This post includes affiliate links. When you purchase through these links, we may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. For full details, please see our affiliate disclosure page.
Scandinavian
Continuing with the series on how to travel with Netflix we welcome the world of Nordic Noir. Serial killers, police dramas and psychological thrillers are the mainstay of this genre. I’ve covered English language (excluding North American) and Latin based language (Spanish, French and Portuguese) versions. It’s time to shine a light on all the amazing shows from Scandinavia.
I am not quite sure why I am obsessed with Scandinavian drama and comedy series but I think they are the best entertainment produced today. Maybe it began after reading Steig Larsson’s The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. Or it could have been how all the characters in Scandinavian shows seem to be just regular people.
🏡 Where to Stay: Top Accommodations
🥾 Explore: Tours & Experiences
🚙 Hit the Road: Car Rental Deals
🛫 Get Away: Find Flight Deals
🎒 Shop: Travel Essentials
The women look like real women with minimal make-up and reasonable (attainable) body types and winning personalities. Most are ridiculously smart, astute and are THE boss in the series – they are not a convenient afterthought or eye-candy.
The men are not always chiselled model-esque types but regular guys (quirky even) who invariably get the job done. During this pandemic, there are many reasons I love Scandinavian Dramas on Netflix, mainly it let’s me travel the world while I’m stuck at home!
In many series the writing is very good but more importantly, the cinematography is spectacular. I promise you, you will want to visit Finland in the cold of winter because it is so very appealing in Bordertown. The other upside of watching shows not based in North America is you get a better feel for life in other countries from customs (full of Norwegian references in Home for Christmas), fashion and relationship dynamic. Diversity is also important and it is not unusual to see a gay couple, not as an anomaly, but as is the norm in the world today.
I encourage you to open your mind and check out some of these award-winning shows on Netflix if only to travel to Denmark from the comfort of your home! So, grab a bowl of popcorn, a drink and binge watch a few of these marvellous shows from Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Iceland and Norway.
Here is what to watch on Netflix when you’re stuck at home and want to travel – the Scandinavian Edition.
Danish
I have become a huge fan of Danish television. The quality of the shows are top-notch, the acting is excellent and the characters are always fully developed and interesting. I learn more about Danish society than I could ever in a travel show. I get that many of their governments are coalitions, as opposed to two-party rule, they are progressive at times, very conservative at others but always intriguing. For that reason, you’ll want to begin with Borgen.
Borgen is the nickname of the 3 houses of the Danish Parliament
Borgen
This political drama, set in Copenhagen, finds the protagonist, Birgitte Nyborg Christensen (Sidse Babett Knudsen) a minor centrist politician, becoming the first female Prime Minister of Denmark. The storyline follows her househusband and two children and their transition from obscure minor party leader to the head of a nation. Making political deals with the devil, she must work with rival parties to keep the government moving forward with her progressive agenda.
The second story-line focuses on Katrine Fønsmark (Birgitte Hjort Sørensen), a TV1 news anchor and her main squeeze Kasper Juul (Birgitte Hjort Sørensen – a familiar face from Game of Thrones), a spin doctor. Problem is, his boss is the brand new PM. All sorts of conflicts of interest ensue.
They seem to have pretty cool teachers and have school trips that visit Greenland (Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark). There are issues of autonomy and indigenous rights at conflict between the two countries.
Trust me when I tell you, this series is riveting. If you liked watching The West Wing, you’ll love Borgen.
Interesting fact: Danes speak English fluently but the show is best watched in Danish with English. Season 4 will begins streaming on North American Netflix in June 2022. I can hardly wait!
Rita
Edgy, funny, explicit and all round very liberating, you will fall in love with Rita (as just about everyone does on this show). This is a drama with a bit of comedy thrown in. Not belly-rolling-on-the-floor funny more like sarcastic-karma sort of funny.
Rita returns to her small town to teach middle school students in a progressive rural school. Thing is she’s fooling around with the principal, corrupting her shiny-new teacher co-worker Hjørdis and breaking just about every pedagogical rule but she’s the best teacher on staff. These are strong women characters with little inhibitions and no need for apologizes.
