking about the creative composition of Forbrydelsen in particular, a milestone in the dark look of Danish television drama, he adds that they used both production and design manuals: Usually the production designer sits down with the cinematographer and the director [and they put down] all kinds of aspects, framing, colours, costumes, set designs. We don’t look at it as a bible, saying you have to obey [it]; we look at it as a source of inspiration. And it works, I mean, once you look at it you get the feeling that this is more or less what we are doing. [Everything we do] is conceptual.69

Qualities that writers need to succeed within contemporary Danish production culture are not only the ability to work productively within groups, but also good verbal communication skills. All projects, regarding the latter, have to be pitched at least twice during the early stages of the pre-​ production process to be approved by DR Fiction and Drama producers. As Redvall puts it, ‘[p]‌itching skills are necessary for all creators of new series in the Scandinavian context, particularly since there is no system of agents pitching the projects of client writers to Danish people of interest.’70 Pitching has become an integral part of film education. The Film School insists that all film students complete one screenplay-​ for-​television semester at DR. Mindsets from the School have undoubtedly 90

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influenced and generated innovation in the Danish film and television business since the mid-1990s. The rule-​based thinking that has helped to bring Danish film and television fiction such success stems partly from the teaching and management methods developed previously. As Piv Bernth notes, the vital relationship with the Film School is indeed one of the ‘secrets of [DR Fiction’s] success. With the third season of Forbrydelsen for instance, we had five young student cinematographers for three weeks on the set.’71 Part of what the camera students could experience first-​hand is how design manuals play an important part in forming the Nordic Noir look. The manuals are part of the aesthetic-​creative scaffolding that is used by DR to set the general parameters without imposing too strict control. It is more a concept than a detailed production design guideline. The design manuals have been meaningful in forming the Nordic Noir look of Danish television drama as well as dramas with a rather different aesthetic. Speaking about the production of Arvingerne in particular, Karoline Leth, for instance, stresses the importance of photographs and colour palettes in the design manuals, for all major settings of the series, alongside a very brief text of no more than a few words which describes the intended look of a scene that is to be created, or instance, by cinematography and mise-​en-​scène. The design manuals thus resemble mood boards of advertising agencies as a suitable visual illustration tool to capture the mood or atmosphere of an audio-​visual production and indicate a specific audience experience. The design manuals are produced by the production designers; in the case of Arvingerne, Mia Steengaard. Leth explains the process: ‘[Mia] reads all parts of the manuscript and adds actions to the stories. Actions that are situations in which the characters behave within a particular production environment.’ On this basis, the design manual is formed. When this was done for Arvingerne, Steengaard proposed a design that differed from the bulk of Scandinavian crime fiction, as Leth mentions: ‘Forbrydelsen [for instance] is Scandinavian Noir, which means very gloomy colours. Arvingerne, by contrast, dares to use bright colours […] [I]‌t is very much Mia who influenced the colours in the series [through the manual]. “Avoid black, white and grey”, for example, appeared in the compendium.’72 When the look at the beginning of the second season, according to Leth, became greyish, this was changed in accordance with the manual.73 91

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Image 2.2  Design manual: Scaffolded production design in Forbrydelsen to ensure stylistic continuity

The use of scaffolding can also produce a feeling of relief in a writing process; writers are relieved of certain responsibilities. This, in theory, unleashes energy and allows the use of the imagination in new ways. One of the recurrent scaffolded concepts is the so-​called ‘natural story’ (‘naturlige historie’). Natural stories for creating scenes or episodes offer the makers (screenwriters and directors) some dramaturgic conditions within which to work. It builds upon audience expectations and past experiences of natural spaces and the stories contained therein: staying at a hotel, making coffee or tea, going to the toilet, shopping for groceries, etc. In watching a character carry out these actions, the audience will be able to recognise the mechanism of what is happening and is surprised when the mechanism is interrupted. This simple priming mechanism is a very powerful dramaturgical tool. It allows for greater involvement by referring to the audiences’ real life before catching them by surprise. If conditions are predefined, the makers of television drama do not have to create everything from scratch. Some filmmakers educated at the National 92

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Film School call the natural-​story approach ‘a magic formula’, ‘a trump card’ or simply ‘a gift’.74 What the Danes call ‘natural story’ is an attempt to mix familiar everyday situations with extraordinary incidents. This practice corresponds with advice offered by practical literature. In her popular guide to scriptwriting, Australian author Linda Aronson, for instance, hints at something similar when she stresses that successful ideas for screenplays often present a new twist even if they work within a tradition or a well-​known environment. A compelling script or scenario, according to her, must be true or authentic but also allow a sudden development or turn of events.75 Natural stories are close to many Direct Cinema-​inspired documentary practices and ‘fly-​on-​the-​wall’ television. Tengberg, among others, appreciated his experiences in documentary filmmaking, since they stood him in good stead when filming under scaffolded conditions such as very small sets for Forbrydelsen and Ørnen.76 Using an unobtrusive camera, lightning and sound equipment to capture everyday situations. A well-​known example of a natural story is a seminal moment in Festen (The Celebration, Vinterberg 1998), in which the eldest son gives a speech at his father’s birthday party but in it reveals a secret about family incest. The natural story has to consist of two parts in order to attract the audience. First, a normal plot recognisable to the audience, such as a birthday party, and then a scandalous situation to break identifiable norms.

Individual Scaffolding: Production Teams and the One Vision Concept Vinterberg has applied the natural story from his film education to his very own way of making films, turning it into an individual framework or model. Micro-​level scaffolding, correspondingly, can be observed within the work of production teams and individual film and television practitioners. Sometimes in the form of templates (such as the natural story), the division of work (as in the one-​vision concept), general work conditions (pay, hours on the set, the selection of the cast and credit) as well as constraints to limit choices for specific projects. The last-​mentioned seems particularly important at this level of scaffolding, as it explains why crews can cope with the stressful position of television production. Munk, for 93

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instance, clearly felt the difference between his work for cinema and his assignment for DR. Deviating from unusual film projects, the scheduling for the Christmas series had a very tight production schedule. Yet, according to Munk, the positive overall atmosphere made this a productive situation. It created a positive feeling:  many decisions were taken out of his hands and given to others. Among other things, he was told the number of scenes to be shot in the studio and on location. As Munk puts it: ‘DR puts out restrictions, but also takes good care of us during production’ and he adds ‘I don’t see it as a pressure, but as a challenge’. DR, indeed, ensures that the whole department assists those who, like Munk, are brought in from outside for individual productions. Besides such institutional scaffolded conditions, Munk, too, sets his own parameters: ‘I always make dogmas for myself ’.77 Scaffolding seems to help film and television students in particular –​but also professionals –​to discharge pressure, get started, and create films and television series with a personal signature. Scaffolded conditions secure a quite seamless, efficient workflow, but also provide enough space to allow for the distinctive styles of its creators. The all-​embracing frameworks ensure that the dramas still share a common sense of purpose –​one that adheres to the public service remit as well as distinguishes the product from overseas dramas. Munk’s experiences as a director as well as Tengberg’s observations as cinematographer are very much echoed by scriptwriters who, in most countries, work under less favourable conditions than in Denmark. American screenwriter and university lecturer Richard Walter in his Essentials of Screenwriting (2010) says that being in the film or television business does not mean glamour and feeling good. Quite the contrary, ‘[a]‌ll writers hate to write’, as he stresses.78 Given that screenwriting can be a frustrating, lonely process, Walter asserts that: [w]‌riters love to have written, but hate to write […] To sit hour upon hour in an empty room, attempting to fill blank paper […] with story, character, and dialogue worthy of the time, attention, and consideration of an audience is as lonely as life gets. Writing, like banging your head against the wall, feels terrific mainly when you stop.79

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Assistance and exchange with colleagues, of course, can help minimise stress, frustration and loneliness. Storylines are crucial to the success of a television show. What can be inferred from speaking to people in numerous television professions for this book, but also from Redvall’s research and the Screen Development education at the University of Southern Denmark, is that the complex process of writing needs freedom as well as limitations. The research project ‘Stories from Funen –​Training Talents’, which followed four teams of filmmakers for three years to observe how they worked on a film, suggests that it is particularly the pre-​production phase that is hardest to manage. When the filmmakers were offered different kinds of scaffolding, this helped those involved, proving the effectiveness of the methods applied by DR, the Film School and other production teams. Besides restrictions and frameworks, regular group meetings with feedback helped participants to stay focused. This exemplifies why Wood, Bruner and Ross have underlined the importance of such measures as effective means of ‘direction maintenance’ and ‘frustration control’.80 The scaffolded environment in connection with regular feedback supports the initial pre-​production process, when everything is still possible and thereby chaotic as well as frustrating. At DR, much time is devoted to this crucial phase of the production process. Many of the people involved appreciate the shared responsibility as a direct outcome. This collaboration exists at two levels:  within a particular production team and within the Fiction department. The head writer or showrunner does not usually prescribe the frameworks and work methods but guides the team processes that develop such scaffolded rules during particular programme’s production phases. They differ between productions. As Redvall notes when comparing the production of Borgen under Adam Price with Arvingerne: ‘While the third season of Borgen had an established structure for note meetings and feedback, both working with a new producer and establishing a writers’ room for the first time on The Legacy led to numerous challenges for head writer Maja Ilsøe in terms of when to stop discussions to do with the material.’81 The mixture of supporting frameworks and insistence on writing as a team process creates an inclusive environment. DR has acknowledged this special role in the dogmas for television. As such, it improved writers’ 95

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artistic and financial status by the one-​vision concept and long-​term contracts. This means creating a protected environment by minimising outside factors to allow people to set their own parameters. The show-runners used the favourable conditions for developing their own team scaffolding. In fact, the first weeks are very often spent setting boundaries and establishing team-​relations rather than going straight into the act of writing. The team will determine the different assignments and responsibilities of the head writers, episode writers and so on. Depending on the composition of writers and the prospective show idea, this can vary from production to production. A strong sense of teamwork and flat management structures improve group dynamics during the writing and production stages. As writer Nikolaj Scherfig points out, a close-​knit workshop production culture impacts substantially upon the final product. According to his experience, flat-​management structure, collaborative work methods and honesty are the key to the success of Danish screenwriting.82 This model of working together cannot be easily established elsewhere. As Scherfig puts it: You can’t export that [the team spirit and social relationships]. Of course there are a lot of countries that have tried to do the same thing as we do in the Danish film and television milieu, but it’s not so easy to export because it’s somehow a Danish mentality.83

When talking not only to Scherfig but also other people in the Danish film and television business, they note that Danes are amenable to criticism. Scaffolding at macro-​, miso-​, and micro-​level plays an important role in explaining Danish production culture. Yet, looking exclusively at the way productions are carried out, who works for DR and which professional networks are relevant does only tell part of the story. Such an approach will thus not replace analysing different individual texts. This is why we are looking at some of the most prominent drama series by DR in the following chapters.

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3 Does Crime Pay? Forbrydelsen (The Killing) and the Thriving of Nordic Noir

It is simply not possible to talk or write about contemporary Danish television drama without mentioning the phenomenon Forbrydelsen (DR 2007–​12). The show, known as The Killing internationally, popularised Danish fictional television on the global market. When the first season exhibited good ratings –​between 1.5 to 2.1 million Danish viewers –​and was favourably received by critics, the drama began a triumphal procession first through Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden, Finland, Faroe Islands and Iceland) and then continental Western Europe (Germany, Austria, Belgium and France) and Australia before it was shown in the UK, Eastern Europe, South America and Asia. Notwithstanding good ratings in Denmark, the show’s global success came rather unexpectedly. When Forbrydelsen proved to be particularly effective at attracting educated middle-​class viewers abroad, British critic Gerard Gilbert humorously reported in the Independent: Oh Hell, it’s not going to be easy organising a Saturday night social gathering between now and Christmas. Indeed, I already know one couple hosting a long-​planned dinner party later this month who have had to restructure their evening around the television schedules –​as strange as that may sound in this iPlayer age. And we’re not talking the latter rounds of The X

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Beyond The Bridge Factor or Strictly Come Dancing here, but a painstakingly slow subtitled drama called –​in its native language –​Forbrydelsen [...], and featuring an unsmiling middle-​aged woman in jeans and Faroese sweater, municipal Danish politics, dodgy removal men and Copenhagen skylines shot in a crepuscular November light. If, at the start of this year, you were trying to predict the most talked-​about TV dramas of 2011, one of them would almost certainly not have been Forbrydelsen.1

When the show was then awarded a BAFTA in 2011, ahead of Mad Men, it finally put Denmark on the television map and was seen as a ‘game changer’ with regard to showing original-​language fictional television with English subtitles. BBC4 even developed a special Saturday night drama slot for subtitled foreign programmes. Taken by surprise too about the Danish drama’s success, Stuart Jeffries in the Guardian noted: ‘Never, quite possibly, have so many Britons gathered on a Saturday night to watch a subtitled TV drama […] The Killing averaged 500,000 viewers per episode on BBC4 –​ more than Mad Men or the Swedish-​language version of Wallander managed on the same channel.’2 And the viewing figures continued to improve, averaging over a million at the time of the third season in Britain.3 What might be attributed to clever programming on behalf of BBC4, a channel that has a remit to ‘provide an ambitious range of innovative, high quality programming that is intellectually and culturally enriching’,4 led nevertheless to criticism instead. Criticism that the show had been kept from British screens far too long, as Jeffries finds: So the viewing figures for The Killing are exceptional, not least as this is a four-​year-​old series that the BBC only brought to our screens –​after sitting on its (allegedly very cheap) acquisition for several years –​because (or so it seemed) they’d run out of Wallanders and needed something similarly bleak and Nordic to fill the gap.5

Aspects of the show attracted attention and were widely discussed. Some even refered to DR as a television hit factory, raising questions about its formula for success. In Denmark, academic interest in the topic has led to a larger research project at Aarhus University from 2014 to 2018 as well as a number of seminars and conferences across the country.6 Part of what has 98

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been discussed is the question of what makes Danish drama so successful abroad. What scholars such as Kim Toft Hansen, Marit Waade and Gunhild Agger suggest is that Nordic Noir, first as a retrospective way of explaining stylistic and narrative features and then as a way of branding Danish drama abroad, played a major part in this. If one agrees with this hypothesis, then the success is inextricably linked to Forbrydelsen as the first programme to create a distinctive look in combination with a story that differed from comparable shows at the time. Whereas none of the people involved in its production used the term ‘Nordic Noir’, they were, however, well aware that they had created a distinct product. As cinematographer Bo Tengberg, who shot many of the episodes of Forbrydelsen, acknowledges: ‘Even if our references were from American TV, we took this to Denmark and maybe made our own look out of it […] I would say though that in The Killing there is a certain look that was kind of new for a television series.’7 It was when the show gradually travelled abroad that it was named ‘Nordic Noir’ by journalists, not simply as a means of classification but rather as a seal of quality for sophisticated foreign television drama. Adding to its international success, Forbrydelsen inspired an American remake around the police detective Sarah Linden, as she was called in this version (The Killing, AMC 2011–​13). It was produced by Fox 21 Television Studios and Fuse Entertainment primarily for the American market, relocating its setting to rainy Seattle, Washington.8 Not least through Netflix, which acquired the programme in 2014, it was distributed globally. Produced in collaboration with ZDF Enterprises, which holds the international distribution rights, Forbrydelsen was created by Danish screenwriter Søren Sveistrup under current Head of DR Fiction, Nadia Kløvedal Reich, recent Head of DR Drama, Piv Bernth, and surrounded by a team of co-​writers.9 Bernth was producer of The Killing and then became Head of DR Drama (April 2012).10 The first season was originally broadcast in Denmark on a weekly basis from 7 January to 11 March 2007 (episodes 1–​10) and 23 September to 29 November (episodes 11–20). The second and third season were then screened from late September to the end of November in 2009 and 2012. Abroad, the episodes were often shown as double bills to fit different time-slots or viewing habits. For the purpose of enabling viewers to follow an investigation closely, all three seasons focus on just one murder in and around the cosmopolitan 99

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area of Copenhagen with brief moments taking place in provincial Sealand and Jutland. At the centre of attention is the highly dedicated inspector Sarah Lund (Sofie Gråbøl). Irrespective of whether a season comprises twenty one-​hour episodes (season 1) or ten (season 2 and 3), they are all meant to cover one day of events during the murder case. The show thus takes a lot of more time than many other crime dramas which usually deal with a case each episode. Expanding the narrated time, moreover, allows for more detailed exploration of the reaction to a horrific killing.

From ‘Who Killed Nanna Birk Larsen?’ to the International Banking and Financial Crisis: The Double Story at Work Head writer Søren Sveistrup, the writer in charge of the one-​vision according to Dogma 1 in the 15 DR production rules, explains his ideas for the show: The creation of the series was in part an aggressive reaction to US thrillers, where everything’s solved within one episode. Also I  have never seen real grief in US thrillers. I  have never seen anything remotely touching. I wanted to challenge all that.11

Telling a classic ‘whodunit’ narrative in Forbrydelsen day-​by-​day from numerous angles allows the storytelling to explore the emotional impact of a crime on the victim’s family and friends, the police investigators and other involved persons. This marks a significant departure from television programmes that try to present crime investigations as an intellectual challenge in the tradition of sleuths (e.g. the various adaptations of Sherlock Holmes or Columbo) or a scientific phenomenon (e.g. the CSI franchise). The rather complex narrative in Forbrydelsen generally complicates a generic classification and thus underlines the novelty this show illustrates. The private lives of protagonists, even if sometimes filmed in a quasi-​documentary style, show similarities with family dramas and other melodramatic forms, whereas the other strands oscillate between procedural dramas and thriller elements.12 The hybrid mix is presumably a conscious attempt to aim for a broad male and female audience. It also allows the DR team to present a rather conventional television genre, the 100

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crime thriller, from a number of renewed and different angles and various degrees of emotional attachment. One could argue that the way Sveistrup and his team twisted the conventions of crime or procedural dramas by mixing generic conventions and by placing more emphasis on particularly those aspects that other series had turned a blind eye. Yet before their creative work ultimately met with the approval by audiences and critics alike, it was still a long, risky path. According to Redvall, lots of people initially found the story Sveistrup and his team suggested uninteresting, seeing it as yet another crime drama. At some stage, it was Nadia Kløvedal Reich who took on the project and carried it through.13 Forbrydelsen was the first time DR bet on a drama so serious and dark –​both in terms of story and aesthetics. Rejseholdet (2000–​4) had elements of this, but Forbrydelsen took the darkness to a more extreme level and also moved the killer into the inner circle of the characters. It also risked a slow narrative pace, showing one day at the time of the case-​solving. Created by Sveistrup, the handpicked team or writers had the responsibility for the overall storyline, for organising and also carrying out part of the research, for pitching in front of the DR management, and for assigning tasks to the episode writers. Sveistrup, during the entire production of the programme, was head of the writers’ room. Apart from the actual 15 dogmas for television that offered a general framework for producing television at DR, he was the one who agreed with other members of the team, above all producer Piv Bernth and actress Sofie Gråbøl, to add a number of particular constraints to the production that would help to create a cold atmosphere: The sun was not allowed to shine in the shots and Gråbøl was not allowed to smile.14 The first season of Forbrydelsen opens with what is supposed to be Sarah Lund’s last day at work as detective chief inspector for the Danish police. She wants to relocate to Sweden with her fiancé and her teenage son Mark (Eske Forsting Hansen) from a previous relationship. Her plans, however, are thwarted by the brutal killing of the 19-​year-​old schoolgirl Nanna Birk Larsen (Julie Ølgaard). In fact the audience never sees the murder take place, but even without this Forbrydelsen presents a rather sinister and bestial story full of suspense across all three seasons. As the audience learns in the course of the police investigation, the teenage girl was tortured and 101

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raped before she drowned in the boot of a car. Besides the complex investigation by Sarah Lund and her hot-​headed new colleague Jan Meyer (Søren Malling), the season invests much time in depicting the Birk Larsen family in their unbearable grief and longing for justice. From Nina’s personal environment, including an out-​of-​control school party and a messy split-​ up, the case is soon connected to a contested mayoral campaign between the actual mayor Paul Bremer (Bent Mejding) and his liberal contender Troels Hartmann (Lars Mikkelsen). Through a number of twists, Forbrydelsen raises a sense of unease as the audience, at one time or another, has reason to suspect almost all the cast of having committed the bestial murder. The list of potential suspects includes Theis Birk Larsen (Nanna’s father, Bjarne Henriksen), Rama (Nanna’s schoolteacher, Farshad Kholghi), Bengt (Sarah Lund’s boyfriend, Johan Gry), Paul Bremer, Troels Hartmann, Morten Weber (Hartmann’s campaign manager, Michael Moritzen), Rie Skovgaard (Hartmann’s PR manager and lover, Marie Askehave), Lennart Brix (police commissioner, Morten Suurballe) and Vagn Skærbæk (employed by Theis Birk Larsen, Nicolaj Kopernikus). When Sarah’s partner, Jan, is killed by the murderer, she partly blames herself for not having been able to prevent this from happening. In this character trait she is staged in exactly the same way as inspector Saga Norén in Broen, who also harshly accuses herself for being a failure at her job when her partner loses his son to the killer during the murder investigation. What the audience sees is modern workaholics with high standards and ideals regarding their job and with almost no time to relate to family –​or even to eat. Set two years later, the second season of Forbrydelsen shows Sarah at the provincial southern Danish port town of Gedser. In addition to the setting, the composition of diegetic characters has changed significantly, with only Sarah Lund and her boss Chief Inspector Lennart Brix (Morten Suurballe) representing a continuity across seasons. Her private life seems in tatters and she has been demoted as a consequence of the previous case and now works as a border police officer. Her situation, however, changes when she is called to Copenhagen to help in a tricky murder investigation. The lawyer, Anne Dragsholm (Sarah Gottlieb), has been murdered and there are soon doubts about the validity of the forced confession by her husband, Stig (Alexandre Willaume). Sarah Lund examines the case 102

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together with Detective Inspector Ulrik Strange (Mikael Birkkjær). In a similar way to the first season, the investigation is soon linked to political events. Anne Dragsholm worked as a military legal adviser and could be connected to a cover-​up of a war crime committed by Danish troops during a peace-​keeping mission in Afghanistan. When the newly-​appointed justice minister Thomas Buch (Nicolas Bro) and his office uncover more evidence for the atrocity, he is put under pressure by members of the government and the administration to discontinue his investigation so as not to jeopardise the passing of new anti-​terror legislation. When a second killing of a Danish veteran takes place, there are two possible leads:  one favoured by many state officials and members of the public, suggesting that Islamic terrorists might be behind the murders; another, however, suggesting that the perpetrator comes from within the armed forces. The latter lead is fuelled by the story of the traumatised special forces soldier, Sergeant Jens Peter Raben (Ken Vedsegaard), who not only claims to have known both victims but also suggests that the officer Per K. Møller, known as ‘Perk’ has executed an Afghan family. Even though ‘Perk’ is now dead, someone else seems to be using his identity. On a trip to Afghanistan, Lund and her colleague Strange uncover the bones of the killed Afghan family, thereby substantiating the claims of a Danish war crime. Back home, they now follow a new suspect, the outspoken anti-​ Islamist Muslim officer Captain Bilam, only to witness him killing himself by a detonation before they had a chance to interrogate him. Just when the investigation seems it will remain unresolved for good, Sarah suddenly discovers that Strange gives away a detail that only the murderer would know. Being shot at, Lund finally kills him in a shooting exchange. The third and final season is set during a tight general election race in the aftermath of the global banking and financial crisis. The liberal Prime Minister, Kristian Kamper (Olaf Johannessen), is running against opposition leader, Anders Ussing (Henrik Birch). Having served 25 years in the police force, Sarah Lund tries to restructure her professional and personal life. She has bought a house with a garden and tries to re-​establish the troubled relationship with her now 20-​year-​old son Mark. She, however, is once more drawn into a new murder investigation when the remains of three murdered East-​European seamen are found in a Copenhagen dock that belongs to the company Zeeland. Teaming up with former lover Mathias 103

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Borch (Nikolaj Lie Kaas), she tries to uncover the person behind the killings. The investigation is soon overshadowed by the abduction of Robert and Maja Zeuthen’s (Anders W. Berthelsen and Helle Helle Fagralíð) 9-​year-​old daughter Emilie. The divorced billionaire Robert Zeuthen is in charge of the oil and shipping giant Zeeland, which is also connected to the murders. The kidnapping, moreover, coincides with internal power struggles within the company and rumours about relocating its head office and production abroad –​an option that proves increasingly explosive in the upcoming election and puts Prime Minister Kamper and his spin doctor, Karen Nebel (Trine Pallesen) under pressure. Not least owing to the abduction, the pace is somewhat faster than in the second and more so the first season of Forbrydelsen. The brutal kidnapper, so the audience learns, seems to be determined to settle an old score. While Robert Zeuten is using his power to try and rescue his child, his own personal assistant, Niels Reinhardt (Stig Hoffmeyer) is somehow connected to the case. The final episode takes place during the election day and eventually ends the frantic search for Emilie and the killer when Sarah Lund realises that her investigation has helped Reinhardt to commit crimes and shoots him. The ‘whodunit’ element across all of the seasons certainly provided a deliberate entry point for audiences. Very much in the way that Mark Frost’s and David Lynch’s mystery drama Twin Peaks (ABC 1990–​1) used the killing of Laura Palmer (Cheryl Lee) as a hook to explore the cultural and spiritual abyss of an American small-​town community, the question of who the killer is often becomes secondary in the light of unsettling and morally ambiguous revelations that are often behind the facades of apparently respectable personalities, social groups and institutions. As Sofie Gråbøl and Piv Bernth express in the documentary Nordisk Noir –​krimi i verdensklasse (2014), part of the success beyond the obvious and rather conventional ‘whodunit’ question of who murdered Nanna Birk Larsen was the close focus on her parents’ grief that was produced so heartbreakingly that the audience could empathise with them in a state of voyeuristic discomfort.15 One of the strengths in the storyline is certainly the way in which the writers have combined the arduous criminal investigation with the touching responses of those involved. The danger, of course, here is that the drama turns into a crime-​soap. What prevents the drama from drifting into kitsch is the starkly realist approach in such 104

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scenes. Often a hand camera allows for unobtrusive recording of personal spaces. The scenes were typically filmed with two cameras so as to allow actors to improvise a little rather than to stick closely to a script. DR thus preferred cinematographers who had an understanding of improvisation, realism and projects that required a refined cinematic look all at once. Bo Tengberg was one of those who met these criteria. He, for instance, had much experience of shooting dialogues within limited spaces. He was, among other engagements, admired for his camerawork in the experimental film Let’s Get Lost (Jonas Elmer, 1997) starring the Danish actors Sidse Babett Knudsen, Bjarne Henriksen and Nicolaj Kopernikus, among others. According to Tengberg himself, this film in particular helped him to gain a foothold in the television industry: Let’s Get Lost was totally improvised, the dialogues. For this reason I didn’t have a clue where the actors were going to move. It was shot very much like a documentary. It had a freshness that was very interesting […] I think making this documentary style films is one of the reason why I got to make TV series. They came and saw that that was what they wanted for the series.16

Using two cameras allowed the actors more freedom. Whereas lighting has prevented television from doing this in the past, modern camera equipment makes this possible. As Tengberg further stresses: You can capture [some degree of improvisation] with two cameras and it depends a lot on the lighting. Especially in the old days when we needed a lot of light, we had to light very precisely and the actors were not lit properly when they weren’t on their marks. That is not the issue anymore. There is a big change in lighting because of camera technology. We don’t light anymore to get exposure, we light to get aesthetics, we light to modulate the light.17

Let’s Get Lost is just a small but, to contemporary Danish drama history, quite an important film. It was based on a four-​page screenplay and required everyone to develop scenes spontaneously. Playing everything by ear, however, proved to be very authentic. Scholars often mention Dogma 95 when looking for a suitable starting point for the fledgling of Danish audiovisual culture; and this was certainly an important concept. Yet, the example of 105

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Let’s Get Lost illustrates that the changes back then cannot be attributed to Dogma alone. In fact, many of those who were educated at the Film School were exploring how different types of scaffolding could be used for inspiration and experimenting –​even if they were not part of Dogma, such as Jonas Elmer, Bo Tengberg, Rumle Hammerich, Søren Sveistrup, Nikolaj Scherfig, Jeppe Gjervig Gram and others.

Creating a Drama in a Scaffolded Environment through Involvement and Secrecy Moments of empathy and suffering in Forbrydelsen are not only a way to differentiate this crime drama from others; they additionally help to tell criminal investigations without the usual reliance on action. As Andrew Anthony writes in the British Observer, the way in which the first season depicts the bereaved family is a major trait of the show as such: Seldom has television been witness to such an intimate and moving portrait of familial desolation. An enthralling crime procedural also became an affecting investigation into what means to lose a child. With such powerful emotional realism, the scriptwriter, Søren Sveistrup, provided the dramatic ballast to prevent the storyline from ballooning too far off into the realms of the absurd.18

Having found a narrative formula that is picked up by almost all Danish television dramas to come, the serial combines three narrative strands. Besides the main murder case, there is the increasingly desolate private life of Sarah Lund and those of the crime victims. Another component is always how the murder is connected to Danish politics: the Copenhagen mayoral election in season 1, the attempts by the new minister of justice to clear up a war crime when his government tries to pass a tougher anti-​ terror legislation in season 2 and, last but not least, the entanglement of politics, finance and the economy at times of global corporations and the aftermath of the banking crisis in the final season. Just to illustrate the way in which political meaning is often the underlying double story, the second season’s tagline was indeed not about the murder but, as Piv Bernth explains, ‘How much do you bend democracy to defend it?’.19 106

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Even if the emotional attachment in connection with political and social implications offers plenty of intrigue, Forbrydelsen also engages viewers in finding out who the murderer was. Besides presenting almost everyone involved as potential perpetrators, including Sarah Lund herself, the gaps and red herrings in the narration allow for much speculation. In many countries, this was used as a means of audience interaction through websites and blogs. In Denmark, DR set up a special website, asking audiences to cast a vote on who might be the prime suspect or villain. In Britain, to give another example, the Guardian featured a blog devoted to the drama by editor Vicky Frost, who has had significant leverage in promoting Scandinavian fiction through a string of articles. Her blog not only included an episode-​by-​episode guide, helping audiences to follow major developments of the rather complex story by offering plot summaries and lists of major findings of the investigation but also the covered questions of representation, interpretations and classification.20 Besides its gloomy look and complex narrative progression, the way in which Forbrydelsen spent much time on character development and emotional responses to a crime were often singled out as reasons for its appeal. Using what Andrew Horton has described as polyphonic characters, helps to explain the protagonists’ appeal.21 According to Horton, characters should be portrayed with internal needs and goals (a so-​called ‘want’) as well as an interpersonal desire (a so-​called ‘need’). The two resulting types of narratives, a personal-​driven narrative with the main character in focus and another one driven by external situations, are necessary to maintain audience engagement.22 This helps to explain, why Forbrydelsen uses many plot points surrounding the leading protagonist Sarah Lund as well as external factors that are mostly linked to the criminal events such as the murders. Lund without any doubt exemplifies a polyphonic character with many unpredictable traits. She is desperate to solve the case even if this means high personal sacrifice. The audience, at the same time, increasingly wonders about her own well-​being. The more she gives up everything for her pursuit of the murderer, the more she actually requires shelter and love herself. This gap between her ‘want’ and ‘need’ is helpful in making her character interesting and polyphonic. Most reviews of Forbrydelsen thus also emphasise the importance of Sarah Lund’s character and Gråbøl’s gripping performance as an astute but 107

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taciturn detective. Gråbøl explained that initially Sveistrup phoned her and asked if she could be interested in playing an interesting variation or even an entirely different type of character than the ones that had formed her career in Danish films such as the thriller Nattevagten (Nightwatch, Ole Bornedahl, 1994) and the comedy Blinkende Lygter (Flashing Lights, Anders Thomas Jensen, 2000).23 She also played sweet Julie in the romance Nikolaj & Julie (DR 2002, 2003) written by Adam Price with help from Sveistrup among others. So, the two of them –​Søren and Sofie –​knew each other from earlier jobs. Anne Sofie Gråbøl, which is her full name, was born in 1968 and has had a rich career as an actress ever since her teenage years. Besides work for the film industry, she has taken on a number of theatre roles. As she explains, the crossover has been very productive throughout her career: I’ve always been very privileged in Denmark, moving freely between theatre and film and television, playing everything from Shakespeare and Strindberg and Ibsen to farce and comedy and modern plays, and actually in between every season of The Killing, I’ve done other things, so I don’t feel stuck.24

Looking at her previous engagements, the role that Sveistrup offered her in Forbrydelsen can be seen as a kind of anti-​casting of her type. It was, at any rate, a bold decision. So far she had often played the nice but often also naïve girl. Playing the profound and determined Sarah Lund in her frantic search for murderers was so appealing as it was challenging that Gråbøl accepted the role under the condition that she had a say in developing the character and storylines. During pre-​production she and other protagonists were given the opportunity to comment on the script relatively early, before the reading of the script took place with the rest of the cast. Gråbøl used this form of participation to prevent her role from having a –​in her words ‘clichéd’ –​romantic affair with the mayoral candidate Troels Hartmann.25 According to Redvall, this practice of including the actors in the writing process was particularly valuable to Sveistrup and his team of writers to ‘keep the text open for as long as possible’, offering flexibility and creative stress.26 The structure can well be described as a ‘scaffolded’ condition or creative frame. Even if the involvement of actors could well be time-​consuming, it certainly helped them to adopt their roles as their own, and not simply see them as yet another acting job. Additionally, it 108

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definitely has an impact on the audience that the characters are subject to constant change rather than being settled. Often, the result were appealing contradictions such as the fact that the petite, feminine and charming Gråbøl plays a detective who is a hard-​core workaholic that wears sweaters and jeans, a ponytail and no makeup while she investigates brutal killings.27 Her inability to be both a good police detective and a devoted mother raises a number of interesting questions about the feasibility of fulfilling both roles equally well. The character of Lund, in this regards, very much goes against the zeitgeist according to which women must always aim at being perfect at home and at work. Besides helping with efficiency, the variableness of characters as a result of the way periods of pre-​production and production overlap makes them stand out from the mainstream of other television dramas. From 2007 onwards, DR dramas give the characters time to develop and the audience time to notice their special traits and developments. In contrast to commercial production companies, DR makes episodes of around 60 minutes that are uninterrupted by commercials. So the impressions of the characters like Sarah Lund or the parents in the Birk Larsen family are powerful to the viewers. But, additionally, the method for the character work carried out by the actors behind Forbrydelsen is also rather unusual, which might have influenced the expressions and impressions of the characters. The method consisted of no knowledge given to the actors of who the real killer was. In season 1, for instance, no one knew the identity of the killer until the shooting of the last episode. Only then it was revealed that Vagn Skærbæk had committed the atrocious crime. This not only hindered anyone from prematurely revealing the culprit to the public, and thus steal the final episode’s thunder; it also added a level of authenticity to the investigation. The actors, as such, could not give away the solution unconsciously through their performance, adding ambiguity to the characters. In the story, Vagn is both an employee but also a close friend of the Birk Larsen family. In their period of grief, he is very helpful to both the parent and the siblings. Without many clues as to his gruesome actions, the diegetic family feels as deceived by ultimately false intentions to give comfort as do members of the audience. To withhold information from cast and crews also had implications on the finale of season 3. As Redvall describes, ‘[…] DR made an 109

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event out of the actor Stig Hoffmeyer (playing Zeeland executive Niels Reinhardt) only learning that he was the murderer during the reading of the script for the last episode by posting the revelatory moment on the series’ website.’28 And, the internet also played a role in fostering a strong link between audiences and the fictional character of Lund, as Kjetil Sandvik’s research suggests.29 DR used the website to offer additional information about the show, helping the site to generate online activity and to build a loyal audience. DR, so it seems, were toying with the opportunities offered by interactive media, as described by Henry Jenkins: ‘Media producers are consciously building into their texts opportunities for fan elaboration and collaboration –​codes to be deciphered, enigmas to be resolved, loose ends to be woven together, teasers and spoilers for upcoming developments.’30 While viewing figures in Denmark –​as in many other Western countries –​suggest that the number hours people watch television has in fact increased in the last decade, they often also expect broadcasters to offer online resources, too. Danish media studies scholar Helle Kannik Haastrup calls the community building function where viewers (or ‘users’) can interact with the story and/​or each other a ‘club function’.31 The feeling of being part of a club was strong in the periods when Forbrydelsen was shown. As such, the online activities could well have played a part in Forbrydelsen becoming a major topic. Using John Fiske, one could refer to this phenomenon as fictional content becoming the talk of the town at both the primary, secondary and tertiary level of the media circuit.32 In hindsight, though, DR have been hesitant to further develop interactive opportunities since Forbrydelsen. Compared to what other broadcasters are doing in connection with fictional content, one might perhaps think of the US shows Mad Men or Desperate Housewives, cross-​media strategies involving the internet have since had a subordinate priority for DR Drama.

Becoming the Monster: The Ambiguity of Character and Place As a combination of the production culture at DR, Gråbøl’s performance and the absence of a back story or history, Sarah Lund cannot be reduced to a simple cause-​and-​effect character. She is an enigma even to 110

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loyal members of the audience. When the US remake was made it was a mistake, according to Bernth, that they did not dare to keep her past unknown to the audience. This changed the entire character as well as her relationship to the audience and helps to explain why the US version of Forbrydelsen was arguably not as well-​received as the Danish, even though the plot mainly focused on the main crime as investigated by Sarah Linden (Mireille Enos) and her partner Stephen Holder (Joel Kinnaman). Linden in America has social deficiencies because she is reported to have grown up in an orphan home. As Melanie E.S. Kohnen has demonstrated, the critics have gradually turned against the US version of The Killing during the first season. Even if this change of perception has more to do with American discourses on television than comparisons with the Danish original, as she argues, the lack of ambiguity and a rather conventional as well as imbalanced serialised narrative certainly played a part. The criticism culminated in the AOL blogger Maureen Ryan calling the first season a ‘melodramatic crapfest’.33 Danish Sarah Lund’s motives and ineptitudes are unclear when she chooses to solve a murder case instead of taking care of her son and fiancé, illustrating a modern career woman’s extreme dedication to her job. Her priorities are constantly debated in the story. As such, she has many traits in common with other characters in recent Danish television drama by prioritising her job to society over her family, and by being staged in an almost androgynous way. We will return in the following chapters with attempted answers as to why types like Sarah Lund, Saga Norén from Broen, Hallgrim Hallgrimsson from Ørnen, Signe and Gro Grønnegaard from Arvingerne and Birgitte Nyborg from Borgen are all portrayed as modern workaholics. Lund certainly is depicted as someone who often excels at working as a police officer but her determination has a detrimental effect on her private life. Resembling the hectic pace of the production schedule of the show that gradually built up tension as the seasons went on, she hardly ever has the time to eat or take care of her family relations, and the connection with her mother, son, and fiancé all fail because of her work-​related priorities. Yet, having said this, her actions are not always explained easily. She is a complicated character with no history explaining why she has become what she is. Sveistrup claims in interviews that the character originated from a Nietzsche quotation: ‘He who fights with monsters should be 111

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careful lest he thereby becomes a monster. When you stare at the abyss, the abyss stares back at you.’34 In many ways comparable to Saga Norén in Broen, the flats of both Saga and Sarah exemplify the life and characters of their inhabitants. Or, to put it differently, the interior design acquires semantic meaning. The flats are shown as dark, functional and simple instead of cosy and warm. The Nordic Noir style is fully implemented at both of these locations. In accordance with the design booklet, the colours in Lund’s flat are subdued and mostly dark. Lund’s self-​destructive and potentially hazardous side is repeatedly evoked throughout her actions, including the way she treats her family. Yet it was because of this dark and unpredictable side that the Lund figure turned out to be extremely popular among viewers. Again, this character aroused an interest not only in the fictional Sarah Lund but in her simple Nordic lifestyle. Her natural appeal, her strengths but also her faults and imperfections make her a believable character perceived by some as a positive female role model. In Britain, Labour MP Helen Goodman specially met with BBC director general Mark Thompson to discuss the marked lack of realistic portrayals of women on British television. Danish drama on British screens showed that women can be depicted differently. As she saw it, it featured female characters that are ‘more positive, more realistic, and more like real people’.35 The portrayal of characters in general and Sarah Lund in particular was singled out by many journalists as a major feature of Forbrydelsen’s appeal. As Stuart Jeffries, for instance, puts it: ‘Mostly viewers were captivated by the compelling dramatis personae. We couldn’t tear ourselves away from Sarah Lund, the appealingly dysfunctional detective […].’36 And he later adds that ‘Far from being a Danish version of Helen Mirren’s Jane Tennison in Prime Suspect, or a glam-​but-​centred-​and-​tough simulacrum of Above Suspicion’s Anna Travis or CSI’s Catherine Willows or The Wire’s Kima Greggs, Lund is something new.’37 According to Gråbøl, the appeal of Sarah Lund not only lies in her restless determination but also her mysteriousness, something that challenges viewers: The strength of the character is that you can’t put her in a box. I like it when there’s something that’s held back so a character isn’t defined for you […] Lund isn’t a stereotype –​she’s a

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Does Crime Pay? Forbrydelsen (The Killing) character that came to life as we made the series. If a character is too obviously defined, you feel [unemployed as part of] the audience.38

What is meant by ‘bringing it alive as we made the series’ can be explained by returning to study the production process further. Sveistrup, was one of the first scriptwriting graduates of the Film School who had special classes on writing for television.39 He began working for DR in 1997 by providing a script for the television film Deadline (Esben Høilund Carlsen, 1997). What followed was an engagement as a writer of several episodes of Taxa. He then moved on to work for TV2 as creator and head writer of the television family drama Hotellet (2000–​2). The show already testifies to Sveistrup’s fascination with Twin Peaks that can be observed in the ambiguous twilight atmosphere that characterises most of his subsequent work. He returned to DR as head writer for Adam Price’s successful romantic television drama Nikolaj & Julie (2002–​3), which featured Sofie Gråbøl in one of the leading roles. Breaking away from the way he usually worked, the workflow of Forbrydelsen was different. While the overall concept was laid out, he and his team wrote future episodes concurrently with the shooting of episodes. That way, no one could know what was going to happen next. ‘That to me is an extremely challenging way of working and the reason –​apart from Lund’s fascinating character –​why I stay on this project’, Gråbøl explained to the British newspaper Independent. And she adds: If we had got the 10 episodes [of the second season] in a nice pile on my table and I had read them all through, I think it would be very hard not to fix where I’m going… I’d settle on the decision, and it would be harder to move away from that. This way of working, of allowing the story to move freely, helps everyone else. The level of creative atmosphere on The Killing was very high.40

The practice of simultaneously shooting and writing, it should be added, was possible because the writers were present on the set to let the production phase influence the way in which they constructed future storylines, the characters and sudden events. Even if the original idea to develop a mystical crime drama was not exactly enthusiastically perceived by Ingolf 113

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Gabold (replaced by Piv Bernth in 2012)  and other DR representatives, they could eventually be convinced. To this end, Sveistrup had to demonstrate that in his close-​knit fictional world everything is connected, as Redvall explains: […] Sveistrup used the chaos theory metaphor of the butterfly effect where the flapping of butterfly wings in one place can set off a snowstorm somewhere else […] DR producer Sven Clausen has described the series as based on ‘a theory of interdependence’ and has stressed how Danish crime series should be perceived as ‘a mirror on reality’ with The Killing as a good example of how one incident has an impact on many different layers of people in society from a whole school to the career of one politician.41

What the producers at DR understood very well was that Sveistrup’s concept was perfect to apply the ideas laid out by the 15 dogmas for television –​ including their demand for the double story and the one-​vision concept. The double story in particular was possible by linking the crime investigation to the exploration of other themes, including the integrity of politics, drug abuse, juggling work and family life, grief and loneliness. In the case of Forbrydelsen, every episode is written in four stages.42 Before the final version is submitted to production this has already been subject to three feedback loops. The overall time frame for each episode, then, was around eight weeks or less. Sveistrup took two to three weeks to produce chapter outlines with an individual episode writer, who was then to complete then first draft in a fortnight. Based on the comments by Sveistrup and producer Piv Bernth, a revised second draft was produced within another week. Ensuing notes and critique were then used to write up a third draft within another week before this was used for a reading with the respective actors. Their suggestions were then picked up by Sveistrup who wrote a final version within a couple of days. The gradual increase of stress and subsequent conflicts resulting from tight deadlines and the simultaneity of shooting and writing was not entirely unproblematic. At the time of Forbrydelsen’s final season, there was an danger of the production falling apart owing to too tight schedules that required many last-​minute rescue actions.43 Yet, despite the odd negative 114

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experience, ‘[…] writing during production is generally regarded as an asset [by DR], since it allows for the production to influence the text’, as Redvall points out.44 The production and postproduction time for an episode, according to Piv Bernth, was around fourteen weeks:  three weeks shooting on the set, six weeks of editing, four weeks for the sound design and a week for colour-​grading.45 Yet, given DR’s practice of producing in blocs of two to three episodes simultaneously and by way of overlapping preproduction, production and postproduction processes, the overall production time was less than the sum of its parts. Apart from narrative and dramaturgical structures as well as complex characters, Forbrydelsen established a look that today stands for Danish drama. As such, it was important in creating or at least cementing the look of Nordic Noir. As Andrew Anthony sums up the stylistic patterns that have been kept more or less consistent throughout the drama’s seasons: ‘almost every scene is once more shot the sort of spectral darkness that will have newcomers vainly reaching for the brightness control.’46 So as to create its dark gloom of a misty Scandinavian November and desolate noirish cityscape, the production team used design manuals for most locations in addition to the more general production manual. The colour scheme, photographs and short textual descriptions describe the setting of Forbrydelsen as rather cold, drab and bleak to create a sense of claustrophobia and imminent danger.

