The 10x45’ series Kieler Street (Kielergata) tells of former criminal Jonas who has assumed a new identity and lives in one of Scandinavia’s most law-abiding towns. He has it all: a happy family, a great job. But the façade starts falling apart when Jonas realises that other inhabitants also have hidden identities. And they are all prepared to do anything it takes to protect the illusion they have created.

Syversen who made his name as genre specialist director of films such as Manhunt, and showrunner of Hellfjord, is co-writer and concept director. In the starring roles are Norway’s Thorbjørn Harr, Andrea Bræin Hovig, Nicolai Cleve Broch, Ylva Lyng Fuglerud, Ingrid Bolsø Berdal, Anneke von der Lippe, Cecilie Mosli, Sweden’s Johan Rheborg, Alexandra Rapaport, and Finland’s Pihla Viitala.

More than 344,000 Norwegian viewers watched episode 1 on TV2 Norge, October 18, representing a 30.6 per cent share among viewers between 10-79 according to Kampanje.no. Anagram Norge produces, with support from Nordisk Film & TV Fond.

See the trailer for Kieler Street: CLICK HERE.

What was the starting point for the series?
Patrik Syversen: I wrote the show with Jesper Sundnes and Stig Frode Henriksen. Stig [co-writer of Syversen’s previous series Hellfjord] had the initial idea to set the story in a small town, where several people have changed their identities but try to be normal. We thought it would be a nice stepping-stone to combine something existential, philosophical, character-driven, with a high concept premise. There are situations and characters that you can relate to, but the tone never feels over the top.

Your previous show Hellfjord was also set a quiet village whose inhabitants hide a dark secret…
PS: It’s very Scandinavian. In a social democracy, where everything runs smoothly, where rules are both visible and invisible, it’s important for people to have a façade. Most of the time, things really work, but it also means that people repress things.

Would you say that the core of the series is about normality
PS: Yes we often try to be different in various social circumstances, as colleagues, parents, simple citizens and in on our western world, we’re all supposed to realise ourselves, find our true identity. The core is about how you try to define yourself as individual, and within society.

In Lilyhammer that you co-directed, the sleepy town and its inhabitants were pushed out of their normality with the arrival of a US mob guy…
PS: It is different as it was created from the outset to be comedy within the gangster genre. Here our starting point is the philosophical perspective and the genre elements are there to help the characters, not the other way around. We say it’s a thriller, although we never follow the structure of a crime thriller; in a way, it’s the opposite of a Nordic noir.

What is the basic storyline?
PS: Basically a character has a dark past and gets blackmailed. He realises that other people in the small town are not so dissimilar; they all try to hide who they are by living as normally as possible. The conflicts are kept at trivial everyday level, but the interesting element is that they could escalate any time, because we know the people are capable of doing horrible things.

You try to keep the lid as long as possible to keep viewers on the edge…
PS: Yes. Basically the first episode has one explosion to show what people are capable of doing, and you keep a lid on it. People constantly try to keep appearances. It’s not a ‘whodunnit’ but who are you. There are crimes, but It doesn’t matter who did it, but it’s about how people react to the horrible things that are done.

How did you collaborate with your co-writers Stig & Jesper?
PS: Basically we wrote the first draft in 2013. Then we fleshed out everything and wrote everything together. We knew exactly where the story was going, wrote the outline for each episode before we started shooting. We didn’t have a writers’ room where we went back as we were shooting. We approached it as a long feature film. We shot the middle episode first, in order to start with the second act in a way. That’s what I do with a feature film. I always shoot the first act last as the actors know the characters and we know what we need to set up.

I am credited as director on nine episodes and Cecilie Mosli directed three others. She was there form the beginning as she acts in the show as well. She saw the tone, the style and was ready to direct. 

Is it more dark comedy than drama?
PS: It’s more a drama with elements of dark comedy. I always find it funny when people do their utmost and mess things up. The comedy stems from the characters, and hopefully they are relatable.

There is an amazing ensemble cast. Could you describe some of the main characters?
PS: I had a bunch of actors in mind and thank god they all said yes!! Kristoffer Jonas was originally supposed to play the central character Jonas, but due to a minor accident, was replaced by Thorbjørn Harr. Kristoffer would have been good, but Thorbjørn is amazing in the show. He brings a true gentleness to his role. We wanted the minor roles as well to be strong character/actors, to be able to flesh them out later.

Basically it’s the story of Jonas who wants to maintain a façade for his family and to fit in, but he can’t escape from his dark past. His wife Elin is also strong, keeping things together. He believes he is the driving force, but she is. Jonas has a 15 year-old stepdaughter, Sophie, who is articulate and smart. She can see through the charade, as one does at 15! Jonas has raised her like his daughter for seven years, but what is his influence on her and how does his point of view impact her behaviour? Through their relationship, we explore what is inherently just ours and what comes from the environment.

How was it to work with Swedish star actors Alexandra Rapaport and Johan Rheborg?
PS: They were great! Johan loved the script and it was easy to play around each character’s origin as they all have a mysterious past. The story is also set at the border between Sweden and Norway.

How did you work on the visual style?
PS: It’s naturalistic, low key. We had long takes to let situations breath. We wanted a controlled visual style, so that every shot means something and has a progression, from the very first to the very last.

How was your relationship with your producers?
PS: At the beginning, getter the financing up and running was a bit hectic. But then when we started shooting it went very smoothly. It was my first collaboration with Anne Kolbjørnsen and Ole Marius Araldsen. They understood the tone, what we wanted to do. TV2 Norge as well was very supportive.

Are you developing Season 2?
PS: We’re planning 3-4 seasons and know exactly where we’re going. But we’re waiting for the ratings of season 1.

What are you watching these days?
PS: The last season of Better Call Saul. It’s character driven, funny, dark, and complex without being pretentious. A truly a great show.