Valkyrien is currently playing on the Norwegian pubcaster and on TV4 in Sweden. 

Feature film is where you made your debut but you seem to have turned totally towards TV drama. Is it a choice or pure coincidence?
Erik Richter Strand: It’s more of a coincidence. It’s harder to finance medium films. The climate in Norway is like everywhere else. On one side, you have blockbusters or sequels, proven content, and on the other small experimental films. But the middle films strive. More and more production companies do either kids films, sequels or genre films.

Personally, I am interested in contemporary dramas based on original content and TV gives me the opportunity to work on that type of material. 

When I was approached to do Occupied [as episodic director and co-writer of season 1] I liked the show’s premise and high concept drama, about contemporary politics. I worked about a year on that. But Valkyrien came along before Occupied. I liked the opportunity of working on something relevant to our time, thought-provoking and original.

How did you come up with the idea?
ERS: The original idea came from Tomas [Seeberg Torjussen]. Together with Lars Gudmestad and Simen Svale Skogsrud, they first developed the idea of a doctor, working in an illegal clinic to save his wife. Tomas then brought the idea to Eric Vogel [producer/founder Tordenfilm] and the two contacted me four years ago. I then worked closely with Tomas on developing the concept of the underground hospital.

The series is unique, mixing dystopian sci-fi, doomsday drama, thriller, science and ethics, love. What were your inspirations? Breaking Bad?
ERS: A lot of people ask this but there are no specific series that were used as main inspiration. Breaking Bad certainly wasn’t an inspiration although I can see the comparison as there is a normal guy who seals an unholy partnership with a younger more extreme guy. They get involved in a criminal activity and do this for love or to save his family.

What are the main themes and how does the story arch unfold?
ERS: Love and fear are the main themes, and like yin and yang, you have two opposite characters. The older man Ravn, the physician [Sven Nordin] who does everything for love and is willing to challenge ethical issues to save his wife and has hope in the future. On the opposite side, you have the young Leif [Pål Sverre Hagen], a pessimist with a doomsday vision of the world. He believes we have already gone beyond the tipping point and it’s not a matter of if but when we’re going to go to hell.

Having those two characters mutually depend on each other makes for a very rich and interesting drama dynamic. Then within those main themes, you have sub-themes such as medical research, ethical dilemmas that Ravn faces when people come to his underground illegal hospital to get treatment. There is also the sub-theme of cold war, fear of external threat-whatever it is.

How did you collaborate with your co-writer Thomas Seeberg Torjussen?
ERS: Tomas left the series in 2014 and wasn’t involved in episodes 4-5-6-7-8. He wasn’t there either for the filming and editing. Before that, we discussed the characters in detail and the practical aspects like the location, possible patients that were thematically interesting.

We had posters on the walls, dividing them in acts 1-2-3-4, with 4-5 different storylines in each episode. For instance, storyline A about Ravn and his wife Vilma, with Ravn trying to save her, then the storyline B with Leif getting involved in some trouble, storyline C with patients needing some treatment and storyline D with a family twist. Every time, we make each storyline mutually contrasting or inter-dependent. We work with post-it notes of four different colours and discuss every detail before doing the writing.

Who co-wrote episodes 5-8 when Tomas left?
ERS: I worked with Kathrine Valen Zeiner [Eyewitness] and newcomer Bjørn Ekeberg.

Did you write before and during filming?
ERS: As I was director of all eight episodes and co-writer, there were time constraints. We had finished writing the first four episodes and then shot them over 55 days. Then we had almost a two-month break before we started shooting the last four. That lapse of time allowed me to go in the writers’ room where I could guide the writing team. By then I had the experience of working with the actors and knew their strengths and weaknesses. Then I re-wrote and fine-tuned specific scenes during shooting, working closely with script consultant Lya Guerra. 

Did you have the main actors in mind when you wrote Valkyrien?
ERS: We did write Ravn with Sven [Nordin] in mind. That was not the case with Pål who auditioned for the part of Leif. But we saw that he has that essential quality that is the ability to turn the scene from being frightening and strong to pathetic, and changing his status. Male actors often play a scene with a high status. They come into a scene with the idea to keep the character in a place where they are in control, where they can dominate the scene, especially for actors that have had leading roles. Female actresses are generally better at accessing their vulnerability.

What were the main challenges during filming?
ERS: It was the marathon of both writing and directing. During a very long shoot of 110 days. Beyond that there were challenges with the locations, like the underground locations that had strict safety regulations, where it’s noisy and dirty. That was a challenge but also a benefit, with ‘free’ production value.

At the end, Valkyrien was like directing four features back to back. It was a huge undertaking, but once in a life-time opportunity, with freedom to create your own universe and spice it to make it a living organism.

Are you working on season 2?
ERS: Season 2 has not been greenlit yet as NRK is waiting for the final ratings of season 1 and considering other dramas. But I’m preparing and developing the Valkyrien universe for a potential season 2.

Have you been approached to work on English language material?
ERS: Yes I have been approached by agents but haven’t signed anything yet. I’m reading scripts. If I find the right project, I will do it.