Killings in Copenhagen: Hard Rain, Empty Streets and Dark Basements Traditionally, as Anne Marit Waade reminds us, Danish crime dramas are set in rural landscapes and provincial towns –​like in Strisser på Samsø (A Cop on Samsø, 1997, 1998) and some episodes of Rejseholdet (2000) –​rather than big cities.47 The Killing, however, needs cosmopolitan Copenhagen to link specific crimes to politics and themes relevant to wider society. Yet some scenes, even if set in the Danish capital, still look empty and forlorn –​particularly at night. Owing to her investigations after school hours, for instance, Sarah Lund is continuously investigating in a deserted old school building 115

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at night in season one. She, and her audience for that matter, see little more than what is visible in the cone of light coming from her torch. Very often, framing, camera-​movement, elements of mise-​en-​scène and the music create stark contrasts. Repeatedly, what is depicted does not fit the mood or vice versa, creating a sense of unease and mystery. This, for example, means that when the pictures show a potentially pleasant, upbeat scene, the music (composed by Frans Bak) by comparison sounds out of place. Just to illustrate this, in the first episode of season 3 there is a little girl running in a forest. The scene would be very innocent if it were not for the disturbing dark music. ‘There must be a resistance somewhere’, as Piv Bernth comments on this approach to use elements that seem to go against each other.48 In this way DR seeks to create an interest instead of boring the audience with everything following on from conventions. Warmly-​lit close ups, medium and two-​shots with a shallow focus to evoke empathy in cosy, middle-​class Danish homes, for instance, are followed by long shots of a cold and seemingly forlorn Copenhagen cityscape. The overall colour-​scheme in such pictures is monochromatic. They are relatively long freeze-​frame-​like aerial images of the rooftops of the Danish capital. These shots are more than lacklustre views of parts of the city. Much like classical dissolves or fade-​outs they often mark a change of place. Their function, however, exceeds a narrative function as separating elements. Beyond the diegesis of the serial, they serve as dilatory moments, giving the audience time to reflect upon what has happened. In stark contrast to the official marketing of Copenhagen as a lively, young and creative city with a plethora of history and a very high quality of life, the Danish capital in the television drama looks somewhat stark. As journalist Stuart Jeffries writes: ‘Copenhagen’s wonderfulness has been airbrushed from The Killing […] The directors ignored its royal palaces, lovely parks and elegant 17th-​century terraces, instead favouring damp motorways glistening under street lights, a 21st-​century cityscape brooding beneath leaden skies.’ And he suggests that this is indeed one of the reasons why British –​or perhaps even northern European audiences –​could relate to the setting as the people there ‘[…] feel at home in its rain-​soaked north European heart. This Copenhagen looks like Birmingham, Manchester or Newcastle at their bleakest. And spoken Danish sounds sometimes like 116

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Scouse-​Glaswegian mashup.’49 And his colleague at the Guardian, Sam Wollaston, suggests about Forbrydelsen’s setting: ‘The sun never shines in Denmark –​especially not in November. So it’s very dark outside, and even darker in dark cellars […] Oh, and it rains a lot, too.’50 This setting, very effectively, is seconded by Bak’s suggestive and eerie music and a cinematography that couldn’t be more different from the candy-​coloured upbeat style of much of daytime television. Talking about the dark look, cinematographer Bo Tengberg noted that the German co-​ producer was at first was very pessimistic about it: I would say though that in Forbrydelsen there is a certain look that was kind of new for a television series. We had a lot of trouble especially with the Germans, with ZDF, about the pictures being too dark. ZDF doesn’t like dark pictures so they were worried about how we shot the whole series, but luckily we had very strong producers who were much involved into aesthetics and insisted on [the fact] that this is the look we wanted. It has to be dark and sometimes it’s okay not to see anything.51

Whereas the first season relied heavily on in-​door locations (including the recurring private homes of Sarah Lund, the Birk Larson family, the police headquarters, Nanna’s school and the city hall), a change took place with season 3. More and more, the drama used on-​location filming to capture post-​industrial landscapes of derelict production sites. While the attention was still on the leading protagonists, the exterior locations became an important part of the double story as the sites were used to depict the atmosphere after the financial and banking crisis, showing, or at least hinting at, the fragility of our Western economic model. Forbrydelsen was not only a heartbreaker that took the audience by surprise and created strong identification, it was also what Gråbøl sees as a kind of ‘cultural opening’. By inviting viewers into ordinary homes and houses from Copenhagen, the drama created an interest in the Danish way of life, its language, family models, furniture, culture, and so on.52 Interestingly, as she adds, the global appeal had very specific roots: ‘Imagine that something so local that it is indeed very local, very much Copenhagen in fact, suddenly could have relevance for people in other countries’.53 In the age of globalisation, cultural specificity, indeed, seems to be a means of product 117

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Image 3.1  (parts a–​d) Forbrydelsen’s Nordic Noir production design: ‘It has to be dark and sometimes it’s okay not to see anything’ (DR 2007–12)

differentiation; ‘local is global’ as DR producer Karoline Leth put it at a seminar on why Danish drama travels so well.54 Trying to find an answer to the question of why the bleak image of Copenhagen has become so enticing to foreign audiences in particular, Gunhild Agger suggest that it is a combination of two things. Forbrydelsen, firstly, manages to exhibit ‘[…] the topography of the city in new ways by turning “sites” into “sights” […], by putting traditional and modern 118

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locations into a contemporary moral and visual perspective.’55 The show, secondly, transports an ‘[…] image of Copenhagen [that] is exposed in a way that is universally understood because it makes use of visual codes that are commonly shared by domestic and international audiences.’56 While many actual locations are constantly being used (Lund’s apartment is located in the dapper Østerbro district at the corner of Vardegade and Middelfartgade, the police headquarters is right next to the main train station and the iconic Tivoli Gardens), most of the previously mentioned aerial shots could be very much anywhere, as could be the sites where the victims are found. A prerequisite for Forbrydelsen’s appeal, as Agger argues, was the combination of locally specific locations and their symbolic use.57 A prevailing element of setting are depictions of buildings as labyrinths, showing the façade as well as individual rooms but not how to get in and out. Examples include the police headquarters, the city hall, the parliament building and Copenhagen general hospital: Rigshospitalet. Yet, the latter can also be understood as an intertextual reference to Lars von Trier’s television show Riget, linking Sarah Lund’s investigation to this Twin​ Peaks-​inspired mini series. Even so, there is another aspect to designing Danish television drama. The interior locations, in particular, have a very definite middle-​class appeal when shown outside Denmark. Their minimalism, timelessness and functionality seem attractive to those interested in iconic modern Scandinavian design, people who recognise –​amidst all the other gloom of Nordic Noir –​ the odd object of desire by Arne Jacobsen, Nanna Ditzel, Verner Panton, Borge Mogensen or Poul Henningsen. Particularly across the North Sea, as Leslie Jackson states as early as 2003, ‘Over the last ten years there has been growing interest in Danish post-​war design in Britain.’58 Because of a deliberate change of casts and credits, coming back to the way Forbrydelsen was made, DR managed to achieve not only a change at various levels, including style, performance and representation, among seasons but episodes that could also differ. Most of the cast and credits were not in-​house staff; they were employed as freelancers brought in for a number of episodes only. Exceptions are, according to Bernth, only the line producer, a scripter, a grip and the head of post-​production.59 Habitually different crews were working concurrently in different locations. The production design manuals as well as the one-​vision concept ensured that the 119

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differences cold not become too drastic, but they were significant enough to allow for creative renewal. Having a limited number of people working consistently for Forbrydelsen kept the series from becoming predictable and effete. Following the production phases, teams also watch different episodes to learn form them. As Tengberg explained it: When you shoot a TV series for two years, you keep improving it. I don’t think that that would happen if the same creative staff would exclusively work on it with the same director and photographer. That could have some other advantages but bringing in a new crew, would probably always improve the product.60

It seems fair to conclude from this chapter that DR –​among other players in the Danish film and television field has an ideal to keep on moving and improving the dramas so as to strengthen the appeal of public service broadcasting. The creative process behind Forbrydelsen had an influence on the creative outcome of the show that further influenced the overwhelming reception and acknowledgement of this Danish drama. Not only did it represent a success in itself, it also helped future in-house drama shows to come. According to Piv Bernth, Forbrydelsen was without a doubt a show that directly paved the way for Broen.61

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4 Crime across Borders: Broen (The Bridge)

Plenty of parallels can be seen, and connections pointed out, between Forbrydelsen and its follow-​up crime drama Broen (The Bridge, 2011–​). Broen, in fact, was able to follow the legacy of Sarah Lund by taking up many of Forbrydelsen’s characteristics both on and off the screen. Yet, while it uses previous Nordic Noir dramas as suitable blueprints, it also moves beyond their successful formulas. Above all, this meant that Broen was not conceptualised and produced in Copenhagen alone but also across in Malmö as a Danish–Swedish co-​production; in Sweden it was shown as Bron. The cross-​cultural encounter has not only impacted on the way it was produced but also its narrative. The latter, as a case in point, heavily relies on cultural differences between the two Scandinavian countries, not least via the leading protagonists. Broen, in its first two seasons, centres round two opposite characters, Saga Norén (played by Swedish Sofia Helin) and Martin Rohde (played by Danish Kim Bodnia). Martin, who ends up in jail at the end of season 2, is replaced by Henrik Sabroe (played by Danish actor Thure Lindhardt) in the third season. Rather than being born out of a deliberate initiative for transcultural understanding and collaboration, the partnership between Martin and Saga emanates from a brutal find. They have to work as a team when a body, or actually two dissected bodies put together as one, are found 121

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right in the middle of the Øresund Bridge (in Danish Øresundsbroen) linking Copenhagen and the South Swedish city of Malmö. Since half of the body was found on Danish soil and the other half in Sweden, the case falls under the responsibility of both countries’ police. Even if the drama is based on the interplay between the detectives from the two countries and their common destiny, Saga can be assumed to be the key character throughout all seasons. In many ways she can be compared to Sarah Lund in terms of social awkwardness as well as her determination and ability to solve crimes. Yet, compared to Lund, her social inabilities are certainly closer to neurological symptoms. When talking about Broen, the term ‘transnational’ seems useful to describe its making across countries, with different production companies and broadcasters involved. Transnationalism, according to sociologist Ulf Hannerz, is a term that is more useful than calling just about every process of relationship across borders global or international. Instead, he suggests that: The term ‘transnational’ is in a way more humble, and often a more adequate label for phenomena which can be of quite variable scale and distribution, even when they do share the characteristic of not being contained within a state. It also makes the point that many of the linkages in question are not ‘international’, in the strict sense of involving nations –​actually states –​ as corporate actors. In the transnational arena, the actors may be individuals, groups, movements, business enterprises, and in no small part it is this diversity of organization that we need to consider.1

Broen was produced by Denmark’s largest independent production company Nimbus Film and the Swedish company Filmlance International for DR and the Swedish public service broadcaster Sveriges Television (SVT). It was co-​produced by Norwegian public service broadcaster NRK and, again, by ZDF Enterprises, which, just like before with Ørnen and Forbrydelsen, was in charge of the international distribution. European co-​productions are not at all unusual for Nimbus, which often realises projects with numerous partners in order to secure funding. One of their latest film projects is the tongue-​in-​cheek family superhero adventure Ant 122

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Boy (Ask Hasselbalch, 2013) that was made in association with TV2 and SVT as well as with support by the Danish Film Institute, Film Fyn, the MEDIA Programme of the European Union and several other companies and institutions. Yet for DR this collaboration was certainly new territory. With previous co-​productions, they had always remained at the helm, but this time they outsourced an entire production to an international production team, leaving many of the creative decisions to others. Talking about the collaboration, the Swedish producer Anders Landström points towards such differences:  ‘Even though Denmark and Sweden are close, we’re quite different and also we have different ways of working’, adding that ‘in Sweden, we’re quite used to seeing Danish drama like The Killing, which has been very successful, but the Danes are not so used to watching Swedish drama, so they were a bit afraid before we started working together.’2 Yet, despite such initial reservations, the transnational nature of the envisaged drama also added an edge to the project as it also influenced its narrative, the characters and its look. With the decision in favour of the joint venture, DR has demonstrated that they are prepared to let go of their established scaffolded in-​house conditions for an interesting project. Broen meant something new. Outside DR and the production partners, the transnational production history was less of a concern. For most people Broen was awaited as the new Nordic Noir. As such, most international critics welcomed Broen as an worthy heir to Forbrydelsen. On the website of the German magazine Spiegel, Christian Buß asserts that ‘Broen is great epic television, it creates a sick parallel universe, a European territory of nightmare somewhere between Copenhagen and Malmö.’ He argues that the drama’s refined make-​up once again exposed the deficiencies of German public service television and it showed a bleak version of European integration through the assembled corpse consisting of two bodies ‘not quite the convergence politicians in Brussels wished for’.3 Both the Daily Telegraph and The Times in Britain assigned it four out of five stars.4 Writing for The Sunday Times, Benji Wilson furthermore suggests that Broen is not just another Scandinavian crime drama, but currently the best one available: Swedes write great crime thrillers, Danes make superb TV. In The Bridge, the two join forces […] You can probably count

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Beyond The Bridge the  barren hours since your last Scandi TV fix. Was it the soul-​crushing final few episodes of the Danish political drama Borgen? Or Those Who Kill, the epic crime drama cruelly secreted away on ITV3? Or were you one of the lucky few to have come late to The Killing, cancelling all engagements, gorging on a sub­titled box set and asking yourself: what did I do before the Scandinavians got really, really good at making television? Rest easy, the wait is over. This weekend, the crime thriller Bron/​Broen (The Bridge) arrived on BBC4 to a collective, near-​ frenzied “Tack/​Tak”, and it may well be the best of the lot.5

Not every review was so enthusiastic. In an opinionated review for the Independent, Grace Dent gives vent to her feeling that there is a level of pretentiousness surrounding the hype of subtitled Danish drama, in Britain at least: ‘Like me, you’ve possibly been cajoled by friends to watch BBC4’s Scandic crime series The Bridge. Like me, you’ve possibly chuntered inwardly, “oh chuffing hell, not another slow-​moving, allegedly cerebrally stimulating, subtitled gloomfest.” ’ She essentially takes issue with the drama being praised for its humour, its transcultural theme, its supposedly strong roles for women and what she finds to be a rather clichéd serial killer calling the press to explain his crimes. Or, as she puts it, sarcastically: ‘Brilliant, a whole cop-​series revolving around one of those dullards who devotes his free time leaving comments on internet news items […] I feel death may be preferable to watching any more of The Bridge.’6 While Dent raises some fair points about the stale jokes concerning Martin’s vasectomy, the portrayal of national differences as stereotypes and the conception of the master villain, her verdict seems a bit harsh. Even within her own newsroom, not everyone was prepared to follow her. On the occasion of Broen’s third season, Amy Burns in the Independent thus comes to a very different conclusion: ‘Everything about this slick production was excellent. From the solemn filming to the clever sound techniques […] The characters are utterly believable and, while there were numerous plots, subplots and tangents […], it never strayed so far as to lose the viewer in its rabbit warren of criminals, victims and law enforcers –​and those who blurred the lines between all three.’7 Whatever one’s opinion, Broen like other DR dramas before was closely observed by cultural critics beyond Denmark and Scandinavia. 124

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Originally, the first ten episodes of Broen were broadcast by SVT in Sweden once a week on Wednesdays at 9 pm from 21 September 2011. DR began screening the season a week later at 8 pm. By offering episode 9 and 10 as a double bill, both final episodes were screened simultaneously in Sweden and Denmark on 23 November 2011 at 9 pm. Season two and three were then broadcast simultaneously from the start at the Sunday 8 pm time-slot in autumn 2013 (22 September –​24 November) and 2015 (27 September –​29 November). With about a million viewers in both Sweden and Denmark,8 the first season of the crime drama lagged a little behind other DR serials. In Sweden at least, the rating improved gradually with 1.6 million watching the final episode.9 Despite the modest success at home, the drama did remarkably well abroad. As of February 2014, it had been sold to 174 different countries, which means that about two-​thirds of the world population could have watched it.10 With the show, the Guardian in Britain continued with its online blogs and episode guides, testifying to an online demand for this form of interaction among fans and followers. Two remakes, what is more, have already been made: one set on the Mexican–US border (The Killing, FX 2013–​14) and another at the Channel Tunnel between France and Britain (The Tunnel, Sky Atlantic/​Canal+ 2013–​). Besides the US version of Forbrydelsen, remakes are quite unusual for Danish television and further highlight the popularity and recognition of its contemporary drama. The first season revolves around the police hunt for the ‘true terrorist’, a serial killer who claims to commit crimes to draw attention to problems in society. When a female murder victim is found midway across the Øresund Bridge, the Swedish and Danish police join forces. Saga Norén and Martin Rohde lead the investigation. The corpse, as is soon revealed, actually consists of two different bodies that have been dissected at the waist. The first two victims of the ‘true terrorist’: half of a Danish prostitute and of a Swedish female politician, neatly arranged together. The villain, who not only seems very resourceful but also well-​connected within the police force, soon passes information on to the unscrupulous journalist Daniel Ferbé (Christian Hillborg), explaining his abhorrent crimes. His victims are all in one way or another related to social problems and society’s hypocrisy towards them, including domestic violence, prostitution, child abuse, exorbitant rents, homelessness and pollution. 125

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There are two other main narrative stands besides the on-​going investigation, one dealing with Saga and Martin as well as their private lives and another that helps the audience to get acquainted with –​and emotionally attached to –​the future victims of the killer. Just as in other Danish television dramas, this three-​storyline structure allows for a very detailed focus on different characters and their transformation. The contrasting characterisation of the two leading roles adds a valuable dimension to the storyline. Martin is a very outgoing character, with an 18-​year-​old son August (Emil Birk Hartmann) from a previous marriage. He is now living with his new wife Mette (Puk Scharbau) in a rather large family home. Even though they have three children and have decided against having more, Mette is pregnant with twins. In stark contrast, Saga lives alone in a small functional flat in Malmö. She focuses on her work and has problems maintaining social relations with other people. Instead of long-​term relationships, she has occasional sexual encounters with strangers. Her insistence on always telling the truth and the impossibility of reading her by her facial expressions suggest that she has some mild form of autism. Her neurological condition helps her to deal with the suicide of her sister, for which she blames by proxy their mother’s Munchausen syndrome. The mother, according to her, has harmed her children in order to get attention. At work, some colleagues including her boss Hans Petterson (Dag Malmberg) appreciate her dedication and sharp intellect, whilst others resent her insensitive nature, which they misinterpret as rudeness or narcissism. When Saga and Martin discover that their different characters do not clash but rather complement their own abilities, they become a good team. As their investigation continues, they finally close in on the ‘true terrorist’, who happens to be Sebastian Sandstrod, a former colleague and friend of Martin, who has assumed a new identity as Jens Hansen. Sebastian/​Jens, as they find out in a dramatic finale, was not so much motivated by what goes wrong in society but rather the tragic loss of his wife and child. Because he never forgave Martin for having an affair with his late wife, he now threatens Martin’s family by having his son August abducted in order to kill him. Only because Saga tells the lie that she has discovered August alive does he refrain from killing Sebastian/​Jens on the Øresund bridge. The second season is set thirteen months after the dramatic standoff. A tanker goes off course and is only just prevented from crashing into the 126

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Øresund Bridge. An investigation reveals that the entire crew has gone missing, and that a group of Danish and Swedish teenagers, all murdered, are found on board. Although Martin is still traumatised by the loss of his son, he investigates the case with Saga. He first tries to improve his state of mind by visiting his son’s murderer in prison. Working together again, Saga and Martin soon learn that someone is killing people to draw the public’s attention to the world’s ecological problems. Coincidentally, Copenhagen is hosting an important EU summit on climate change, organised by Caroline Brandstrup-​Julin (Lotte Munk). Following the murder of a keynote speaker at the conference, the police toughen security measures. Meanwhile, in their attempt to hunt down the ‘eco terrorists’, Saga and Martin eventually discover that the case is linked to the pharmaceutical company Medisonus. The company is owned by Viktoria Nordgren (Tova Magnusson), who is terminally ill. She was invited by Caroline to stand in as keynote speaker at the EU conference. When Victoria’s brother Oliver (Sven Ahlström) admits that he is behind the ploys of the eco-​terrorist and tries to murder her, it is he who is killed in self-​defence by his wife Gertrud Kofoed (Camilla Bendix), who seemingly came to the rescue. Not entirely convinced that Oliver Nordgren was behind the killings –​ at least not all by himself –​Saga discovers evidence that he had helpers. New findings suggest that it was Gertrud who has developed a deadly virus to kill the participants at the EU conference. As part of a hectic rescue action, they try to evacuate the conference building. Pernille, one of Martin’s close colleagues, kills herself under tragic circumstances after catching the deadly virus. Gertrud, too, is killed. She dies at the hand of an anonymous stranger because her plan has ultimately failed. The identity of the person behind the master plan is kept a secret. The dramatic events that bring their criminal case to an end are overshadowed by what happens to Martin: following Mette’s confession that she no longer loves him, his old trauma returns. While Jens is assumed to have committed suicide in prison, it is, tragically, Saga who discovers evidence for Martin being his killer. The third season is more complex than the first two. It begins when the body of a Danish LGBT rights activist, Helle Anker, is found dead in Malmö. The corpse is presented by the killer as part of an uncanny tableau vivant of a family portrait: A grotesque smiling clown expression has 127

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been painted on her face and she appears among mannequins to evoke a traditional nuclear family. The murder thus seems to be linked to Anker’s political and social work, since she was a prominent face in public debates on gender roles and the founder of a fertility clinic and a gender-​neutral pre-​school. Not least because of the political implications of this case, Saga is initially assigned to work with Danish Hanne Thomsen (Kirsten Olesen), because Martin has been sentenced to ten years in prison for killing Jens. Following Hanne’s injury during the investigation, Saga is asked to work with yet another new Danish colleague, Henrik Sabroe (Thure Lindhardt). Despite their very different characters, they seem to get on well, particularly because Henrik understands how to deal with Saga’s difficulties in social interaction and her limited empathy with her surroundings. A first lead in the investigation suggests that an online video blogger, the right-​wing lawyer Lise Friise Andersen (Sonja Richter) could be behind the murder, as she repeatedly attacked Helle Anker’s work and ideas. Her husband, moreover, owns the site where the corpse was found. What follows is a series of killings of people referred to in the blog, the victims’ bodies all draped unnaturally. It is the gallery art expert Emil Larsson (Adam Pålsson) who suggests that all victims have been carefully arranged so as to look like artworks from the collection of millionaire Freddie Holst (Nicolas Bro). Saga and Henrik get closer during the investigation, showing signs of affection towards one another. Their close relationship is put to the test the moment the case suddenly becomes personal, when Saga’s boss Hans Petterson (Dag Malmberg) is abducted and dies. Having lost her protégé at work makes life more difficult for Saga, as do her estranged mother’s claims that it was her inability to show emotions that drove her sister to kill herself. When her mother Marie-​Louise (Ann Petrén) is found dead, Saga suddenly becomes the suspect and is suspended. It is when things get out of hand that she is allowed back and manages to establish that Emil Larsson is Freddie Holst’s son. He has been behind all the killings. Yet things are not over with the main case solved. Saga has to rescue Henrik, who tries to kill himself after he learned that his wife, who disappeared six years ago, has been found dead. Helping Saga, in turn, not to commit suicide herself at the train tracks where her sister killed herself, they both fall into each others arms and start looking for Henrik’s missing daughters. 128

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Complex Narratives and a Production Process across the Bridge The overall narrative structure is very similar to Forbrydelsen and other DR dramas, consisting mainly of three narrative strands circling around the investigation, the relationship of the leading investigators within their family and friends as well as some of the future murder victims. The plot points are very much event or character driven, feeling more conventional than some of the other Danish dramas. Some of the themes that are introduced through central characters are illness, generational conflicts, maladjusted youths, bureaucracy, legal inequality, drug addiction, domestic violence and divorce. The double stories, which are introduced throughout all seasons in connection with the killer’s motivation, one has to say, feel rather more artificial than in the other dramas discussed here. And even though Broen largely avoids being patronising, most of the social and political problems such as prostitution, drug abuse and homelessness are not discussed in depth from a variety of angles. They, moreover, feel not as closely connected to the criminal investigation and remain somehow sidelined. Given that Broen was produced as a private–public service joint venture with an eye to global sales, it was arguably more difficult to combine popular international appeal with more complex motifs. The production, as the head of DR Fiction Nadia Kløvedal Reich suggests, had difficulties to adhere to DR’s public service principles of production: [Initially,] we are submerged in the lives of the homeless and, in fact, in a ‘psychiatric story’. In that sense the social-​ethical layer is more concrete and not an abstraction in a politically described universe as in for instance Borgen or the power games of Forbrydelsen. This is something Broen manages to do. Then of course you can discuss the way the murder is resolved because don’t we lose sight of a lot of those narrative threads that are initially laid out because they are not ultimately weaved together?11

The main protagonists’ personal entanglements with the motives of the criminals, moreover, are sometimes hard to fathom. When the audience finds out that the serial killer of the first season commits his crimes because Martin has slept with his wife, this is rather improbable. The vices 129

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and hypocrisies of society the killer uses as a vindication for his gruesome crimes suddenly appear as no more than red herrings; the real reason behind his actions is revenge. Despite such shortcomings, the drama takes a lot of time developing its characters –​yet there are fewer emotional moments allowing the audience to sympathise with the protagonists or experience the tragedy of the killings with great empathy. In this respect it is colder than any of the other series by DR. What Broen uses more distinctly, however, is overlapping story arcs and loose ends from one season to another. This means that by the time of season 3 the overall complexity is somewhat greater than in Forbrydelsen or even Borgen. Having followed the serial closely from its beginning, Sam Wollaston of the Guardian acknowledges this but ultimately sees the must-​ see potential of the drama: It’s complicated, as any set-​up –​especially one as intricate and multi-​stranded as The Bridge –​is. There are threads to be spun, traps to be set, dark alleys to go down. By the end of the first episode [of season  3] though, you’re caught in the web. Then after the second –​with a kidnapping, another murder, another smiley –​ The Bridge starts to consume you. You’ll be brooding over it, worrying, at night, during your own insomnia.12

Holding the complex structure together, as it were, is Broen’s creator, the Swedish head writer Hans Rosenfeldt and his team of co-​writers: Nikolaj Scherfig, Camilla Ahlgren, Erik Ahrnbom and Astrid Øye. The so-​called conceptual director is Henrik Gregerson, while others, like the Danish director (and former head of DR Drama) Rumle Hammerich, have also directed some of the episodes. Whether the open narrative ends are going to become a problem or not remains to be seen. With a new season underway, the partners in this transcultural joint-​venture have decided against DR’s principle that there should be an end even to the best of dramas after three seasons. Nimbus Film and Filmlance International of course have an economic self-​interest in the series running as long as possible. There is a danger that this will of course have a detrimental effect on Broen as the story might fizzle out in the future. The crime drama was shown with subtitles not only abroad –​where it could ride on the wave of success that both Forbrydelsen and Borgen have 130

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created as foreign-​language drama –​but also in Denmark, since half the dialogue is in Swedish. Even if the two languages are very similar, there are notable differences. The linguistic variance adds another transnational layer to the narrative and the characterisation. When Martin is introducing himself to Saga’s colleagues in Malmö, he himself jokes about the pronunciation of the soft ‘d’ in his last name, this already separates Danes from Swedes. Martin, as most Danes, is meant to appear as laid-​back, capable of self-​mockery, and gregarious, whilst the Swedes in general and Saga in particular are portrayed as being somehow stricter, more serious, hierarchical and taciturn. Such diegetic differences, to a certain degree at least, represent the production across the bridge. Even if Landström stresses that the cultural and national differences are purely coincidental, owing to the way the leading characters were drafted, he nevertheless admits that there are people that see Saga and Martin as a metonymy for their respective countries:  ‘Sometimes people think it resembles how Danes and Swedes are –​Swedes are [seen as] not so interested in people, and Swedes think Danes are laid-​back and easy-​going characters.’13 Talking to screen writer Nikolaj Scherfig, he emphasised that Saga and Martin were initially moulded after ‘the way Swedish people look at Danes with stereotypical points of views: Danes are goofy, happy fools, a little clumsy and a little lazy’.14 Being fully aware that this does of course not give a true picture of the Danish national character, he continues ‘there’s some truth and some errors in this; and we played with that’. As a result of this, Martin was drafted as a clumsy but friendly Danish family man and Saga as a rule-​addicted Swedish woman. The conflict that is laid out here forms a very basic dramaturgical device throughout the serial. Yet, what seems to be like a clear juxtaposition of opposites was often made more mixed-​up and complex: ‘I like the fact that there’s some “doubleness” to a story, it cannot be black and white, you have to play with it,’ as Scherfig stresses. In order to refrain from making the characters stand for concepts or national stereotypes and in order to make them believable, real people had to act as role models for them. In the case of Martin and Saga, the team, according to Scherfig, drew inspiration from Swedish key writer Hans Rosenfeldt, presented in Saga, and a lot from himself in Martin. Scherfig was going through a divorce at the time and has children from previous relationships, ‘So I did put a lot of my personal life into the Martin Rohde character’, 131

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he admits. Scherfig believes in this method of writing from own experience, with a personal angle, because it adds authenticity and interesting nuances to otherwise rather abstract dramaturgical considerations. ‘You always have to have a personal agenda to what you have to tell’, he explains, and ‘It’s a good tradition not to be afraid to put something of you in the story’. He finds that the strength of the writing process for Broen was that coming from a very good concept, the characters and action were developed through debates about personal experiences and those taking place in Danish and Swedish society at the time. Just as the diegetic investigation takes the police back and forth from Denmark to Sweden, the production team was also working on both sides of the border. They, too, were assigned colleagues from the other country. The extent of cooperation can thereby be seen from the cast and credits that list numerous established Danish and Swedish film/​TV-​makers and actors. In order to hold this trans-​Scandinavian production team together, a very clear structure was needed to decide upon responsibilities. Notwithstanding the fact that Broen was not produced at DR in-​house, the team behind it have embraced the broadcaster’s dogmas for television as a successful framework. Rosenfeldt as show-runner had the final say with regard to all creative decisions according to the one-​vision rule. The storylines are linked to double stories and by employing experienced filmmakers the production aimed for a cinematic touch. Another way of engaging the audience is through natural stories. In season 1, episode 1, Saga tells Martin and his wife Mette when she is at their house for the very first time that the food was not tasty at all. The natural story of an informal invitation for dinner is twisted owing to what the scriptwriters refer to as a ‘scandalous plot’ and what essentially is an unexpected and sudden turn of events. Nikolaj Scherfig, one of the leading writers of the production team, has used them on numerous occasions. He learnt to use natural stories when he attended classes under Mogens Rukov at the National Film School of Denmark. Rukov worked there from 1975 onwards and was related to the School in one way or another until his death on 18 December 2015. In the newspapers the obituaries named him the father of rulemaking and natural stories in Danish films and claimed that he contributed to the success of Danish screenwriters. Scherfig himself is an interesting example of how the egalitarian Danish labour market with 132

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its flexicurity work model15 and crossover actually enable film and television professionals to work for a number of different projects over time. Among other things, he wrote the film Ørnens Øje (Eye of the Eagle, 1997) and began his career working for television as an episode writer for DR’s Taxa, alongside Søren Sveistrup, and Rejseholdet. To further point out the dramaturgical dynamic in the poor-​tasting dinner scene, the audience first finds a situation in which the family is gathered around the cosy dinner table in the home of the Rohde family. Saga is introduced as Martin’s new partner at work and Mette invites her to a home-​made dish of so-​called ‘brændende kærlighed’ –​a Danish meal called ‘burning love’. Martin tries to make Saga feel comfortable by telling her the names of the family members and by introducing the dish in Swedish, too. Around the table the viewers, and this is central to the natural story, initially experience a nice informal atmosphere they might well have encountered many times over. After having eaten, Martin offers Saga the recipe; she curtly declines. Breaking social conventions even more, she not only takes no interest in the dish but actually expresses her displeasure with its taste. This example illustrates how seemingly ordinary scenes swiftly develop a noticeable dynamic. A precondition, of course, are well-​written dialogues and well-​timed performances that are part of the attraction of Broen.

The Bridge as Location and Symbol Although Broen is structured around Saga Norén and her fellow Danish police detective, it was named after a metal construction. And the impressive Øresund Bridge is not only a symbol of a transcultural collaboration on and off the screen, it actually is a key location throughout all seasons. As Pia Majbritt Jensen and Anne Marit Waade put it: ‘The Bridge of Øresund […] is the main crime scene as well as the main location and concept of the series’ story and premise. The Bridge also incorporates a meta-​generic element, in which the bridge both refers to Swedish–Danish co-​production and emphasises narrative and stylistic elements […].’16 Repeatedly, the bridge is filmed in typical Nordic Noir style from a bird’s point of view in the icy Baltic Sea wind highly reminiscent of the aerial wide shots of Copenhagen in Forbrydelsen. There are also shots taken at night, showing the lights of the bridge in the darkness. In this way, the title sequence 133

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Image 4.1  Broen: A transnational crossing as gloomy television location: the Øresund Bridge (DR/SVT 2011–)

already establishes the overall mood for the serial. Different images of the bridge are accompanied by The Choir of Young Believers’ melancholic song ‘Hollow Talk’, linking the building to a mysterious, uncanny feeling of unease. This atmosphere created through the long shots of the bridge and the title music is carried over into the other scenes that depict the usual gloom through shadows, fog, twilight and rain. Yet, there are also the appealing scenes of Scandinavian interior design, especially in the scenes showing Martin’s fashionable family home and, in season 3, the dwellings of the artist Freddie. Even in Saga’s small flat, some critics have spotted features that caught their eye. When Guardian journalist Vicky Frost had seen just the first two episodes, she added a thought on this by calling it: ‘Scandi-​interiors-​porn: lovely lamps in Saga’s flat. And a whole house I’m coveting over at the Rhode residence.’17 While the bridge might primarily function as a landmark to locate the series as coming from Scandinavia, it carries a deeper meaning. The Øresund Bridge was completed in 2000 by the Danish engineering company Rambøll. At the website for the bridge it is stated that: The opening of the Øresund Bridge in 2000 has led to more than just one link between Denmark and Sweden. For many residents of the region their daily lives have changed. An

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Crime across Borders: Broen (The Bridge) example is that now many commuters live in Sweden but work in Denmark. Overall, the cultural and economic cooperation between the two countries has been strengthened, which has been an important prerequisite for the development of the Øresund region’s competitiveness towards other regions in Europe.18

The bridge or the overall connection is owned and daily operated by the so-​called Øresundskonsortium, of which the Danish and Swedish governments each own 50 per cent. Despite this shared ownership and the positive effects the bridge has brought about, the construction has also cemented a rather different connotation of late, namely that transnational connections are also pathways of potential challenges. As such, they demonstrate the interconnectedness of a globalised world in which one region’s problems can be felt across borders. As a response to mainly Syrian refugees coming to Sweden through the open border between Denmark and Sweden in Autumn 2015, the Swedish government reintroduced strict border controls. This has certainly put a strain to the otherwise quite friendly relationship between the two countries. As the transnational production of Broen is inscribed into its narratives and aesthetics metaphorically by analogy, the bridge is a powerful device to talk about many prevailing themes ranging from international crime and pollution to more general topics that have to do with regular border crossings such as displacement, claustrophobia, assimilation processes, imagined homelands, and an actual or imagined loss of identity. In this way, the television drama shows parallels to the themes and tropes that Hamid Naficy has identified in diasporic cinemas.19 On the other hand, the bridge also serves as a potent symbol for the free movement of citizens and workers as an achievement of European integration. The EU guarantees all its citizens the right to look for a job in another EU country, to work there without a permit and to reside there. The Malmö–Copenhagen region thus also stands for a model region of a united Europe. In the Danish context bridges are also seen as an important symbol by the state, linking the mainland and many of its islands. As such, bridges, such as the Great Belt Bridge (Storebæltsbroen) are shown on its currency, as on the 1000 Danish Kroner banknote. As many bridges are expensive to 135

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plan, to build and to operate, they are however also part of on-​going discussions about who should be paying for them –​whether this is a state duty or could be privatised. The major bridges and tunnels in Scandinavia are thus linked to discussions on capitalism versus a social market economy, the welfare state and neoliberal economic models. It is precisely the mixing and matching of the criminal investigation with the personal story of overcoming a trauma as well as contemporary issues about Scandinavian society and identity, including the welfare state. Nikolaj Scherfig underlines the importance of discussing issues linked to the welfare model when writing for public service television: ‘We have this welfare society in Scandinavia, society takes care of you, if you lose your job etc. We were inspired by anger about our so-​called perfect society [when writing Broen].’ Yet he also warns about the danger of this double-​story approach easily appearing to be patronising: ‘Don’t tell the story in a moralistic way –​that can be a danger. You have to do it a dialectic […] way’.20 Bridges in a Danish context have also been seen as manifestations of progress and modernity. The author Emil Bønnelycke, for example, praised the buildings of modernity in 1918: ‘I love lots of signal masts, bridges, viaducts, railway station halls, tunnels’.21 Yet, he was also aware of the duality and paradoxes of these as they could represent possibilities and constraints, eroticism and loneliness, differences between rich and poor, happiness and misery. Broen underlines that the freedom and progress that comes with the Øresund crossing is not without any strings attached. While commuters can live and work across countries, so can criminals. Beyond the actual Øresund bridge and its significance, bridges more generally as a means of crossing boundaries have assumed an important role within the fictional world of Broen. In Denmark, the figurative expressions ‘to bridge’ (‘at bygge bro’), and ‘to burn one’s bridges’ (‘at brænde alle broer bag sig’) seem to be relevant when interpreting Broen in general and the relationship between Saga and her new partner Henrik Sabroe as of season 3 in particular. Both characters try to avoid letting the losses they have experienced in the past influence their lives only to realise that the harder they try, the harder it gets. Henrik, in a very concrete way, sees the two daughters he lost sitting on his sofa as ghosts. Only when both of them accept and confront the past can they overcome their misery. In a drama that repeatedly uses names and symbol to convey messages, Henrik’s last 136

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name suggests that he can help Saga with this: Sabroe contains the word ‘bro’ (bridge) in it. Henrik Sabroe, indeed, becomes increasingly important as what one could call a ‘bridge-builder’ between Saga and her surroundings. Gradually he is the one who helps Saga to respond to social situations in an appropriate way. In the ninth episode of season 3, Saga and Henrik visit a character called Jeanette in hospital. When Saga initially causes the ill and distressed woman to collapse, revealing information about her boyfriend being dead, it is Henrik who shows her how to offer someone great sympathy at a time of loss. In such situations Henrik is established as a person who is able ‘to bridge’ and in this way help Saga not just as a working partner but also at a more personal level. Saga, in exchange, also helps him to confront the demons of his own past, i.e. the loss of his two children that keep reappearing on his sofa as ghosts. Saga and Henrik, as the third season suggests, are only able to move on when they together decide not to burn the bridges to their past.