Mille Dinesen played the title role from 2012 to 2020. She is gritty, sexy and a star. She has a smaller part in Borgen. I will keep looking out for her in other series.
Hjørdis
A spin-off of the very popular Rita, Hjørdis follows the trusty, no-nonsense, granonla/hippie young teacher to a new charter school. A middle-school teacher Hjørdis tries to stage a school play about bullying.
Her students all have complex stories but ultimately, it’s a reflection of the bullying that Hjørdis endured as a child. The series is only four episodes long and air originally in 2015. I did not find this show as compelling but it was still worth the watch.
Finnish
Bordertown (Sorjonen)
Once again, a crime show with a strong, brilliant and quirky (with decidedly Asperger characteristics). Kari Sorjonen is a seasoned homocide detective that leaves the hustle and bustle of Helsinki to move to his wife’s home town of Lappeenranta. The city is less than 20 km from the Russian border. Hoping for a quieter life, he encounters a series of related murders involving Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) agents.
The plot is complex, the characters are interesting and the scenery exquisite. Makes me want to visit my nephew who currently lives in Finland.
I’m halfway through the second season and I know, I will be watching intently. There are three seasons all in Finnish with English subtitles.
Deadwind (Karppi)
I tried very hard to like this but it was just a bit too slow with many dramatic pauses. I added this because Deadwind is on many lists and is a suggestion on Netflix (“if you like that, you might like this”). When Sofia Karppi discovers the body of a young woman on a construction site, she triggers a chain of events that threatens to destroy her life again. Once again a strong woman lead as a crime detective returns to her job after the accidental death of her husband. Finish and German with English subtitles. 3 Seasons
Norwegian
Home for Christmas
Perpetually single Johanne — tired of the constant comments on her relationship status — starts a 24-day hunt for a boyfriend to bring home for Christmas. Her quickly and well-meaning friend finds her suitors through an app.
The variety of dates range from a hot love affair with a 19-year-old to a nude spa date with a “senior” who partied like a rock star 👩🎤 with her mother.
Dates with disastrous but also serious outcomes is the mainstay of the Norwegian romantic comedy series. Binge watch it this week as season two comes out on Netflix December 18th. Series in Finnish with English subtitles. 2 Seasons
Swedish
The Bridge (Broen)
Not currently available in Netflix Canada, it may be available where you reside. This criminal investigation series is a joint Swedish and Danish production. Appearing to be one murder in two countries, the plot thickens as we find out its actually two different women whose bodies have been severed in half. The body is found on the Øresund Bridge connecting Copenhagen and Malmö. However, in this series, it becomes “a jurisdictional nightmare” when a body is found directly in the middle: half in Denmark, half in Sweden.
Eventually, the detective is in search of a serial killer with social injustice as the focal cause. Note there this can be a bit gruesome at times so beware. The show is available in both Danish and Swedish with English subtitles. 4 Seasons
Icelandic
The Valhalla Murders (Brot)
Two episodes in, I’m hooked. The first Icelandic series to appear on Netflix, The Valhalla Murders shows viewers all around this island nation — on the trail of a killer. Police profiler Arnar is sent back home from Oslo to his native Iceland to investigate the country’s first serial killer case. He teams up with the local senior cop Kata. What happens next takes him from Reykjavik, Iceland. While the victims initially seem unrelated, the trail leads them to an abandoned boys’ home named Valhalla, where some horrifying events occurred 35 years earlier.
Filmed in Borgarnesi, Iceland, The Valhalla Murders was released on Netflix in 2020. There is only one season but a second is on the way. Originally in Icelandic with English subtitles but dubbed in many other languages.
🥾 Explore: Tours & Experiences
🏡 Where to Stay: Top Accommodations
🚙 Hit the Road: Car Rental Deals
🛫 Get Away: Find Flight Deals
🎒 Shop: Travel Essentials