Lilyhammer – Netflix

Story is simple and gets going fast: New York mafia guy (Frank Tagliano played by Steven Van Zandt) rats out his ‘family’ to the FBI and is entered into the witness program. Instead of choosing to go somewhere climate-friendly and in the US, he goes to Norway after having fond memories of the 94 Winter Olympics. As you can imagine there’s quite a clash of cultures between the ex-mafia boss and the quiet, socialist and subdued culture of Norway. Add some romance, crime and friendships and you’ve got a great story.

This is a satire/comedy series and apparently created by the Norwegian TV channel NRK and originally targeted for Norwegians. A lot of the show is about typical mafia dealings (i.e. running a nightclub, and managing the local riff-raff, etc.) and the absurdities of the politically correct Norwegian bureaucracy / Norwegian culture in general. I also want to mention that I LOVE how they’ve incorporated spoken Norwegian in the show, its easy to understand (they do have subtitles) and it makes the show seem more authentic and international-friendly.

I won’t go into all the characters, but Frank’s flunky partner, Torgeir Lien, is quite hilarious (whats up with his baseball cap?), kind of like a Norwegian Barney Fife. The female police chief has a soft soul. The immigration integration guy is a bumbling idiot, and almost all are soon under Frank’s thumb. And there is even a love interest for Frank, a woman who is attractive enough, but is even more sweet and unquestioning – just take a leap of faith and go with it!

Love the Norwegian scenery, actors, English subtitles and mobster mysteries. This show is easy for anyone to fall in love with. Det er bare Fantastik!!! (It’s just Fantastic!!!) Great job Netflix!