Relating to a Transnational Drama? The Bridge and its Viewers at Home Among reviewers, Broen fared rather well. It largely met with excitement from season 1 to season 2. Representing other positive responses, Henrik Palle from the Danish newspaper Politiken describes the series as: ‘pretty amazing’, especially praising it for its transnational theme. ‘Primarily, The Bridge is surprising in a refreshing way’, he wrote on the occasion of the series’ premiere.22 This opinion seemed to last all the way to the end of season 2, when he still awarded it five out of six hearts and wrote:  ‘The Bridge II offered excitement and discouragement to the last’.23 In a similar way, Ekstra Bladet emphasised the fact that the narrative never fell in cadence: ‘The Bridge II held all the way’.24 The good reception in the press, however, did not translate into good ratings in Denmark. Broen, as already mentioned at the beginning of this chapter, was initially shown on Wednesday night. The scheduling thus went against DR’s preference of the Sunday eight o’clock time-​slot for new drama. This certainly impacted the show’s initial ratings, which were rather disappointing when compared to other Danish television drama.25 Yet, for a 137

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Wednesday night, the people responsible at DR were still satisfied with the roughly 650,000 viewers per episode during the first season.26 This, however, changed when the second season was moved to the preferable Sunday night time-​slot, but the viewing figures only improved slightly. The opening episode of season two was watched by 818,000 viewers.27 And things got worse. The final episode of season two was only seen by some 500,000 Danes, far less than DR’s Forbrydelsen or in fact Sommer, which had well over 1.8 million viewers. Trying to explain the limited audience reception, Piv Bernth notes that Broen is a Swedish–Danish co-​production to which people have difficulty relating to. The main writer is Swedish, most of the directors involved in the series are Swedish and so are many of its leading protagonists. At DR, according to Bernth, no one expected the series to be as large a success with Danish audiences as comparable programmes with an all-​Danish cast.28 When season 3 premiered on Sunday, 27 September 2015, it was seen by 839,000 viewers.29 The Danish newspaper Ekstra Bladet calls it ‘rock solid’ and stresses its gloomy aesthetic: ‘Once again we see the grey Nordic Noir varnish in an unusually consistent style and the craftsmanship is as always Spitzenklasse at all levels’.30 A review published by Brian Petersen in the film magazine Ekko was more restrained, noting that the ‘Third season desperately puts out false clues for another round of The Bridge, but there is too little to keep alive in the series that should have been stopped while the going was good’.31 Echoing the Piv Bernth’s notion about the importance of the Danish characters for Danish audiences, Petersen clearly voices his discontent with the absence of Martin (Kim Bodnia), arguing that it was the personal relationship between him and Saga that formed the series’ real point of interest. Although Saga’s new colleague Hanne is played by Kirsten Olesen, a Danish actress well known for her appearances in films and television from her role as Agnes in DR’s landmark 1978 series Matador to her acclaimed personification as Veronika Grønnegaard in Arvingerne, she leaves Broen after just one episode. It is only when the character of Henrik Sabroe is introduced that Danish audiences were given a face they might have seen in films before. Played by the young Danish actor Thure Lindhardt, Henrik redresses the male and female balance that has already characterised the first two seasons. When Henrik and Saga develop feelings for each other, this at least opens up new possibilities for future storylines 138

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and offer room for empathising with them. In her regular blog on Broen, Vicky Frost at least confesses that the relationship offers a new and strong gratification: All I want for Christmas is for Henrik not to turn out to be a bad apple […] Call me soppy, but it’s sweet when he worries that Saga, who is just off to the loo, is leaving. His continued sticking up for her to Linn, and to Kjell in that awk[ward] lift scene, is heartening. And the scene where Henrik finds a crumbling Saga in Hans’s recently vacated hospital bed –​‘you weren’t at your place, or at mine, or at work’ –​is heart-​breaking. He seems to really care for her, and it seems to also be helping him move on […].32

A Modern Single? The Saga Story Just as with Sarah Lund, part of the attraction of Broen is the often similar character of Saga Norén. Saga is presented as a hard-​working and clever Swedish police inspector. The name Saga Norén already alludes to many of her characteristics. Her first name refers to a saga, which, at a basic level, is a story about larger-​than-​life Nordic heroes, while Norén is not only a typical Swedish family name but also contains the lexemes Nordic (‘nord’ means ‘north’ in Danish, where the –​d is silent) and clean (the meaning of ‘ren’ in Danish and Swedish). Adhering very closely to rules and procedures, she not only manages her life but also excels at her job, taking on the worst of villains. Family and friends always come second. Her mild form of autism makes her vulnerable and strong at the same time. On the one hand, she represents a young, resourceful and independent woman with more than a few masculine traits; on the other, her inability to interact with others makes her vulnerable. The unwieldy role as well as the reiterated attempts to highlight her otherness, however, makes it difficult to sympathise with her, just as she cannot easily sympathise with others. As Frost, an otherwise very ardent follower of the drama, admits after the initial episodes of season 1: Am I prickly about Saga because she’s prickly, I wonder? I haven’t warmed to the Swedish policewoman, I must admit […] I wondered if the production team were too desperate to

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Saga is nevertheless an interesting character, as Frost admits after a few more episodes in her blog on Broen. Perhaps Saga –​along with characters such as Sarah but also Hallgrim Ørn Hallgrimsson and Signe Grønnegaard of Arvingerne –​exemplify contemporary variants of modern Nordic singles. Yet, whereas Sarah and Signe have prioritised their career over their families at one point or another, Hallgrim and Saga are both haunted by a traumatising experience and do not seem to have any plans for raising children or having family on their own. Their deliberately chosen living conditions thereby resonate with the growing number of single households; in 2015 there were almost 1.5 million single men and women in Denmark out of an overall population of some 5.7 million).34 Yet it is their trauma that particularly allows viewers to relate to them and empathise with them. Talking about Saga, the suicide of her sister Jennifer is key to an understanding of her character, even if the viewers do not know much about this from the start. This storytelling technique of ‘knowledge retention’ asks them to speculate and thus become involved in what might have happened. Using what David Bordwell, referring to Wolfgang Iser’s narrative theory, calls ‘gaps’35 thus subliminally helps the audience to establish a bond with Saga. The dynamic between Saga’s unwillingness to confront the demons of her past, with the audience trying desperately to establish what she might have experienced, is a powerful dramaturgic method. Increasingly, the image of Saga as powerful and strong becomes jaded and she develops a vulnerable and human side that sometimes interferes with her otherwise rational judgements. Without the densely emotional scenes that characterised Forbrydelsen, identification often works differently in Broen with its more schematic protagonists. Using the British television writer and producer Murray Smith’s model of interaction helps one to understand the different drama’s strategies in developing a relationship between on-​screen characters and 140

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audiences. Smith argues that in order to understand and interpret fictional narratives one has to go beyond the texts itself by relating them to one’s own experience and imagination.36 Smith divides the concept of identification into three elements ‘recognition’, ‘alignment’ and ‘allegiance’. Each concept describes one level of the narrative structure, which helps to explain why audiences care for a character.37 Whereas the characterisation in both Forbrydelsen and Broen are very similar with regard to alignment (which describes the amount of screen-​time a character is given) and ‘recognition’ (which determines if the audience experience a character’s actions and responses as plausible and consistent from one scene to another), they are quite different when it comes to ‘allegiance’. ‘Allegiance’, according to Smith, relates to the concept that is closest to the word identification. It established whether the fictional character’s intentions resonate those of the audience. A prerequisite for allegiance is that viewers believing that a character possesses a moral code of honour and desirable traits.38 And this is precisely where Saga’s neurological condition makes it more difficult to feel allegiance than with Sarah Lund’s character in Forbrydelsen. Only over the course of all three seasons does Saga reveal her ethical principles and establish a human side. Even if her character appears more difficult to identify with, the awkwardness that actress Sofia Helin and the team of writers assigned to Saga makes her stand out from more standard portrayals of televisual detectives. In this regard she exemplifies what Linda Aronson has identified as a practical formula: ‘Successful pieces of screenwriting […] are always credible but highly original, which means […] they are always “real but unusual”. […] This balance between real and unusual seems to be a key to success in everything from the initial idea through to things like structure, characterisation and dialogue.’39

A Friendly Family Man? The Martin Story Whereas Saga is representative of a single woman, Martin appears to be a family man who later goes through a separation  –​one of the prevailing themes of Danish and in fact Western society. Although he seems to be always relaxed, friendly and caring about his wife and children, he has a darker, self-​destructive side. This not only becomes visible through his 141

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short-​tempered reaction during the investigation but also through his extramarital affairs. Despite his good-​humoured nature, Martin has so far lived a rather chaotic life, with five children from three different relationships. His last name, Rohde, implies –​unlike Saga –​that he is living a messy life (‘rod’ means mess in Danish). He is split between private and professional duties and, unable to prioritise his roles as Saga does, ultimately fails in both roles. He is described as a father who is not very visible to his children and his wife, and as a police inspector who lets private matters influence his ability to make the right decisions at his job. It is often Saga, rather than the sterilised and seemingly vulnerable and clumsy Martin, who takes on the role as protector, particularly when he is not allowed to carry a gun when working in Sweden. When Martin and Saga interact, they constantly evoke a more general discussion on gender, singles and families by asking questions that almost all viewers will ask themselves at some stage of their lives. In the very first episode, season one of Broen, there is a symptomatic dialogue between them to illustrate this. Martin asks Saga: ‘Have you got any children?’ And she immediately answers: ‘No, why would I want to?’ Martin then says: ‘I have never heard anyone ask that question before.’ And she answers: ‘Many should have.’ Her answer makes Martin a bit contemplative and surprised. The dialogue is yet another example of how double stories are used to move beyond the criminal investigation and add wider relevance to the serial. As we will elaborate on in the following chapter on Borgen, the ‘real but unreal’ take on Danish politics and family life is exactly what in part explains the appeal of many a contemporary Danish drama.

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5 Politics, Family Life and the Media: Borgen

Arguably more than any other show, the political drama series Borgen exemplifies DR’s programming and production strategy. Without referencing the ‘one vision’ and ‘double story’ dogmas, at least, it would be hard to explain as to why a series on Danish politics achieved audience figures of 64 per cent at home and why it fared very well internationally.1 As of February 2013, Borgen had been sold to 60 countries around the world.2 Only on the surface does the primetime drama revolve around the specificities of the Danish political landscape alluded to in the title  –​‘Borgen’ translates as ‘castle’ and refers to Christiansborg Castle in Copenhagen, which is home to the Danish parliament, the Prime Minister’s office and the Supreme Court, all under one roof. It houses the main legislative, judiciary and executive authorities and is a venue where politicians, journalists, interests groups, judges, lawyers, etc. meet. The primetime drama thus essentially deals with something more fundamental than national or even regional politics of the day: the complex entanglements of politics, public relations, lobby groups and the media within a parliamentary democracy. Borgen shares many themes and figures with existing feature films on politics, making one perhaps think of the dramas Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (Frank Capra, USA 1939), the adaptations of Robert Penn 143

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Warren’s novel All the King’s Men (Robert Rossen, USA 1949 and Steven Zaillian, USA 2006)  and satirical accounts such as Michael Ritchie’s The Candidate (USA 1972). Yet, the way Borgen focuses on the impact a political office has on the private lives of those involved marks a significant difference. The emphasis on family life and the changing role of public figures in the multi-​media age represents a finely nuanced account of present-​day politics that neither romanticises political activities nor demonises them. The DR programme revolves around the strains, self-​doubt, hubris and assertiveness of politicians who have to juggle between their careers, different stakeholders, family and friends, publics and, last but not least, their own beliefs and values. While many other fictional accounts of politics tend to tell the overarching stories, the trajectories and decision-​making processes, Borgen includes how the need to be constantly available and to prioritise the public interest over other interests changes both the private and professional lives of politicians. This ‘glimpse through the keyhole’ aspect has also been a feature in other acclaimed quality television drama on politics, including Aaron Sorkin’s The West Wing (NBC 1999–​2006), which adapted themes around the American Presidency to primetime television, but also to Yes, Prime Minister (BBC 2013) and Netflix’ recent adaptation of House of Cards (2013–​) and its drama Designated Survivor (2016–). But in Borgen there is this interesting twist that the prime minister is a woman: Birgitte Nyborg Christensen (Sidse Babett Knudsen). The renewed popularity of the political drama is remarkable given that it was rather underrepresented in the generic profile of popular television in the past. Politics, as such, was primarily confined to news and documentaries. The fad for political drama series thereby marks an opposite trend, namely a genuine interest in dramatisations of politics and an increased longing for political participation by means of interactive online media on the one hand, and a de facto crisis of confidence regarding the actual political system, its institutions, customs and representatives on the other. Talking about the latter, Russell Dalton argues that citizens in many advanced democracies ‘have grown distrustful of politicians, sceptical about democratic institutions and disillusioned about how the democratic process functions’.3 144

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Whereas some television dramas play with or even play to such scepticism towards politics  –​perhaps most strikingly House of Cards with its Machiavellian leader Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey) –​others tend to show a rather well-​adjusted image that acknowledges idealism as well as unsavoury intrigue. In a similar way to how The West Wing arguably rehabilitated politics for US television, Borgen does the same for Danish –​and in fact European –​audiences. As many voters have become disenchanted with their elected governments, parties and political institutions, scholars have unravelled various reasons for this.4 One cause among others is a perceived aloofness of politicians who appear in the public as part of thoroughly orchestrated PR campaigns, ritualised debates and meticulously staged interviews. Politics in the limelight has acquired show-​like characteristics while many of the actual decision-​making processes and surrounding issues have become opaque. Borgen sets out to present politics in a very engaging, entertaining way. This chapter, among other aspects, will take a closer look at the processes that regulate or determine such matters of representation within the context of Danish drama television.

Borgen and the Question of Political Stakeholders In view of such developments, fictional accounts such as Borgen offer what is missing: a glimpse behind the scenes. Politicians, interest groups, PR consultants and other political stakeholders are shown more comprehensively, warts and all. Fictional protagonists such as Josiah ‘Jed’ Bartlet (Martin Sheen in The West Wing), and Birgitte Nyborg Christensen (Sidse Babett Knudsen in Borgen) are depicted within their professional work environment as well as their private life with families, hobbies, passions and vices in a way news programmes cannot. Donnalyn Pompper, in an article on The West Wing, goes as far as to argue that ‘the very conventions and routines that define journalism conflict with reporters’ ability to tell complete political stories’.5 In fact, she posits that ‘journalism routinely marginalises audiences by subscribing to Procrustean conventions and practices that leave little room for details that audiences may need in order to fully comprehend political issues’.6 And she continues by stressing 145

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the important complementary or even substitutional role of fictional TV with its advanced opportunities of quality serial television for multifaceted storylines and characterisation: Themes of weary scepticism and complacence linked to traditional journalism stories give way to subjective depictions […] Overall, television shares political narratives that educate and enable the transfer of culture using a broad canvas. Many plotlines of The West Wing continue into future episodes and are reintroduced periodically, offering viewers sustained, extensive perspectives on complex, unfolding issues. Coupling this storytelling form with the types of stories audiences usually receive from journalists offers a more well-​rounded account of governance than journalism alone provides.7

As one of the programmes that fill this gap by complementing journalists’ coverage of politics, Borgen premiered on 26 September 2010 and is currently in its third season. According to DR, the programme ‘is about the political power play in Denmark today, and about the personal costs and consequences for the players  –​both on and off the political stage.’8 Adam Price created the political drama in collaboration with the writers Jeppe Gjervig Gram and Tobias Lindholm as a DR in-​house production. Both Gram and Lindholm were educated at the National Film School of Denmark. Borgen tells the story of the politician, Birgitte Nyborg Christensen, who assumes office as Prime Minister of Denmark and has to lead a coalition government. To date, Borgen has comprised thirty one-​hour episodes that were originally aired in Denmark as part of the Sunday evening timeslot for domestic drama in autumn 2010 (season one), autumn 2011 (season two) and from January 2013 (season three). The writing team around Price worked with a number of different casts and credits over the years, including the episode directors Søren Kragh-​Jacobsen and former head of DR Fiction Rumle Hammerich. Set in contemporary Denmark, the first season tells the story of how the life of Birgitte Nyborg Christensen changes when she unexpectedly becomes the Danish Prime Minister as part of a coalition government. A mix of different themes from family roles, politics, journalism, the working world, private lives and civil society mark the different episodes of 146

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Borgen. The main storylines focus on how her ‘normal’ family becomes enmeshed with her role as Prime Minister and whether she can maintain her political integrity in view of the requirements and confinements of day-​ to-​day politics (including national crises). The office certainly places much responsibility on her and the time-​consuming job soon impacts upon her happy family life with her supportive husband Philip (Mikael Birkkjær) and their two children. The first season introduces a political scene in the multi-​media age, with its various links to stakeholders and the media. Besides Birgitte, her talented but ultimately cynic spin-​doctor Kaspar Juul (Pilou Asbæk) and the up-​and-​coming journalist and television anchor-​ woman Katrine Fønsmark (Birgitte Hjort Sørensen), are among the central characters. The second season largely revolves around the many difficult choices Birgitte, who remains very popular with the electorate, has to deal with in her political as well as private life. After two years in office, her political devotion is now taking its toll as she increasingly looses the grip on her own family life. Eventually she is faced with a divorce and a troubled daughter. On the political scene, too, tensions between the parties of her coalition government are growing as the result of Denmark being part of international armed conflicts and domestic scandals. Forced to make painful compromises, she struggles to maintain her idealism for the sake of remaining in power. The ambitious journalist Katrine now works for the tabloid Ekspres under the auspices of former politician and now editor-​ in-​chief Michael Laugesen. As Birgitte does in politics, she often has to choose between her professional ethics, personal convictions and career opportunities. Kasper, who is still working as media consultant for Birgitte after they have resolved some of the disagreements they have had in the past, is trying to build up a functional private life with his new partner Lotte Ågaard (Rikke Lylloff). The third season tells the story of Birgitte Nyborg trying to get back on her feet privately and professionally. She has lost her husband, her office and position of party leader but is now trying to regain her integrity as a single mother and ‘elder statesman’. In the period after her government, she travels the country as well as the whole world to give lucrative keynote speeches. Without being forced into making compromises and with time to reflect upon recent years, she rediscovers her ideals and questions 147

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her party’s recent conservative drift over the issue of immigration. Because of her uneasiness regarding these developments, she decides to return to politics. This time, she strives for power less by accident than by a desire to change the country’s fortune according to her own convictions. When she eventually seems to have regained success and happiness through a new relationship and a newly-​established political party, the discovery of having cancer seems even more tragic. As all this is happening, Kasper has accepted a job as a political television journalist. He and Katrine, who is still working as a journalist and news anchor, too, had a short-​lived relationship and a son, whom they bring up while living apart. Following from Birgitte’s trajectory on how to be a successful politician and maintain one’s ideals and a happy private life, this aspect is now explored through the head of television news Torben Friis (Søren Malling), increasingly put under pressure professionally and, ultimately, privately. As with the other television programmes discussed in this book, the plot is teased out in numerous different narrative strands, featuring a number of characters that are developed further over time. The main protagonist, Birgitte Nyborg Christensen, who rises to power as Danish prime minister, is seconded by PR expert and campaign manager Kasper Juul, her political mentor in the Moderate party Bent Sejrø (Lars Knutzon) and her husband Philip Christensen, a professor of economics. Other notable characters from the media are the television journalists Katrine Fønsmark, her colleagues Ulrik Mørch (Thomas Levin) and Hanne Holm (Benedikte Hansen), the television editor Pia Munk (Lisbeth Wulff) as well as their boss, head of TV1 News Torben Friis. Important political antagonists are Birgitte Nyborg’s successor as prime minister and leader of the Conservative party Lars Hesselboe (Søren Spanning), the political demagogue and later tabloid editor-​in-​chief Michael Laugesen (Peter Mygind) and the xenophobic right-​wing Svend Åge Saltum (Ole Thestrup). Over the three seasons, an increasing number of leading characters have been introduced or further developed, the latter including Birgitte’s children Laura and Magnus Christensen (Freja Riemann and Emil Poulsen). The character of Birgitte is a polyphonic character, is both internally driven through the relationship and love for her family, but also from personal problems that culminate in her divorce and external factors that primarily stem from her role as leading politician. Birgitte Nyborg is easy for 148

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the spectator to engage with even at the level of a positive allegiance. Here serial television of course has an advantage over film: characters and narrative strands can be developed over a long time to acquire more complexity and ultimately verisimilitude. As Margrethe Vaage points out: ‘Long-​term narration […] partly activates the same mental mechanisms as do personal relations in real life [because] [w]‌e typically evaluate those we know well more favourably than those we do not know at all.’ Adding that ‘The more one learns about a specific case, the more one is willing to treat it as special’.9 This helps to explain a general fascination with anti-​heroes such as Tony Soprano from The Sopranos or Walter White from Breaking Bad. Some of the traits by Birgitte Nyborg, including the ways in which she risks her personal family relations and romantic relationships because of her job, are not positive by any means, yet this does not necessarily prevent the audience from engaging with them and perhaps even excuse her decisions. Birgitte, after all, tries to serve her country as well as she can. Political drama as a theme for a series is an anomaly in Danish programming. Apart from very few imported fictional programmes, there is no indigenous national tradition of political drama. When Price came up with the idea for the show this was rather unusual. Politics is a complex theme for any television programme and arguably more difficult to produce than crime drama with its more or less established set of characters, motifs and ‘whodunit’ dramatic structure. As to this unflattering initial position, Gram stresses the pioneer atmosphere and a certain level of audacity at the public-​service broadcaster’s drama department: ‘At DR, I think that our level of ambition is quite high. We always try to do something new. And Borgen represented something new. Something brave. Many people said it was insane to make a political series for a Sunday evening at 8 o’clock. At least if you expect to get more than one million viewers.’10 What helped with the increasing intricacies of a political drama, too, was the close-​knit structure of the political scene in a small country like Denmark. The confinement of the Christiansborg Castle, as such, can be seen as a framed or again ‘scaffolded’ surrounding or sphere that offers in itself a kind of rules to the location and the natural stories in it. The drama of the show is more or less informed by issues that could happen among politicians at work and at home whilst the building serves as a geographical  –​and ultimately social  –​space. This natural frame limits the way in 149

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which Borgen represents political issues to a number of settings and personae –​not unlike The West Wing, which is structured around the confined space of the White House and the Capitol.

Narrative Complexity and Character Development Like the other contemporary DR dramas, three narrative strands characterise Borgen. The main story arc revolves around Birgitte Nyborg’s political career, her landslide victory after a very honest television interview and the subsequent struggles to serve the country. Closely linked, as mentioned above, is her private life and her struggles to be a good mother and partner despite the time-​consuming job. The third main strand consists of the media world and its various bonds to the world of politics. Main protagonists are Kasper Juul and Kathrine Fønsmark, who represent the role of public relations and journalism. As the visualisation of the narrative strands in the appendix clearly demonstrates, each of the main storylines may consist of two subordinate storylines that eventually come together again. Events such as breaking news or character interaction usually link the three strands. An example of this is the sudden death of Ole Dahl in the first episode. Dahl is not only the spin-​doctor of Birgitte’s predecessor as prime minister, Lars Hesselboe, but is also closely connected to Katrine with whom he had and extramarital affair. Plot-​points such as this habitually occur within every five minutes, adding zest to the dramaturgy. Compared to  other television drama in Denmark and elsewhere, however, the plot-​points in Borgen are very often motif-​and character-​driven –​like in Arvingerne –​rather than simply triggered by external events. It is, as such, very early on in the first episode that the theme of honesty and idealism within politics is addressed in a discussion between Kasper, who is suggesting to change positions based on opinion polls, and Birgitte and Bent Sejrø, who do not want to sacrifice their beliefs. Another example happens a few minutes earlier when Ulrik Mørch challenges Katrine over her journalists’ ethics. Their conversation, interestingly, combines transparent elements –​a notion of good journalism amidst a tense media environment –​that certainly speaks to audiences at home and abroad with a very Danish setting. The two get to talk in typically Danish unisex toilets that can 150

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be found almost everywhere in public buildings and offices in the country. In the realm of Borgen, the gender-​neutral toilet not only provides local colour, it becomes a meeting space to reflect upon one’s own behaviour. Most of the motif-​driven plot points are part of the drama’s striving for the double story. Besides the obvious political agenda, the show links general themes to the media and the private life. Every season several of these double stories are explored, including female leadership, sexism, asylum seekers, international conflicts, international struggles over resources and power, freedom of the press, etc. Borgen essentially explores how these themes are discussed at various levels, in what ways they impact upon politics, how they are presented by the media and how they affect individual citizens and families. A parliamentary discussion on gender equality and feminism, for instance, is amended by scenes of press reports and others in which Birgitte is talking about her career plans with her husband. They initially reach an agreement to take five-​year turns so that Birgitte can first pursue her political career whilst he puts his professional life at hold for the good of the family. By doing so, Borgen presents complex themes from a number of angles, so that Danish and other audiences can easily relate to them. For DR, the series ideally seems to play to its remit. The premise or main question for the storyline in Borgen whether it is possible to be a good prime minister and a loving wife at the same time. If we take a look at the name of the main character: ‘Birgitte Nyborg Christensen’, this family name expresses in itself the double story. ‘Nyborg’ means ‘new castle’ (and Borgen is the castle where the politicians work), while ‘Christensen’ is a familiar Danish family name. These names therefore contain the very conflict in them: is it possible to combine family life and career in a meaningful way for a modern human being –​or, more radically, a modern woman? Her character seems to go beyond that of many a usual archetypal heroine; she anyways is a very complex character that is difficult to pin down. This of cause plays in the hands of DR, who by its remit is required to offer nuanced depictions of topics and characters. For the screenwriters the message seemed to have been clear: try to avoid established stereotypes wherever possible in favour of unexpected twists and causes of events that help shed light on a range of political and personal angles. The overall ambition of Borgen becomes clear from the start. In the very first episode, the Moderate Party with Birgitte Nyborg as its leader, falls 151

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behind three days before the actual election. When she is offered an unsavoury arrangement with Peter Laugesen, who leads in the opinion polls, that will ensure her some kind of political influence, she refuses to accept it. Instead of selling herself, she wisely, and quite in keeping with her strong opinionated character, declines by saying: ‘But I’m an old fashioned girl, so the answer is “no”’. Her decision to lose the election rather than be indebted to Laugesen, however, is not only informed by her political instincts. Losing the election would also allow her to keep her end of the bargain with her husband Phillip (Mikael Birkkjær). They had agreed to give one another five years each for taking care of a working career and then swap. Since it is now his turn to continue his career, she could take care of the children and household. This rather modern family concept not only plays a major role in the course of fictional events, it is also thought-​provoking for potential viewers. The challenge or dilemma of juggling between the professional and the private life is emblematic of Borgen. When Birgitte makes an improvised speech at a televised election leaders’ special question time (partilederrunde) and talks straight from the heart about ideals and the fact that these are more often than not subdued by media strategies and agreements, she acquires a level of credibility that wins her the election. Yet, when she finally becomes the country’s first (fictional) female prime minister, she herself has traded in some of her ideals for the sake of Realpolitik and has not kept her word with her husband about taking turns with raising the children.

Furnishing the Drama: Sequence Shots and Natural Stories Not least owing to its genre and topic, Borgen looks somewhat different from the typical Nordic Noir aesthetic. This does not mean, however, that it is devoid of bleak thriller elements. Not for nothing, the New York Times describes Borgen as ‘[a]‌bleaker, Nordic version of “The West Wing” ’ and expresses its admiration for the way in which the Danish drama ‘[…] finds a remarkable amount of drama and suspense in center-​left alliances, pension plans and televised debates’.11 Borgen was predominantly shot in the studio; only occasionally does it include longer scenes produced on location. The overall look is very refined, aiming for a high-​budget filmic look. As such, the producer’s close 152

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collaboration with the film industry rubbed off on the desired appeal. The cinematic aesthetic, including opulent sets, lengthy establishing shots and a preference of visual language over descriptive comments, have become a characteristic paradigm of Danish primetime drama.12 The DR programme shares a number of stylistic features with American television dramas, including the long sequence shots of extensive dialogues. Two or more characters are framed in a medium shot using a camera-stablising mount while talking to each other. They are usually walking from one room to another but could also split up or be joined by others along the way, allowing for long takes of moving characters. This ‘walk-​and-​talk’ shooting technique was popularised as a signature style by The West Wing. Although Borgen does not use it as frequently as Aaron Sorkin’s US drama, it is an important device to brief or debrief diegetic characters and the audiences on complex political matters or as en route plot summaries. The problem DR encountered was that the theme-​driven plots with dense information were in danger of becoming rather dry –​despite all emotional cues including a number of close-​ups that reveal the personal reaction of the characters. It was in particular the show’s score that was used as a device to create atmosphere and empathy. As composer Halfdan E notes: Finding the right kind of music for a talking series like this proved something of a headache, no matter how obvious it seems when you watch the series. The topics covered in each episode were substantial enough, trouble was that it all became so intellectual –​a lot of head and no body. Ideally, you want the audience to actually feel the drama. Turned out the key to get there was to create a constant sense of drama, in a sense almost a thriller score underneath all that walk-​and-​talk  –​transparent enough to leave dialogue easily heard, but at the same time conveying the drama going on inside the minds of the main characters.13

Owing to the central role of soundscapes for the desired dramaturgy, DR provides long-​term contracts to composers. The way in which music and soundscapes are playing an important role can well be perceived from the title sequence. It was produced to capture the overarching mood and themes of the programme, thereby reassuring 153

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Image 5.1  (parts a–​d) Borgen: Montage sequences as animatics: the Borgen title sequence follows international stylistic trends (DR 2010–13)

audiences that this is not an educational programme on politics but an entertaining drama. As such, the sequence had to visually and auditorily express the overarching dramaturgical arc from success to failure: A politician is unexpectedly rising to the top and eventually comes down hard. Borgen has slightly different title sequences, they all comprise stylised montage sequences showing partly-​composed leading characters in private and professional situations. The look resembles that of animatics in line with global trends and audience expectations that can also be found in Mad Men or the typical look of the more recent James Bond films starring Daniel Craig. All of Borgen’s title sequences are formed according to a similar model: The initial upbeat, epic music eventually dies down to give way to 154

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more silent, sad tones. When asked for his source of inspiration at the 2015 Nordic Film Festival in Lübeck, Halfdan E recognised that he was inspired by the animation series Adventures of Tintin (Stéphane Bernasconi, France et al. 1991–​2) which he had watched with his child at the time. A seminal aspect of Borgen’s appeal can be attributed to its use of natural stories to create believable, yet dynamic scenes. But one example is the romance between Ole Dahl and Kathrine Fønsmark in the first episode of season one. What begins as a rather common extramarital affair carries significant meaning as it is a romance between a government spin doctor and a journalist. When he shares the news that he is prepared to leave his wife and children for her, Kathrine is ecstatic. This would open up a new happy direction in her life. The next morning, having spent the night together, Kathrine still bursts with joy and jumps onto him in bed. Supposing he is asleep, she humorously suggests: ‘If you are asleep you won’t get any sex for a month’. But, and this is the sudden twist that intervenes with the natural story, he turns out to be dead. Kathrine, as a consequence, is left in a hard dilemma. It turns out that she is pregnant with Ole’s baby, and she struggles with the idea of being a single mother who still has to take care of her career as a hard-​working ambitious journalist. She, too, has to keep her affair with Ole a secret in order to avoid a political scandal and so as to not unnecessarily hurt his widow. In her desperation, she asks Kasper Juul for help, who eventually finds compromising documents in Ole’s apartment that could potentially help Birgitte Nyborg on her way to become prime minister. Using seemingly ordinary situations with sudden twists and watershed moments helps the audience to relate to the characters only to pull them out of their thoughts again. This narrative complexity, furthermore, is enmeshed with issues that are fundamental to western society. Do we expect journalists and politicians to expand their professional code of conduct to their private lives? Do they have to act scrupulous in every situation? Are we putting them on a pedestal or are we prepared to grant them the same level of clemency we show for our circle of acquaintances? It is through situations and questions such as these that the show reveals its strong, yet cleverly covert educational purpose. A significant element of Borgen’s appeal is its gender politics. Not only does Borgen tell the story of how a woman is elected Minister President of Denmark (and thereby predates the election of Helle Thorning-​Schmidt 155

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as the first woman in this post), it also shows how her husband, Philip, compromises his own job for hers and how she tries to combine a high-​ profile career with being a mother. Rather than a mere subplot, family matters and raising children form a central part of the complex narrative and ultimately the appeal of Borgen. The representation of a European liberal family –​often featuring working women and their husbands on maternity leave –​is significant. Through families the show convincingly deals with sensitive issues such as divorce, trying to balance one’s career with bringing up children, adultery, abortion, child abuse and an ageing society and all that comes with it (including dementia). Such themes then serve as a differentiation strategy that partly explains the show’s popularity. Another aspect then is the portrayal of strong women and family matters not as background information for characterisation but as a central plot device. As such the show differs much from many primetime dramas. In her much cited article for The New Yorker, Lauren Collins noted that: Danish progressivism […] makes for surprisingly good television. More than seventy per cent of women in Denmark work; ninety-​seven per cent of children between the ages of three and five attend day care […] The great thing –​in television terms –​ about the liberalism of Danish society is that, rather than spawning preachy programmes about, as Sofie Gråbøl [the star of The Killing] put it, […] ‘kids, and love life and work and blurgh,’ it has obviated the need for them. Television writers are free to plumb the realities, rather than the desirability, of gender equality and women’s liberation.14

The fact that Borgen’s protagonist, Prime Minister Birgitte Nyborg, is a woman might well be regarded as progressive. Despite the fact that women have long come to the fore in world politics, they were absent in television’s portrayal of political leaders. It seems fit that a Danish drama, despite sanitising the public image of politicians, redresses this imbalance between fictional representations and real-​ life politics. Since 1995 Denmark, together with its Nordic neighbours, has one of the highest representation of women in its national parliament the Folketing. Seen in connection with other factors –​Denmark, for instance, shows a high employment rate of women  –​sociologist Christina Fiig summarises the situation as 156

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follows:  ‘Internationally, Denmark is considered a vanguard nation concerning women’s integration […].’15 Borgen, more than comparable other shows, imbeds the role of women into its various narrative strands. In view of such departures from comparable American political shows, Borgen combines global transparent narratives with European notions of the welfare state and the social market economy as well as Danish cultural values as a way of product differentiation. In Germany and France, where Borgen was screened by the German–French channel Arte in early 2012, the press reacted with glowing reviews. Representative of other appraisals, the Süddeutsche Zeitung argued that the Danish series stands for ‘phenomenally good European television’.16 Limiting political issues to several protagonists and settings provides audiences with a chance to learn about the roles, strategies of games played by journalists, politicians and spin-​doctors from behind the scenes. Of course Borgen’s representation of politics is constructed, but it was created from actual politics with an emphasis on ‘natural stories’ that allow a believable (and ultimately authentic) peek behind the scenes. Outweighing the thematic and dramatic difficulties, the conceptual angle of a drama about politics reflects DR’s dogma number two. Redvall thus notes that ‘[t]‌he commissioning of Borgen points to the importance of “double storytelling” within the DR production framework.’17 Rather than other genres, which must find ways to link socio-​cultural aspects to a dramatic plot, such issues are already an inextricable part of the political arena. Gram, for instance, points out that the decision-​makers at DR have always stressed the prerequisite for any show to ‘have a ethical-​social connotation that illustrates something about the society right now and where we are in Denmark at the time. The point of departure is to make a show for Denmark.’18 As in other western democracies, Danish public service broadcaster DR links its remit to inform, educate and entertain to promote the system of a constitutional monarchy with a lively democratic culture. Borgen seemed to be a perfect fit to this end. A 2008 public service report, published around the time when Price, Gram and Lindholm developed the idea for Borgen, explicitly stressed the role of DR: [Wider democratic participation of individuals should be] enhanced by national public service media operators through

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Beyond The Bridge their offerings (programmes or other content). In this respect it is relevant to consider the extent to which the public service media operators have a dedicated strategy on promoting democratic participation and the extent to which such strategies are based on requirements in the public service remit or internal policies.19

The way in which Borgen repeatedly includes topical issues such as food scandals or corruption cases that are either modelled after actual cases or could potentially happen in the Danish political landscape ideally fulfils this purpose as it communicates political issues through the plot of the series. Yet, despite Borgen’s explicit Danish angle on politics and the double story, its concept certainly appealed to audiences beyond Denmark. This holds particularly true for countries where public service broadcasters or other channels share similar broadcasting aims and values. In order to appeal to audiences beyond contemporary Danish audiences, Borgen always includes general political issues such as terrorism, corruption, mismanagement, factory farming, equality, etc. that form transparent narratives. Besides such issues, however, it is arguably the above-​mentioned personal angle of showing the politicians’ private lives that serves as differentiation strategy when compared to other fictional political drama around the world. According to Gram the double story in Borgen is built on a dilemma in the Western world right now, where people are trying hard to find the right balance between professional and private lives, career and family. Especially for women this is an issue today, and this is at different levels addressed in Borgen. The show’s protagonist Birgitte Nyborg is aiming at being a devoted mother and a good prime minister but struggles to be both at the same time. Her marriage is trouble, her daughter Laura is sick, and she repeatedly has to prioritise politics over her family. Kathrine Fønsmark, too, experiences similar problems juggling her promising career as journalist and wish to have children and a fulfilling partnership. As Jeppe Gjervig Gram notes these recognisable stories about the complexity of having both careers as family members and at jobs could help explain the popularity of Borgen home and abroad: […] The dilemma, as it turns out everywhere in society, it is difficult to solve. And especially when you just believe in equality

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Politics, Family Life and the Media: Borgen and believe in all sorts of feminist ideals, of course, it should be possible! The fact that women have as much right to a career as men have, but how do you find the balance [...] Is it even possible? And then you can say that Birgitte Nyborg as a prime minister, sets of course just the dilemma, or this story on the tip, but it’s a story that I think interests, if not all, so many. I mean very very many. And it’s also the story they refer to abroad. So [...] this is the story that makes them think that Borgen is something special.20

In an attempt to introduce Borgen to US audiences, the independent LA-​ based broadcaster KCET carefully drafted a web special. As to one of a series of hypothetical questions by viewers if one has to know Danish politics in order to enjoy the show, the website reassures American audiences: Not anymore than you needed to know about Swedish law enforcement to enjoy ‘Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,’ all you need to hit the ground running is that Denmark isn’t a two-​party country the way the U.S. is. This is why it’s possible for the show to begin with two frontrunners for prime minister and then for Birgitte’s party to pull ahead, but not as remarkably as it would be for an American third party candidate to take the lead in an election. You’ll learn as you go along.21

Cross-​over and Scaffolded Production Contexts Characters that have been added over the course of the drama’s three seasons include a number of familiar television faces, most notably the Scottish Alastair Mackenzie as London-​based British star architect Jeremy Welch and the multilingual Danish actor Jens Albinus as Jon Berthelsen, a homosexual politician for the Moderates and protégé of Birgitte, who made him a member of her cabinet. Both actors give the series a more international feel as they frequently switch places and languages. They exemplify DR’s crossover strategy. Besides Alastair Mackenzie, who was best known for his role in the British period drama Monarch of the Glen (BBC 2000–​5), Albinus is a very familiar television actor. He not only starred as the leading detective in Ørnen but also acquired some fame for his appearances in Lars von Trier’s Idioterne (DK 1998), Dancer in the Dark (DK et al. 159

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2000) and Direktøren for det hele (The Boss of It All, DK et al. 2006). He, moreover, had also played in productions for German television. Previously, we have pointed out how the Danish television field is influenced by a culture of sharing knowledge and crossing media platforms. This development is driven by divergent factors, including the dogmas for television, the relatively small size of the Danish audio-​visual industry and the decision by individuals working for broadcasters. As to the latter, Bo Tengberg notes: It is a quite important change that happened in TV drama [at the time of the late 1990s]. When Rumle Hammerich was head of TV drama, his vision was to produce as we do in the film industry. That means that a very small unit of people was hired by DR, mostly freelancers, and we wanted this interchange between film and television. We were not going to be like TV producing TV, we were inspired by and using the craft of the film industry.22

Yet, besides this exchange across audio-​visual media we have talked about previously, there is also a lively exchange within a single production team working on a specific programme. Hereto Tengberg stresses: ‘If you share all your ideas with the whole crew, you always get something added to it that is better than the original idea. If you don’t let anything out, you are stuck with your own idea. Then it might turn out that it’s not good enough and you don’t get the help you need. It’s a big part of the look of the TV series that the whole crew is influencing it.’23 Besides television professionals working in other capacities, the case of actors is interesting insofar as there are different strategies involved. While DR uses popular Danish and internationally-​known actors, they also try to offer career opportunities for up-​and-​coming actors. While offering fresh faces and performances to viewers plays a part in this, the success of Danish drama requires producers to foster new and homemade talent. An example would be the actress Trine Dyrholm. She made a name through Taxa, in which she played a character called Stine Jensen. Since then her contributions have been acclaimed in a number of Danish films and television dramas. Films like En Soap (A Soap, 2006, Pernille Fischer 160

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Christensen) and a leading character in the television show Arvingerne where she plays Gro Grønnedal could well be mentioned here. The same is true for the actor Peter Mygind, who plays Peter Laugesen in Borgen and who had been developed through a number of DR and TV2 series, including the Emmy-​winning romantic series Nikolaj og Julie (DR 2002–​3), Forbrydelsen and Anna Pihl (TV2 2006–​ ). Danish actor Anders W. Berthelsen also played young René Boye-​Larsen in Taxa and got his career started which has continued in both film and television drama with a leading character role in the series Krøniken (DR 2004–​7), and several successful films like Mifunes første sang (2000), a dogma film by Søren Kragh-​Jacobsen. Not only actors easily cross-​over in Danish film and television productions. The same thing can be said about both the film-​television-​team behind the scenes. Adam Price wrote both Taxa, Nikolaj og Julie and Borgen, and his responsibility for the screenplays increased along the way as he ended up as main writer at Borgen. Jeppe Gjervig Gram was a co-​ writer at both Sommer and Borgen, and then gained greater responsibility as the main ​writer of a new DR series Bedrag (2016-​). The list of Danish actors who have successfully used Danish films and television dramas as a springboard for international careers now not only includes the omnipresent Mads Mikkelsen but also Birgitte Hjort Sørensen of Borgen, who was given a role in the transnational fantasy series Game of Thrones (HBO 2011–​). As the cross-​over strategy suggests, Borgen, like the majority of DR’s fiction series, is produced within the 15 dogmas.24 This implies that the head ​writer Adam Price was responsible in terms of the one-​vision concept. He not only contributed to the writing but also oversaw the work of the other writers and all subsequent production phases. So as to master this challenge, he worked closely together with a team of writers consisting of (for season 1 and 2) Jeppe Gjervig Gram and Tobias Lindholm. Later (season 3), new writers were added when Jannik Tai Mosholt, Maren Louise Käehne and Maja Jul Larsen entered the writers’ room. Price’s responsibility –​when writing Borgen –​was to coordinate the main story arcs, but this offered plenty of freedom for him and August to contribute. As the show’s producer, Camilla Hammerich notes that Borgen 161

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is a good example for how the one vision concept works as everyone ‘supported the vision of Price, but also continuously challenged it’.25 Borgen is not only a result of DR’s 15 dogmas but also of the way team-​writing is used by DR’s in-​house production unit DR Fiction. Producer Hammerich and Price have worked together earlier at TV2, while Lindholm and Gram wrote together at the Film School. Hammerich, Gram and Lindholm, furthermore, cooperated on Sommer (2008). Redvall concludes that the writers’ room provided a favourable and relaxed work atmosphere. According to her, it was Price who has ‘a talent for giving others a sense of ownership’ and who was able to create a dynamic space where the co-​writers can feel important and ‘safe’.26 The writers’ room for Borgen, or as Redvall calls it the ‘production hotel’, was located at DR. It has little to do with a real hotel as the writers met there every day to work from around 9am to 3pm.27 When they get closer to deadlines, the days eventually get longer and food can be brought into the room, but they are very much aware that this is a room for concentrated work on the manuscript. As Redvall notes: ‘[Maja Jul] Larsen argues that the Borgen episodes are not born “out of stress” and that it is “invaluable” to be able to go home once exhaustion sets in, then reflect on things and get some sleep before continuing’.28 DR seems to have become very efficient and structured as to the overall production process. Besides Redvall’s findings, Bo Tengberg, too, stresses the atmosphere as strained yet productive: It is tense but okay. I would not call it stress because it is not stressful. It is very efficient, but DR’s crews are used to that way of working. It is not that we are stressed and start to yell at each other. We just work very efficiently. We don’t rush but we work all the time very concentratedly. I  have been a guest at some other TV productions around Europe and compared to these the Danish ones are very efficient. We neither work long days nor six days a week, but we produce more in the production period than most others. I assume that we work so efficiently because it is well-​organised and we are used to it.29

If we reflect upon what is described as efficiency here, this might well be attributed to ‘scaffolded’ working conditions. DR offer an ‘institutional 162

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scaffolding’ to their workers both via production hotels, framed working days, the fact that they are working on contracts and the use of 15 dogmas. Furthermore, the workers support each other with ‘team scaffolding’ at the set. Scaffolding at different levels first and foremost help to conduct a safe environment around the television makers who can  –​because of this –​focus on creative development rather than organisational or indeed financial matters. If we return to a closer look at the writing of Borgen, people rarely disturb the writers in the production hotel unless other television makers (e.g. the episode directors) want to contribute to the story development. And it is described by Jeppe Gjervig Gram as a room with a ‘Musketeer oath’30 as the writers are aware that team-​work makes them stronger. This view correlates nicely with the critical literature on creativity. Bilton, for example, notes: ‘Real creativity does not lie in the self-​contained and self-​sufficient “creative” team but in an ability to make connections between different ways of thinking and different types of people.’31 Production personnel seem to have internalised the need for developing a sharing culture. In fact, there is much evidence for the creation of a more or less coherent belief system among cast and crews to belong to be in this together rather than competing with one another. The outcome, so it seems, is a strong sense of community. As Tengberg, once again, stresses: We have to pass our knowledge to others and teach. I don’t see reasons for keeping secrets. But there are different traditions and if you go abroad, there might be people that would not want to share their knowledge ... We have to pass our knowledge on to others and teach. I don’t see reasons for keeping secrets. But there are different traditions and if you go abroad, there might be people that would not want to share their knowledge.32

The cooperative nature of Danish production culture in connection with ‘scaffolded’ conditions have created a very favourable work environment. With Borgen this production culture has come to a heyday. Giving an insight into the more stressful phases of the production process, Camilla Hammerich’s 2015 book The Borgen Experience: Creating TV Drama the Danish Way describes how the head writer Adam Price and his team benefitted from the scaffolded production outfit at the writing stage. 163

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Hammerich, who was the producer of Borgen, describes her collaboration with Price without the usual sugarcoated recollections as follows: Adam needs to bring the stories to completion. This is easier said than done […] Adam and I have many heated arguments about whether or not he has the time to work on other projects than Borgen during this period. I don’t think he does. It seems to me that the job as head writer on a long-​running series is much more than a fulltime job. Adam takes a very different approach […] Consequently, the responsibility for getting the scripts ready for shooting rests on my shoulders. Daily emails, text messages and phone calls fly back and forth at a furious rate when I try to get Adam to deliver and he tries to buy himself a little more time.33

Some clear examples follow. When Hammerich gave Price a 12.30 pm deadline for delivering a script for one of the episodes, Price, who prefers to revise and rewrite scenes three to four times, replied ‘12.30 is out of the question. I’m not doing plumbing work by the hour. I’m writing a script.’ The communication becomes more furious. When Hammerich is adamant not to ease the rather strict deadline, Price writes ‘This is ridiculous. Any more complaints and you guys can come and get my computer’.34 Rather than the end of a good working relationship, the tight deadlines and resulting levels of stress did work well for both Hammerich and Price. Their fights and banter emblematise their dedication, doubt and ambition. When Hammerich concludes that Price needs deadlines and limitations since ‘Adam works well under pressure’,35 she offers him what Wood, Bruner and Ross refer to as ‘frustration control’ and ‘reduction in degrees of freedom’.

Acknowledgement from Viewers and the Press Some 1.5 million viewers watched the very first episode of Borgen.36 Out of five million Danes this represented a fine audience, even though both the series Sommer and the second season of Forbrydelsen collected higher numbers of viewers at their premieres.37 The success, furthermore, grew in the next two seasons of Borgen. The first episode of season three actually 164

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beat its own audience record, with 1.7 million viewers, which was approximately 200,000 more than an average of the series could muster during the first two seasons. The series Borgen also achieved considerable success abroad, especially in England, where in 2012 it was honoured with a BAFTA for Best International Production. The Danish reception of Borgen, however, is not consistent with either the ratings or the show’s international success. Sørine Gotfredsen, from the Danish newspaper, Kristeligt Dagblad, criticised among other things the series’ first season as being one long series of clichés: ‘In addition to the hollow character portrayals, the problem of the castle, the series lacks a separate message’.38 The reviewer from Politiken, Henrik Palle, awarded four stars for the first two seasons, but wrote by the end of the season 3 that the series, despite its ambitious start, ended up in a soap genre: ‘Borgen started out as an ambitious bid for Danish television drama: a major political ensemble show with an impressive production. But in the third season “Borgen” has become a soap, the drama’s banal little sister who always take the obvious path through a clumsy development of cliff-​hangers and classical conflicts’.39 As the third season appeared on Danish television screens, it caused some heavy debate in the Danish press, where the portrayals of several politicians (especially the Sven-​Aage Saltum character, which actor Ole Thestrup played) were criticised for giving a misleading picture of political life at Christiansborg, and not least for disseminating political views by: ‘[…] promoting prostitution and making false allegations regarding taxpayers’ money’.40 Borgen was in 2011 accused for a too-​close resemblance to the actual political situation in Denmark. Some were afraid the series might potentially influence Danish voters. This was an issue for the press during season 1 of Borgen in particular, because the show’s broadcast between September and November 2010 preceded –​rather fortunately for DR, one must say –​the actual upcoming general election of 15 September 2011. Here Denmark got its very first female prime minister, Helle Thorning-​Schmidt. But this and other criticisms were rejected by several people, including DR’s head of fiction, Nadia Kløvedal Reich. She cited the fact that the series was (and still is) fiction and not a documentary representation of reality: ‘[…] it will be culturally counterproductive if we 165

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suggested that drama should be subject to a form of objectivity or impartiality […]’.41 Several Danish politicians, including Uffe Elbæk, then Minister for Culture, and the former Minister of Defence, Søren Gade, (both politicians are still active in Danish politics today) accused DR of manipulating viewers. Elbæk even suggested that Borgen paved the way for a female head of state.42 And at the climax of the controversy, during season 1, DR was accused by the political Right of helping the Social Democrats (‘red block’). But even the critical voices did not completely ignore the appeal and popularity of Borgen. As we have written in a previous publication: Three seasons on, Borgen still stirs up political controversy amongst politicians. In an outspoken opinion piece for the daily broadsheet newspaper Berlingske published half-​way through the third season on 11 February 2013, Søren Krarup, a member of parliament for the populist right-​wing party ‘Dansk Folkeparti’, proclaimed that Borgen had sought to manipulate the Danish public. According to him, the show exemplified how ‘DR is a propaganda instrument’ and that Danes pay their ‘licence fee for cultural leftism’. He concluded by raising the question of whether Denmark really had the public service broadcaster it deserved.43

The Cultural Director of DR, Morten Hesseldahl, directly replied to Krarup’s criticism in a counterstatement in which he, in a way, comments on the double storytelling (dogma 2 in the 15 dogmas for DR drama productions) by highlighting that DR has a responsibility to create relevant debates about society: […] of course it is great that DR’s dramas have ambitions to influence the Danes. Influence them to participate in public debates. Influence them to involve themselves in society’s challenges. Influence them to think for themselves by putting relevant issues on the agenda. This has certainly always been our ambition. And not to provide glossy entertainment.44

Even when the criticism was at its height, Danes continued to watch Borgen, and the general picture in Denmark was, and still is, that people –​across changing governments and drama series –​are actually quite satisfied with 166

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DR and the way public service and public funding (in terms of licence) are handled. When fictional drama steals columnage in the Danish press, this according to the heads of DR drama production (like Hesseldahl, Reich and Berth) is a part of the role a public service broadcaster sees as positive. Whilst Borgen shares themes and story arcs with similar US series –​ including the role of spin-​doctors and lobby groups in contemporary politics –​ Borgen in other respects offers a very different look at politics and the life of political stakeholders. Not only does it tell the story of how a woman is elected Prime Minister, it also shows how her husband compromises his own career for the sake of hers. Another point of departure is the surprising level of normalcy that allows the top-​ranking Danish politician to take her bike to work without bodyguards or other security measures –​an unlikely scenario for members of government in Washington, D.C. The differences, indeed, were so striking that NBC secured the rights to produce an American remake of the DR series. Surprised by their own success with the potentially off-​putting topic of Danish politics, the cultural director of DR told the British Observer in January 2012: ‘We thought Borgen was maybe too Danish to travel. We are amazed and happy it is possible’.45 A putative reason for Borgen’s unlikely international appeal is given by DR producer Karoline Leth: ‘It is all about local being global’.46 What she means by this is that there is a danger that if DR programmes get too concerned with attracting an international audience, they might lose track of their commitment to public service broadcasting in Denmark. When Danish dramas, instead, link local settings and characters with global concerns, they prove to be successful at home and abroad. Thus, Eva Redvall notes in connection to the production processes of Borgen that ‘[c]oncerns about the potential international audiences were never mentioned in any notes.’47 The reason that helps to explain as to why a series on Danish politics was palatable abroad, is the way in which it combines narratives on political events and the media with the private lives of its protagonists –​arguably owing to the demand for a ‘double story’ as specified in television dogma number 2. In many countries, Borgen was used as role model by those who seek to adduce arguments for the public service broadcasting model. According to such views, the DR programme refrains from paternalistic indoctrination but demonstrates how fictional television can 167

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inform, entertain and initiate a public debate. Not quite John Reith but neither HBO or AMC, Borgen seems to suggest a third way for successful contemporary public service broadcasting between elitism and highbrow niche productions. Borgen, it seems fair to say, helped DR to underline its legitimacy by assuring audiences and the political authorities of its positive effects. Yet its success in raising a number of controversial themes and stark political debates caused the foreign press to demand similar shows in their own countries. In this way, the show is inextricably linked to wider debates of public service broadcasting in the post-​network television age. DR fuelled such debates by explicitly stressing the show’s public service value. As Morten Hesseldahl, for instance, stressed: ‘We are a public service broadcaster. We have to be just as entertaining as commercial competitors but at the same time we need to have a social-​political dimension in our serials.’48 While Borgen was rightly compared to American or British political drama, it offers a very different look at politics. The show constantly fuelled debates on a number of issues that were part of its fictional plot. Danish journalists in particular referred to it as an agenda-​setting programme, thereby acknowledging its relevance to prompting political debates and influencing the salience of topics on the public agenda. Borgen was even accused of having influenced the result of the Danish election in 2011 directly. Even though research by Catarina N. Jessen shows that it did not affect the actual election at all, this episode shows how significant the press regarded its impact.49 DR was very aware that the way Borgen presented different aspects was closely observed and that any controversial storylines would be discussed by the press. This was why, for instance, the theme of prostitution (which featured in episode 25) was carefully researched at the writing stage. Knowing about their position in the country’s limelight, the production team in this instance replaced some of their male writers by female ones, Maren Louise Käehne and Maja Jul Larsen, so as to cover the theme from different angles.50 Jul Larsen later went on to work on Arvingerne and added a female, or at least different, angle to this series as well.

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6 Family Noir: Arvingerne (The Legacy)

The international release trailer for The Legacy (as Arvingerne is referred to in the English-​speaking world) is keen to promote DR’s latest drama by suggesting a production lineage to previous Danish serials. Not only is the programme identified as coming ‘from the producers of The Killing and Borgen’ in an attempt to benefit from the international success of its antecedents, it is also labelled ‘Nordic Noir’, a ‘top notch Danish export’ and ‘the latest Scandi hit’.1 The analogy suggested here is somewhat misleading: Arvingerne is less a noirish crime series than a slick family drama. Despite its misleading nature, it seems debatable if such a painstaking promotional campaign was necessary at all. The artistic clout that surrounds DR’s productions creates immense interest in what is to come next, and Arvingerne contains all the features that have proved successful in other dramas from DR. In Denmark, the family drama has terrific audience ratings. Following the first season’s premiere on New Year’s day 2014, the remaining episodes were broadcast every Sunday until 3 March 2014 at the usual DR timeslot for domestic drama from 8 pm to 9 pm. The drama’s first two episodes in 2014 were watched by nearly 1.9 million Danes.2 Having already been sold to numerous countries even before its premiere,3 the drama has been acquired by broadcasters in 40 countries as of January 2015, when 169

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the second season was just being shown in Denmark.4 Adding to its success, DR has also finalised a deal with the American Universal Cable Productions (UCP) for a US remake of Arvingerne in winter 2014 following the sale of the original serial to NBC. As Helene Aurø, sales deputy at DR, explains: ‘The interest from the US to get the series has been tremendous. DR has had more than a handful of bids, and it is quite unusual that there are so many people bidding for the same series.’5 The international sales were fuelled by a number of positive reviews in the British press, where Arvingerne was shown on Sky Arts. Writing for the Independent, Will Dean summarises his impression by saying: There’s certainly lots to recommend The Legacy to non Scandi-​ drama watchers. Principally, the fact that it’s a slightly smart, weird, off-​kilter family drama of which there are probably too few of on British television. Its premise is strong, too –​after one episode there are already plenty of unanswered questions.6

Sam Wollaston, too, praises the drama in the Guardian for its complex characters and engaging forms of interaction:  ‘What makes it though  –​ again –​are the characters. Complex, flawed, real characters having complex, flawed, real relationships, that are allowed time to grow, and that inevitably lead you to ponder your own family.’7 Mentioning some of the series’ strengths, Ellie Austin of the Radio Times suggests that Arvingerne features a ‘[…] carefully worked plot, which, as we have grown accustomed to with Scandi drama, twists, turns and unsettles when you least expect it. As its title suggests, this is a series about heritage, the tightly woven threads that bind generations of the same family and the startling fragility of even the most enduring relationships.’8 Compared to the overwhelmingly positive responses in Denmark, however, the first international reviews of Arvingerne were subdued.9 Suggestive of many other critics’ responses, Henrik Palle in Politiken singles out the casting and the performance for praise: ‘This is acting of rare perfection. It is tempting to use the word brilliant because it actually makes sense’.10 A year later, on the occasion of the screening of the second season, he adds that the drama offered ‘Great moments where time stood still, and our jaws dropped as viewers out of pure joy, pleasure and 170

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fascination’.11 Writing for the newspaper BT, Niels Lind Larsen continued to give the show’s second season five out of five stars, arguing that it contains ‘a devastatingly brilliant family feud’, whose special quality can be inferred from the way it relates to today’s society: ‘Thus, The Legacy elegantly reflects recent new family structures and raises issues we all, to varying degrees, can relate to’.12 In this analysis he very much captured what the head of DR Drama, Piv Bernth, formulated as the show’s vision: The screenwriters wanted to draw a picture of the generation that followed after the laid-​back flower-​power generation from the 1960s, the so-​called 68-​generation.13

The Story of a Colourful Modern Family Arvingerne is a modern-​day family saga that revolves around four main protagonists, the children of well-​known artists Veronika Grønnegaard (Kirsten Olesen). The first season begins with a defiant Veronika who wants to plan her estate because she terminally ill with cancer. When she dies, her children return to their family home, the bohemian manor Grønnegaard. Coming back to where they grew up rather chaotically in the spirit of the 1960s amidst their eccentric mother and her fellow artists, brings back numerous childhood memories and traumas. Frederik (Carsten Bjørnlund), who is the oldest son and the most obvious heir to the Grønnegaarden estate, is characterised as a rather cold and unhappy man thanks to unsolved issues with his mother. Emil (Mikkel Fønsby) is the free-​spirited little brother, who seems to get on with everyone but who also encounters serious problems when he he ends up owing a lot of money to people in Thailand. Gro (Trine Dyrholm), the oldest girl, is a multifaceted character who has been dominated by her mother and now tries to take advantage of the situation by becoming the new matriarch of the family. Signe (Marie Bach Hansen), also called ‘Sunshine’ as a nick-​name, is an uncorrupted and naïve girl. She is the illegitimate daughter resulting from Veronika’s affair with John Larsen (Jens Jørn Spottag) and only finds out about her real mother when she is mentioned in Victoria’s will. According to this, she inherits the countryside manor. Before being suddenly dragged into the eventful world of Grønnegaard 171

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family, she lived a simple life in a small provincial town with a job in a flower shop, her boyfriend Andreas Baggesen (Kenneth M. Christensen) and her family. Viktoria’s more or less spontaneous decision to leave the manor to Signe causes a lot of problems and gives the show its dramaturgical drive. Beyond the obvious question of who is to inherit what, Arvingerne presents a careful study of a family’s psyche that raises such issues as extramarital affairs, social conventions, sexual freedom, the value of art, liberalisation of drugs, etc. Rather than the three main narrative strands, episodes of the family drama repeatedly consist of four overarching and interconnected storylines based on Victoria’s four children. As a consequence, the show is very much motif and character driven. So as not to confuse audiences with this multifaceted narrative structure, quite a lot of time is devoted to individual parts of the story, resulting in a rather slow pace with recurring sequence shots in and around the family manor. More than anything, the family drama uses character-​based plot points. Underlying motifs are introduced through the characters rather than stand-​alone developments from the outside world. Arvingerne explores a number of themes through the lens of a single family, including the effects of ill health, adultery, family relations, financial difficulties, bureaucracy, marriage problems, suicide, and mistrust. The family drama is set at the country estate of Grønnegaard, which was filmed in the southern part of the island of Funen, near Svendborg. The main reason for this location was funding, FilmFyn supported the drama financially and offered the abandoned farm as a key location. This selection was rather fortunate as the location was used to bring to life the artist’s family history and formed a major attraction of the show. Among others, Ellie Austin vividly describes the appeal of the manor: It’s when she chugs up the dusty driveway of a rambling country mansion that we realise that Veronika is, or at least was, an artist of some clout. Inside, empty wine bottles and discarded plaster limbs litter high-​ceilinged rooms while apprentices, housekeepers and relatives shuffle about chaotically. The mother of three adult children, our protagonist appears an attentive matriarch, dusting down her paint-​splattered overalls to embrace guests

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The sequence that is talked about here, happens in the very first episode of season 1. Portrayed as a rebelling artist from the 60s, Veronika is not characterised as a conventional kind of person who follows the norms of a tradition like Christmas. Despite her illness, she is smoking, drinking and creating art at Christmas instead of preparing a nice dinner for her family. But she is visited by Villads (the son of Frederik), who argues that it is not possible to celebrate Christmas Eve without a Christmas tree. Right away Veronika takes her family to the vast garden around Grønnegaarden, where they cut down a spruce tree. Back in the opulent living room, they discover that the tree does not fit. Rather than trim the tree, they decide to make a hole in the ceiling. This is an interesting scene showing the natural story at work. A seemingly normal plot suddenly turns into something extraordinary. It thereby reveals a general trait of the protagonists’ family: unable to accept limitations and conventions, they observe traditions in their very own way, not really thinking about possible negative repercussions. To underscore this impression, Veronika is shown as selfish and more concerned with her art than her family. In the same episode she says to her oldest daughter Gro:  ‘I have loved being faithful to all of my ideas.’ To this, Gro replies that she thus accepted being ‘unfaithful’ to all of her children, and that none of them are happy as a result. In order to become an internationally renowned artist, Veronika had a price to pay. Talking about Veronika’s character, actor Carsten Bjørnlund notes that ‘Veronika could be a believable Danish artist, and she is indeed a believable Danish mother, I would say, and also a representative of the 68-​generation.’15 While the children in Forbrydelsen and Broen are still too small to observe the possible detrimental effect of their parents’ commitment to their jobs, both Borgen and Arvingerne drastically show what happens if parents neglect their children because of jobs, passion or vision.

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Image 6.1  (parts a–​d) Arvingerne: A rather unusual Christmas at the artist’s country estate of Grønnegaard in Arvingerne (DR 2014–)

Arvingerne is yet another character-​ driven drama that uses what Horton describes as needs and nuances to create conflicts.16 All four siblings are thus described by their individual ‘wants’ (Gro, for example, wants to be acknowledged in the art business). What she really ‘needs’ in the end, however, is acknowledgement from her own family. 174

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Matriarchy, the Fall of Father Figures and Fragmented Family Relations The reason why Arvingerne became a success nationally and world-​wide could be that it deals in a very direct way with social and gender problems that a lot of audiences can relate to –​often shown as natural stories. Additionally, it is significant that Arvingerne features a high number of dedicated women in leading roles. Veronika, and her oldest daughter, Gro Grønnegaard, are in many ways comparable to Birgitte Nyborg in Borgen, Saga in Broen and Sarah in Forbrydelsen in their own quest for happiness and prioritisation of work over family. Just as in other previous DR dramas, it uses double stories, natural stories and the notion that ‘choices of yesterday influence the choices of today’ to add depth to the drama surrounding a death in the family. The production team tell a story about new and modern family structures, single mothers as matriarchs. As such, part of their fictional world concerns the absence of father figures or indeed male role models. Since Frederik’s and Emil’s father committed suicide, it is only Gro’s father Thomas (played by Jesper Christensen, known from James Bond films) who remains living at Grønnegaarden. The fact that Thomas is the only man living on the estate shows that this a women’s world. Symptomatic of the fall of male figures, moreover, he is not allowed in the house and lives in a little hippie cottage in the backyard instead. Although he is good-​natured, the easy-​going and weed-​smoking man is not respected by his daughter or the rest of the family. Rather than appreciating his existence, it is debated throughout both seasons as to whether he ought to be allowed to even stay on the premises. Gro, who wants to take over Viktoria’s role as head of the family and wants to build a museum at Grønnegaarden, tries to explain to him that they have to move his cottage close to the main road. When he refuses to accept this, Gro wreaks havoc on his home. Along with men, other authorities have also been abandoned as part of the liberation that was propagated by the 68 generation. Among them is the Evangelical Lutheran Church, which does not seem to play any role at Grønnegaarden. When Thomas becomes the father, despite his age, of 175

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a daughter called Melody at the beginning of season 2, the family comes together for a rather unusual christening. Rather than going to a church, they choose an alternative ritual organised by Thomas himself. The child’s face is decorated with colours and then Thomas says some words. This ceremony is carried out at a bridge in the lake of Grønnegaarden. Unfortunately, Melody’s unstable mother accidentally drops her into the cold, dark water. When the baby is eventually rescued by Gro and Signe, it shows how helpless Thomas and the other men are in a situation that requires someone to act. Against this background, it leaves a bitter aftertaste when Thomas tries to use humour following the baby’s rescue: ‘In our family we’re christening our children properly!’ But the scene is not a christening, it is a self-​devised naming ceremony by a family that is largely driven by egoistic instincts and has abandoned traditional rules and authority. Veronika, rather than any of the men of the family, was the true and dominating leader of the family. She allowed several men to be her partner for a limited period of time only:  First she married the father of Frederik and Emil (who are biological brothers), but he committed suicide, and Frederik was the one to find him dead. Then she married Thomas, and they had Gro. And finally she had an affair with John, who is married to Lise, and they had Signe, who is adopted as a baby by Lise and John. Arvingerne does not show any traits of a traditional nuclear family. Instead, the audience is shown a world of dysfunctional social relations, lies, secrets and tragedies, as the drama introduces divorced families, adopted children, affairs, neglect, biological and non-​biological sisters and brothers fighting for power and money. Even if all the characters seem to be in search of security, of feeling at home, safe and warm, none seems to achieve this. Signe in particular is the personalisation of this urge. She first finds it amazing when she suddenly becomes a member of the large Grønnegaarden family with the sisters and brothers she has always wanted. When she abandons the family that raised her, Lise and John, and replaces them with her ‘new’ family, this progressively seems to be a big mistake. She soon realises how her new siblings are primarily interested in money and power. 176

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Almost nothing about the Grønnegaarden family seems right. An apt term to refer to this fictional family hell might be ‘Family Noir’. David Canfield writes about this phenomenon: The nuanced dramatics of Bloodline, The Affair, Rectify and others –​including, certainly, the murky mother/​son prequel Bates Motel –​shine a dim light on tropes of the family chronicle. Textured with menace, drowned in cynicism and vitalized by time-​shifting intrigue, these series delve into tenuous family bonds with atmosphere to spare. They are immersive mood pieces, cutting with speedy elegance between sun and rain, past and present, love and hate.17

Again, it is Signe who could possibly lead a way out of the misery. In season 2, she tries to re-​establish Grønnegaarden as a well-​functioning farm. She starts to cultivate the fields with hemp. Overcoming many obstacles, she is shown as a person that continues fighting on her own. Signe does not run a country like Birgitte Nyborg or a tricky murder investigation like Sarah Lund, but she runs a farm, with the sacrifices that come with it. Ironically, her plans to strive for a better, sustainable life perhaps come closest to the original ideals of some alternative communes in the 1960s. Up to this point in the diegesis, Arvingerne could be regarded as a modern and radical family portrait that provides a very sad picture of the 68 generation’s legacy. A  story about the consequences of looking for individual satisfaction at a time when traditional authorities collapse. The drama shows in great detail the transformations of modern family life –​ whether it takes place in a seemingly liberated and progressive artist’s home (Veronika) or in a petit-​bourgeois, sport-​loving environment (the family of Signe). In many ways, the family drama offers a critique of recent trends in society by showing a selfishly narcissistic, decadent world. It is critical of society in a very broad sense by questioning many ideals of a modern world, including self-​realisation, the striving for economic success and recognition, as well as the attraction of casual sexual encounters. More than any of the previous DR dramas, it paints a very bleak picture of how a normal modern family rather than sick serial killers can turn life into hell, leaving everyone uprooted and lonely. Yet, as illustrated by Signe’s 177

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character, there seems at least a hint of hope that things might get better in this Family Noir.

Returning to the ‘usual’ DR Conditions of Production? One reason for success at DR is the ability to take risks with new productions and to move away established formulas and processes. Arvingerne is a good case in point, as it moves away from the prevalent crime theme into new territory. Despite this change of genre, however, many of the frameworks have been picked up by this drama’s production team. Karoline Leth acts as producer of Arvingerne. She took over this job (from Kristian Rank) at the end of season 1 and found it necessary to draft a 40-​page production compendium when she started, because she had not followed the production closely from its start. Similar manuals have already been used for other productions, including Forbrydelsen, in order to retain some continuity despite different production crews working on various episodes. As explained by Leth during a talk at the Svend Film Festival in Svendborg,18 she wanted to gain a thorough understanding of the drama’s envisaged ‘language’, mood, colours and characters. During the discussion, she also mentions that her transformation from being a producer in a private production company to a producer at DR was pleasant owing to the favourable working conditions. When she was still working for SF Film, she was in charge of as many as 20 film productions at the same time. Now, DR offered her time to focus on just one project: Arvingerne. Talking about her responsibility as part of the main writer-​producer tandem, it was her job to take care of the finances, contracts and overall conditions. Leth puts it: ‘My most important task is to redeem the writer, photographer and director. Giving them a creative space.’ Even so, she found it refreshing to be also asked about her opinion regarding artistic matters, too, by the serial’s creator Maya Ilsøe. Arvingerne, like the majority of programmes discussed throughout this book (with the exception of Broen), was produced in-​house, adhering to the production frameworks and scaffolded conditions described earlier. Responsible in terms of the ‘one vision’ concept is Maya Ilsøe, who 178

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assembled her own team of film and television professions. The relatively young Ilsøe (she was born in 1975), like most creative people at DR, was educated at the National Film School before working for films and then as an episode-​writer for DR’s Sommer, together with Jeppe Gjervig Gram and others. Following the Cosmopolitan Talent Award in 2007, she became head writer for DR’s much-​praised Christmas serial for children Pagten in 2009. Even if her way of working seems to be in line with DR’s usual practice, for instance bringing in different directors for the production of one or two episodes each, she has also moved production in new directions. One of the most notable changes has been to bring in more female members of the crew. The people working for DR have been aware that they ought to bring in more women ever since the production of Borgen to add new angles to the narratives and aesthetics on the one hand and to represent society more generally on the other. In addition to Ilsøe herself, the team included more women than with most other DR projects, such as the writers Maja Jul Larsen (12 episodes), Lolita Belstar (9 episodes) and Heidi Maria Faisst (7 episodes), and the directors Pernilla August and Heidi Faisst. In many ways, Arvingerne is part of an on-​going change towards more gender equality. For a long time, however, Danish television has been dominated by female leading protagonists and male writers, as Norwegian producer Marit Kapla illustrates by some statistics: Table 6.1  Statistics illustrating the dominance of female leading protagonists and male writers in Danish television

The Killing: Borgen: The Bridge: The Protectors:

Leading role: Director: Producer: Writer:

Lead part

(main)Writer

W W W/​M W/​M

M M M M19

36% 15% 31% 20%20

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Women in Recent Successful Film and TV Drama Yet the fact that Maya Ilsøe brings in several women must not obscure the fact that she has also worked successfully with men, among them the writers Anders Frithiof August, Lars Andersen (both 3 episodes) and Per Daumiller (2 episodes). The change is nevertheless remarkable as there is no equivalent quota system for television productions as there is for film. Without concluding whether this is influenced by gender, Eva Redvall has pointed out that Illsøe, creating a major television drama for the first time, struggled during the early stages of the production process. She had to establish norms around the writers room and ‘[…] to stop discussions to do with the material’.21 It was intimidating suddenly to work with experienced and famous people such as director Pernilla August and actress Trine Dyrholm. Thanks to the help she received from within DR, she managed to overcome the initial challenges and presented a much-​admired family drama. Like earlier show-runners, she found that including the actors was a positive move. In an interview, the actor Carsten Bjørnlund (who played Frederik Grønnegaard) talks about what he perceived as a very constructive and collegiate work environment: There has been one word that was the key word for this production, and that was trust […] So trust has, somehow like, flowed throughout the whole process: Trust yourself, trust your co-​ workers, trust the script, trust the idea, trust the lightning, trust whatever. It was a good basis for working, because you could keep everything open […] It meant that you could go to work, have an idea, present your idea and trust that it would be taken seriously and might even end up in the show.22

The production, as Bjørnlund continues, paid so much attention to acting and performance that improvisation was used repeatedly in some of the scenes, giving them verisimilitude.23 Even if DR are not prepared to pay money towards a production design similar to that of a motion picture, a lot of resources are in fact given to character development since most of DR’s dramas are character-​driven serials. One of the most notable changes that came with Arvingerne, besides a higher number of female television/​film practitioners, was the importance given to design and other elements of mise-​en-​scène, as could already be 180

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Image 6.2  (parts a–​d) Borgen and Arvingerne: Interior Scandinavian design as attraction (DR 2010–13; DR 2014–)

seen in the presentation of the manor Grønnegaard. Accepting that design has always played a major role in the appeal of DR drama series, even if it has not been in any way the centre of attention before, Maya Ilsøe and Karoline Leth wanted to elevate the role within the overall production process. Design, as they saw it, could not only differentiate Arvingerne from previous Nordic Noir crime dramas, it could also be a ‘language’ of inspiration for the entire series. To accentuate design, Arvingerne’s production designer Mia Stensgaard, originally educated to design theatre plays, was given much more leverage early on in the pre-​production process and all the way to post-​production. 181

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Among other measures, Ilsøe invited her into the writers’ room and asked her to actively participate in the process of character development, particularly that of Veronika Grønnegaard. Together with screenwriter Iben Albinus Sabroe, Eva Redvall has closely examined the causes and effects of this special collaboration.24 They, among other aspects, debate how, besides DR, the National Film School of Denmark under its new head Vinca Wiedemann has started to acknowledge the role of production design by including design elements as part of its screenwriting courses. Speaking about Arvingerne, Sabroe and Redvall stress the pivotal role of Stensgaard in shaping and inspiring many aspects of the Veronika Grønnegaard character through items of art, colours, furniture, clothes, etc. One source of inspiration, for example, was found in the work of artists like Gordon Matta Clark, who cut houses into pieces in the 1970s. Stensgaard created Victoria’s art studio by delineating different stages of her own artistic development that can well be seen as a tour through contemporary European modernist art. Offering more than the odd PH lamp, this also helps to explain why the drama was released on Sky Art in Britain rather than the more obvious Sky Atlantic channel. Stensgaard’s help in telling the story of Veronika’s success by way of relying heavily on visual ways of telling a story rather than dialogue alone, makes her rise to the top as one of Denmark’s leading artists in the world a very cinematic experience. Yet, the designer’s influence could also be felt by the way the actors interacted with the set by way of introducing so-​ called ‘actions’ to the screenplay.25 In an interview, Stensgaard stresses: ‘It was about giving the actors as much obstructions as possible, so we strung cords up everywhere on the set which they should avoid falling over on the set’.26 The scene where Veronika’s urn falls down and the ashes spatter all over Fredrik is a good example of such an action in the story, where the design interacts with the characters. Through her involvement, Steensgaard has thus offered helped to integrate the design with the characters and the overall narrative of Arvingerne. A powerful image, where the sets are used symbolically to support the story are the derelict and fragmented walls of Grønnegaarden. As with the Christmas tree episode, the walls and the relationship towards the house could be interpreted in numerous ways as markers for the inhabitant’s 182

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decadence and their invested interest in nothing but art. Yet, they too represent the fragmented family situation laid out in the course of events. And where the golden colours indicate both relics from the 60s and 70s (the climax of Veronika’s life), they also stand for the drama’s endeavour to take new directions, production designs, collaborations and moods away from the success of Scandinavian crime. Not coincidentally, Arvingerne’s design manual stated ‘[a]void the colours black, white and grey’, as Karoline Leth points out. In this way they very directly tried to change Arvingerne into something else than Nordic Noir. Even though crime and Nordic Noir have been providing successful formulas for DR for some time now, the aesthetic and thematic changes also represent a willingness to renew Danish drama in creative ways.

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7 The Danish Take on National Security and the War on Terror: Ørnen: En krimi-​odyssé (The Eagle)

The DR programmes Forbrydelsen, Broen, Rejseholdet (Unit One), Livvagterne (The Protectors), Ørnen: En krimi-​odyssé (The Eagle) as well as the TV2 production Den som dræber (Those Who Kill) all revolve around delinquency, showing a televisual Danish crime hot spot and terrorist hub. In this chapter we illustrate the distribution of crime stories and character stories respectively in Ørnen and reflect on this distribution. Something really seems to be rotten in the state of Denmark if one looks at many of the popular TV shows that have been broadcast in recent years: murders, terrorist plots, Islamic extremists, natural disasters and child abuse are but some of the grim topics that have long become a staple of prime-​ time television in this Scandinavian kingdom. Television drama thus deviates significantly from the actual situation. As in the other Scandinavian countries, living conditions and the overall quality of life are very favourable in Denmark. According to the OECD Better Life Index, ‘Denmark ranks at the top in work-​life balance and above average in environmental quality, civic engagement, education and skills, jobs and earnings, income and wealth, and personal security’.1 And, according to statistics published by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, Denmark is also one of the safest countries. It has one of the lowest rates for intentional homicides in Europe –​on a par with countries such as Switzerland and Norway.2 184

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Whilst American and British imports played a part in this development toward crime narratives, it was principally fuelled by the success of Nordic Noir rather than actual Danish crime statistics. Because there was a growing viewer interest, DR decided to produce several original crime dramas. The genre has, in fact, been a core area for Danish quality television with an international appeal. The above-​mentioned shows, it would seem fair to argue, are not only variants of quality television made in Denmark; they also serve as an index of how Denmark through the medium of TV fiction responded to the fait accompli of a multicultural society and the threat of transnational crime and terrorism after September 11. For reasons of efficiency, Rejseholdet, Livvagterne and Ørnen: En krimi-​odyssé were planned almost back to back as a police trilogy under the auspices of producer Sven Clausen and the writers Peter Thorsboe and Mai Brostrøm.3 The idea was to develop all three series with different production teams in rapid succession with a very tight production schedule. The original narratives were developed from thematic complexes and socio-​political or ethical problems summarised in taglines rather than different characters. Unit One, which revolves around a mobile special police unit that fights different crimes across Denmark, comprises 32 episodes shown as part of four seasons from 2000 to 2004. It stars Charlotte Fich, Mads Mikkelsen and Lars Brygmann and was exported to a number of countries, including Sweden, Finland and Germany. Livvagterne tells the story of a Copenhagen-​based group of police bodyguards PET (Politiets Efterretningstjeneste). Livvagterne was shown in two seasons of ten episodes each in 2009 and 2010. It has been shown in several countries outside Demark, including Sweden, Finland, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. Although the crime trilogy has perhaps paved the way for the success of more recent television drama from Scandinavia and in fact Denmark, Ørnen: En krimi-​odyssé, or as it is called internationally The Eagle, is arguably the most interesting show. It has enjoyed both popular and critical approval in Denmark and abroad under the heading or brand Nordic Noir which we presented in the previous chapters on Broen and Forbrydelsen. Following its season premiere, it was fairly well received by audiences and reviewers. The first episode had a respectable 1.6 million viewers on the Sunday night drama time-slot.4 This actually gave the series a better start than Rejseholdet four years earlier. And although it is barely known in 185

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Britain and the US, the show has nevertheless travelled. It was screened in Scandinavia, Germany and Australia among other countries. An International Emmy Award for best non-​American television drama series in 2005 and two awards at the Monte Carlo Television Festival for best drama and ‘Outstanding Producer of the Year’ are indicative of its appeal internationally.

How Do You Survive as a Modern Human Being? Made by DR, Ørnen revolves around a Copenhagen-​based counterterrorist and anti-​organised crime unit around the charismatic Icelandic detective chief constable Hallgrim Ørn Hallgrimsson (Jens Albinus). The tagline for Ørnen was ‘How do you survive as a human being at a time of total (economic) cynicism’?5 The unit is led by the well-​connected Thea Nellemann (Ghita Nørby), who often has to counterbalance different interests by the criminal investigators, politicians, the public and other countries’ law enforcement agencies. The team of investigators consists of former soldier Nazim Talawi (Janus Nabil Bakrawi), with whom Hallgrim has served in the Middle east, the smart and ambitious criminal prosecutor Marie Wied (Marina Bouras), crime scene investigator Ditte Hansen (Susan Olsen), the IT expert Michael Kristensen (David Owe) and assistant investigator Villy Frandsen (Steen Stig Lommer). Equipped with the latest surveillance technology and relying on their street-​wise criminalist expertise they embark on a fight against Europe’s transnational criminal networks. Fighting against terrorism, assassinations, forced prostitution, human trafficking, international fraud and other serious offences, they repeatedly operate outside Denmark, solving cross-​border cases in Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Germany and France. The three series of Ørnen were originally broadcast from October to November in 2004, 2005 and 2006. The three seasons consist of eight episodes, each with some overlapping narrative strands. Unlike other contemporary Danish drama, Ørnen can be classified as a series (episode serie) rather than a serial (føljeton) as it features a number of self-​contained complex cases that eventually conclude after two to three instalments. Seen in comparison with later DR dramas, the overall narrative complexity and storylines of Ørnen actually seem less refined than for instance 186

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Broen and Borgen. Its use of criminal cases that are solved after a maximum of three episodes, its reliance on master villains, etc. demonstrate that the programme stands in a long tradition of spy and criminal films rather than developments associated with quality television. Rather than the nuanced characters and subtle complexities of later dramas such as Borgen, Forbrydelsen and Arvingerne, Ørnen consciously uses stereotypes and relies on more traditional narrative elements. As Lea Gamula and Lothar Mikos put it, the trilogy consisting of Rejseholdet, Livvagterne and Ørnen bears a resemblance to US television dramas such as CSI franchise (CBS 2000–) with regard to working practices, dramaturgy and aesthetics. Yet it is questionable, as they put it, whether the productions are part of Scandinavian high-​quality television, owing to their lack of multi-​layered plot structures and different perspectives.6 Even if this is certainly true, Ørnen nevertheless largely avoids the clichés and schoolmasterly tone that can be found in the other two programmes of DR’s crime trilogy for instance. The German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung justifiably asserted that Livvagterne relies too heavily on formulas and irritates because of its patronising pedagogic intention.7 The same cannot be said about Ørnen, even if the programme is but a preliminary development, a phase of experimenting with the possibilities of television drama within and beyond genre conventions and other traditions. The makers of Ørnen tried to link episodes more closely by playing with different forms of narrative progression and overarching themes and motifs. When a current criminal investigation comes to an end, a new assignment, for example, is often already underway through an encounter or developments that begin to emerge simultaneously. This foreshadowing or overlapping provides a seamless transition of an otherwise rather traditional procedural drama series. Yet, in comparison to the now canonical US series of that genre such as Dragnet (NBC 1951–​9), Columbo (NBC 1968–​78 and ABC 1989–​2003), Hawaii 5–​0 (CBS 1968–​80) or the more recent CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (CBS 2000–​) and Law and Order: Special Victims Unit (ABC 1999–​), the pooling of two to three episodes allows for more variation. Narrative progression, furthermore, is not entirely closed as character development and interactions are continuous. Hallgrim’s personal problems and inscrutable character indeed function as the main story arc rather than the team’s criminal cases. It is he, after all, 187

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who gave the drama series its name. This focus on the life of the characters rather that the actual crimes/​issues seems to be a significant element in recent Danish television drama.

Hallgrim’s Odyssey A closer look at the programme Ørnen reveals other interesting aspects that distinguish it from less sophisticated examples of television drama. It is one of Hallgrim’s quirks to name each criminal investigation after a character from Homer’s The Odyssey. The episodes are named accordingly. The first season, for instance, features the episodes Sisyphus (two episodes), Scylla, Iphigenia, Ares (two episodes), Nemesis and Hades. Other names from the second and third season are called Cronus (two episodes), Erinye, Agamemnon (three episodes), Ceres (two episodes), Calypso (two episodes), Thanatos (two episodes), Minos (two episodes) and Ithaca (two episodes). This of course suggests an analogy between Odysseus’ journey after the Trojan War and Hallgrim’s personal and professional quest. Such a reading is backed by a number of similarities. The number of 24 books of The Odyssey corresponds with the 24 episodes of Ørnen. Apart from names and structural resemblance, there are communalities regarding content, too. Living in the Danish diaspora, Hallgrim repeatedly tries to travel back to Iceland to confront a traumatic childhood memory. Before he is allowed back home, however, he has to rise to a number of challenges. His status as a flawed, sometimes frenetic hero, uprooted foreigner and lonely traveller is represented in a number of scenes –​often in the form of failed relationships, ill health, representations of restlessness and being on the move. He also lives –​most of the time –​in a hotel room rather than an actual home and is repeatedly shown at train stations, airports and foreign capitals as markers of his displacement. Geographical sets thus become tropes illustrating his quest. Just like Odysseus, whose name means ‘trouble’ in Greek, Hallgrim seems to attract problematic situations. The different investigations, too, allude to the journeys described in the Greek epic. One example is the apparitions of his deceased former girlfriend, who seems to be a kind of guardian and who councils Hallgrim on interpersonal matters, just like Athena gives advice to Odysseus and serves as a patroness throughout his journey. Alongside Hallgrim, who clearly 188

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stands out as the central character, members of his unit are also shown with personal burdens which they have to confront besides working on their criminal cases.

Where is My Home? The overarching theme of the often problematic pursuit of happiness despite all the vicissitudes of life is emphasised through the emblematic title song ‘Forgiveness’ by Misen Groth (lyrics) and her husband Jacob (music).8 The latter has established a working relationship and friendship with the filmmakers Søren Kragh-​Jacobsen, Rumle Hammerich and Niels Arden Oplev. He is behind many successful DR television dramas, including Ørnen, Taxa, Rejseholdet, Krøniken and Livvagterne as well as other productions such as the second part of the Swedish Millennium adaptation of Stieg Larsson’s thriller The Girl Who Played with Fire (Flickan som lekte med elden, Daniel Alfredson, Sweden 2009). In Ørnen, it is the spheric ambient sound in connection with the lyrics that not only sets the tone for the drama but also add to the complexity of the characters’ quest, above all that of Hallgrim. It opens with the lines: ‘I…/​I’m a roamer in time/​I travel alone/​ Throughout an endless journey/​Home… /​Where is my home?’ The final question, which is repeated near the end of the song, marks an undercurrent theme or motto: a general longing for human warmth and sense of belonging that characterises the entire drama and ultimately adds multiple significance to an otherwise rather conventional detective drama. As with many of the later dramas, the opening score of DR Drama’s need to add an auditive signature to the different programmes from the start. It not only must sum up the mood of the entire show in a nutshell but also grasp the audience’s attention. What Ørnen is an early example of is the use of a very refined soundscape that may well be described as a postmodern collage of well-​established genre markers and traditions with new ideas. Ørnen’s first season shows the formation of the unit under the well​connected Thea Nellemann, who is able to win over former soldier Hallgrim Ørn Hallgrimsson as leading detective inspector. The criminal cases of this season are largely connected to the crimes of an ex-​KGB agent and master villain Sergej Varsjinskij (Thomas W. Gabrielsson). Hallgrim has promised 189

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his sister to travel to Iceland to see his sick mother, but is held up by a murder at Copenhagen airport and subsequent other pressing assignments. In a similar way to Sarah Lund in Forbrydelsen, who had promised her partner to go to Sweden to get married, Hallgrim loses sight of what he has promised his loved ones. Both protagonists are portrayed as highly addicted to their work and their frenetic investigations. This is a characterisation that also fits other main figures in Danish television drama such as Saga Norén, Martin Rohde and Henrik Sabroe in Broen or Ingrid Dahl in Rejseholdet. It seems crucial in all of these shows to portray the modern dilemma of being split between the past, the job and the family and not being willing to face problematic issues from earlier on. Of not being able to find peace at home, but always being on the run. Again this can be regarded a modern kind of Odyssey. His name, Hallgrim Ørn Hallgrimsson, is also a traditional Icelandic name. The fact that he is named after his father (which is shown both in his first name and family name) may well suggest strong Icelandic family roots. Having Ørn as his middle name increases his position as a free bird (an eagle). The combination conveys the idea that he is both flying and rooted at the same time as a modern human being. Furthermore, the name, Hallgrim, stems from the Icelandic word ‘grimur’ which means mask. This gives the connotation that Hallgrim hides something behind a mask or consists of two different persons. Once again, names are an important part of the characterisation as they are indicative of certain traits that are only comprehensible by a Scandinavian audience. Besides the importance of his work, Hallgrim’s relationship to his mother and sister is thus portrayed as marred by a childhood trauma. While he repeatedly foils criminal plots, he attends psychotherapy sessions. Other team members, too, have to deal with other problems than their work. One example of this is the marital crisis of Ditte Hansen, who is married to a fellow crime scene investigator. Hallgrim offers her a job despite the fact that she is going through a divorce and has to cope with being stressed out as a single mother of three. Referring to the structure of sympathy by Murray Smith,9 it is rather more difficult to feel allegiance towards Hallgrim than for instance the leading characters in Forbrydelsen, Broen, Borgen and Arvingerne. The viewers are not offered much information about him besides bits and pieces from his Icelandic childhood. The focus, instead is on the crime cases he is 190

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solving. By revealing very little about Halgrim’s background and feelings, he forms an enigma narrative that invited viewers to find out more –​arguably at the expense of establishing a positive allegiance towards him. In stark contrast to Hallgrim’s inability to express his feelings to his own family and partners, he seems to care for his team of investigators, who might well be seen as a substitute family, even if the reason for his actions are not explained sufficiently. When Hallgrim recovers from a heart operation at the beginning of season two, he witnesses quite by chance an attractive woman being physically threatened by Benjamin Stern (Shanti Roney), who turns out to be a member of the Israeli mafia. The subsequent investigation reveals that Stern is connected to a number of crimes, including illegal arms trafficking, blackmail and an international ring of paedophiles with connections to high society, including senior police investigators within the German police in Berlin. With the Congolese warlord Le Mabé (Trevor Laird), a second antagonist is introduced. He comes to Denmark under a false identity to settle a score with a former business partner. At the end of season two, there is an imminent threat of a suicide bomber in Copenhagen.

The Cosmopolitan Crossover Production The third season begins with a case against a Columbian drug cartel that smuggles drugs to Scandinavia. Besides their investigation, considerable time is once more devoted to the private lives of the police team and how this impacts upon their job. Hallgrim’s new girlfriend, for instance, is the owner of a major shipping company that might be used to ship the drugs to Denmark and Ditte Hansen’s daughter disappears after becoming the victim of a rape. The second case returns to the theme of child abuse. A ring of paedophiles is using the UNICEF-​sponsored aid and development organisation for children ‘Streetchild of God’ to identify their victims. The season finale revolves around a massacre committed by Serbian soldiers against Muslim civilians during the Yugoslavian civil war. One of the alleged offenders is the former Belgrade head of police Bosco Markovich (Uwe Kockisch) who is now running a private business in Berlin. What complicates matters is that Markovich has befriended Hallgrim at a conference. During the investigation in the German capital, which reveals that 191

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Markovich has become a leading figure in the Serbian mafia, Nazim is shot. Troubled by the loss of his colleague and friend, Hallgrim follows the villain and his helpers to Iceland for the season’s finale. Ørnen was an important chance for DR to explore the possibilities of cross-​national cooperation. It cemented the relationship with ZDF Enterprises as a valuable international distribution arm. In fact, the entire so-​called police trilogy was co-​produced by ZDF Enterprises. Part of the programme is not only based abroad to give it more edge, the cosmopolitan feel can also be seen as having helped the show’s international sales. Serving this double purpose, the co-​production agreement consciously included Berlin as a setting for several episodes. The cosmopolitan German capital was an obvious choice, given its renaissance as a trendy travel destination with a vibrant cultural scene. As to this bilateral cooperation between DR and ZDF Enterprises, the German newspaper Frankfurter Rundschau notes: A few years ago, in the course of the European integration, there was the terrifying vision of ‘Euro-​Films’. Yet, such a product has yet largely not materialised in cinemas. With Ørnen and Livvagterne, however, the Danes and the ZDF have established the ‘Euro-​TV crime drama’. And this doesn’t give any cause for alarm.10

Even if the Danish production crew largely relied on their own equipment and staff for most of the filming, they benefitted from the experiences abroad by using German action scene experts. This also explains why the Berlin episodes have a very different, more fast-​paced feel to them. As Bo Tengberg notes about this cross-​border collaboration: I would say it was a very good experience shooting in Berlin, we shot partly with the German crew. It was the department for set design and special effects. We had a lot of special effects, cars blowing up and chases, shootings, helicopters. The Germans were extremely competent  –​the stunt people in particular were amazing. I  have never worked before with people that good. Most of the photography department and the lighting came from Denmark [though]. We took our own trucks down there with lighting equipment. [We] probably [did this] mainly

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The Danish Take on National Security and the War on Terror because of the way DR operates. That they own their own equipment. It is easier and cheaper for them, too, to just drive the equipment down there [rather] then to rent it.11

As with other Danish television shows, Ørnen illustrates the interconnectivity between the New Danish Cinema and television through the cast and credits. Many of the people involved are congruent. Søren Kragh-​ Jacobsen, one of the key players associated with Dogma 95, not only directed two episodes of Ørnen but also an instalment of the equally successful television series Livvagterne. Photographer Bo Tengberg –​one of our interviewees –​is a key player when it comes to the renewal of aesthetics across Danish film and television, as he was not only part of the crew at TV shows like Taxa, Forbrydelsen and Ørnen but also the photographer behind numerous Danish films such as: Let’s Get Lost (Jonas Elmer 1997), Pizza King (Ole Christian Madsen 1999) and Nordkraft (Ole Christian Madsen 2005). Tengberg emphasises cross-​media crews as one of the main reasons behind the success of Danish television drama. Across the TV drama he has shot –​including Ørnen –​one can see the inspiration from documentary, from American television series and from film. Janus Nabil Bakrawi, who plays the characteristic policeman, Nazim Talawi, in Ørnen, is a well-​known actor from films e.g. Pizza King and Cecilie (2007). Furthermore, he has been not only in Ørnen, but in other television series like Taxa (DR 1997–9) and Rita (TV2 2012–). Janus’ character Nazim is portrayed in the first episode of Ørnen as a tough policeman from a migrant background. Other characters besides Nazim in Ørnen come from different cultures and countries. The multicultural composition of the team in Ørnen, which characterises modern Denmark as a country of immigration, also bears a resemblance to Rejseholdet and Livvagterne, which also feature team members from different socio-​cultural and religious backgrounds. Bakrawi has a father who is Palestinian-​Jordanian and a Polish mother. Janus grew up in Denmark, Jordan and Poland. He has a quite dramatic background, as he was both abducted by his father to Jordan when seven years old and later placed in an orphanage in Denmark. Today he is quite well-​known to Danish audiences, not only because of his performances in fiction but also from a documentary series called De bortførte børn (The 193

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Abducted Children, DR 2015). Coming from a non-​Danish background, Janus represents a coloured rarity in Danish film and television. Especially in the film field, people from other ethnically diverse backgrounds are not strongly represented. The Danish Film Institute has been accused of being too afraid of promoting diverse backgrounds in Danish films.12 They have now made a report seeking to bring new initiatives into the film world so as to meet this criticism and change the lack of coloured representations in Danish film.13 One could ask why Danish television drama is better at using a wide range of coloured characters in its series. The answer might be an economic one, as TV is often aiming at a broader audience. But also the ‘double story’ (according to Dogma no. 2 in the 15 DR drama dogmas) might contain part of the explanation. Dar Salim, who played Amir in Borgen, is yet another example from a Danish television series. He takes part in: Broen, Borgen, and Livvagterne). Non-white actors people used both in minor and major roles help DR to carry out its public service contract, one could say, as they thus represent a wide range of the Danish migrant population and its problems.

The Character-​driven Story Ørnen  – like Forbrydelsen and Broen  –​mixes and matches the foregrounded crime investigation with more personal storylines and Danish social, political, war-​related and cultural issues. Again, it shows how DR’s principle of the ‘double narration’ works. Fairly extraordinary developments that create a more traditional dramaturgy of spy and crime thrillers are accompanied by more motif-​driven storylines. By switching back and forth from a criminal investigation to scenes revolving around single parenting, divorce, feeling lonely etc., the series enables a deeper audience involvement. It aims at being more than escapist entertainment. As with other television dramas by DR, the motif-​driven and character-​driven storylines are considerably slower than the event-​based progression of the criminal cases. As introduced previously, the slow pace is often related to Nordic Noir. In an article on this phenomenon, Glen Creeber convincingly argues that the occasional slowness is a hallmark of Scandinavian television; it bears a resemblance, he notes, to what Amy Holdsworth has 194

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identified as a characteristic of the television work by the British author and director Stephen Poliakoff: Much of the action or inaction […] is characterised by this slowness. There are numerous occasions where the characters are framed in stillness and silence […] The dialogue and the score of the drama are similarly characterised by a slowness that is achieved via pauses and repetition. All these elements contribute to this ‘slowing down’ effect. However, it is a pace that never feels leisurely as the urgency of the narrative predicament is continually present, but effectively heightens the sense of anticipation and expectation, offering the viewer an alternatively compelling television experience that positions itself against the increasingly fast-​paced dynamic of contemporary serial drama.14

Even if Ørnen can hardly be seen as slow television in view of the many rapidly-​edited action sequences full of tension, such thoughtful, dilatory moments can be found. Besides dialogue scenes, there are a number of long shots that are used to create an uncanny and mysterious atmosphere. A repetitive example is the faded, 1960s or 1970s Polaroid-​like images from the title sequence as well as flashbacks during the episodes that add psychological depth to the main protagonist. Without the use of dialogue, the scenes suggest that his fear of commitment stems from the fact that Hallgrim is haunted by a childhood memory. The narrative composition of Ørnen can be broken down to three main storylines. At the centre are the crime or terrorist investigations for each case. A number of dramatic twists create excitement and suspense. The sheer number of plot points is remarkable, a total number of 17 can be observed in the first episode alone, creating a very dense dramaturgy, adding to the overall sense of restlessness. Themes that are part of the narrative at some point concern domestic life (such as single parenting, work-​life balance, childlessness, marriage problems and divorce), but also society more general (through plot points and story arcs linked to terrorism, organised crime, drug abuse, bureaucracy, international affairs, fatal illness, war and conflict). This main narrative strand, which receives most screen time, is seconded by two other storylines that are more character-​driven or based on 195

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larger motifs: the personal lives of the investigators and Hallgrim’s inner problems and family issues. Although Ørnen at first appears to be a rather conventional police or spy drama series that perhaps places more emphasis on characters’ development than comparable programmes, its dramaturgical structure relies as much on motifs linked to the concept of the double story instead of actions and sudden events. The first episode alone introduces themes such as racist prejudices (Nazim is, as briefly mentioned above, framed as a violent policeman from a migrant background by politicians and the press), severe illness (Frandsen’s wife has cancer), single parenting (Ditte, the mother of three) and capital punishment (some of the criminals would face the death penalty in Russia). The storylines were developed not so much from the characters as contemporary conflicts and news items.15 Made after the terror attacks of September 11 in New York and the Madrid train bombings and at the time of the London Bombings in 2005, Ørnen is set during a new age of uncertainly that seems to legitimise military interventions and other measures of the so-​called ‘war on terror’. In this way DR was not so different from other forms of popular culture in that it quickly responded to the actual threats as well as the collective paranoia that followed the attacks. In so doing, the show relates to the plethora of prime-​time spy dramas that were made in the wake of global terror and organised crime. As such, The Agency (CBS 2001–​3), 24 (FOX 2001–10) and Spooks (BBC 2002–​) –​all of which were shown on Danish TV –​are but some examples of this renewed interest in what had actually been a 1960s TV genre. Ørnen shows a degree of similarity to such international templates. To start with, the series shows a fascination with computer systems, gadgets, weapons, the insertion of geolocation and time data as well as the latest surveillance technology as exemplified by the signature satellite images zooming into the various locations of the action. So as to create a sense of unease, the programme uses rapid editing, jolting zoom-​in close-​ups and cross-​cutting that suggest the immediacy of parallel actions. Some images, moreover, have the look of CCTV cameras, keeping the unit of investigators as well as the audiences in a state of high alert. Besides aesthetics, a recurring theme is that of personal sacrifice for the good of the nation that also runs through the many hapless relationships, in particular in the British Spooks –​a quality that is particularly underlined by its catchphrase 196

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‘It’s MI5, not 9 to 5’. The close relationship between politics, administrative bodies and the secret services is dealt with in great detail, as it has been in The Agency, Spooks and 24. The show’s theme and aesthetics, which are in many way similar to Anglo-American formats, looked very different to most Danish drama made in previous years. Yet besides looks and storylines it is the psychological complexity and the way in which the series portrays a well-fortified democracy by way of an aggressive national security agenda that mark a decisive shift in Danish culture. Screened in Denmark more than a year before the Muhammad cartoons controversy, the series debates an alleged Scandinavian cosiness by challenging notions liberalism, multiculturalism and a specific ‘Nordic’ sense of non-​violent conflict resolution. The composition of Hallgrim Ørn Hallgrimsson’s unit, moreover, adds another interesting aspect to the series as it offers a cross-​section of a modern Danish society, including immigrants, single parents, and traumatised soldiers. Compared with other international spy series, Ørnen, moreover, places significantly more emphasis on international cooperation. In their mission to bring down criminals and extremists they operate in various friendly European countries by way of liaising with their respective police and security services. The series, thereby, shows how in the world of global terror and crime, geographical settings no longer ‘define ideological settings between good and evil,’ as Klaus Dodds has argued in connection with the Cold War James Bond films where this was still the case.16 In doing so, the programme thematises the new quality of a conflict without clear boundaries and reflects Denmark’s role as an active and loyal Western (military) partner following the attacks on the New York Twin Towers. This was a seismic development for a country that has only given up its neutrality after World War II. Now, under the then-Prime Minister and later Secretary General of NATO Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the country has increasingly assumed an active role in international peace-​keeping and anti-​terror missions, including ISAF in Afghanistan, KFOR in Kosovo, UNIFIL in Lebanon and, last but not least, the war in Iraq. This new role has had a deep impact on Ørnen –​as well as other recent series such as Livvagterne –​as the series suggests a military history for many of the main protagonists. As such, the changed self-​identity, combat willingness but also new vulnerability are all inscribed into the series. In fact, Ørnen 197

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Image 7.1  (parts a–d) Ørnen: The changed geopolitics as personal experience: Denmark during the war on terror (DR 2004–6)

provides an index of how current geopolitics have changed Denmark’s role in the world, from a country that was far from being a Cold War hotspot to a nation that is now affected by the asymmetrical threat of global crime and terror. Denmark has either turned into a battleground for international crime itself or is affected by it in one way or another as 21st-century 198

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terrorists and gangsters operate across national boundaries. In this way, the series provides a popular response not only to a country that has lost its innocence in the various conflict zones and on battlefields but also to a new heightened sense of insecurity that helps to explain the much-​debated decision to close its borders in spite of the EU Schengen Agreement. The Danish border has become a drug and human trafficking route in recent years. Made before films such as The Bourne Ultimatum, Rendition (both made in 2007) or Quantum of Solace (2008), Ørnen not only absorbs popular (Danish) fears but also offers a nuanced critique of government and security service complicity, unethical behaviour, illicit mental and physical violence, fatal misjudgements and the suppression of truth.17 Not least because Ørnen deals with the fear of terrorism and organised global crime, the Danish newspaper Politiken gave the first episode four out of six possible hearts, according to its rating system.18 However, critics also saw the immanent shortcomings. Jyllands-​Posten, for instance, was more critical. It accepted the entertainment value of the drama, but also remarked that after the series viewers might find that the plot does not hold water.19 When Ørnen ended, the tabloid Ekstra Bladet concluded that the series: ‘has illustrated good hand-​craftsmanship on a large scale’, but that it lost track in terms of quality with season three, which depended too much on ‘smartphones, computer solutions and coincidences’.20 Danish drama still had some way to go. When Clausen and fellow producer Pernille Sutherland moved on to Borgen, they responded to some of the criticism by creating a more complex drama on politics and human detours. One can conclude by asserting that this critical self-reflexivity is a major strength of the people behind drama production at DR.

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Beyond the Bridge has looked at the phenomenon of contemporary Danish drama. It has presented key personnel and institutions and talked about media control, funding, professional training and economic structures of the television industry in Denmark from the early 1990s to now. In addition to more general aspects, it has analysed the Danish television dramas Forbrydelsen, Broen, Borgen, Ørnen and Arvingerne from a number of angles so as to illustrate and reflect upon different aspects of production culture at DR as well as specific narrative and aesthetic strategies. While the programmes are all exemplary for the public service broadcaster’s achievements, they are nonetheless very different. Reading the case studies from a diachronic perspective not only marks aspects of continuity but also of change. There are clear signs of constant redevelopment at DR itself. The Danish pubic service broadcaster seems to be adamant not to become formulaic or predictable by accepting the challenges of revitalisation. Whereas Lars von Trier’s celebrated Riget can well be seen as a one-​ off success of 1990s Danish TV, the wealth of recent successes suggest a more general attractiveness of television for Danish film personnel. The way in which television opens up possibilities to combine socially relevant themes with cinema aesthetics by way of a multi-​layered serial dramaturgy, television offered an attractive alternative –​or in many cases 200

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an addition –​to film work. Or, to put it differently, whereas the discerning themes of one-​off television plays were often seen as inferior to the big cinematic screen, the wedding of ambitious topics with the possibilities of overarching continuous narratives allowed for complex storylines and character development. In addition to monetary reasons that might well have played a part in the decision to work for DR or TV2, many filmmakers gravitated to television for artistic reasons, too. Drama production at DR opened up potential for peripatetic, interwoven plots and dramatis personae. Besides this impact of talented filmmakers, the general strength of public service broadcasting in a small country such as Denmark certainly played a part in the thematic complexity and rather daring selection of controversial issues that are taken up by many a fictional television series included in this volume. Taking chances and initiating new production processes and compositions of cast and crews seems typical for DR Drama –​not least through important changes in personnel. A major shift could be felt in the mid1990s when Rumle Hammerich reorganised drama production and made professional teams of freelancers for each drama the norm. Even if there only was relative job stability –​all contracts habitually ended with a maximum of three seasons –​DR offered very favourable overall conditions. And in the late 1990s Ingolf Gabold transformed existing and desirable ideas and tacit knowledge into 15 so-​called dogmas for television that still influence production at DR to this day. The head of TV Fiction Nadia Kløvedal Reich and, when TV Fiction was renamed TV Drama, Piv Bernth, have continued to redevelop the institutional supporting frameworks at DR. Not least owing to its past success, DR Drama is in a very comfortable economic situation to maintain this culture, despite cut-​backs in other departments. As of 2016, television seems more desirable than ever as a career springboard both for established as well as up-​and-​coming creative talent in a number of industry professions. Confident that writers who have much support as well as freedom are at the heart of any good drama, DR has given them significant leverage of their dramas through the dictum of the one vision. With their control over almost any aspect of production, DR is often accepting, and in fact welcoming, new ideas and approaches. As a means of fostering young talent, DR often probes writers as episode-​writers first before allowing them 201

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to become head writers. The latest example for this is Jeppe Gjervig Gram’s itinerary from episode writer for Borgen to head writer of Bedrag.

Re-​evaluation and Redevelopment at DR: New Projects and New Risks In 2016, DR released the television drama Bedrag (Follow the Money, 2016–​). It tells the story of how financial crises can impact upon human lives and how the Scandinavian model of the social democratic welfare state is on trial. The first four episodes had an average audience of just below 1.3 million Danes that are specified as a minimum requirement by DR in the contracts.1 Then the number dropped to only 961,000 for the fifth episode.2 Even if Denmark’s participation in the European Championship for handball might have played a role, another explanation could also be that the characters were, as some critics in Denmark noted, too clichéd and not as authentic3 as in the dramas discussed in this book. Bedrag arguably did not develop characters as complex as in some of the previous dramas. Or, using the term by Horton, they were less ‘polyphonic’. The pre-​sale revenues secured by Bedrag as the latest much sought after DR drama, however, attenuated the show’s difficult reception at home. DR, after all these years, can now compensate for disappointing ratings and some critical reviews in the press. As briefly mentioned in ­Chapter 2, Bedrag’s head writer Jeppe Gjervig Gram was in charge of the drama. The main storyline in season 1 is about a character called Mads Justesen. He is played by Thomas Bo Larsen whom audiences in Denmark and abroad might remember from most of Thomas Vinterberg’s films, in particularly through his role in Dogma’s 1998 film Festen. The last name ‘Justesen’ not coincidentally sounds like the English ‘justice’ as he plays a police man who seems to take the law in his own hands. Somewhat reminiscent of classic American hardboiled detectives who follow their own code of conduct rather than the legal system to fight corruption and other vices, Bedrag’s main theme seems to be how in a number of spheres and professions, people intend to reach their goals by whatever means. In this way, Bedrag follows on from the questions that were already raised by other dramas discussed in this book. While DR had consciously moved 202

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away from the Nordic Noir look that has contributed so significantly to its success with Borgen and Arvingerne, Bedrag is yet darker again. Its gloomy fictional world follows a male protagonist amidst a greedy world of corporate fraud and deceit. It stars a number of well-​known Danish actors beyond Thomas Bo Larsen, including Nikolaj Lie Kaas and Line Kruse. With the customary writing phase and the usual set up of a head writer (Gram) assisted by two co-​writers (Jannik Tai Mosholt and Anders August Gram), the DR serial was given significant room to be developed with much time to do research on business life and the economy in the digital age. DR was able to win over Per Fly to direct the serial. He was the man behind a number of successful Danish films, including Bænken (1999) and Arven (2003) and had previously directed the experimental television show Forestillinger (2007) for DR. Using but one director for the entire programme marks a departure from most of the previous dramas. DR, so it seems, looks for more consistency across different episodes. Be it for a more coherent aesthetic, a more coherent integration of the ‘double story’ or for a simpler production workflow, this change marks a development that already started with the historical drama 1864, for which Ole Bornedal wrote and directed all episodes.4 While such an auteurist model has been replaced by a more collegiate production team led by ‘writeurs’ of shared responsibilities and discussion, Bornedal had refused to work with a team of writers and fired three acknowledged episode-​ writers. In opposition to the dramas discussed in our book, this model was rather unsuccessful when 1864 ultimately fell behind audience and critics’ expectations and developed into a financial burden that eventually cost DR 173 million Danish Kroner, or 360.416 per minute.5 Media Studies scholar and cultural historian Gunhild Agger had already warned about the consequences of Bornedal’s refusal to share his vision with others: ‘Otherwise, the experience of the DR’s major historical productions from Matador to Krøniken is that the cooperation of several writers and directors is helpful. The question is whether it is possible to implement a drama production in the television media, which so extensively dependent on a single person with a successful outcome.’6 Whether or not the one-​director strategy works or is in fact responsible for some points of criticism remains to be seen. 203

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Beyond Dogma 95: Advantageous Production Culture on Several Levels Scholars often mention Dogma 95 as the origin of the success of Danish drama. And this was definitely an important concept back then, marking a watershed moment of a ‘cinematic turn’ in Denmark as described by Mette Hjort and others.7 But the more nuanced picture shown by our analysis of case studies is that constraints and restrictions are applied at various different levels as supporting frameworks –​functioning as scaffolding –​long before and also after the Dogma 95 movement. The firm belief in the general helpfulness of constraints eventually led to the formulation of the 15 so-​called dogmas for television by DR executive producers. Even if the production framework of Dogma 95 served a dual purpose as production guideline as well as a successful branding tool whereas the 15 DR dogmas for television were only meant to inform production and are largely unknown outside the Danish television industry, both concepts underline the focus and inspiration such types of scaffolding can provide to creative personnel. As introduced in ­Chapter 2, the National Film School of Denmark and its experimenting ‘pen-​test’, as a precursor for Dogma 95, carried out from the mid-eighties onwards has been playing a major role in facilitating the innovation of Danish film and television. Many relevant practitioners now working for DR were educated at the School. These are all influenced by teacher and writer Mogens Rukov, with his beliefs in rule-​making (scaffolding) and the use of natural stories that has influenced the way audio-​ visual art and handcraft are taught at the School. When Rukov passed away in December 2015, writer Nikolaj Scherfig singled out his relevance for the thriving film and television culture: ‘Mogens Rukov was the biggest Danish film educator ever. His influence on The Danish Film School […] simply cannot be overstated. Without Mogens no Dogma, no New Wave of Danish films in the 90s, no massive resurgence of a screenwriter generation which has been so important to the Danish film and especially Danish television series could have taken place’, he pointed out.8 In connection with the very ‘safe’ and well resourced environment at DR, the use of scaffolded creative environments prove very productive. This point is confirmed by director Kaspar Munk’s and also Jeppe Gjervig Gram’s 204

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statements in our book. Representative of many other practitioners, Bo Tengberg sums up the favourable conditions of production by saying: ‘At DR they use a lot of financial resources to develop, write and produce.’9 In this regard the production outfit at DR offers surroundings to experience creative flow as defined by Mihaly Csikzentmihalyi.10 Such an environment offers immediate feedback to actions and drafts and makes the practitioners feel focused, inspired and acknowledged. Csíkszentmihályi stresses that: ‘The right milieu is important in more ways than one. It can affect the production of novelty as well as its acceptance […]’.11 Or, in the words of Chris Bilton, it is possible to ‘[…] argue that creative processes and creative people actually thrive on constraints and boundaries’.12 In the DR Drama surroundings, we would conclude that the creative working processes towards new Danish drama appear to thrive on scaffolding and thus continue to evolve –​sometimes in creative ways as we saw it with the shows discussed. Constraints, either productional or chosen ones, are often regarded as positive challenges that offer new possibilities and directions. This book was primarily concerned with the ways and contexts that have facilitated the outstanding success of contemporary Danish drama. Through a mix of expert interviews with people who have contributed to contemporary Danish drama in different capacities, the study of industry documents and critical reception in Denmark and abroad, exemplary interpretation of different serials with changing foci of interests and analyses of narrative structures we were effectively able to study Danish television drama. We were able to identify some of the reasons behind the continuous innovation of Danish dramas. Not only does contemporary Danish drama constitute a fascinating area of interest in and by itself, it also connects with broader issues such as the relevance and purpose of public service broadcasting and fictional television. The programmes included in our study, indeed, show how television dramas with high production values can be produced in the post-​network era in Europe. As most of the television makers involved in recent Danish television drama graduated from the National Film School of Denmark, the majority of the people behind the programmes are familiar of and influenced by the concept of scaffolding, natural stories, well-​structured scenes and the importance of complex dramatis personae. This background, as we have 205

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argued, is important as it permeates almost every aspect of Danish production culture. In fact, the bridges from processes to products are seminal if one aims at studying the mechanisms and strategies behind contemporary Danish fictional television. During our research, we were able to ascertain a number of different levels that have facilitated contemporary Danish drama’s success.

An Influential Production Culture At a macro level, Danish television culture has been characterised by a mix of competition and protection. As a small nation, Denmark has introduced a number of supportive measures that have helped the film and television industry. In addition to benefits provided by the European Union and international co-​production deals, one has to name the generous licence fee for public service broadcasting, the Danish specific model of a ‘flexi-​ curity’ job market, the systematic development of training provided by the Film School as well as funding made available through the Danish Film Institute, have all helped Denmark to provide a very favourable production context despite being a country of high wages and strict labour contracts. A  mix of generous public support, whether directly through licence fee money or indirectly through audio-​visual funds and other subsidies, international aspiration and transnational cooperation certainly facilitated the recent success of Danish drama. The television culture, in fact, follows in the wake of the country’s cinema success that has been booming for three decades despite Denmark being a small country.13 The fact that especially the capital Copenhagen has developed into a productive hotspot for audio-​ visual practitioners that has been characterised by a lively collaboration across different media such as theatre, film and television has certainly helped to establish very favourable conditions for the making of original television drama. At a meso level, broadcaster DR has developed a remarkable working atmosphere for creative staff. Fluctuating groups that are reassembled for the course of a particular drama –​examples include changing production teams –​ offer instant feedback and allow for a high level of creativity through scaffolding. Safe work environments –​especially like the writers’ room –​offer instant critic and feedback through ‘team scaffolding’. When applying the 206

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more detailed types of scaffolding from Wood, Bruner and Ross, ‘reduction in degrees of freedom’ and ‘direction maintenance’ appears to be highly supportive tools for the writers to use. And one kind of reduction in degrees of freedom is offered from the double narrative as explained in out analysis. This direction is given by DR as an institutional scaffolding in dogma 2. It is then applied on the stories by the writer-​team as a kind of team-​scaffolding and is then taken to the individual level of scaffolding as it directs certain rules the individual writer to work within. This helps to initiate a confident environment and ‘sharing culture’ to perform within, and also across, media professions. At a micro level, every production team is required to determine their own rules and regulations. Elaborating on the work environment provided by DR, screen writer Nikolaj Scherfig particularly stressed the fact that he has experienced that Danish film and television creators share a straight-​forward tone, a largely egalitarian creative industry and a flat and democratic organisational structure.14 He named this as a key thing in the Danish culture and underlined that: ‘It’s not so easy to export because it is somehow a Danish mentality’.15 Furthermore, it seems crucial that the film and television environments are mixed up in the industry in general. This might be a result of Denmark’s small size as a country. Television has to borrow for instance writers from the film business and for that reason they collaborate a lot. According to our interviewees many practitioners appreciate the variation it offers to work for different media. Much emphasis is thus given to a collaborative nature or ‘sharing culture’ to enable new members of the team to revitalise individual dramas. Many of the quintessential characteristics have been formulated in production guidelines and design manuals that are handed out to casts and credits. Adhering to some extent the US model of the show-​runner, every drama has a particular head w ​ riter to oversee all production phases. Using production stages that are not at all unlike the scrum methodology of agile software development, self-​organisation is enabled. Actors and other stakeholders are part of constant feedback loops. Analyses of narrative structures have demonstrated how three storylines are habitually intertwined, creating a complex fictional world that encompasses numerous protagonists. Given that writers and producers 207

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are employed for the time of an entire production (sometimes up to three seasons), they can oversee all aspects of production, allowing for more consistency and constant feedback loops that impair the continuation of the fictional events. Cross-​overs between media and different production teams is very common and even actively promoted by DR through its dogmas for television. DR, in so doing, follows on from what Dogma had started in the mid-​1990, as described by e.g. Hjort: ‘This idea of teamwork resonates with the kind of collectivism that von Trier has put on the agenda by forging sites of synergy […].’16

Innovation as Traditional ‘Must-​See’ Television: A Possible Role Model? Other Danish broadcasters, namely TV2, have largely not been able to emulate DR’s success with quality television drama in Denmark and internationally. More recently, however, the second Danish channel has increased its efforts to remodel some elements such as the writers’ room. It is going to be interesting to follow the efforts TV2 has recently put into trying to ‘copy’ DR’s writers’ room as a model. Yet, there is more to DR’s success than organising a writers’ room: what about its organisational culture, the leadership, its very dogmas for television, and, last but not least, its unrivalled public service broadcasting status. Whether it is enough to copy some of the factors behind DR dramas’ success while neglecting others seems questionable. As we have shown, it is the interplay of various factors rather than individual measures that have facilitated the achievement of contemporary Danish drama. Talking about the know-​how and experience that is needed to synchronise different aspects of production, Lotte Lindegaard, head of programing at TV2, readily admits that success will not come overnight as DR has not only more than 20 years of experience but has also put significant resources into the production of quality drama.17 Yet there are also other reasons as to why other broadcasters cannot simply copy DR’s success, including different remits and target audiences. Even if Lindegaard believes in the effectiveness of double stories that link a generic plot to wider issues of interest to 208

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society, she quickly adds that ‘TV2 has to do it in another way than DR. Forbrydelsen would never have worked out as a TV2 production –​it is way too dark and serious […] The same goes for Borgen –​too serious for our audience. We will go for something with a bit of humour, but still addressing issues in society […].’18 Forbrydelsen was the first time DR bet on a crime drama so serious and dark  –​both in terms of narratives and aesthetics. Occupied with the task of producing a US-​remake, John Landgraf, an executive for the American network FX, appropriately explains that the Danish original was ‘[n]‌ot just a little dark. I would say even, at times, perversely dark.’19 The drama’s gloomy appearance was, however, by no way unique as it chimes with a long tradition of Nordic Noir crime novels and Neo Noir films from Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner (USA 1982)  to David Fincher’s Seven (USA 1995). Yet few television dramas have matched such dark atmospheric fictional worlds with complex multi-​level narratives and relevant themes concerned with culture, politics and social anxieties. It was particularly because of this that Forbrydelsen could well be seen as a creative show and a game changer. With it, DR content became a desirable product as public service broadcasters, in particular, found the Danish drama an ideal way to fulfil their remit’s threefold orientation towards education, entertainment and information. Only on the surface, do the Danish crime dramas covered by this book deal with delinquency. Beneath the surface, they address a plethora of other matters that could lead to follow-​up debates by viewers and the press. Repeatedly, shows that we have discussed influenced the salience of topics on the public agenda on a range of topics from immigration, gender equality and inter-​ generation fairness to the protection of the environment, corporate governance and ethics. As suggested through a number of case studies, many of the dramas illustrate how modern human beings cannot escape from their past choices and family histories. Yesterday’s decisions influence the present-​day reality of life. In so doing, the programmes put forth a very moral imperative statement of being responsible. The dramas thus often use the maxim that hindsight is better than foresight to involve audiences in a number of ethical dilemmas and ways of looking at problems. Within DR, the success and increased possibilities of international income streams from co-​production deals, canned programme sales and 209

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remakes reassured producers and the senior administration that their measures did work. With new self-​assurance, they became more inclined to take risks with future productions. According to its present head of DR Drama Piv Bernth, the broadcaster favours and develops writers who dare to ‘screw on mechanics,’ in order to help the entire department to develop further.20 When the author Søren Sveistrup, as a representative for a new generation of writers who took over from the Thorsboe brothers and others, began to work for DR, his approach certainly changed a few habits in 2006 when he insisted on the very dark look and a socially-​awkward female protagonist as he began working on Forbrydelsen. And Adam Price, creator of Borgen, sought a female politician and mother instead of the usual male protagonists that only seem to live through their jobs in political dramas. Scherfig followed on from Borgen and Forbrydelsen by using the transnational crime plot in Broen to discuss the downsides of the Nordic welfare system. Maya Ilsøe, moreover, broke the male dominance of show-runners and painted a strong dystopian family picture when she wrote Arvingerne. While drama production culture at DR can be characterised by regeneration through a mix of continuity and change, it seems at least reasonable to pose at some critical questions, too. Will DR, for instance, remain popular across all audience groups if it maintains its rather restrained cross-​media strategy? What about other forms of distribution away from ordinary flow-​television? What will happen, moreover, when the significant international attention surrounding Nordic Noir eventually fizzles out? The latter question seems particularly valid given that the public service broadcaster has not offered genres that might appeal particularly to younger audiences, including science fiction, fantasy or programmes revolving around issues linked to the digital network age such as the successful American show Mr Robot (USA Network 2015–​). Despite such shortcomings, DR’s dramas illustrate that innovate yet rather traditional ‘must see’ television still seems to work. With striking audience figures both in Denmark and beyond, the shows we have discussed demonstrate the homogenising ability of television with large audiences watching the programmes either live on television of back-​to-​back on DVD and through online streaming services. 210

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Modernity and International Appeal Danish drama has been perceived well abroad, almost creating a craze for everything Danish in countries such as Britain. As Lauren Collins explains in an article for The New Yorker that we have cited at the beginning of this book, ‘When people ask what’s going on in London these days, I answer, Copenhagen. Like the japonisme-​obsessed French of the late nineteenth century, the British have become infatuated with all things Danish […] Danish television is particularly in vogue.’21 What has made possible this success abroad cannot adequately explained by the high production values of dramas such as Forbrydelsen and Borgen. Here, DR has successfully emulated the look and narrative composition of American quality TV role models. Yet production teams have also added a particular Danish or wider Scandinavian touch to the programmes that seems particularly appealing to educated middle-​class audiences as we have explained in the previous chapters for a number of reasons. Plain and functional design as well as gender equality have certainly contributed to this. Denmark, despite the gruesome crimes that seem to happen as part of the investigation, is a country middle classes in many countries do desire. A country with good schools and functioning state institutions in which a strong sense of belonging does exist. As Collins notes: ‘Danish television [for foreign audiences] is a two-​for-​one deal: drama overlaid with travelogue. Part of the pleasure lies in absorbing stray bits of anthropology, such as the fact that Danish high-​school students call their teachers by their first names.’22 There is nevertheless more to Danish contemporary drama than escapism and Scandinavian exoticism for foreign viewers. By offering numerous plot points that go beyond the event-​driven narratives that are so typical for many US serials and also introduce multi-​layered characters and motifs, the Danish dramas discussed here can be linked to a critical understanding of contemporary society audiences beyond Denmark can relate to. Juggling a successful career, modern family structures, single mothers as matriarchs and the fall of the father figure seem to be topics that work abroad, too. The largely female protagonists are particularly interesting as they not only seem to be somewhat more multi-​faceted as many of the usual troubled men starring in other Western quality television shows.23 In most recent Danish serials it is a double team of female and male protagonists 211

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that offer audiences different characters such as Saga Norén and Henrik Sabroe to identify with. In Arvingerne no less than a full team of siblings at Grønnegaarden invite the identification by the audience. Scholar Murray Smith highlights what he calls ‘multiple identification’ which makes it possible to identify with more than one character or to find one for everyone to like. The viewer can also switch between different characters, each of which presents a significant type to sympathise with.24 Danish contemporary dramas are good at reaching out for a broad audience across borders, age and gender. Many an example discussed in this book indicate how quality fictional television by DR coalesce popular genre elements with alternative forms of cultural expressions and representations. Not least because of the licence fee that is used to foster creative production environments as a higher priority than cross-​over with other media, Danish television drama in recent years has been favoured by world-​wide audiences without always adhering to market-​driven factors.

From Hollywood to Copenhagen and Back One of the basis for Danish dramas success was the emulation of US quality television dramas. In order to study US production models, several DR representatives have travelled to the States and visited the sets of programmes such as N.Y.P.D. Blue as described earlier. When the formulas could be transferred to productions in Copenhagen for the Sunday 8 pm time-​slot for domestic dramas, the people at DR’s drama department used the internationally recognised formulas in connection with the show’s inherent Danish character traits as a sales argument for foreign broadcasters. In so doing, they offer a counter argument to the notion that ‘nationally specific’ and ‘internationally popular’ as for instance noted by John Hill in a text on British cinema when he states: The difficulty, of course, is that a nationally specific cinema characterised by questioning and inquiry is not the kind of ‘national cinema’ which is encouraged by the market-​place. This is not simply because success in the international market requires the downplaying of national specificity in favour of a spurious ‘universal’ appeal […] The employment of ‘nationally

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Conclusions: From Dogmas to Nordic Noir and Beyond specific’ but none the less ‘internationally recognisable’, referents in films can be of critical importance to the marketing and international success of a film. Rather, the problem is that the marketing of national specificity for international consumption is likely to encourage the use of the most conventional or readily recognizable markers of nationality and national identity.25

It is thus possible to describe the success of Danish drama abroad by its transnational characteristics, as we have argued. Just like transnational cinema, in the words of Sarah Street, ‘is marked by diversity in terms of its production base; funding sources; origin of production personnel and actors; variety of locations and patterns of cross-​cultural reception […]’, DR dramas have more often than not been made through co-​operation agreement with other public service broadcasters that have responded to the need for original content that differed from the bulk of American imports. ‘[W]‌e are’, as Street continues, ‘not talking about globalisation or internationalism, but something more localised, maintaining specific features and themes but at the same time reaching out to many different audiences.’26 The acclaim given Danish television around the globe has produced a number of promising international careers. At the time the first season of Bedrag was shown in Denmark, many of the actors and people behind previous shows left their home country for Hollywood. Whether or not this is a threat to Danish drama or possibly advantageous in terms of branding Danish audiovisual culture is not for our book to conclude. According to the director of Bedrag, Per Fly, it is both interesting and possible to combine a career in the US and Denmark.27 Jesper Christensen –​who plays the hippie Thomas in Arvingerne –​has appeared in several international productions. Especially his role as Mr White in the James Bond films was acknowledged. Mads Mikkelsen is included in both the forth-​coming Star Wars film but also a television show like Hannibal. Birgitte Hjort Sørensen –​who plays the ambitions journalist Katrine Fønsmark in Borgen –​has a supporting role in Martin Scorsese’s television series Vinyl. And Nikolaj Coster-​ Waldau and Birgitte Hjort Sørensen have both been included in Game of Thrones where Pilou Asbæk has also been offered a role. Asbæk played the spin-​doctor in Borgen. ‘The overriding reason for their success is the way we make movies and television in Denmark’ says Anne Lindberg, who is 213

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the agent for Nikolaj Lie Kaas and Birgitte Hjort Sørensen, among others. Beyond cinema it was television serials such as ‘Borgen and The Killing […] that have pioneered Denmark and Scandinavia’, she concludes.28 Beyond the Bridge has been substantiating this statement –​although general claims of Danish exceptionalism might indeed be too bold a statement given that the programmes discussed in the previous chapters illustrate a number of international trends beyond Danish or even continental European television drama. It is equally true, however, that the recent success of Danish drama series cannot be adequately explained without references to a nationally specific production context. Across different chapters we have thus explored the questions of which elements contributed to the success of contemporary Danish drama since the new millennium from different viewpoints. A major trump card, besides numerous factors, is indeed the different levels and methods of scaffolding as a production method. The interplay of different institutions such as the Danish Film Institute, a public-​driven professional Film School, Dogma 95 and Nordic Noir as strong brands, and the innovative and self-​confident public service broadcaster DR, moreover, provide a fledgling audio-​visual environment for the creation of new fictional content. From Dogma 95 to Nordic Noir and beyond, Danish television drama has grown and flourished since the mid-nineties as the outcome of numerous interrelated elements. Given that Danish fictional television is no longer limited to Danish audiences or those with a special interest in Scandinavian culture, the country’s interesting production culture as well as its entanglements between different national and transnational audio-​visual industries ought to be studied more. Our book is meant as a contribution hereto.

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Notes Introduction 1. Vicky Frost, ‘The Killing, a slow-​moving drama with subtitles, is a hit for BBC’, Guardian, www.guardian.co.uk/​tv-​and-​radio/​2011/​mar/​04/​the-killing-​bbc-​ danish-​crime-​thriller?INTCMP=ILCNETTXT3487 [accessed on 5 December 2012]. 2. TNS Gallup, ‘Audience figures for week 1 in 2013 (31 December 2012–​6 January 2013), http://​tvm.gallup.dk/​tvm/​pm/​default.htm [accessed on 13 June 2013]. 3. Lauren Collins, ‘Letter from Copenhagen: “Danish Postmodern”’, The New Yorker, 7 January 2013, pp. 22–​8 (p. 24). 4. Thilo Röscheisen, ‘ “Breaking Bad”, die Dänen und wir’ (‘ “Breaking Bad”, the Danes and we’), http://​drama-​blog.de/​breaking-​bad-​die-​danen-​und-​wir [accessed on 5 September 2014]. 5. Nordisk Film & TV Fond (2013), ‘MIPCOM 2013:  Buzz And Deals Abound On Scandi TV Drama’, 11 October, www.nordiskfilmogtvfond.com/​index. php/​news/​stories/​mipcom-​2013-​buzz-​and-​deals-​abound-​s candi-​tv-​drama [accessed on 12 December 2013]. 6. Benji Wilson, ‘Danish drama brings home the bacon’, Sunday Times, 29 January 2012, http://​www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/​sto/​culture/​film_​and_​tv/​tv/ article862260.ece [accessed on 27 April 2016]. 7. Cited in Collins, ‘Letter from Copenhagen’, p. 27. 8. Gerard Gilbert, ‘How does Danish TV company DR keep churning out the hits?’, The Independent, 12 May 2012, http://​www.independent.co.uk/​arts-​ entertainment/​tv/​features/​how-​does-​danish-​tv-​company-​dr-​keep-​churning-​ out-​the-​hits-​7728833.html [accessed on 19 August 2015]; and Emma Jane Kirby, ‘The Killing and Borgen: Danish drama wins global fanbase’, BBC Online News Magazine, 27 April 2012, www.bbc.co.uk/​news/​magazine-​17853928 [accessed on 15 December 2013]. 9. ‘ “Arvingerne” og “X Factor”‘ trækker danskerne til skærmen’ (‘Arvingerne and X Factor Draw Danes to the Screen’), Politiken, 4 February 2014, http://​politiken. dk/​kultur/​medier/​ECE2199108/​arvingerne-​og-​x-​factor-​traekker-​danskerne-​ til-​skaermen/​ [accessed on 5 May 2014].

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Notes to pages 3–10 10. Serena Davies, ‘What can British TV learn from Danish dramas?’, The Independent, 26 November 2014, http://​www.telegraph.co.uk/​culture/​tvandradio/​11250946/​What-​can-​British-​T V-​learn-​from-​Denmarks-​dramas.html [accessed on 19 August 2015]. 11. Theodor W. Adorno, ‘How to Look at Television’, The Quarterly Review of Film, Radio and Television, 8/​3 (Spring 1954), pp. 213–​35. 12. We have interviewed the producers from Zentropa, Kasper Dissing and Sophie Bech (October 2015). Both stress that when producing a film or television drama at Zentropa, DR and/​or DFI are almost always taken into consideration. 13. Cited in Eva Redvall, Writing and Producing Television Drama in Denmark: From The Kingdom to The Killing (Houndmills, Basingstoke and New  York, 2013), p. 53. 14. On the importance of DVD boxsets for television distribution and reception –​ particularly the way it reconceptualised drama series as collectible objects, see Derek Kompare (2006), ‘Publishing Flow: DVD Box Sets and the Reconception of Television’, Television & New Media, 7/​4 (November 2006), pp. 335–​60. 15. Nordisk Film & TV Fond (2013), ‘MIPCOM 2013: Buzz And Deals Abound On Scandi TV Drama’, 11 October, www.nordiskfilmogtvfond.com/​index. php/​news/​stories/​mipcom-​2013-​buzz-​and-​deals-​abound-​scandi-​tv-​drama [accessed on 12 December 2013]. 16. On Nordic Noir and its impact, see for instance Gunhild Agger, ‘Nordic Noir on television:  The Killing I-​III’, Cinéma & Cie, 12/​2 (2012), pp.  39–​50; and Glen Creeber, ‘Killing us softly: Investigating the aesthetics, philosophy and influence of Nordic Noir television’, Journal of Popular Television, 3/​1 (2015), pp. 21–​35. 17. DR’s mission statement and services are, broadly speaking, comparable to the characteristics of public service broadcasting as identified by the Peacock Committee, including a universality of access, catering for the general public as well as for minority groups, being mindful of national identity and community, providing quality content rather than bulk commodities and assisting programme makers to liberty rather than restrictions. Harry Pilkington (Chairman) (1962), ‘Report of the Committee on Broadcasting (1960)’. Cmnd 1753. London: HMSO. On a more comprehensive discussion of DR’s public service broadcasting remit, see Chapter 1. 18. Note, for instance, the accusations waged against Borgen and DR by the Danish political right of supporting the Social Democrats or the criticism it stirred for featuring an episode dealing with vaccination in factory farming. See Tobias Hochscherf and Heidi Philipsen, ‘Speaking for and to the nation? Borgen and the cultural viability of public service broadcasting in Denmark and Germany’, Journal of Popular Television, 1/​2 (2013), pp. 243–50 (pp. 246–7). 19. Collins, ‘Letter from Copenhagen’, p. 24.

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Notes to page 11 20. See, for instance, BBC Trust (2010), ‘BBC Strategy Review (March 2010)’, http://​w ww.bbc.co.uk/​ bbctrust/​ assets/​ f iles/​ p df/​ review_​report_​research/​ strategic_​review/​strategy_​review.pdf, p.  ii [accessed on 26 December  2013]. German broadcasters ARD and ZDF, too, identify audience figures as one of the  –​if not the  –​most important performance indicators. The quantitative findings of their monitoring service (ARD/​ZDF Medienforschung) repeatedly appear in their in-​house periodical Media Perspektiven and are referred to in their annual statements. See, for example, ZDF (2013), ‘Konzernlagebericht für das Geschäftsjahr 2012’, http://​www.zdf.de/​ZDF/​zdfportal/​blob/​31233444/​ 1/​data.pdf, p. 3 [accessed on 26 December 2013]. 21. LOP was developed by NBC employee Paul L.  Klein in the 1960s. Some of its principles still inform scheduling decisions of popular television and radio programming. 22. See, for instance, the discussion of quality television as contrast to LOP, Robin Nelson, ‘ “Quality Television”: “The Sopranos is the best television drama ever … in my humble opinion…”’, Critical Studies in Television, 1/​1 (2006), pp. 58–71 (particularly p. 62). 23. The study, which is conducted on behalf of the public service broadcasters ARD and ZDF, compared, among other aspects, responses on media properties from 2005 and 2010. Birgit van Eimeren and Christa-​Maria Ridder (2011), ‘Trends in der Nutzung und Bewertung der Medien 1970 bis 2010’, Media Perspektiven, 1 (2011), 2–​15 (p. 7). 24. Arte (short for Association Relative à la Télévision Européenne) began in 1992 as a joint venture of French and German public service broadcasters. The channel was originally launched to foster European cultural integration by way of providing one programme to both French and German-​speaking audiences. It is now also used as an experimental channel to try out new formats and series that are often presented as part of its theme night scheduling. All in all, Arte specialises in premium documentaries, drama series, films as well as programmes on music, theatre and dance. The channel is simultaneously available as a full programme in French and German on digital-​terrestrial TV as well as via satellite and cable. Partnership agreements with numerous public service broadcasters have been signed, including RTBF in Belgium, TVP in Poland, ERT in Greece, ORF in Austria, YLE in Finland, the BBC in Great Britain and SVT in Sweden. 25. BBC Four (2013), ‘Regulatory Framework’, www.bbc.co.uk/​bbctrust/​assets/​ files/​pdf/​regulatory_​framework/​service_​licences/​tv/​2011/​bbc_​four_​feb11.txt [accessed on 20 December 2013]. 26. On BBC4 and its penchant for Danish television drama and the way in which it incorporated these into its nationally-​specific public service broadcasting remit at a time of globally interconnected media cultures, see Sam Ward, ‘Finding “public purpose” in “subtitled oddities”: Framing BBC Four’s

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Notes to pages 12–18 Danish imports as public service broadcasting’, Journal of Popular Television, 1/​2 (2013), pp. 251–​7. 27. Ward, ‘Finding “public purpose” in “subtitled oddities”’, p. 255. 28. Neil Midgley (2011), ‘BBC4 buys second series of The Killing’, The Telegraph, 5 March 2011, www.telegraph.co.uk/​culture/​tvandradio/​bbc/​8362146/​BBC-​ Four-​buys-​second-​series-​of-​The-​Killing.html [accessed on 31 December 2013]. 29. Figure according to DR Head of Drama Piv Bernth, cited in Redvall, Writing and Producing Television Drama in Denmark, p. 40. 30. See Ward, ‘Finding “public purpose” in “subtitled oddities”’, p. 252. 31. DR had delegated a number of executives and producers to Southern California to study production methods of shows such as NYPD Blue (ABC 1993–​2005), and 24 (FOX 2001–​10). See Collins, ‘Letter from Copenhagen’, p. 27. 32. Pia Majbritt Jensen and Anne Marit Waade (2013), ‘Nordic Noir challenging “the language of advantage”: Setting, light and language as production values in Danish television series’, Journal of Popular Television, 1/​2 (2013), pp. 259–​ 65 (p. 261). 33. Creeber, ‘Killing us softly’, p. 32. 34. See Redvall, Writing and Producing Television Drama in Denmark. 35. On the success of Danish film see Mette Hjort, Small Nation, Global Cinema (Minneapolis, 2005). 36. Chris Bilton, Management and Creativity: From Creative Industries to Creative Management (Malden, MA, 2012); and Heidi Philipsen, ‘Spilleregler i filmskabelse –​behjælpelige begrænsninger’, in Chris Mathieu and Jesper Strandgaard Pedersen, Dansk Film i krydsfeltet mellem samarbejde og konkurrence (Lund, 2009), pp. 145–​72. 37. See Redvall, Writing and Producing Television Drama in Denmark, p. 8. 38. Ibid., p. 68. 39. Creeber, ‘Killing us softly’, p. 32. 40. Scott Robert Olson, Hollywood Planet:  Global Media and the Competitive Advantage of Narrative Transparency (New York and London, 2009), p. 6. 41. On the way American and productions from other countries have inspired Danish producers, see Redvall, Writing and Producing Television Drama in Denmark, pp. 55–​80. 42. See, for instance, Hjort, Small Nation, Global Cinema; and Mette Hjort and Ib Bondebjerg (eds), The Danish Directors: Dialogues on a Contemporary Cinema Bristol, 2001). 43. See, for instance, Ib Bondebjerg and Eva Redvall (2011), ‘A small region in a global north: Patterns in Scandinavian film & TV culture’. Copenhagen: Think Tank on European Film and Film Policy, Copenhagen: Centre for Modern European Studies (CEMES), http://​cemes.ku.dk/​research_​literature/​dokument/​CEMES_​ WP_​no._​1_​_​2011_​_​Scandinavian_​cinema.pdf/​ [accessed 6 June 2013]; and Lea M. Gamula, ‘It’s not TV, It’s Scandinavian: Skandinavische Fernsehserien und

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Notes to pages 18–25 ihr internationaler Erfolg’, unpublished MA thesis (Hochschule für Film und Fernsehen “Konrad Wolf ”, Potsdam-​Babelsberg, Germany). 44. See, for example, Dansk tv-​drama:  Arvesølv og underholdning (Copenhagen, 2005); and Ib Bondebjerg, Filmen og det modern (Copenhagen, 2005). 45. Matthias Bauer, Tobias Hochscherf and Heidi Philipsen (eds), ‘Danish Television Dossier’, Journal of Popular Television, 1/​2 (2013), pp. 221–​72. 46. Niklas Luhmann Soziale Systeme:  Grundriß einer allgemeinen Theorie (Frankfurt/​Main, 1984). 47. Hanne Bruun and Frandsen, Kirsten, Tv production i konkurrence (Copenhagen, 2007). 48. Glen Creeber, ‘Review: Writing and Producing Television Drama in Denmark: from The Kingdom to The Killing by Eva Redvall’, New Review of Film and Television Studies, 13/​1 (2015), pp. 128–​30 (p. 129). 49. Bilton, Management and Creativity, p. 3. 50. See, for instance, Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, Creativity –​Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention (New York, 1996). 51. On the complexity of television drama plotlines, see Robert Blanchet, ‘Quality TV: Eine kurze Einführung in die Geschichte und Ästhetik neuer amerikanischer Fernsehserien’, in Robert Blanchet et al. (eds), Serielle Formen: Von den frühen Film-​Serials zu aktuellen Quality-​TV-​und Online-​Serien (Marburg: 2011), pp. 37–​70 (p. 56). 52. See Robin Nelson, TV Drama in Transition: Forms, Values and Cultural Change (London and New York, 1997); ibid., ‘Hill Street Blues’, in Glen Creeber (ed.), Fifty Key Television Programmes, (London, 2004), pp. 100–​104; and Glen Creeber, Serial Television: Big Drama on the Small Screen (London, 2004), especially pp. 2–​12. 53. Creeber, Serial Television, p. 4. 54. The narrative diagrams and a brief description of main plotpoints/motifs can be downloaded from the teaching documents section at https://fh-kiel.academia.edu/Hochscherf [accessed on 18 October 2016]. 55. Syd Field, Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting, rev. and updated edition (New York, 2005), p. 26. The italics are in the original. 56. Andrew Horton, Writing the Character-​Centered Screenplay (Berkeley, 1994). 57. Murray Smith, Engaging Characters, Fiction, Emotion and the Cinema (Oxford and New York, 1995). 58. Bauer, Hochscherf and Philipsen, ‘Danish Television Dossier’, p. 223. 59. See Hochscherf and Philipsen, ‘Speaking for and to the nation?’, especially p. 248. 60. Robert J. Thompson, among others, has provided a useful list of twelve criteria for what might be regarded as quality in his reappraisal of 1980s’ television, see Robert J. Thompson, Television’s Second Golden Age: From Hill Street Blues to ER (New York: Continuum, 1996). 61. Mette Hjort Small Nation, Global Cinema: The New Danish Cinema (Minneapolis, 2005), p. xi.

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Notes to pages 25–29 62. See Redvall, Writing and Producing Television Drama in Denmark, p. 3. 63. Cited in Redvall, Writing and Producing Television Drama in Denmark, p. 3.

1  The Danish Audio-​visual Media Landscape: From Dogma 95 to Transnational Cooperation 1. Henrik Søndergaard, ‘Fundamentals in the History of Danish Television’, in Ib Bondebjerg and Francesco Bono (eds), Television in Scandinavia: History, Politics and Aesthetics (Luton, 1996), pp. 11–​40 (p. 12). 2. Per Jauert, ‘Media Landscape: Danmark’. European Journalism Centre. 11 August 2010, http://​ejc.net/​media_​landscapes/​denmark [accessed on 5 May 2013]; and Per Jauert and Henrik Søndergaard, ‘The Danish media landscape’, in Georgios Terzis (ed.), European Media Governance: National and Regional Dimensions (Bristol, 2007), pp. 83–​97. 3. On differences between DR and TV2 from the late 1980s to the mid-​1990s, see Søndergaard, ‘Fundamentals in the History of Danish Television’, pp. 32–​6. 4. Søndergaard, ‘Fundamentals in the History of Danish Television’, p. 33. 5. Rigsrevisionen, ‘Extract from the report to the Public Accounts Committee on the financial position of TV 2 Danmark A/​ S’, May 2009, http://​ uk.rigsrevisionen.dk/​media/​1887582/​13–​2008.pdf [accessed on 11 February 2014]. 6. Also see European Commission, MEMO/​05/​73, ‘Public service broadcasting and state aid –​frequently asked questions’, 3 March 2005, http://​ europa.eu/​rapid/​press-​release_​MEMO-​05-​73_​en.htm [accessed on 28 May 2014]. 7. Trine Syvertsen, ‘Challenges to Public Television in the Era of Convergence and Commercialization’, Television & New Media, 4 (2003), pp. 155–75 (p. 162). 8. European Commission, ‘Commission Decisions of 20 April 2011 concerning state aid C19/​09 (ex N 64/​2009) which Denmark intends to implement regarding the restructuring of TV2 Denmark A/​S’, 20 April 2011, http:// ​eur-​lex.europa.eu/​LexUriServ/​LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2012:050:0021:0045: EN:PDF [accessed on 11 February 2014], pp. 44–5. 9. Lars Winge, ‘DRs udmeldinger om spareplan’ (‘DR Announces Savings Plan’), DR Nyheder, 9 November 2007, http://​www.dr.dk/​om-​dr/​nyheder/​drs-​ udmeldinger-​om-​spareplan [accessed on 11 June 2016]. 10. TNS Gallup, Tv-​meter årsrapport: ‘FOR4213: Viewing time (minutes) by channel and type of programme: Drama and Fiction for 2013’ and ‘FOR422: Average weekly TV viewing by TV-​channel’, available through Statistics Denmark, www.statbank.dk [accessed on 21 February 2015].

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Notes to pages 30–33 11. TNS Gallup TV-​ Meter data, published in DR, ‘Medieudviklingen 2014: DR Medieforsknings arlige rapport om udviklingen i danskernes brug af de elektroniske medier’ (Media Developments 2014: DR Media Research Annual Report on Developments in the Danes’ Use of Electronic Media’), http : / / ​ w w w. d r. d k / ​ N R / ​ rd on l y re s / ​ 6 E 4 0 D 7 2 2 - ​ 3 E 6 6 - ​ 4 3 0 4 - ​ 9 8 0 0 -​ 076F3F7C2FEE/​6062535/​DR_​Medieudviklingen_​2014.pdf [accessed on 22 May 2015]. 12. Chris Hanretti, Public Service Broadcasting’s Continued Rude Health (London, 2012), http://​www.britac.ac.uk/​policy/​Public-​service-​broadcasting. cfm [accessed on 11 June 2016], pp. 66–​8. 13. Leen d’Haenens and Jo Bardoel, ‘European Public Service Broadcasting: A Concept, an Institution, and a Practice’, in Leen d’Haenens and Frieda Saeys (eds), Western Broadcast Models: Structure, Conduct and Performance (Berlin and New York, 2007), pp. 79–​94 (pp. 83–​4). 14. DR, Public Service Statement 2009, cited in Hanretti, Public Service Broadcasting’s Continued Rude Health, p. 53. On criticism of the BBC, see for instance accusations by the BBC Trust chairman Michael Lyons that the BBC is too focused on London. See Owen Gibson, ‘BBC is been too slow to change and too focused on London, its chairman admits’, Guardian, 2 November 2007, http://​www.guardian.co.uk/​media/​2007/​nov/​02/​bbc [accessed on 8 July 2012]. 15. Eurostat, ‘Share of individuals who had used the internet on average daily or almost everyday in the EU in 2006 and 2014’, Statista –​The Statistics Portal, www.statista.com/​statistics/​413260/​share-​of-​individuals-​internet-​average-​ daily-​users-​in-​the-​eu/​ [accessed on 17 May 2015]. 16. Heidi Philipsen, ‘Creative Cross-​Media Communication and Concepts’, in Heidi Philipsen, Lise Agerbæk, and Bo Kampmann Walther (eds), Designing New Media: Learning, Communication and Innovation (Aarhus, 2010), pp. 111–​35 (especially pp. 117–​18). 17. Henry Jenkins, Convergence Culture:  Where Old and New Media Collide (New York, 2006). 18. Nico Carpentier, ‘Contextualising Author-​Audience Convergences’, Cultural Studies, 25/​4–​5 (2011), pp. 517–​33. 19. Sarah Banet-​Weiser, ‘Convergence on the Street: Rethinking the Authentic//​ Commercial Binary’, Cultural Studies, 25/​4–​5 (2011), pp. 641–​58. 20. On European notions of public service broadcasting, see for instance Jay Blumler, Television and the Public Interest: Vulnerable Values in Western European Broadcasting (London, 1992); and Richard Collins, ‘ “Ises” and “Oughts”: Public Service Broadcasting in Europe’, in Robert C. Allen and Anette Hill (eds), The Television Studies Reader (London and New York, 2004), pp. 33–​51.

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Notes to pages 34–43 21. Per Jauert, Ib Poulsen and Henrik Søndergaard, ‘Denmark’, in Leen d’Haenens and Frieda Saeys (eds), Western Broadcast Models: Structure, Conduct and Performance (Berlin and New York, 2007), pp. 145–​67 (pp. 146–​7). 22. Søndergaard, ‘Fundamentals in the History of Danish Television’, p. 13. 23. Ib Bondebjerg, ‘Modern Danish Television –​after the monopoly era’, in Ib Bondebjerg and Francesco Bono (eds), Television in Scandinavia: History, Politics and Aesthetics (Luton, 1996), pp. 41–​69 (p. 60). 24. See Gunn Sara Enli, ‘Redefining Public Service Broadcasting: Multi-​Platform Participation’, Convergence, 14 (2008), pp. 105–​20 (p. 106). 25. Trine Syvertsen, ‘The Many Uses of the Public Service Concept’, Nordicom Review, 20/​1 (1999), pp. 5–​12. 26. Gunhild Agger, Dansk tv-​drama:  Arvesølv og underholdning (Copenhagen, 2005), p. 152. 27. Agger, Dansk tv-​drama: Arvesølv og underholdning, p. 146. 28. Redvall, Writing and Producing Television Drama in Denmark, p. 43. 29. Agger, Dansk tv-​drama: Arvesølv og underholdning, p. 152. 30. Hochscherf and Philipsen, ‘Speaking for and to the Nation?’. 31. Bondebjerg, Ib and Eva Redvall, ‘A small region in a global north: Patterns in Scandinavian film & TV culture’ (Copenhagen 2011), http://​cemes.ku.dk/​ research_​literature/​dokument/​CEMES_​WP_​no._​1_​_​2011_​_​Scandinavian_​ cinema.pdf/​[accessed on 6 June 2016], p. 104. 32. Trevor G. Elkington and Andrew Nestingen, ‘Introduction’, in Trevor G. Elkington and Andrew Nestingen (eds), Transnational Cinema in a Global North: Nordic Cinema in Transition (Detroit, MI, 2005), pp. 1–​28 (p. 8). 33. Nestingen and Elkington, ‘Introduction’, p. 2. 34. On the aesthetics of Riget as a Danish–American crossover production, see Redvall, Writing and Producing Television Drama in Denmark, pp. 56–​8; Glen Creeber, Serial Television: Big Drama on the Small Screen (London: British Film Institute, 2004); and Steven Peacock, ‘Two Kingdoms, Two Kings’, Critical Studies in Television: The International Journal of Television Studies, 4.2 (Autumn 2009), pp. 24–​36. 35. On Danish realism, see Birger Langkjær, Realismen i dansk film (Frederiksberg, 2012). Realist practices, moreover, have become an important aspect of television, too, not least through DR’s decision to form a documentary group in 1988. See Ib Bondebjerg, ‘Modern Danish Television –​after the monopoly era’, pp. 52–​4. 36. Creeber, Serial Television, p. 57. 37. Interview with the authors on 27 May 2014 in Copenhagen. 38. See Bondebjerg, ‘Modern Danish Television –​after the Monopoly Era’, p. 67. 39. Bondebjerg, ‘Modern Danish Television –​after the Monopoly Era’, p. 67. 40. Nordisk Film & TV Fond, interview with DR’s Head of Fiction Nadia Kløvedal Reich and Head of Drama Piv Bernth, 11 May 2012,

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Notes to pages 43–49 http:// ​ w ww.nordiskfilmogtvfond.com/ ​ f iles/ ​ 5 013/ ​ 4 196/ ​ 0 268/ ​ d rs_​ nadia_​klvedal_​reich_​and_​piv_​bernth_​-​_​11.05.12.pdf [accessed on 28 August 2014], pp. 1–​4 (p. 2). 41. Nikolaj Scherfig, interview with the authors on 26 August 2014 in Odense. 42. John Thornton Caldwell, Production Culture:  Industrial Reflexivity and Cultural Practice in Film and Television (Durham, NC and London, 2008), especially pp. 8–​9. 43. Caldwell, Production Culture, p. 9. 44. Karoline Leth, interview with C21 Media on the occasion oft he European TV Drama Series Lab 2012 in Potsdam, Germany, https://​www.youtube.com/​ watch?v=inAP403TJZ4 [accessed on 26 August 2014]. 45. Cited by the Nordisk Film and TV Fund on 28 March 2014, http://​www. nordiskfilmogtvfond.com/​index.php/​news/​stories/​dr-​head-​f iction-​nadia-​ klovedal-​reich-​resigns/​ [accessed on 25 August 2014]. 46. Caldwell, Production Culture, p. 7. 47. Hjort, Small Nation, Global Cinema, p. 17. 48. Danish Film Institute, ‘Terms for Support to New Danish Screen’, http://​www. dfi.dk/​~/​media/​Sektioner/​English/​Vilkår%202012/​dfi-​vilkaar-​new-​danish-​ screen-​2012-​english.ashx [accessed on 21 May 2014]. 49. An overview of the financial support for film and television in Denmark, see Ib Bondebjerg and Eva Redvall, ‘Small Region in a Global World’, pp. 22–​4. 50. Conversation with Jeppe Gjervig Gram at the Svend Film Festival in Svendborg on 25 August 2014. 51. Peter Schepelern, ‘Danish Film History 1896–​2009’, translated by Daniel Sanders, http://​w ww.dfi.dk/​S ervice/​English/​Films-​and-​industry/​Danish-​ Film-​History/​Danish-​Film-​History-​1896–​2009.aspx [accessed on 21 May 2014]. 52. Schepelern, ‘Danish Film History 1896–​2009’. 53. On the different forms, see Glen Creeber, Serial Television; Glen Creeber, ‘The Mini-​Series’, in Glen Creeber (ed.), The Television Genre Book, 2nd edn (London, 2008), pp. 46–9. 54. Creeber, Serial Television, pp. 11–​12. 55. Creeber, Serial Television, p. 12. 56. Robin Nelson, TV Drama in Transition: Forms, Values & Cultural Change (Houndmills, Basingstoke, 1997); Jason Mittell, Complex TV: The Poetics of Contemporary Television Storytelling (New York, 2015) as well as his earlier article ‘Narrative Complexity in Contemporary American Television’, Velvet Light Trap, 58 (2006), pp. 29–​40; and Horace Newcomb, ‘Narrative and Genre’, in John Downing (ed.), The SAGE Handbook of Media Studies (Thousand Oaks, CA, 2004), pp. 413–​22. 57. Edgar Morin, On Complexity (Cresskill, NJ, 2008).

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Notes to pages 49–56 58. Kathrin Rothmund, Komplexe Welten: Narrative Strategien in US-​amerikanischen Fernsehserien, Deep Focus 15, 2nd rev. edn (Berlin, 2013), pp. 70–​9. 59. Interview with Heidi Philipsen on 28 November 2013 in Odense. 60. Bondebjerg, ‘Modern Danish Television –​after the Monopoly Era’, p. 64. 61. Nikolaj Scherfig, interview with the authors on 26 August 2014 in Odense. 62. Andy Fry, ‘Out of the darkness’, miptv news, 2 (April 2015), n.p. 63. Kerstin Bergman, ‘The Captivating Chill: Why Readers Desire Nordic Noir’, Scandinavian-​Canadian Studies, 22 (2014), pp. 80–​9. 64. Creeber, ‘Killing us softly’, p. 21. 65. Creeber, ‘Killing us softly’, p. 22. 66. Cited in Patrick Kingsley, How to Be Danish: A Journey to the Cultural Heart of Denmark (New York, 2012), p. 151. 67. Creeber, ‘Killing us softly’, p. 25. 68. On the features of films Noirs, see for instance James Naremore, More than Night: Film Noit in Its Contexts (Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1998). 69. Anne Marit Waade and Pia Majbrit Jensen, ‘Nordic Noir Production Values: The Killing and The Bridge’, akademisk kvarter/​academic quarter, 7 (Fall 2013), pp. 189–​201 (p. 189). 70. Bo Tengberg, interview with the authors on 16 September 2015 in Copenhagen. 71. On a comprehensive history of Film Noir, see Mark Bould, Film Noir: From Berlin to Sin City (London and New York, 2005). 72. James Naremore, ‘American Film Noir: The History of an Idea’, Film Quarterly, 49/​2 (Winter 1995/​1996), pp. 12–​28 (p. 14). 73. Emma Robinson, ‘What is Film Noir?’, Cinema Scandinavia: The Nordic Film Magazine, 6 (2014), pp. 13–​17 (p. 14). 74. Gunhild Agger, ‘Krimithriller, melodrama og bestseller: Stieg Larsons Millennium-​trilogi’, in Gunhild Agger and Anne Marit Waade (eds), Den skandinaviske krimi (Gothenburg, 2010), pp. 91–​107. 75. Ingolf Gabold, ‘How Danish TV Drama Series Travel’, keynote at Aalborg University, March 2013, cited in Waade and Jensen, ‘Nordic Noir Production Values’, p. 193. 76. Creeber, ‘Killing us softly’, p. 24. 77. Birger Langkjær, ‘Realism and Danish Cinema’, in Anne Jerslev (ed.), Realism and ‘Reality’ in Film and Media, Northern Lights Film and Media Studies Yearbook 2002 (Copenhagen, 2002) pp. 15–​40 (pp. 37–​8). 78. Langkjær, ‘Realism and Danish Cinema’, p. 38. 79. Meryl Shriver-​Rice, Inclusion in New Danish Cinema: Sexuality and Transnational Belonging (Bristol, 2015), pp. 33–4. 80. Shriver-​Rice, Inclusion in New Danish Cinema, p. 35. 81. Bo Tengberg, interview with the authors on 16 September 2015 in Copenhagen. 82. Fry, ‘Out of the darkness’, n.p.

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Notes to pages 57–62 83. Mark Jancovich and James Lyons, Quality Popular Television: Cult TV, the Industry and Fans (London: BFI, 2003), p. 2. 84. Nordvision, ‘About Nordvision’, http://​en.nordvision.org/​index.php?id=538 [accessed on 28 May 2014]. 85. Bondebjerg and Redvall, ‘A small region in a global north’, p. 99. On the role of Nordvision more generally, see Finn Rowold, Nordvision gennem 50 år (Copenhagen, 2009). 86. Pia Majbritt Jensen, Jakob Isak Nielsen and Anne Marit Waade, ‘When Public Service Drama Travels: The Internationalization of Danish Television Drama and the Associated Production Models’, Journal of Popular Television, 4/​1 (2016), pp. 91–​108 (pp. 93–​6). 87. Tasja Abel, cited in Fry, ‘Out of the darkness’, n.p. 88. Tasja Abel, cited in Fry, ‘Out of the darkness’, n.p. 89. Jensen, Nielsen and Waade, ‘When Public Service Drama Travels’, p. 95. 90. Nordisk Film & TV Fond, interview with DR’s Head of Fiction Nadia Kløvedal Reich and Head of Drama Piv Bernth, 11 May 2012, http://​www. nordiskfilmogtvfond.com/​files/​5013/​4196/​0268/​drs_​nadia_​klvedal_​reich_​ and_​piv_​bernth_​-​_​11.05.12.pdf [accessed on 28 August 2014], pp. 1–​4 (p. 3). 91. Jensen, Nielsen and Waade, ‘When Public Service Drama Travels’. 92. Jensen, Nielsen and Waade, ‘When Public Service Drama Travels’, pp. 99–​100. 93. See Ib Bondebjerg and Francesco Bono, ‘Television Programming in Denmark: Share of broadcasting time 1993 & 1994 (per cent)’, in Ib Bondebjerg and Francesco Bono (eds), Television in Scandinavia: History, Politics and Aesthetics (Luton, 1996), p. 233. 94. Nordisk Film & TV Fond, interview with DR’s Head of Fiction Nadia Kløvedal Reich and Head of Drama Piv Bernth, 11 May 2012, http://​www. nordiskfilmogtvfond.com/​files/​5013/​4196/​0268/​drs_​nadia_​klvedal_​reich_​ and_​piv_​bernth_​-​_​11.05.12.pdf [accessed on 28 August  2014], pp.  1–​ 4 (p. 1). 95. Bondebjerg, ‘Modern Danish Television –​after the Monopoly Era’, p. 52. 96. Redvall, Writing and Producing Television Drama in Denmark, p. 62. 97. Nordisk Film & TV Fond, interview with DR’s Head of Fiction Nadia Kløvedal Reich and Head of Drama Piv Bernth, 11 May 2012, http://​www. nordiskfilmogtvfond.com/​files/​5013/​4196/​0268/​drs_​nadia_​klvedal_​reich_​ and_​piv_​bernth_​-​_​11.05.12.pdf [accessed on 28 August 2014], pp. 1–​4 (p. 2). 98. Leo Barraclough, ‘Danish Epic ‘1864’ Wins Funding War’, Variety, 12 September 2013, http://​variety.com/​2013/​film/​news/​danish-​epic-​1864-​ wins-​funding-​war-​1200606905/​ [accessed on 28 August 2014]. 99. Redvall, Writing and Producing Television Drama in Denmark, p. 63–​5. 100. See, for instance, Poul Erik Nielsen, ‘Film og TV-​produktion I  USA og Danmark’, MedieKultur: Journal of Media and Communication Research, 11/​ 23 (1995), pp. 26–​40.

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Notes to pages 62–69 101. Collins, ‘Letter from Copenhagen’, p. 27. 102. On the practise of relay production see Redvall, Writing and Producing Television Drama in Denmark, pp. 65–​7. 103. On the importance of show-​runners, see for instance Brett Martin, Difficult Men: Behind the Scenes of a Creative Revolution: From The Sopranos and The Wire to Mad Men and Breaking Bad (New York, 2013), pp. 8–​9. 104. Redvall, Writing and Producing Television Drama in Denmark, pp. 102–12. Also see, Lea Gamula and Lothar Mikos, Nordic Noir: Skandinavische Fernsehserien und ihr internationaler Erfolg (Konstanz and Munich, 2014), pp. 43–​4. 105. Conversation with Karoline Leth at the Svend Film Festival in Svendborg on 26 August 2014.

2  Danish Production Culture and Creativity Management through ‘Scaffolding’ 1. See Gamula and Mikos, Nordic Noir, p. 58. 2. ‘Vi opfatter Filmskolen som en fuldstændig afgørende medspiller i forhold til branchen, filminstituttet, DR og TV 2. Og det er alle disse aktører og enkeltindivider, der skal i spil for at Danmark kan få en Emmy eller andre fornemme priser’, cited in Roberto Zacharias, Fyens Stiftstidende, http://​www.fyens.dk/​ Kultur-​Film/​Han-​vil-​meget-​gerne-​blive-​siddende/​artikel/​582699 [accessed on 14 October 2015]. 3. On the staus and achievements of the National Film School of Denmark, see Heidi Philipsen, ‘Dansk films nye bølge  –​afsæt og aftryk fra Den Danske Filmskole’, unpublished doctoral thesis (University of Southern Denmark, Denmark, 2005). 4. On the impact of creative industries, see for instance Allen J. Scott, ‘Cultural Products Industries and Urban Economic Development: Prospects for Growth and Market Contestation in Global Context’, Urban Affairs Review, 39/​4 (March 2004), pp. 461–​90; and Lily Kong, ‘Transnational Mobilities and the Making of Creative Cities’, Theory, Culture & Society, 31/​7–​8 (2014), pp. 273–​89. 5. Bilton, Management and Creativity, p. 24. 6. Teresa M. Amabile and Jennifer S. Mueller, ‘Studying Creativity, Its Processes, and Its Antecedents’, in Jing Zhou and Christina E. Shalley (eds), Handbook of Organizational Creativity (New York, 2007), pp. 34–​64 (here especially ­figure 2.1, p. 36). 7. Csíkszentmihályi, Creativity, p. 27. 8. Csíkszentmihályi, Creativity, p. 1. 9. Bilton, Management and Creativity, p. 2.

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Notes to pages 69–72 10. On various aspects of corporate branding, see, for instance, John M.T. Balmer, special issue on ‘Corporate Identity and Corporate Marketing’, European Journal of Marketing, 35/​3–​4 (2001). 11. Henning Pryds, interview with Heidi Philipsen on 16 September 2015 in Odense. Pryds is associate professor at the University of Southern Denmark and was employed at DR in the 1980s. 12. John T. Caldwell, ‘Hive-​Sourcing Is the New Out-​sourcing: Studying Old (Industrial) Labor Habits in New (Consumer) Labor Clothes’, Cinema Journal, 49/​1 (Fall 2009), pp. 160–​7; and John T. Caldwell, ‘Stress Aesthetics and Deprivation Payroll Systems’, in Petr Szczepanik and Patrick Vonderau (eds), Behind the Screen: Inside European Production Cultures (New York and Houndmills, Basingstoke, 2013), pp. 91–​111. 13. See Caldwell, ‘Stress Aesthetics and Deprivation Payroll Systems’, p. 98. 14. Redvall, Writing and Producing Television Drama in Denmark, p. 4. 15. The Soviet psychologist Lev Vygotsky developed his ideas circa 1930. They were published in English by Robert W. Rieber and Aaron S. Carton (eds), The Collected Works of L.S. Vygotsky, 6 vols. (New York and London, 1987). 16. David Wood, Jerome S.  Bruner and Gail S.  Ross, ‘The Role of Tutoring in Problemsolvings’, Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 17 (1976), pp. 89–​100. 17. Bilton, Management and Creativity, p. xxi. 18. On public service broadcasting and the construction of nation states, see Ib Bondebjerg, ‘American Television: Point of Reference or European Nightmare’, in Jonathan Bignell and Andreas Fickers (eds), A European Television History (Malden, MA, 2008), pp. 154–​83 (p. 156). 19. Tomas Coppens and Frieda Saeys, ‘Enforcing performance: new approaches to  govern public service broadcasting’, Media, Culture & Society, 28 (2006), pp. 261–84 (p. 271). 20. Coppens and Saeyes, ‘Enforcing performance’, p. 271. 21. Nordisk Film & TV Fond, interview with DR’s Head of Fiction Nadia Kløvedal Reich and Head of Drama Piv Bernth, 11 May 2012, http://​www.nordiskfilmogtvfond.com/​files/​5013/​4196/​0268/​drs_​nadia_​klvedal_​reich_​and_​piv_​ bernth_​-​_​11.05.12.pdf [accessed on 28 August 2014], pp. 1–​4 (p. 2). 22. DRs Public Service-​ Kontrakt for 2011–​ 14, Kulturministeriet (Danish Ministry of Culture), http://​slks.dk/​f ileadmin/​user_​upload/​dokumenter/​ medier/​r adio_​o g_​t v/​l andsdaekkende_​regional/​D R/​p ublic_​s ervice_​d r/​ DR_​Public_​service_​kontrakt_​for_​2011-​2014.pdf [accessed on 12 June 2016], p. 8. 23. On the importance of the 20.00–​21.00 time-​slot, see Benedikte Hammershøy Nielsen, ‘TV-​Serier i lengt format: Om TV-​seriers fortællestruktur og funktion i nutidens TV-​billede’, in Jytte Wiingaard (ed.), Medier og æstetik: medieteoriens historie og analysepraksis, ed. by (Copenhagen, 1999), p. 110.

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Notes to pages 73–75 24. DRs Public Service-​Kontrakt for 2011–14, pp. 4–​5. 25. Kaspar Munk, interview with the authors on 26 August 2014 in Odense. 26. Jakob Isak Nielsen, ‘Solen må aldrig skinne, og Sofie må aldrig smile: Interview med Piv Bernth’ (‘The Sun Won’t Shine and Sofie Won’t Smile: Interview with Piv Bernth’), 16:9, 48 (November 2012), http://​www.16–​9.dk/​2012-​11/​side06_​ interview3.htm [accessed on 26 April 2016]. If not stated otherwise, translations are by the authors. 27. Nielsen, ‘Solen må aldrig skinne, og Sofie må aldrig smile’. 28. Nielsen, ‘Solen må aldrig skinne, og Sofie må aldrig smile’. 29. On the relevance of these concepts for the public service broadcasting remit, see Barbara Thomaß, ‘ “Knowledge Society” and “Public Sphere” –​Two concepts for the remit’, in Gregory Ferrell Lowe and Taisto Hujanen (eds), Broadcasting and Convergence: New Articulations of the Public Service Remit (Göteborg, 2003), pp. 29–​40. 30. On the issue of quality television, see, for instance, Mark Jankovich and James Lyons (eds), Quality Popular Television (London, 2003); Janes McCabe and Kim Akass (eds), Quality TV: Contemporary American Television and Beyond (London and New York, 2007); and Robin Nelson, ‘ “Quality Television”: “The Sopranos is the best television drama ever … in my humble opinion…”’, Critical Studies in Television, 1/​1 (2006), pp. 58–​71. 31. Jonathan Bignell, ‘Seeing and Knowing: Reflexivity and Quality’, in Janet McCabe and Kim Akass (eds), Quality TV: Contemporary American Television and Beyond (London and New York, 2007), pp. 158–70 (p. 162). 32. On the numerous publications that have been dealing with issues of quality television in recent years, see for instance; Glen Creeber, Serial Television; McCabe and Akass (eds), Quality TV; Jancovich and Lyons (eds), Quality Popular Television; Nelson, ‘ “Quality Television”’; and Robert J. Thompson, Television’s Second Golden Age: From Hill Street Blues to ER (New York, 1996). 33. On the responses to Danish drama abroad, see for instance Hochscherf and Philipsen, ‘Speaking for and to the Nation?’. 34. Rabea Weihser, ‘TV-​ Serie “Gefährliche Seilschaften” –​Macht festhalten, Prinzipien loslassen’ (‘Hang on to power, relinquish principles’), Die Zeit, 19  November 2013, http://​www.zeit.de/​kultur/​film/​2012-​11/​borgen-​gefaehrliche-​seilschaften [accessed 2 July 2014]. 35. On quality television, see Mark Jancovich and James Lyons, ‘Introduction’, in Mark Jancovich and James Lyons (eds), Quality Popular Television (London, 2003), pp. 1–​8 (p. 2). 36. On changes in Danish film policy that preceded changes in television, see Cecilie Givskov, ‘Institutionalization through Europeanization: the Danish film policy reforms of the 1980s and 1990s’, International Journal of Cultural Policy, 20/​3 (2014), pp. 281–95.

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Notes to pages 76–85 37. Benedetta Sandri, ‘Film policy in Denmark: the role of the Danish Film Institute and the effect of public subsidies on national movies’, unpublished MA thesis (Copenhagen Business School, Handelshøjskolen, 2014), p. 27, http://​studenttheses.cbs.dk/​bitstream/​handle/​10417/​4478/​benedetta_​sandri. pdf?sequence=1 [accessed on 21 February 2015]. 38. Henrik Søndergaard, ‘Denmark Passes New Media Policy Agreement’, Mediating Cultural Encounters through European Screens (MeCETES), http://​ mecetes.co.uk/​denmark-​passes-​new-​media-​policy-​agreement/​ [accessed on 10 February 2015]. 39. Philipsen, ‘Dansk films nye bølge’, p. 211. 40. Cited in Philipsen, ‘Dansk films nye bølge’, p. 211. 41. Cited in Philipsen, ‘Dansk films nye bølge’, p. 210. 42. Heidi Philipsen, ‘Designing (with) Creativity’, in Heidi Philipsen, Lise Agerbæk and Bo Kampmann Walther (eds), Designing New Media: Learning, Communication and Innovation (Aarhus, 2010), pp. 51–​ 74 (especially pp. 57–​60). 43. On the report see Sandri, ‘Film policy in Denmark’, p. 7. 44. On the discussion about Nesgaard’s possible replacement, see for instance Birgitte Kjær, ‘Elever på Den Danske Filmskole: „Vi vil have en ny rektor”‘ (‘Danish Film School Students: “We want a new principal”’), Politiken, 25  November 2013, http://​p ol.dk/​2142039 [accessed on 20 February 2015]. 45. Claus Christensen and Jacob Ludvigsen, EKKO, 25 November 2013, available online at: ‘Filmskolens elever: Vi har brug for en ny rektor’ (‘Film Students: We Need a New Pricipal’), http://​www.ekkofilm.dk/​artikler/​filmskolens-​elever-​vi-​ har-​brug-​en-​ny-​rektor/​ [accessed on 12 June 2016]. 46. Kjeld Hybel, ‘Filmbranchen: Den Danske Filmskole trænger til et los i røven’ (‘Danish Film Industry: the Danish Film School Needs a Kick in the Pants’), Politiken, 21 November 2013, http://​pol.dk/​2139657 [accessed on 20 February 2015]. 47. Philipsen, ‘Dansk films nye bølge’, p. 207. 48. Philipsen, ‘Dansk films nye bølge’, p. 207. 49. Henrik Hartmann, ‘Borgen, Gabold and success that won’t go away’, in Ib Keld Jensen et al. (eds), Nordvision Annual Report 2011–​2012, (Copenhagen, 2013), pp. 49–​55 (p. 55), http://​www.nordvision.org/​fileadmin/​webmasterfiles/​AArsrapporter/​NV2011_​2012_​screen_​view.pdf [accessed on 3 October 2014]. 50. Redvall, Writing and Producing Television Drama in Denmark, p. 69. 51. Collins, ‘Letter from Copenhagen’, p. 27. 52. Redvall, Writing and Producing Television Drama in Denmark p. 130. 53. Collins, ‘Letter from Copenhagen’, p. 27.

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Notes to pages 85–94 54. Nikolaj Scherfig, interview with the authors on 26 August 2014 in Odense. 55. Kaspar Munk, interview with the authors on 26 August 2014 in Odense. 56. Redvall, Writing and Producing Television Drama in Denmark, p. 122. 57. Olson, Hollywood Planet, p. 18. 58. Camilla Hammerich cited in Gerard Gilbert, ‘How does Danish TV company DR keep churning out the hits?’, Independent, 12 May 2012, http://​www.independent.co.uk/​arts-​entertainment/​tv/​features/​how-​does-​danish-​tv-​company-​ dr-​keep-​churning-​out-​the-​hits-​7728833.html [accessed on 5 October 2014]. 59. Nikolaj Scherfig, interview with the authors on 26 August 2014 in Odense. 60. Kaspar Munk, interview with the authors on 26 August 2014 in Odense. 61. Conversation with Karoline Leth at the Svend Film Festival in Svendborg on 26 August 2014. 62. Conversation with Karoline Leth at the Svend Film Festival in Svendborg on 26 August 2014. 63. On television format bibles, see Albert Moran with Justin Malbon, Understanding the Global TV Format (Bristol, 2006); and Nicola Lees, Developing Factual/​Reality TV Ideas from Concept to Pitch (London, 2010). 64. A sample manual can be found in Redvall, Writing and Producing Television Drama in Denmark, pp. 204–​6. 65. Conversation with Karoline Leth at the Svend Film Festival in Svendborg on 26 August 2014. 66. Conversation with Karoline Leth at the Svend Film Festival in Svendborg on 26 August 2014. 67. Conversation with Karoline Leth at the Svend Film Festival in Svendborg on 26 August 2014. 68. Bo Tengberg, interview with the authors on 16 September 2015 in Copenhagen. 69. Bo Tengberg, interview with the authors on 16 September 2015 in Copenhagen. 70. Redvall, Writing and Producing Television Drama in Denmark, p. 136. 71. Nordisk Film & TV Fond, interview with DR’s Head of Fiction Nadia Kløvedal Reich and Head of Drama Piv Bernth, p. 2. 72. Conversation with Karoline Leth at the Svend Film Festival in Svendborg on 26 August 2014. 73. Conversation with Karoline Leth at the Svend Film Festival in Svendborg on 26 August 2014. 74. Philipsen, ‘Dansk films nye bølge’, p. 205; and Heidi Philipsen, ‘Spilleregler I filmskabelse –​behjælpelige begrænsninger’, in Chris Mathieu and Jesper Pedersen (eds), Dansk film I krydsfeltet mellem samarbejde og konkurrence (Lund, 2009), pp. 145–​72. 75. Linda Aronson, The 21st Century Screenplay –​A  Comprehensive Guide to Writing Tomorrow’s Films (Crows Nest, 2010), especially ­Chapter 1. 76. Bo Tengberg, interview with the authors on 16 September 2015 in Copenhagen. 77. Kaspar Munk, interview with the authors on 26 August 2014 in Odense.

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Notes to pages 94–105 78. Richard Walter, Essentials of Screenwriting: The Art, Craft, and Business of Film and Television Writing (New York and London, 2010), p. xvi. 79. Walter, Essentials of Screenwriting, p. xvi. 80. Wood, Bruner and Ross, ‘The Role of Tutoring in Problemsolvings’. 81. Redvall, Writing and Producing Television Drama in Denmark, p. 122. 82. Nikolaj Scherfig, interview with the authors on 26 August 2014 in Odense. 83. Nikolaj Scherfig, interview with the authors on 26 August 2014 in Odense.

3  Does Crime Pay? Forbrydelsen (The Killing) and the Thriving of Nordic Noir 1. Gerard Gilbert, ‘Blood, sweater and fears: Behind the scenes on The Killing’, Independent, 4 November 2011, http://​www.independent.co.uk/​arts-​entertainment/​tv/​features/​blood-​sweater-​and-​fears-​behind-​the-​scenes-​on-​the-​ killing-​6256589.html [accessed on 20 December 2015]. 2. Stuart Jeffries, ‘The Killing: in cold blood’, Guardian, 31 March 2011, http://​ www.theguardian.com/​tv-​and-​radio/​2011/​mar/​31/​the-​killing-​danish-​sarah-​ lund [accessed on 23 December 2015]. 3. John Plunkett, ‘The Killing is back with a bang’, Guardian, 19 November 2012, http://​www.theguardian.com/​media/​2012/​nov/​19/​the-​killing-​bbc4-​tv-​ratings [accessed on 19 December 2015]. 4. BBC Four Service Licence, July 2015, http://​downloads.bbc.co.uk/​bbctrust/​ assets/​f iles/​pdf/​regulatory_​f ramework/​service_​licences/​tv/​2015/​bbcfour_​ jul15.pdf [accessed on 27 December 2015]. 5. BBC Four Service Licence. 6. On the project’s objectives and methodology, see http://​danishtvdrama.au.dk/​ fileadmin/​images/​FKK_​Waade_​Project_​description_​Danish_​T V_​_​2_​_​_​3_​ .pdf [accessed on 31 December 2015]. 7. Bo Tengberg, interview with the authors on 16 September 2015 in Copenhagen. 8. On the remake, see Jakob Isak Nielsen, ‘Solen må aldrig skinne og Sofie må aldrig smile’. 9. Redvall, Writing and Producing Television Drama in Denmark, p. 167. 10. Nielsen, ‘Solen må aldrig skinne, og Sofie må aldrig smile’. 11. Cited in Nielsen, ‘Solen må aldrig skinne, og Sofie må aldrig smile’. 12. See Gamula and Mikos, Nordic Noir, pp. 82–​3. 13. Gamula and Mikos, Nordic Noir, p. 167. 14. Nielsen, ‘Solen må aldrig skinne, og Sofie må aldrig smile’. 15. Nordisk Noir –​krimi i verdensklasse is a Swedish documentary from 2014 about the Nordic Noir phenomenon. It was broadcast on DRK on 29 November 2015. 16. Bo Tengberg, interview with the authors on 16 September 2015 in Copenhagen.

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Notes to pages 105–114 17. Bo Tengberg, interview with the authors on 16 September 2015 in Copenhagen. 18. Andrew Anthony, ‘The Killing II: new knitwear, same gripping drama’, Observer, 19 November 2011, http://​www.theguardian.com/​tv-​and-​radio/​2011/​nov/​19/​ killing-​two-​review-​sarah-​lund-​returns [accessed on 19 December 2015]. 19. Cited in Gilbert, ‘Blood, sweater and fears’. 20. Vicky Frost, ‘The Killing: episode by episode, 2011–​12’, http://​www.theguardian.com/​tv-​and-​radio/​series/​the-​killing-​episode-​by-​episode [accessed on 26 December 2015]. 21. Horton, Writing the Character-​Centered Screenplay, p. 41. 22. Horton, Writing the Character-​Centered Screenplay, p. 102. 23. ‘Sommergæsten på P1:  Sofie Gråbøl’, P1 radio programme broadcast, 31 July 2015. 24. Gråbøl, cited in Gilbert, ‘Blood, sweater and fears’. 25. See Jeffries, ‘The Killing: in cold blood’. 26. Redvall, Writing and Producing Television Drama in Denmark, p. 169. 27. Nielsen, ‘Solen må aldrig skinne, og Sofie må aldrig smile’. 28. Redvall, Writing and Producing Television Drama in Denmark, p. 175. 29. Kjetil Sandvik, ‘At spille Sarah Lund –​DRs Forbrydelsen som tværmedialt oplevelsesunivers’, 16:9, 48 (November 2012), http://​www.16–​9.dk/​2012-​11/​ side09_​feature2.htm [accessed on 12 June 2016]. The show’s website was at http://​www.dr.dk/​dr1/​forbrydelsen/​ 30. Henry Jenkins and David Thorburn, Rethinking Media Change (Cambridge, MA, 2003), p. 291. 31. Helle Kannik Haastrup, ‘Oplevelser på tværs –​en tværmedial analyse af relationen mellem tv-​serien 24 timer’, in Anja BechmannPetersen and Stehen K. Rasmussen (eds), På tværs af medierne (Århus, 2007), pp. 201–​24. 32. John Fiske, Television Culture (London, 1987). 33. Melanie E.S. Kohnen, ‘ “This was just a melodramatic crapfest”: American TV Critics’ Reception of The Killing’, Journal of Popular Television, 1/​2 (2013), pp. 267–​72 (p. 270). 34. Sveistrup, cited in Jeffries, ‘The Killing: in cold blood’. 35. Cited in John Plunkett, ‘The Killing shows way for women on TV, says MP’, Guardian, 30 April 2012, http://​www.theguardian.com/​media/​2012/​apr/​30/​ bbc-​the-​killing [accessed on 28 December 2015]. 36. Jeffries, ‘The Killing: in cold blood’. 37. Jeffries, ‘The Killing: in cold blood’. 38. Gråbøl, cited in Jeffries, ‘The Killing: in cold blood’. 39. On Sveistrup’s education and formative professional years, see Redvall, Writing and Producing Television Drama in Denmark, pp. 109–16 and pp. 164–​65. 40. Gråbøl, sited in Gilbert, ‘Blood, sweater and fears’. 41. Interview with Sven Clausen, Lynge Agger Gemzøe, ‘Vi har førertrøjen! Interview med producer Sven Clausen I DR om den danske tv-​krimi’, in

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Notes to pages 114–123 Gunhild Agger and Anne Marit Waade (eds), Den skandinavisk krimi: bestsellere og blockbustere (Gothenburg, 2010), pp. 195–​203. Cited in Redvall, Writing and Producing Television Drama in Denmark, p. 166. 42. Redvall, Writing and Producing Television Drama in Denmark, p. 169. 43. Redvall, Writing and Producing Television Drama in Denmark, p. 170. 44. Redvall, Writing and Producing Television Drama in Denmark, p. 170. 45. See Redvall, Writing and Producing Television Drama in Denmark, p. 178. 46. Anthony, ‘The Killing II’. 47. Anne Marit Waade, ‘Små steder –​store forbrydelser: Stedspecifik realisme, provinsmiljø og rurale landskaber i skandinaviske krimiserier’, in Gunhild Agger and Anne Marit Waade (eds), Den skandinavisk krimi: bestsellere og blockbustere (Gothenburg, 2010), pp. 63–​78. 48. Nielsen, ‘Solen må aldrig skinne, og Sofie må aldrig smile’. 49. Jenkins and Thorburn, Rethinking Media Change. 50. Sam Wollaston, ‘A beginner’s guide to The Killing’, Guardian, 31 March 2011, http://​www.theguardian.com/​tv-​and-​radio/​2011/​mar/​31/​beginners-​guide-​ the-​killing [accessed on 28 December 2015]. 51. Bo Tengberg, interview with the authors on 16 September 2015 in Copenhagen. 52. Nordisk Noir –​krimi i verdensklasse. 53. Nordisk Noir –​krimi i verdensklasse. 54. Karoline Leth, seminar ‘Drama uden grænser’, Gentofte, 22 October 2015. 55. Gunhild Agger, ‘The Killing: Urban topographies of a crime’, Journal of Popular Television, 1/​2 (2013), pp. 235–41 (p. 236). 56. Agger, ‘The Killing: Urban topographies of a crime’, p. 236. 57. Agger, ‘The Killing: Urban topographies of a crime’, p. 236. 58. Lesley Jackson, ‘Anglo-​ Danish Design Exchange, 1900–​ 1970’, in Jørgen Sevaldsen (ed.), Britain and Denmark: Political, Economic and Cultural Relations, in the 19th and 20th Centuries (Aarhus, 2003), pp. 407–​ 30 (p. 427). 59. See Redvall, Writing and Producing Television Drama in Denmark, p. 178. 60. Bo Tengberg, interview with the authors on 16 September 2015 in Copenhagen. 61. Nielsen, ‘Solen må aldrig skinne, og Sofie må aldrig smile’.

4  Crime across Borders: Broen (The Bridge) 1. Ulf Hannerz, Transnational Connections:  Culture, People, Places (London, 1996), p. 6. 2. Anders Landstrom, cited in Vicky Frost, ‘The Bridge may make a killing with fans wanting Wallander or longing for Lund’, Guardian, 20 April 2012, http://​ www.theguardian.com/​tv-​and-​radio/​2012/​apr/​20/​bridge-​killing-​wallander-​ lund [accessed on 1 January 2016].

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Notes to pages 123–129 3. Christian Buß, ‘Schwedischer Schädel, dänischer Unterleib’ (‘Swedish head, Danish underbelly’), Spiegel Online, 17 March 2012, http://​www.spiegel.de/​ kultur/​tv/​das-​zdf-​zeigt-​den-​skandinavischen-​krimi-​mehrteiler-​die-​bruecke-​ a-​820124.html [accessed on 1 January 2016]. 4. Susanne Nielsen, ‘ “Broen” slår “Forbrydelsen” i England’ (‘ “Broen” beats “Forbrydelsen” in England’), Tvtid, 24 April 2013, http://​tvtid.tv2.dk/​nytomtv/​ article.php/​id-​49884971%3Abroen-​sl%C3%83%C6%92%C3%82%C2%A5r-​ forbrydelsen-​i-​england.html [accessed on 29 September 2015]. 5. Benjii Wilson, ‘Something is rotten….’, The Sunday Times, 22 April 2012, http://​www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/​sto/​culture/​film_​and_​tv/​tv/​article1019396. ece [accessed on 1 January 2016]. 6. Grace Dent, ‘Grace Dent on Television: The Bridge, BBC4’, Independent, 5 May 2012, http://​www.independent.co.uk/​arts-​entertainment/​tv/​reviews/​grace-​ dent-​on-​television-​the-​bridge-​bbc4-​7711897.html [accessed on 31 December 2015]. 7. Amy Burns, ‘The Bridge, BBC4, TV review: Dark winter nights are drawing in –​it must be time for some Nordic Noir’, http://​www.independent.co.uk/​ arts- ​ e ntertainment/​ t v/​ reviews/​ t he-​ bridge-​ bbc4-​ t v- ​ review- ​ d ark- ​ w inter-​ nights-​are-​drawing-​in-​it-​must-​be-​time-​for-​some-​nordic-​noir-​a6744226.html [accessed on 1 January 2016]. 8. On the rating in Sweden, see Mediamätning i Skandinavien, ‘Audience figures for week 38 in 2011 (19–​ 25 September 2011)’, http://​mms.se/​wp-​ content/​uploads/​_​dokument/​rapporter/​tv-​tittande/​vecka/​2011/​VeTvTitt1138. pdf [accessed on 1 January 2015]; on the rating in Denmark (DR1 and DRHD), see the TVM Gallup, ‘Audience figures for week 39 in 2011 (26 September –​ 2 October 2011)’, http://​tvm.gallup.dk/​tvm/​pm/​default.htm [accessed on 1 January 2015]. 9. See, Mediamätning i Skandinavien, ‘Audience figures for week 48 (23–​29 November 2011)’, http://​mms.se/​wp-​content/​uploads/​_​dokument/​rapporter/​tv-​tittande/​vecka/​2015/​VeTvTitt1548.pdf [accessed on 12 June 2016]. In Denmark, the final episode was seen by 881.000 on DR1 and DRHD on 29 November 2011, TNS Gallup, ‘Audience figures for week 47 in 2011 (21–​27 November 2011)’, http://​tvm.gallup.dk/​tvm/​pm/​default. htm [accessed on 3 December 2015]. 10. Clive James, ‘The end of The Bridge? I might die of despair’, 1 February 2014, http://​www.telegraph.co.uk/​culture/​tvandradio/​tv-​and-​radio-​reviews/​ 10602238/​Clive-​James-​The-​end-​of-​The-​Bridge-​I-​might-​die-​of-​despair.html [accessed on 1 January 2015]. 11. Jakob Isak Nielsen, ‘Den creative fabric:  Interview med Nadia Kløvedal Reich’ (‘The Creative Factory:  Interview with Nadia Kløvedal Reich’), 16:9, 48 (November 2012), as cited in Jensen, Nielsen and Waade, ‘When Public Service Drama Travels’, p. 96.

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Notes to pages 130–138 12. Sam Wollaston, ‘The Bridge review: Saga is back and her brow is more knitted than Sarah Lund’s jumper’, Guardian, 23 November 2015, http://​www.theguardian.com/​tv-​and-​radio/​2015/​nov/​23/​the-​bridge-​review-​saga [accessed on 2 January 2016]. 13. Landström, cited in Vicky Frost, ‘The Bridge may make a killing with fans wanting Wallander or longing for Lund’. 14. Nikolaj Scherfig, interview with the authors on 26 August 2014 in Odense. 15. On the Danish labour market and its ‘flexicuritiy model’, see Salvador Moncada et al., ‘Psychosocial work environment and its association with socioeconomic status. A comparison of Spain and Denmark’, Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, 38/​3 (2010), pp. 137–​48; and Per Kongshøj Madsen, ‘The Danish model of “flexicurity”: experiences and lessons’, Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, 10/​2 (Summer 2004), pp. 187–​207. 16. Jensen and Waade, ‘Nordic Noir challenging “the language of advantage”‘, p. 262. 17. Vicky Frost, ‘The Bridge: season one, episodes one and two’, Guardian, 21 April 2012, http://​www.theguardian.com/​tv-​and-​radio/​tvandradioblog/​2012/​apr/​ 21/​the-​bridge-​season-​one-​episode-​one [accessed on 2 January 2015]. 18. Rambøll, http://​www.ramboll.dk/​projects/​rdk/​oeresundsforbindelsen [accessed on 26 December 2015]. 19. Hamid Naficy, An Accented Cinema:  Exilic and Diasporic Filmmaking (Princeton, NJ, 2001). 20. Nikolaj Scherfig, interview with the authors on 26 August 2014 in Odense. 21. Emil Bønnelycke, Asfaltens Sange (Copenhagen, 1918), our emphasis. 22. Henrik Palle, ‘Henrik Palle: Ny brokrimi er ret fantastisk’ (‘Henrik Palle: The new crime drama about the bridge is pretty amazing’), Politiken, 28 September 2011, http://​politiken.dk/​kultur/​medier/​ECE1405265/​henrik-​palle-​ny-​brokrimi-​er-​ret-​fantastisk/​ [accessed on 27 September 2015]. 23. Henrik Palle, ‘Broen II bød på spænding og mismod til det sidste’ (‘Broen II offered excitement and discouragement to the last’), Politiken, 24 November 2013, http://​politiken.dk/​kultur/​medier/​ECE2141650/​broen-​ii-​boed-​paa-​ spaending-​og-​mismod-​til-​det-​sidste/​ [accessed on 29 September 2015). 24. Henrik Queitsch, ‘ “Broen II” holdt hele vejen’ (‘Broen held all the way’), Ekstra Bladet, 24 November 2013, http://​ekstrabladet.dk/​flash/​anmeldelser/​ article4824051.ece [accessed on 29 September 2015]. 25. Tommy Grøn, ‘Betjent Bodnia trak i onsdagsseerne’ (‘Policemen Bodnia captured the audience’), Politiken, 29 September 2011, http://​politiken.dk/​kultur/​ medier/​ECE1407972/​betjent-​bodnia-​trak-​i-​onsdagsseerne/​ [accessed on 27 September 2015]. 26. Jeppe Elkjær Andersen, ‘ “Broen” overgår alle forventninger’ (‘Broen surpasses all expectations’), BT, 23 November 2011, http://​www.bt.dk/​film-​og-​tv/​broen-​ overgaar-​alle-​forventninger [accessed on 27 September 2015].

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Notes to pages 138–145 27. Christian Grunert Pedersen, ‘ “Broen”-​premiere var mest populær i Norge’ (‘Broen premiere was most popular in Norway’), Mediawatch, 26 September 2013, http://​mediawatch.dk/​Medienyt/​TV/​article6010520.ece [accessed on 27 September 2015]. 28. Helle Kastholm Hansen, ‘Broen blev bundskraberen’ (‘Broen hit rock bottom’), Ekstra Bladet, 6 December 2013, http://​ekstrabladet.dk/​flash/​filmogtv/​tv/​article4608942.ece [accessed on 29 September 2015]. 29. TNS Gallup, ‘Audience figures for week 39 in 2015 (21–​27 September 2015)’, http://​tvm.gallup.dk/​tvm/​pm/​default.htm [accessed on 1 January 2016]. 30. Henrik Queitsch, ‘Broen’ er bundsolid’ (‘ “Broen” is rock solid’), Ekstra Bladet, 28 September 2015, http://​ekstrabladet.dk/​filmmagasinet/​Filmanmeldelser/​ broen-​er-​bundsolid/​5749997 [accessed on 2 January 2016]. 31. Brian Petersen, ‘Broen III: afsnit 1–​2’ (‘Broen III: Episodes 1–​2’), Ekko, 27 September 2015, http://​www.ekkofilm.dk/​anmeldelser/​broen-​iii/​ [accessed on 29 September 2015]. 32. Vicky Frost, ‘The Bridge recap: series three, episodes seven and eight –​and the murderer is …’, Guardian, 12 December 2015, http://​www.theguardian.com/​ tv-​and-​radio/​2015/​dec/​12/​the-​bridge-​recap-​s eries-​three-​episodes-​s even-​ and-​eight-​and-​the-​murderer-​is-​ [accessed on 2 January 2016]. 33. Vicky Frost, ‘The Bridge: season one, episodes one and two.’ 34. Danmarks Statestik, ‘Familier’ (‘Family’), https://​www.dst.dk/​da/​Statistik/​ emner/​husstande-​familier-​boern/​familier [accessed on 26 December 2015]. 35. David Bordwell, Narration in the Fiction Film (London, 1995). 36. Smith, Engaging Characters, p. 74. 37. Smith, Engaging Characters, p. 74. 38. Smith, Engaging Characters, p. 188. 39. Aronson, The 21st Century Screen Play, p. 10.

5  Politics, Family Life and the Media: Borgen 1. TNS Gallup, ‘Audience figures for week 1 in 2013 (31 December 2012–​6 January 2013)’, http://​tvm.gallup.dk/​tvm/​pm/​default.htm [accessed on 13 June 2013]. 2. Morten Hesseldahl, ‘DR: “Borgen” hjernevasker ikke danskerne røde’ (‘DR: “Borgen” isn’t red brainwashing for Danes’), Berlingske, 12 February 2013, http://​w ww.b.dk/​kommentarer/​dr-​b orgen-​hjernevasker-​i kke-​d anskerne-​ roede# [accessed on 12 June 2013]. 3. Russell Dalton, Democratic Challenges, Democratic Choices:  The Erosion of Political Support in Advanced Industrial Democracies (Oxford, 2004), p. 1. 4. There is a vast number of books and articles on this. Good starting points for further inquire include:  Colin Hay, Why We Hate Politics (Cambridge,

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Notes to pages 145–159 2007)  and Pierre Rosanvallon, Counter-​ Democracy:  Politics in the Age of Distrust (Cambridge, 2008). 5. Donnalyn Pompper, ‘The West Wing: White House Narratives that Journalism Cannot Tell’, in Peter C. Rollins and John E. O’Connor (eds), The West Wing: The American Presidency as Television Drama (New York, 2003), pp. 17–​31 (p. 17). 6. Pompper, The West Wing, p. 31. 7. Pompper, The West Wing, p. 22. 8. DR, ‘Borgen synopsis season 2’, http://​www.dr.dk/​DR1/​Borgen/​english/​synopsis2.htm [accessed on 21 August 2015]. 9. Margrethe Bruun Vaage, ‘Blinded by familiarity –​partiality, morality and engagement in television series’, in Ted Nannicelli and Paul Taberham (eds), Cognitive Media Theory (New York, 2014), pp. 268–​84 (p. 276). 10. Conversation with Jeppe Gjervig Gram at the Svend Film Festival in Svendborg on 25 August 2014. 11. Allesandra Stanley, ‘Cover-​Ups, Personal and Political’, Television Review, 20 October 2011, http://​www.nytimes.com/​2011/​10/​21/​arts/​television/​boss-​with-​ kelsey-​grammer-​on-​starz-​review.html?_​r=2& [accessed on 12 December 2015]. 12. See Gamula and Mikos, Nordic Noir, pp. 118–19. 13. Halfdan E, quote from website, https://​plantsounds.net/​product/​borgen [accessed on 12 December 2015]. 14. Collins, ‘Letter from Copenhagen’, p. 23. 15. Christina Fiig, ‘Women in Danish Politics: Challenges to the Notion of Gender Equality’, in Joyce Gelb and Marian Lief Palley (eds), Women and Politics around the World: A Comparative History and Survey, 2nd vol. (Santa Barbara, CA, 2009), pp. 311–28 (p. 319). 16. Peter Sich, ‘Macht um jeden Preis’, Süddeutsche Zeitung, 9 February 2012, http://​w ww.sueddeutsche.de/​medien/​polit-​serie-​gefaehrliche-​seilschaften-​ auf-​arte-​macht-​um-​jeden-​preis-​1.1279083 [accessed on 13 June 2016]. 17. Redvall, Writing and Producing Television Drama in Denmark, p. 136. 18. Gram: ‘[…] det skal have en etisk-​social konnotation, som på en eller anden måde siger noget om samfundet lige nu, og hvor vi er i Danmark. Altså, DR laver kun tv-​serier til Danmark. Altså som udgangspunkt.’ Jeppe Gjervig Gram at the Svend Film Festival in Svendborg on 25 August 2014. 19. ‘Strategies of Public Service Media as Regards Promoting a Wider Democratic Participation of Individuals’, Public Service Report, 2008, http://​www.psc.gov.za/​documents/​2008/​SOPS%20Report.pdf [accessed on 2 October 2015]. 20. Jeppe Gjervig Gram at the Svend Film Festival in Svendborg on 25 August 2014.: ‘[…] det dilemma som det viser sig over alt i samfundet, det er svært at løse. Og især når man ligesom tror på ligestilling og tror på alle mulige feministiske idealer, selvfølgelig skal det kunne lade sig gøre! At kvinder har lige så meget ret til en karriere som mænd har, men hvordan finder man balancen, hvordan

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Notes to pages 159–165 lykkes. Kan det overhovedet lykkes? Og så kan man sige, at Birgitte Nyborg er statsminister sætter selvfølgelig bare dilemmaet, eller den her historie på spidsen, men det er jo en historie som jeg tror rammer, hvis ikke alle, så mange. Altså rigtig, rigtig mange. Og det er også den de refererer til meget i udlandet. Altså [..] det er den historie, der gør at de synes at Borgen er noget særligt’. 21. Drew Mackie, ‘Everything You Need to Know About “Borgen”‘, KCET Web Special, http://​www.kcet.org/​shows/​borgen/​web-​extras/​borgen-​season-​one-​ faq-​kcetlink.html [accessed on 12 December 2015]. 22. Bo Tengberg, interview with the authors on 16 September 2015 in Copenhagen. 23. Bo Tengberg, interview with the authors on 16 September 2015 in Copenhagen. 24. On detailed description of how Borgen was made to fulfil the dogmas, see Redvall 2011, p. 248 and Redvall 2013, p. 69. 25. Redvall, Writing and Producing Television Drama in Denmark, p.152. 26. Redvall, Writing and Producing Television Drama in Denmark, pp. 148–​49. 27. Redvall, Writing and Producing Television Drama in Denmark, p. 143. 28. Redvall, Writing and Producing Television Drama in Denmark, p. 143. 29. Bo Tengberg, interview with the authors on 16 September 2015 in Copenhagen. 30. Redvall, Writing and Producing Television Drama in Denmark, p. 139. 31. Bilton, Management and Creativity, p. 2 32. Bo Tengberg, interview with the authors on 16 September 2015 in Copenhagen. 33. Camilla Hammerich, The Borgen Experience: Creating TV Drama the Danish Way (Shenley, 2015), p. 165. 34. Hammerich, The Borgen Experience, p. 164. 35. Hammerich, The Borgen Experienc, p. 296. 36. TNS Gallup, ‘Audience figures for week 38 in 2011 (20–​26 September 2011)’, http://​tvm.gallup.dk/​tvm/​pm/​default.htm [accessed on 13 June 2016]. 37. Tommy Grøn, ‘ “Borgen” sætter seermæssig bundrekord’ (‘Borgen sets new serial record’), Politiken, 27 September 2010, http://​politiken.dk/​kultur/​ medier/​ECE1069736/​borgen-​saetter-​seermaessig-​bundrekord/​ [accessed on 27 September 2015]. 38. Sørine Gotfredsen, ‘Anmeldelse: Borgen skaber mental ensretning’ (‘Review: Borgen creates mental regimentation’), Kristeligt Dagblad, 28 November 2011, http://​www.kristeligt-​dagblad.dk/​kultur/​anmeldelse-​borgen-​skaber-​mental-​ ensretning [accessed on 27 September 2015]. 39. Marie Carsten Pedersen, ‘‘Borgen’ endte som en soap’ (‘Borgen ended up a soap opera’), Politiken, 10 March 2013, http://​politiken.dk/​kultur/​medier/​ ECE1918714/​borgen-​endte-​som-​en-​soap/​ [accessed on 27 September 2015]. Translation of ‘Borgen lagde ud som et ambitiøst bud på dansk tv-​dramatik: et stort politisk ensemblespil med en imponerende produktion. Men i

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Notes to pages 165–169 sin tredje sæson er ‘Borgen’ blevet en soap, dramatikkens banale lillesøster, der altid tager den oplagte vej gennem en firkantet spændingsopbygning af cliffhangere og klassiske konflikter’. 40. Trine Munk-​Petersen, ‘DR-​fiktionschef: “Borgen” skal ikke give et billede af virkeligheden’ (‘Head of DR Fiction: Borgen does not offer an authentic picture’), Berlingske, 4 February 2013, http://​www.b.dk/​kultur/​dr-​fiktionschef-​borgen-​skal-​ikke-​give-​et-​billede-​af-​virkeligheden-​0 [accessed on 27 September 2015]. Translation of: ‘[…] promovere prostitution og komme med løgnagtige påstande for skatteydernes penge’. 41. Munk-​Petersen, DR-​fiktionschef:  “Borgen” skal ikke give et billede af virkeligheden’, translation of:  ‘[…] det vil være kulturpolitisk uhensigtsmæssigt, hvis vi lagde os fast på, at dramatik skulle underkastes en form for objektivitet eller upartiskhed […]’. 42. Hochscherf and Philipsen, ‘Speaking for and to the Nation?’, p. 247. 43. Hochscherf and Philipsen, ‘Speaking for and to the Nation?’, p. 247. 44. Morten Hesseldahl, ‘DR: “Borgen” hjernevasker ikke danskerne røde’ (‘ “Borgen” is not brainwashing the Danes in a left-​wing direction’), Berlingske, 12 February 2013, http://​www.b.dk/​kommentarer/​dr-​borgen-​hjerne-​ vasker-​ ikke-​danskerne-​roede# [accessed on 12 June 2013]. 45. Maggie Brown, ‘Borgen: Inside Danish TV’s thriller factory’, Observer, 14 January 2012, http://​www.theguardian.com/​tv-​and-​radio/​2012/​jan/​14/​borgen-​danish-​tv-​thrillers/​print [accessed on 15 October 2014]. 46. Karoline Leth, seminar ‘Drama uden grænser’, Gentofte, 22 October 2015. 47. Redvall, Writing and Producting Television Drama in Denmark, p. 152. 48. Gerard Gilbert, ‘How does Danish TV company DR keep churning out the hits?’, Independent, 12 May 2012, http://​w ww.independent.co.uk/​arts-​ entertainment/​t v/​features/​how-​do…any-​dr-​keep-​churning-​out-​t he-​hits-​ 7728833.html?printService=print [accessed on 15 October 2014]. 49. Catarina Nedertoft Jessen, ‘Borgen flytter ikke stemmer’ (‘Borgen’s portrayal doesn’t influence votes’, Information, 15 February 2013, https://​www.information.dk/​kultur/​2013/​02/​borgen-​flytter-​stemmer [accessed on 12 June 2016]. 50. Redvall, Writing and Producting Television Drama in Denmark, p.  138. The reason for changes in the writing team was also that Lindholm left the team in order to write a feature film.

6  Family Noir: Arvingerne (The Legacy) 1. Youtube, The Legacy –​Season 1 Trailer, https://​www.youtube.com/​watch?v=F3r-​ 8CKpJ-​c [accessed on 13 June 2016]. 2. TNS Gallup, Audience figures for week 1 and 2 in 2014 (30 December 2013–​ 12 January 2014)’, http://​tvm.gallup.dk/​tvm/​pm/​default.htm [accessed on 13 June 2016].

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Notes to pages 169–174 3. Annegerd Lerche Kristiansen, ‘DRs Arvingerne solgt til udlandet inden premieren’ (DR’s Arvingerne sold abroad before premiere’), DR, 11 December 2013, http://​www.dr.dk/​nyheder/​kultur/​drs-​arvingerne-​solgt-​til-​udlandet-​ inden-​premieren [accessed on 3 January 2015]. 4. Sandra Broval, ‘Arvingerne solgt til mere end 40 lande’ (‘Arvingerne sold to more than 40 counties’), Politiken, 2 January 2015, http://​politiken.dk/​kultur/​ filmogtv/​ECE2499974/​arvingerne-​solgt-​til-​mere-​end-​40-​lande/​ [accessed on 30 December 2015]. 5. Cited in Cinema Scandinavia, 2 December 2014, http://​www.cinemascandinavia.com/​the-​usa-​closes-​deals-​on-​the-​legacy/​ [accessed on 3 January 2016]. 6. Will Dean, ‘The Legacy, Sky Arts 1, TV review: Smart, dark and off-​kilter’, Independent, 27 November 2014, http://​www.independent.co.uk/​arts-​entertainment/​tv/​reviews/​the-​legacy-​tv-​review-​smart-​dark-​and-​off-​kilter-​the-​ danes-​have-​made-​another-​killing-​9885753.html [accessed on 3 January 2016]. 7. Sam Wollaston, ‘The Legacy review –​‘complex, flawed, real characters having complex, flawed, real relationships’, Guardian, 13 June 2015, http://​www. theguardian.com/​tv-​and-r​ adio/​2015/​jun/​13/​the-​legacy-​review-​last-​nights-​tv [accessed on 3 January 2016]. 8. Ellie Austin, ‘The Legacy: your next fix of Nordic Noir?’, RadioTimes, 3 February 2015, http://​www.radiotimes.com/​news/​2014-​02-​03/​the-​legacy-​ your-​next-​fix-​of-​nordic-​noir [accessed on 3 January 2016]. 9. An overview of reviews can be found at: Annegerd Lerche Kristiansen, ‘Anmeldere: Arvingerne er en fuldfed psykologisk dramaserie’ (‘Review: Arvingerne is a complex psychological drama’), DR, 2 January 2014, http://​ www.dr.dk/​nyheder/​kultur/​anmeldere-​arvingerne-​er-​en-​fuldfed-​psykologisk-​dramaserie [accessed on 13 June 2016]. 10. Henrik Palle, ‘Anmeldelse: Arvingerne 2 havde svipsere og absolut stjernestunder’ (‘Review: Arvingerne II had glitches and fabulous moments’), Politiken, 15 February 2015, http://​politiken.dk/​kultur/​filmogtv/​tvanmeldelser/​premium/​ECE2547886/​anmeldelse-​arvingerne-​2-​havde-​svipsere-​og-​ absolut-​stjernestunder/​ [accessed on27 September 2015]. 11. Henrik Palle, ‘Anmeldelse:  Arvingerne 2 havde svipsere og absolut stjernestunder’. 12. Niels Lind Larsen, ‘Anmeldelse af “Arvingerne”: An entirely terric family feud’, BT, 1 January 2015, http://​www.bt.dk/​film-​og-​tv/​anmeldelse-​af-​arvingerne-​ fuldstaendigt-​forrygende-​familiefejde [accessed on 7 September 2015]. 13. Piv Berth, radio portrait on P1, 14 July 2015, http://​www.dr.dk/​p1/​sommergaesten/​sommergaesten-​pa-​p1-​piv-​bernth/​ [accessed on 13 June 2016]. 14. Austin, ‘The Legacy’. 15. Noridcana 2014, ‘The Legacy (Arvingerne) Q&A with Carsten Bjørnlund at Nordicana’, chaired by Neil Midgley, 10 December 2014, https:// www.youtube. com/ watch?v=9nD6c7H2c9Q [accessed on 13 June 2016].

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Notes to pages 174–186 16. Horton, Writing the Character-​Centered Screenplay, p. 41. 17. Canfield, David, ‘The Family Noir: Introducing TV’s Newest Trend’, IndieWire, 4 April 2015, http://​www.indiewire.com/​2015/​04/​the-​family-​noir-​introducing​tvs-​newest-​trend-​63472/​ [accessed on 12 June 2016]. 18. Conversation with Karoline Leth at the Svend Film Festival in Svendborg on 26 August 2014. 19. Marit Kapla, seminar ‘Drama uden grænser’, Gentofte, 22 October 2015. 20. Marit Kapla, seminar ‘Drama uden grænser’, Gentofte, 22 October 2015. 21. Redvall, Writing and Producting Television Drama in Denmark, p. 122. 22. Noridcana 2014, ‘The Legacy (Arvingerne) Q&A with Carsten Bjørnlund at Nordicana’. 23. Redvall, Writing and Producting Television Drama in Denmark, p. 69 24. Albinus Sabroe and Eva Redvall, conference paper on ‘Production design as a storytelling tool in the writing of Danish TV drama show The Legacy’, The 8th International Screenwriting Research Network Conference, University of London, 11 September 2015. On a conference report, see Christine Geraghty, ‘Crossovers and Collaborations: Production Design in A Legacy and The Dresser arrives on Television’, October 2015, http://​cstonline.tv/​ crossovers-​and-​collaboration [accessed on 13 June 2016]. 25. Conversation with Karoline Leth at the Svend Film Festival in Svendborg on 26 August 2014. 26. Mia Stensgaard, interview with Iben Albinus Sabroe, ‘Kunstneren som production designer’, The Nordic Courier, V (2014), pp. 1–​11 (p. 10).

7  The Danish Take on National Security and the War on Terror: Ørnen: En krimi-​odyssé (The Eagle) 1. Organisation for Economic Co-​Operation and Development (OECD), Better Life Index ‘Denmark’, http://​www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/​countries/​denmark/​[accessed on 4 September 2015]. 2. UNODC, 2011 Global Study on Homicide, http://​www.unodc.org/​documents/​data-​and-​analysis/​statistics/​Homicide/​Homicide_​level.xlsx [accessed on 4 July 2012]. Intentional homicides are defined as ‘unlawful death purposefully inflicted on a person by another person’. 3. On the production context, see Gamula and Mikos, Nordic Noir, p.  59 and pp. 77–​81. 4. No author, ‘Ørnen havde flere seere end Rejseholdet’ (‘Ørnen had more viewers than Rejseholdet’), Politiken, 11 October 2004, http://​politiken.dk/​kultur/​ECE96791/​oernen-​havde-​flere-​seere-​end-​rejseholdet/​ [accessed on 27 September 2015]. 5. Gamula and Mikos, Nordic Noir, p. 77.

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Notes to pages 187–202 6. Gamula and Mikos, Nordic Noir, pp. 80–​1. 7. Matthias Hannemann, ‘Jasmina El Murad, übernehmen Sie!’, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 24 October 2009, p. 38. 8. Youtube, ‘Tema’et fra DR’s serie “Ørnen” –​Forgiveness’, https://​www.youtube. com/​watch?v=xLMECUlIc40 [accessed on 12 June 2016]. 9. Smith, Engaging Characters, pp. 81–5. 10. Daland Segler, ‘Die Polizei als Igel’, Frankfurter Rundschau, 23 October 2009, p. 41. 11. Bo Tengberg, interview with the authors on 16 September 2015 in Copenhagen. 12. Philipsen, ‘Har vi set en rigtig negermand i dansk film?’ 13. DFI, ‘Undersøgelse af etnisk mangfoldighed i dansk film’, January 2015, http://​w ww.dfi.dk/​branche_​og_​stoette/​%7E/​media/DB9A2BC049C14E08 B27D8EECED463968.ashx [accessed on 12 June 2015]. 14. Amy Holdsworth, ‘ “Slow Television” and Stephen Poliakoff ’s Shooting the Past’, Journal of British Cinema and Television, 3/​1 (2006), pp. 128–​133 (p. 129), cited in Creeber, ‘Killing us softly’, p. 25. 15. On the development of the police trilogy, see Lynge Agger Gemzøe, ‘Vi har førertrøjen!’, p. 197. 16. Klaus Dodds, ‘Screening Geopolitics: James Bond and the Early Cold War Films (1962–​1967)’, Geopolitics, 10 (2005), pp. 266–​89. 17. On filmic representations of such themes, see Klaus Dodds, ‘Jason Bourne: Gender, Geopolitics, and Contemporary Representations of National Security’, Journal of Popular Film & Television, 38/​1 (2010), pp. 21–​33. 18. No author, ‘Anmelderne roser Ørnen’ (‘Critics praise Ørnen’), Politiken, 11 October 2004, http://​politiken.dk/​kultur/​ECE96767/​anmelderne-​roser-​ oernen/​[accessed on 27 September 2015]. 19. No author, ‘De unge seere vil have livvagter’ (‘Young viewers will have bodyguards’), Jyllands Posten, 5 March 2009, http://​jyllands-​posten.dk/​kultur/​ ECE4118638/​De+unge+seere+vil+have+livvagter/​ [accessed on 27 September 2015]. 20. Niels Lind Larsen, ‘Ørnen nåede aldrig skyerne’ (‘Ørnen never reachted the clouds’), Ekstra Bladet, 27 November 2006, http://​ekstrabladet.dk/​flash/​ anmeldelser/​diverse/​article4799339.ece [accessed on 27 September 2015].

Conclusions: From Dogmas to Nordic Noir and Beyond 1. Susanne Nielsen, ‘Ugens seertal: Bedrag taber til håndbold-​heltene’ (‘This week’s ratings: Bedrang lost to handball heroes’), TV2, 26 January 2016, http://​ underholdning.tv2.dk/​kendte/​2016-​01-​25-​ugens-​seertal-​bedrag-​taber-​til-​ haandbold-​heltene [accessed on 12 June 2016]; and Marie Ravn Nielsen, ‘1,4

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Notes to pages 202–211 millioner danskere så “Bedrag”i aftes’ (‘1.4 million Danes watched Bedrag last night’), DR, 4 January 2016, http://​www.dr.dk/​nyheder/​kultur/​film/​14-​millioner-​danskere-​saa-​bedrag-​i-​aftes [accessed on 12 June 2016]. 2. Episode 1: 1.260,000, 2: 1.398,000, 3: 1.387,000, 4: 1.329,000, 5: 921,000, 6: 1.217,000; ratings according to Gallup, http://​tvm.gallup.dk/​tvm/​pm/​default.htm 3. Tobias Bukkehave, ‘Anmeldelse: Trådene i Bedrag strejfer subtilt hinanden’ (‘Review: Bedrang’s narrative threads are subtly connected’), DR, 3 January 2016, http://​ekstrabladet.dk/​flash/​anmeldelser/​diverse/​anmeldelse-​bedrag-​ kom-​snublende-​fra-​start/​5888722 [accessed on 12 June 2016]; and Henrik Queitsch, ‘Anmeldelse: Bedrag kom snublende fra start’, Ekstra Bladet, 1 january 2016, http://​ekstrabladet.dk/​flash/​anmeldelser/​diverse/​anmeldelse-​ bedrag-​kom-​snublende-​fra-​start/​5888722 [accessed on 12 June 2016]. 4. Kristian Lindberg, ‘Tre manuskriptforfattere blev fyret fra 1864’ (The 1864 writers were fired’), Berlingske, 5 November 2014, http://​www.b.dk/​ kultur/​tre-​manuskriptforfattere-​blev-​f yret-​fra-​1864 [accessed on 12 June 2016]. 5. Rune M. Sjørvad, ‘1864 kunne have været lavet for det halve’ (‘1864 could have been made for half ’), Ekstra Bladet, 14 October 2014, http://​ekstrabladet.dk/​ flash/​filmogtv/​tv/​article5194310.ece [accessed on 12 June 2016]. 6. Gunhild Agger, ‘Kampen om vores 1864’, Kommunikationsforum, 28 October 2014, http://​www.kommunikationsforum.dk/​artikler/​anmeldelse-​af-​1864 [accessed on 12 June 2016]. 7. Hjort, Small Nation, Global Cinema, p. 7. 8. Nikolaj Scherfig wrote this at his facebook site on 18 December 2015 when Mogens Rukov died. 9. Bo Tengberg, interview with the authors on 16 September 2015 in Copenhagen. 10. Csíkszentmihályi, Creativity. 11. Csíkszentmihályi, Creativity, p. 127. 12. Bilton, Management and Creativity, p. xxi. 13. See Hjort and Petrie, The Cinema of Small Nations; and Hjort, Small Nation, Global Cinema. 14. Nikolaj Scherfig, interview with the authors on 26 August 2014 in Odense. 15. Nikolaj Scherfig, interview with the authors on 26 August 2014 in Odense. 16. Hjort, Small Nation, Global Cinema, p. 20. 17. Lotte Lindegaard, interview with the authors on 28 November 2013 in Odense. 18. Lotte Lindegaard, interview with the authors on 28 November 2013 in Odense. 19. Cited in Collins, ‘Letter from Copenhagen’, p. 30. 20. Nielsen, ‘Solen må aldrig skinne, og Sofie må aldrig smile’. 21. Collins, ‘Letter from Copenhagen’, p. 22. 22. Collins, ‘Letter from Copenhagen’, p. 24. 23. On male protagonists in recent US serials, see, for instance, Martin, Difficult Men.

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Notes to pages 212–214 24. Through ethnographic studies it has been pointed out that women tend both to identify with both male and female characters on TV. Whereas men typically identify only with male characters. Women have learned to operate within a ‘double-​voiced discourse’, while men have not had any reason for this and has thus developed a more ‘limited’ discourse repertoire. See John Fiske, Television Culture, 2nd edn (Milton Park and New York, 2011), pp. 194–5. 25. John Hill, ‘The Issue of British Cinema and National Film Production’, in Duncan Petrie (ed.), New Questions of British Cinema (London, 1992), pp. 10–​ 21 (p. 17). 26. Sarah Street, ‘New Scottish Cinema as Transnational Cinema’, in Jonathan Murray, Fidelma Farley and Rod Stoneman (eds), Scottish Cinema Now (Newcastle upon Tyne, 2009), pp. 139–​52 (p. 142). 27. Per Fly, seminar ‘Drama uden grænser’, Gentofte, 22 October 2015. 28. Thomas Nielsen, ‘Danmark er super trendy i Hollywood’ (‘Denmark is super trendy in Hollywood’), Søndagsavisen, 27 August 2015, http://​sondagsavisen. dk/​kendte/​2015-​08-​28-​danmark-​er-​supertrendy-​i-​hollywood-​her-​er-​danskerne-​amerikanerne-​elsker/​ [accessed on 5 January 2016].

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Select Bibliography Bondebjerg, Ib, ‘American Television: Point of Reference or European Nightmare’, in Jonathan Bignell and Andreas Fickers (eds), A European Television History (Malden, MA, 2008), pp. 154–​83 ———, Filmen og det modern (Copenhagen, 2005) ———, ‘Modern Danish Television –​after the monopoly era’, in Ib Bondebjerg and Francesco Bono (eds), Television in Scandinavia: History, Politics and Aesthetics (Luton, 1996), pp. pp. 41–​69 Bondebjerg, Ib and Eva Redvall, ‘A small region in a global north: Patterns in Scandinavian film & TV culture’ (Copenhagen 2011), http://​cemes.ku.dk/​ research_​literature/​dokument/​CEMES_​WP_​no._​1_​_​2011_​_​S candinavian_​ cinema.pdf/​[accessed on 6 June 2016] Bordwell, David, Narration in the Fiction Film (London, 1995) Bould, Mark, Film Noir: From Berlin to Sin City (London and New York, 2005) Bruun, Hanne and Frandsen, Kirsten, Tv production i konkurrence (Copenhagen 2007) Caldwell, John T., ‘Hive-​ Sourcing Is the New Out-​ sourcing: Studying Old (Industrial) Labor Habits in New (Consumer) Labor Clothes’, Cinema Journal, 49/​1 (Fall 2009), pp. 160–​7 ———, Production Culture: Industrial Reflexivity and Cultural Practice in Film and Television (Durham, NC and London, 2008) ———, ‘Stress Aesthetics and Deprivation Payroll Systems’, in Petr Szczepanik and Patrick Vonderau (eds), Behind the Screen: Inside European Production Cultures (New York and Houndmills, Basingstoke, 2013), pp. 91–​111. Carpentier, Nico, ‘Contextualising Author-​ Audience Convergences’, Cultural Studies, 25/​4–​5 (2011), pp. 517–​33. Collins, Richard, ‘ “Ises” and “Oughts”: Public Service Broadcasting in Europe’, in Robert C. Allen and Anette Hill (eds), The Television Studies Reader (London and New York, 2004), pp. 33–​51 Collins, Lauren, ‘Letter from Copenhagen: “Danish Postmodern”’, The New Yorker, 7 January 2013, pp. 22–​8 Coppens, Tomas and Frieda Saeys, ‘Enforcing performance: new approaches to govern public service broadcasting’, Media, Culture & Society, 28 (2006), pp. 261–​84 Creeber, Glen, ‘Killing us softly:  Investigating the aesthetics, philosophy and influence of Nordic Noir television’, Journal of Popular Television, 3/​1 (2015), pp. 21–​35 ———, ‘The Mini-​Series’, in Glen Creeber (ed.), The Television Genre Book, (London, 2008), pp. 46–​9. ———, Serial Television: Big Drama on the Small Screen (London, 2004) Csíkszentmihályi, Mihály, Creativity  –​Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention (New York, 1996)

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Select Bibliography d’Haenens, Leen and Jo Bardoel, ‘European Public Service Broadcasting: A Concept, an Institution, and a Practice’, in Leen d’Haenens and Frieda Saeys (eds), Western Broadcast Models: Structure, Conduct and Performance (Berlin and New York, 2007), pp. 79–​94 Dodds, Klaus, ‘Jason Bourne:  Gender, Geopolitics, and Contemporary Representations of National Security’, Journal of Popular Film & Television, 38/​ 1 (2010), pp. 21–​33 ———, ‘Screening Geopolitics: James Bond and the Early Cold War Films (1962–​ 1967)’, Geopolitics, 10 (2005), pp. 266–​89 Elkington, Trevor G. and Andrew Nestingen, ‘Introduction’, in Trevor G. Elkington and Andrew Nestingen (eds), Transnational Cinema in a Global North: Nordic Cinema in Transition (Detroit, MI, 2005), pp. 1–​28. Enli, Gunn Sara, ‘Redefining Public Service Broadcasting: Multi-​ Platform Participation’, Convergence, 14 (2008), pp. 105–​20 Field, Syd. Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting, rev. and updated edition (New York, 2005) Fiske, John, Television Culture, 2nd edn. (Milton Park and New York, 2011) Gamula, Lea M., ‘It’s not TV, It’s Scandinavian: Skandinavische Fernsehserien und ihr internationaler Erfolg’, unpublished MA thesis (Hochschule für Film und Fernsehen “Konrad Wolf ”, Potsdam-​Babelsberg, Germany, 2012) Gamula, Lea M. and Lothar Mikos, Nordic Noir: Skandinavische Fernsehserien und ihr internationaler Erfolg (Konstanz and Munich, 2014) Givskov, Cecilie, ‘Institutionalization through Europeanization: the Danish film policy reforms of the 1980s and 1990s’, International Journal of Cultural Policy, 20/​3 (2014), pp. 281–​95 Hammerich, Camilla, The Borgen Experience: Creating TV Drama the Danish Way (Shenley, 2015) Hannerz, Ulf, Transnational Connections: Culture, People, Places (London, 1996) Hanretti, Chris, Public Service Broadcasting’s Continued Rude Health (London, 2012) Hartmann, Henrik, ‘Borgen, Gabold and success that won’t go away’, in Ib Keld Jensen et al. (eds), Nordvision Annual Report 2011–​12, pp. 49–​55, http://​www. nordvision.org/​f ileadmin/​webmasterfiles/​AArsrapporter/​NV2011_​2012_​ screen_​view.pdf [accessed on 3 October 2015] Hill, John, ‘The Issue of British Cinema and National Film Production’, in Duncan Petrie (ed.), New Questions of British Cinema, (London, 1992), pp. 10–​21 Hjort, Mette, Small Nation, Global Cinema: The New Danish Cinema (Minneapolis, 2005) Hjort, Mette and Ib Bondebjerg (eds), The Danish Directors: Dialogues on a Contemporary Cinema (Bristol, 2001)

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Select Bibliography Hochscherf, Tobias and Heidi Philipsen, ‘Speaking for and to the nation? Borgen and the cultural viability of public service broadcasting in Denmark and Germany’, Journal of Popular Television, 1/​2 (2013), pp. 243–50 Holdsworth, Amy, ‘ “Slow Television” and Stephen Poliakoff ’s Shooting the Past’, Journal of British Cinema and Television, 3/​1 (2006), pp. 128–​33 Horton, Andrew, Writing the Character-​Centered Screenplay (Berkeley, 1994) Jackson, Lesley, ‘Anglo-​Danish Design Exchange, 1900–​1970’, in Jørgen Sevaldsen (ed.), Britain and Denmark: Political, Economic and Cultural Relations, in the 19th and 20th Centuries (Aarhus, 2003), pp. 407–​30 Jancovich, Mark and James Lyons, Quality Popular Television: Cult TV, the Industry and Fans (London, 2003) Jauert, Per and Henrik Søndergaard, ‘The Danish media landscape’, in Georgios Terzis (ed.), European Media Governance: National and Regional Dimensions, (Bristol, 2007), pp. 83–​97. Jauert, Per, Ib Poulsen and Henrik Søndergaard, ‘Denmark’, in Leen d’Haenens and Frieda Saeys (eds), Western Broadcast Models: Structure, Conduct and Performance (Berlin and New York, 2007), pp. 145–​67 Jenkins, Henry, Convergence Culture:  Where Old and New Media Collide (New York, 2006). Jenkins, Henry and David Thorburn, Rethinking Media Change (Cambridge, MA, 2003) Jensen, Pia Majbritt and Anne Marit Waade, ‘Nordic Noir challenging “the language of advantage”: Setting, light and language as production values in Danish television series’, Journal of Popular Television, 1/​2 (2013), pp. 259–​65. Jensen, Pia Majbritt, Jakob Isak Nielsen and Anne Marit Waade, ‘When Public Service Drama Travels: The Internationalization of Danish Television Drama and the Associated Production Models’, Journal of Popular Television, 4/​1 (2016), pp. 91–​108 Kingsley, Patrick, How to Be Danish: A Journey to the Cultural Heart of Denmark (New York, 2012) Kohnen, Melanie E.S., ‘ “This was just a melodramatic crapfest”: American TV Critics’ Reception of The Killing’, Journal of Popular Television, 1/​2 (2013), pp. 267–72 Kompare, Derek, ‘Publishing Flow: DVD Box Sets and the Reconception of Television’, Television & New Media, 7/​4 (November 2006), pp. 335–​60 Kong, Lily, ‘Transnational Mobilities and the Making of Creative Cities’, Theory, Culture & Society, 31/​7–​8 (2014), pp. 273–​289 Langkjær, Birger, Realismen i dansk film (Frederiksberg, 2012) ———, ‘Realism and Danish Cinema’, in Realism and ‘Realisty’ in Anne Jerslev (ed.), Film and Media, Northern Lights Film and Media Studies Yearbook 2002 (Copenhagen, 2002), pp. 15–​40. Lees, Nicola, Developing Factual/​Reality TV Ideas from Concept to Pitch (London, 2010)

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Select Bibliography Luhmann, Niklas, Soziale Systeme: Grundriß einer allgemeinen Theorie (Frankfurt/​ Main, 1984) McCabe, Janes and Kim Akass (eds), Quality TV: Contemporary American Television and Beyond (London and New York, 2007) Madsen, Per Kongshøj, ‘The Danish model of “flexicurity”:  experiences and lessons’, Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, 10/​2 (Summer 2004), pp. 187–​207 Martin, Brett, Difficult Men: Behind the Scenes of a Creative Revolution: From The Sopranos and The Wire to Mad Men and Breaking Bad. New York, 2013 Mittell, Jason, Complex TV:  The Poetics of Contemporary Television Storytelling (New York, 2015) ———, ‘Narrative Complexity in Contemporary American Television’, Velvet Light Trap, 58 (2006), pp. 29–​40 Moncada, Salvador et al., ‘Psychosocial work environment and its association with socioeconomic status. A comparison of Spain and Denmark’, Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, 38/​3 (2010), pp. 137–48 Moran, Albert with Justin Malbon, Understanding the Global TV Format (Bristol, 2006) Morin, Edgar, On Complexity (Cresskill, NJ, 2008). Naficy, Hamid, An Accented Cinema: Exilic and Diasporic Filmmaking (Princeton, NJ, 2001) Naremore, James, ‘American Film Noir: The History of an Idea’, Film Quarterly, 49/​ 2 (Winter 1995/​1996), pp. 12–​28 ———, More than Night: Film Noit in Its Contexts (Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1998) Nelson, Robin, ‘Hill Street Blues’, in Glen Creeber (ed.), Fifty Key Television Programmes, (London, 2004), pp. 100–​104 ———, ‘ “Quality Television”: “The Sopranos is the best television drama ever … in my humble opinion…”’, Critical Studies in Television, 1/​1 (2006), pp. 58–​71 ———, TV Drama in Transition: Forms, Values and Cultural Change (London and New York, 1997) Newcomb, Horace, ‘Narrative and Genre’, in John Downing (ed.), The SAGE Handbook of Media Studies (Thousand Oaks, 2004), pp. 413–​22. Nielsen, Benedikte Hammershøy, ‘TV-​Serier i lengt format: Om TV-​seriers fortællestruktur og funktion i nutidens TV-​billede’, in Jytte Wiingaard (ed.), Medier og æstetik: medieteoriens historie og analysepraksis (Copenhagen, 1999) Nielsen, Jakob Isak, ‘Den creative fabric: Interview med Nadia Kløvedal Reich’ (‘The Creative Factory: Interview with Nadia Kløvedal Reich’), 16:9, 48 (November 2012), http://​www.16–​9.dk/​2012-​11/​side04_​interview1.htm [accessed on 6 June 2016] ———, ‘Solen må aldrig skinne, og Sofie må aldrig smile: Interview med Piv Bernth’ (‘The Sun Won’t Shine and Sofie Won’t Smile: Interview with Piv Bernth’), 16:9,

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Select Bibliography 48 (November 2012), http://​www.16–​9.dk/​2012-​11/​side06_​interview3.htm [accessed on 26 April 2016] Nielsen, Poul Erik, ‘Film og TV-​produktion I USA og Danmark’, MedieKultur: Journal of Media and Communication Research, 11/​23 (1995), pp. 26–​40 Olson, Scott Robert, Hollywood Planet: Global Media and the Competitive Advantage of Narrative Transparency (New York and London, 2009) Peacock, Steven, ‘Two Kingdoms, Two Kings’, Critical Studies in Television:  The International Journal of Television Studies, 4/​2 (Autumn 2009), pp. 24–​36. Philipsen, Heidi, ‘Creative Cross-​Media Communication and Concepts: Relations between Television Serials, Websites Webisodes and Mobile Films’, in Heidi Philipsen, Lise Agerbæk and Bo Kampmann Walther (eds), Designing New Media: Learning, Communication and Innovation, (Aarhus, 2010), pp. 111–​35. ———, ‘Dansk films nye bølge –​afsæt og aftryk fra Den Danske Filmskole’, unpublished doctoral thesis (University of Southern Denmark, Denmark, 2005) ———, ‘Designing (with) Creativity’, in Heidi Philipsen, Lise Agerbæk and Bo Kampmann Walther (eds), Designing New Media: Learning, Communication and Innovation (Aarhus, 2010), pp. 51–​74 ———, ‘Spilleregler i filmskabelse –​behjælpelige begrænsninger’, in Chris Mathieu and Jesper Strandgaard Pedersen, Dansk Film i krydsfeltet mellem samarbejde og konkurrence (Lund, 2009), pp. 145–​72 ———, ‘Har vi set en rigtig negermand i dansk film?’, in Søren Frank and Mehmet Ümit Necef (eds), Indvandreren i dansk film og litteratur (Hellerup, 2013), pp. 162–​98. Pompper, Donnalyn, ‘The West Wing: White House Narratives that Journalism Cannot Tell’, in Peter C. Rollins and John E. O’Connor (eds), The West Wing: The American Presidency as Television Drama (New York, 2003), pp. 17–​31 Redvall, Eva, Writing and Producing Television Drama in Denmark:  From The Kingdom to The Killing (Houndmills, Basingstoke and New York, 2013). Robinson, Emma, ‘What is Film Noir?’, Cinema Scandinavia:  The Nordic Film Magazine 6 (2014), pp. 13–​17 Rothmund, Kathrin, Komplexe Welten: Narrative Strategien in US-​amerikanischen Fernsehserien, Deep Focus 15, 2nd rev. edn (Berlin, 2013) Rowold, Finn, Nordvision gennem 50 år (Copenhagen, 2009) Sandri, Benedetta, ‘Film policy in Denmark: the role of the Danish Film Institute and the effect of public subsidies on national movies’, unpublished MA thesis (Copenhagen Business School, Handelshøjskolen, Denmark, 2014), http://​studenttheses.cbs.dk/​bitstream/​handle/​10417/​4478/​benedetta_​sandri. pdf?sequence=1 [accessed on 9 June 2016] Sandvik, Kjetil, ‘At spille Sarah Lund –​DRs Forbrydelsen som tværmedialt oplevelsesunivers’, 16:9, 10/​ 48 (November 2012), http://​www.16–​9.dk/​2012-​11/​ side09_​feature2.htm [accessed on 6 June 2016] Schepelern, Peter, ‘Danish Film History 1896–​2009’, translated by Daniel Sanders,

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Select Bibliography Scott, Allen J., ‘Cultural Products Industries and Urban Economic Development: Prospects for Growth and Market Contestation in Global Context’, Urban Affairs Review, 39/​4 (March 2004), pp. 461–90 Shriver-​Rice, Meryl, Inclusion in New Danish Cinema: Sexuality and Transnational Belonging (Bristol, 2015) Smith, Murray, Engaging Characters, Fiction, Emotion and the Cinema (Oxford and New York, 1995). Søndergaard, Henrik, ‘Denmark Passes New Media Policy Agreement’, Mediating Cultural Encounters through European Screens (MeCETES), http://​mecetes. co.uk/​denmark-​passes-​new-​media-​policy-​agreement/​ [accessed on 9 June 2016] ———, ‘Fundamentals in the History of Danish Television’, in Ib Bondebjerg and Francesco Bono (eds), Television in Scandinavia: History, Politics and Aesthetics (Luton, 1996), pp. 11–​40 Street, Sarah, ‘New Scottish Cinema as Trans-​national Cinema’, in Jonathan Murray, Fidelma Farley and Rod Stoneman (eds), Scottish Cinema Now (Newcastle upon Tyne, 2009), pp. 139–​52 Syvertsen, Trine, ‘Challenges to Public Television in the Era of Convergence and Commercialization’, Television & New Media, 4 (2003), pp. 155–75 ———, ‘The Many Uses of the Public Service Concept’, Nordicom Review, 20/​1 (1999), pp. 5–​12 Thomaß, Barbara, ‘ “Knowledge Society” and “Public Sphere” –​Two concepts for the remit’, in Gregory Ferrell Lowe and Taisto Hujanen (eds), Broadcasting and Convergence: New Articulations of the Public Service Remit (Göteborg, 2003), pp. 29–​40 Thompson, Robert J., Television’s Second Golden Age: From Hill Street Blues to ER (New York, 1996) Vaage, Margrethe Bruun, ‘Blinded by familiarity –​partiality, morality and engagement in television series’, in Ted Nannicelli and Paul Taberham (eds), Cognitive Media Theory (New York, 2014), pp. 268–​84 van Eimeren, Birgit and Christa-​ Maria Ridder, ‘Trends in der Nutzung und Bewertung der Medien 1970 bis 2010’, Media Perspektiven, 1 (2011), pp. 2–​15 Vygotsky, L.S., The Collected Works of L.S. Vygotsky, Robert W. Rieber and Aaron S. Carton (eds), 6 vols. (New York and London, 1987) Waade, Anne Marit and Pia Majbrit Jensen, ‘Nordic Noir Production Values: The Killing and The Bridge’, akademisk kvarter/​academic quarter, 7 (Fall 2013), pp. 189–​201 Ward, Sam, ‘Finding “public purpose” in “subtitled oddities”: Framing BBC Four’s Danish imports as public service broadcasting’, Journal of Popular Television, 1/​ 2 (2013), pp. 251–​57 Wood, David, Jerome S. Bruner and Gail S. Ross, ‘The Role of Tutoring in Problemsolvings’, Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 17 (1976), pp. 89–​100

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Index 1864 (DR 2014), 49, 61, 203 24 (FOX 2001–​10), 24, 196

Austin, Ellie, 170, 172 Axel, Gabriel, 36

Aakeson, Kim Fupz, 5 Adorno, Theodor W., 3 Agency, The (CBS 2001–​3), 196 Agger, Gunhild, 18, 35, 54, 99, 118, 203 Ahlgren, Camilla, 130 Ahlström, Sven, 127 Ahrnbom, Erik, 130 Albinus, Jens, 159, 186 Alfredson, Daniel, 189 All the King’s Men (USA 1949 and 2006), 144 Amabile, Teresa M., 68 Andersen, Lars, 180 Anna Pihl (TV2 2006–​8), 20 Anthony, Andrew, 106, 115 Arcel, Nicolaj, 79 Aristotle, 22 Aronson, Linda, 93, 141 art cinema, European, 62 Arte, 38 Arvingerne (The Legacy, DR 2014–​), 3, 20, 169, 170 Asbæk, Pilou, 147, 213 Askehave, Marie, 102 audience figures, 2, 12, 38, 73, 97, 110, 137–​8, 143, 165, 169, 202 August, Anders, 78, 180, 203 August, Pernilla, 179 Aurø, Helene, 170

BAFTA, 3, 98, 165 Bak, Frans, 116, 117 Bakrawi, Janus Nabil, 186, 193 Bauer, Matthias, 18 BBC 3, 4, 38, 98, 124 Bedrag (Follow the Money, DR 2016–​), 74, 78, 161, 202, 203, 213 Belstar, Lolita, 179 Bendix, Camilla, 127 Bentzon, Karl Henrik, 35 Berg, Poul, 64, 87 Bergman, Kerstin, 51 Bernth, Piv, 6, 22, 46, 61, 73, 91, 99, 101, 104, 114, 115, 116, 138, 171, 201, 210 Berthelsen, Anders W., 104, 161 Bilton, Chris, 13, 19, 20, 68, 69, 71, 163, 205 Birkkjær, Mikael, 103, 147, 152 Bjørnlund, Carsten, 171, 173, 180 Blade Runner (USA 1982), 209 Blinkende Lygter (Flashing Lights, DK 2000), 108 Bodnia, Kim, 121, 138 Bondebjerg, Ib, 18, 34, 39,  43, 58 Borgen (DR 2010–​13), 143–​69, 173, 175, 179, 181, 187, 190, 194, 199, 200, 202, 211, 213 Bornedal, Ole, 41, 42, 49, 61

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Index Bouras, Marina, 186 Bourne Ultimatum, The (USA 2007), 199 Breaking Bad (AMC 2008–​13), 10, 63, 139, 149 Bridge, The (FX/​Mundo FOX 2013–​14), 1 British Audience Research Board (BARB), 12 British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), 3, 7 Bro, Nicolas, 103, 128 Broen (The Bridge, DR/​SVT 2011–​), 121–​43, 200, 210 Brostrøm, Mai, 63, 185 Bruner, Jerome S., 70, 207 Bruun, Hanne, 18 Burns, Amy, 124 Buß, Christian, 123 Caldwell, John Thornton, 43, 52, 70 Campbell, Joseph, 16 Camre, Henning, 78 Candidate, The (USA 1972), 144 Canvas, 11, 146 Capra, Frank, 143 Carlsen, Esben Høilund, 113 Charlot og Charlotte (Charlot and Charlotte, DR 1996), 141, 142 Christensen, Jesper, 173, 213 Christensen, Kenneth M., 172 Christensen, Pernille Fischer, 5 Christensen, Theodor, 67, 77 Christmas series, on DR, 45, 94 Clark, Gordon Matta, 182 Clausen, Sven, 62 Cold War, 197, 198 Collins, Lauren, 84, 85, 156, 211 Columbo (NBC 1968–​78 and ABC 1989–​2003), 100, 187

Copenhagen, 8, 61, 115–​19 Coppens, Tomas, 72 Cosmo Film A/​S, 44 creativity, organisation of, 4, 68–​71, 163 Creeber, Glen, 42, 45, 55, 194 crime literature, Scandinavian, 10, 51 cross-​over production, 5, 20, 39, 43, 159, 161 CSI (CBS 2000–​), 100, 187 Csíkszentmihályi, Mihály, 18, 68,  205 D-​Dag (DR 1999/​2000), 51 Dalton, Russell, 144 Dancer in the Dark (DK et al. 2000), 159 Danish Film Institute (DFI), 29, 47, 59, 71, 75, 76, 80 Danish Film School see National Film School of Denmark Danish New Wave, 39, 41, 44, 204 Danske Film Skole, Den see National Film School of Denmark Daumiller, Per, 180 De fem benspænd (The Five Obstructions, DK 2003), 81 Deadline (DR 1997), 113 Dean, Will, 170 Den som dræber (Those Who Kill, TV2 2011), 20, 24 Denmarks Radio  see DR Dent, Grace, 124 design manuals, 77, 89–​92, 207 Designated Survivor (Netflix 2016–​), 144 Desperate Housewives (ABC 2004–​12), 24 DFI see Danish Film Institute

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Index Direktøren for det hele (The Boss of It All, DK et al. 2006) Discovery Communications Inc., 30 Documentary Group, The, 60,  222n35 Dodds, Klaus, 192 dogmas 14, 27, 41, 66, 67, 77, 81, 95, 193, 204, 214 for television, 14, 15, 46, 60, 67, 70, 76, 81, 84, 101, 114, 132, 160, 194, 204 for production, 14–​15, 46, 60–​1, 67, 69–​70, 76–​7, 81–​7, 95, 101, 114, 132, 143, 160–​3, 166, 194, 200–​1, 204, 208, 238n24 double story, concept of, 86, 114, 131, 132, 158, 196 Downtown Abbey (ITV 2010–​), 6 DR, 5–​25, 33–​51, 56–​64, 69–​96, 200–​14 Byen, 7, 29, 33, 57, 61 drama department, 9, 10, 22, 30, 37, 46, 56, 61, 67, 72–​6, 88, 166, 201, 205, 212 fiction department, 61, 72, 83, 86, 90, 91 Dragnet (NBC 1951–​9), 187 Dramaturgy, 16, 48, 194, 195, 200 DVD sales, 7 Dyrholm, Trine, 5, 160, 171, 180 Elbæk, Uffe, 166 Elkington, Trevor G., 39, 40 Elmer, Jonas, 105, 106 En du elsker (Someone you Love, DK 2014), 5 Enos, Mireille, 111 episode series, 49, 50 Erhardt, Bo, 80 EU, 28, 30, 31, 39 European Broadcasting Union (EBU), 58

European Commission, 28 exports, of Danish television, 2 Fagralíð, Helle, 104 Faisst, Heidi Maria, 179 Festen (The Celebration, DK 1998), 41, 93, 202 Festival de Télevision de Monte Carlo, 3, 186 Field, Syd, 22 Fiig, Christina, 156 Film Noir, 52–​5 FilmFyn, 45, 172 Filmlance International, 122, 130 Fincher, David, 209 FIPA d’Or Grand Prize, 3 Fiske, John, 110 Flickan som lekte med elden (The Girl Who Played with Fire, 2009), 189 Fly, Per, 203, 213 Føljeton, 49, 186 Folketing, 156 Fønsby, Mikkel, 171 Forbrydelsen (The Killing, DR 2007–​12), 3, 12, 23, 53, 54, 90–​121, 129, 209, 210 Frandsen, Kirsten, 18 Frankfurt School, 11 Frost, Vicky, 107, 134, 139 Gabold, Ingolf, 6, 39, 46, 50, 54, 81, 83, 201 Gabrielsson, Thomas W., 189 Gade, Søren, 166 Game of Thrones (HBO 2011–​), 23, 63, 161 Gamula, Lea, 187 Gilbert, Gerard, 97 Goodman, Helen, 112 Gotfredsen, Sørine, 165

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Index Gottlieb, Sarah, 102 Gråbøl, Sofie, 22, 100, 101, 104, 108, 113, 156 Gram, Jeppe Gjervig, 5, 47, 74, 78, 84, 106, 146, 158, 161, 163, 179, 202, 204 Gregerson, Henrik, 130 Groth, Jacob, 189 Groth, Misen, 189 Gry, Johan, 102 Haastrup, Helle Kannik, 110 Hald, Birgitte, 80 Halfdan E, 153 Hammerich, Camilla, 86, 161–​3 Hammerich, Rumle, 45, 60, 61, 65, 81, 86, 130, 160, 201 Hansen, Bo Hr., 64, 87 Hansen, Eske Forsting, 101 Hansen, Julie Waltersdorph,  79, 80 Hansen, Kim Toft, 99 Hansen, Marie Bach, 171 Hansen, Martin Strange, 78 Hartmann, Emil Birk, 126 Hasselbalch, Ask, 123 Hawaii 5–​0 (CBS 1968–​80), 187 Helin, Sofia, 121, 141 Henriksen, Bjarne, 102, 105 Hesseldahl, Morten, 46, 166, 168 Hilden, Jytte, 41 Hillborg, Christian, 125 Hjort, Mette, 18, 25 Hochscherf, Tobias, 1 Hoffmeyer, Stig, 104, 110 Holdsworth, Amy, 194 Horskjær, Rasmus, 46 Horton, Andrew, 22, 107 Hotellet (The Hotel, TV2 2000–​2),  113 House of Cards (Netflix 2013–​), 23, 144, 145 Hybel, Kjeld, 79

Idioterne (The Idiots, DK 1998), 41, 159 Ilsøe, Maya, 63, 178, 180, 181 Ipsen, Henning, 36 Iser, Wolfgang, 140 Jagten (The Hunt, DK 2013), 80 Jeffries, Stuart, 98, 112, 116 Jenkins, Henry, 32, 110 Jensen, Anders Thomas, 108 Jensen, Per Bak, 54 Jensen, Peter Aalbæk, 5, 6, 42 Jensen, Pia Majbritt, 13, 59, 133 Journal of Popular Television, 18, 23 Ka’ de li’ østers? (Do You Like Oysters?, DR 1967), 36 Kaas, Nikolaj Lie, 203, 214 Käehne, Maren Louise Kald mig Liva (Call Me Liva, DR 1992), 17 Kapla, Marit, 179 KCET, 11, 159 KFOR, 197 Kholghi, Farshad, 102 Kinnaman, Joel, 111 Klem, Flemming, 78 Knudsen, Sidse Babett, 105, 144, 145 Knutzon, Lars, 148 Kockisch, Uwe, 191 Kohnen, Melanie E.S., 111 kongelig affære, En (A Royal Affair, DK 2012), 80 Kopernikus, Nicolaj, 102, 105 Kragh-​Jacobsen, Søren, 45, 146, 161, 189, 193 Krøniken (Better Times, DR 2004–​), 6, 9, 37, 161, 189, 203 Krull, Tine, 64, 87 L.A. Law (NBC 1986–​94), 17 Laird, Trevor, 191

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256

Index Landsbyen (The Village, DR 1991–​6), 48 Langkjær, Birger, 55 Larsen, Maja Jul, 162, 168, 179 Larsson, Stieg, 10, 51, 189 Law and Order, Special Victims Unit (ABC 1999-​), 187 Least Objectionable Programming (LOP), concept of, 11, 30 Lee, Cheryl, 104 Let’s Get Lost (DK 1997), 105, 106, 193 Leth, Jørgen, 81 Leth, Karoline, 5, 45, 63, 88, 91, 118, 167, 178, 181, 183 Levin, Thomas, 148 Levring, Kristian, 51, 77 licence fee, 7, 9, 27, 28, 59–​61, 72, 166, 206, 212 Lie Kaas, Nikolaj, 104, 203, 214 Lindberg, Anne, 213 Lindegaard, Lotte, 5, 6, 46, 50, 208 Lindhardt, Thure, 121, 128, 138 Lindholm, Tobias, 146, 161 Livvagterne (The Protectors, DR 2008-​), 184, 185, 193, 194, 197 Luhmann, Niklas, 18 Mackenzie, Alastair, 159 Madsen, Jenny Lund, 46 Malling, Søren, 102, 148 Mankell, Henning, 10 Matador (DR 1978–​81), 37 media conversion, 8, 45 MEDIA Programme, 123 Mejding, Bent, 102 Mifunes sidste sang (Mifune, DK 1999), 41 Mikkelsen, Lars, 110 Mikkelsen, Mads, 169, 193, 221 Mikos, Lothar, 195 mini-​series, 19, 56, 69

Ministry of Culture, 55, 79, 80 Miso Film, 38, 52 Modern Times Group (MTG) AB, 37 Monte Carlo Television festival see Festival de Télevision de Monte Carlo Mord Uden Grænser (The Team, DR 2015–​), 48 Moritzen, Michael, 102 Mosholt, Jannik Tai, 161, 203 Munk, Kaspar, 5, 45, 64, 73,  77, 86 Munk, Lotte, 127 Mygind, Peter, 148, 161 Naremore, James, 53 narrative transparency, concept of, 16, 86 narratives, 14–​16, 22, 31, 32, 50, 81, 83, 107, 129, 185, 211 National Film School of Denmark, 14, 29, 43–​7, 63, 66–​70, 76–​95, 106, 132, 204–​6 NATO, 197 Nattevagten (Nightwatch, DK 1994), 41, 108 natural story, concept of, 92, 93, 132, 133, 155, 173, 175 Nelson, Robin, 21, 49 Nesbø, Jo, 10 Nesgaard, Poul, 44, 45, 67 Nesser, Håkan, 10 Nestingen, Andrew, 39, 40 Nielsen, Jakob Isak, 59 Nietzsche, Friedrich, 111 Nikolaj & Julie (DR 2002–​3), 20, 113, 161 Nimbus Film, 44, 45, 80, 122, 130 Nissen, Christian S., 61 Nørby, Ghita, 186 Nordbrandt, Henrik, 54 Nordic Noir, 52–​5

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Index Nordisk Film & Television Fond, 7 Nordvision, 8, 57, 58, 81 Norsk Rikskringkastning (NRK), 57 NYPD Blue (FOX 1993–​2005), 48, 56, 62 odyssey/odyssé, 184, 188 Olesen, Kirsten, 138, 171 Ølgaard, Julie, 101 Olsen, Scott Robert, 15 Olsen, Susan, 186 one-​vision concept, 6, 132, 162, 162, 170 Oplev, Niels Arden, 189 Øresund Bridge, 2, 122, 133–​5 Ørnen, En krimi-​odyssé (The Eagle, DR 2004–​6), 184–​99 Øye, Astrid, 130 Palle, Henrik, 165, 170 Pallesen, Trine, 104 Pålsson, Adam, 128 Panduro, Leif, 36 pen-​test, 78, 79, 82, 205 Petersen, Brian, 139 Petersen, Tine Krull, 87 Petrén, Ann, 128 Philipsen, Heidi, 13, 31 plot point, 22, 108, 129, 150, 151, 172 Poliakoff, Stephen, 195 politique des auteurs, 68 polyphonic characters, 22, 107, 148, 202 Pompper, Donnalyn, 145 Poulsen, Emil, 148 Price, Adam, 29, 50, 63, 84, 95, 108, 113, 146, 163, 210 procedural drama, 101 producers’ choice, concept of, 82, 87, 89 production hotel, 162, 163

production manuals, 19, 76, 77, 88–​91, 115, 119, 207 Propp, Vladimir, 16 ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG, 30 public service broadcasting, 4, 7–​10, 16, 19, 27–​65, 216 quality television, 12, 17, 22, 208 Quantum of Solace (GB/​USA 2008), 199 Rasmussen, Anders Fogh, 197 Redvall, Eva, 13, 18–​19, 36, 39, 58, 61–​3, 70, 83, 85–​6, 90, 95, 101, 108–​9, 114–​15, 157, 162, 167, 180, 182 Refn, Nicolas Winding, 79 regional film funds, 45, 59 Regnvejr og ingen penge (Rainy Weather and No Money, DR 1965), 36 Reich, Nadia Kløvedal, 6–​7, 43, 46, 59, 99, 101, 129, 165, 167, 201 Reinhardt, Niels, 104, 110 Reith, John, 9, 33, 86, 168 Rejseholdet (Unit One, DR 2000–​4), 6, 9, 20, 48–​50, 63, 101, 115, 133, 184–​5, 187, 189, 193 relay production see relay structure, concept of relay structure, concept of, 17, 62, 226n102 Rendition (USA/​South Africa 2007), 199 Richter, Sonja, 128 Riemann, Freja, 148 Riget (The Kingdom, DR 1994; 1997), 41–​2, 50, 119–​200 Rita (TV2 2012–​), 44–​5, 193 Ritchie, Michael, 144 Robinson, Emma, 54 Roney, Shanti, 191 Röscheisen, Thilo, 2

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Index Rosenfeldt, Hans, 130, 132 Ross, Gail S., 70, 95, 164, 207 Rossen, Robert, 144 Rothenmund, Kathrin, 49 Rukov, Morgens, 78, 132, 204 Ryan, Maureen, 111 Sabroe, Iben Albinus, 121, 128, 136–​8, 182, 190, 212 Saeys, Frieda, 72 Sandvik, Kjetil, 110 scaffolding, as production concept and learning tool, 65, 68, 71, 76, 93, 204, 206 Scandinavian Broadcasting Systems (SBS), 30, 76 Scharbau, Puk, 126 Schengen Agreement, 199 Schepelern, Peter, 48 Scherfig, Nikolaj, 5, 43, 50, 85–​6, 96, 106, 130–​2, 136, 204, 207, 210 Scott, Ridley, 53, 209 screenwriting, 15, 18, 22, 39, 47, 67, 70, 77–​8, 83, 92, 94, 96, 99, 132, 136, 141, 151, 171, 182, 204 serial storytelling, 15, 50, 85 Seven (USA 1995), 209 Sheen, Martin, 145 show-​runner, 17, 43, 62–​3, 65, 74, 84–​5, 95–​6, 132, 207, 210 Shriver-​Rice, Meryl, 56 Six Feet Under (HBO 2001–​5), 24, 63 Sjöwahl, Maj, 10 Slaget på tasken (Battle in a Bag, DR 1993), 41 Smith, Murray, 22–​3, 140, 190, 212 Soap, En (A Soap, DK 2006), 5, 160 Sommer (Summer, DR 2008), 20, 31, 74, 138, 161–​2, 164, 179 Søndergaard, Henrik, 27–​8, 34

Sopranos, The (HBO 1999–​2007), 24, 63, 149 Sørensen, Birgitte Hjort, 147, 161, 213–​14 Sørensen, Mikkel Bak, 64, 87 Sorkin, Aaron, 63, 144, 153 Spacey, Kevin, 145 Spanning, Søren, 148 Spooks (BBC 2002–​), 196–​7 Spottag, Jens Jørn, 171 Stanley, Alessandra, 25 Stenderup, Thomas, 45 storytelling, cross-​media, 8, 17, 19, 31, 110, 210 Sutherland, Pernille, 199 Suurballe, Morten, 102 Sveistrup, Søren, 25, 52, 99, 100–​1, 106, 108, 111, 113–​14, 133, 210 Svend Film Festival, 178 Svensk Filmindustri (SF) A/​S, 44 Sveriges Television (SVT), 1, 7, 57, 61, 122–​3, 125 Syvertsen, Trine, 28, 35 Taxa (DR 1997–​9), 6, 37, 48, 50, 56, 113, 133, 160–​1, 189, 193 television industry, 14, 17–​19, 26, 29, 40, 42–​3, 46, 63, 68, 70–​1, 76, 79, 87, 105, 160, 200–​1, 207 Tengberg, Bo, 5, 53, 56, 77, 89, 93–​4, 99, 105–​6, 117, 120, 160, 162–​3, 192–​3, 205 TG4, 11 Thestrup, Ole, 148, 165 Thompson, Mark, 112 Thorning-​Schmidt, Helle, 155, 165 Thorsboe, Peter, 48, 50, 63, 185, 210 Tidsrejsen (The Time Travel, DR 2014), 5, 45, 64, 87

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Index Todorov, Tzvetan, 16 trade fairs for television, 7 transnationality, 16, 19, 24–​5, 40, 42, 66, 122–​3, 131, 134–​5, 137, 161, 185–​6, 206, 210, 213–​14 transparent narratives, concept of, 15–​16, 86, 150, 153, 157–​8 Trier, Lars von, 6, 14, 40–​2, 50–​1, 77, 81, 119, 159, 200, 208 Tunnel, The (Sky Atlantic/​Canal+ 2013–​), 86, 125 TV Som Udtryks Middel (TV-​SUM), 69 TV Syd, 27 TV2, 5–​6, 24, 27–​35, 38, 44–​7, 50, 57, 67, 71, 76, 113, 123, 161–​2, 184, 193, 201, 208–​9 Twin Peaks (ABC 1990–​1), 104, 113, 119 University of Southern Denmark (SDU), 95 Vaage, Margrethe, 149 Vedsegaard, Ken, 103 Vesth, Louise, 79 Viasat, 28, 29 Vinterberg, Thomas, 14, 40, 41, 51, 77, 80–​1, 93, 202

Waade, Anne Marit, 13, 53, 59, 99, 115, 133 Wahlöö, Per, 10 walk-​and-​talk shooting, 153 war on terror, 184–​99 Weihser, Rabea, 75 Weiser-​Banet, Sarah, 32 welfare state, 52, 54, 136, 202 West Wing, The (NBC 1999–​2006), 32, 63, 75, 144, 150,  152–​3 Wiedemann, Vinca, 43, 79, 182 Willaume, Alexandre, 102 Wilson, Benji, 123 Wollaston, Sam, 117, 130, 170 Wood, David, 70 writers’ rooms, 17, 65, 170 Wulff, Lisbeth, 148 Yes, Prime Minister (BBC 2013), 144 Zaillian, Steven, 144 ZDF Enterprises (ZDFE), 58, 99, 122, 192 ZDFneo, 11 Zentropa, 5, 6, 8, 38, 42 Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF), 7, 17, 58, 65, 117

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