The Swedish/French crime show had 1,391,000 viewers and a 38.1% share for the first episode aired Sunday night on SVT1 at 21.00.

According to SVT, the channel’s top opening ratings can be compared to The Bridge (Bron/Broen) season 1 that posted 1,030,000 viewers and a share of 29% for its first episode back in 2011, while The Bridge season 2 kick started with 1,287,000 viewers and a share of 34.1%. Midnight Sun also trended number 2 on twitter during Sunday night and online viewers are still to be added but could pass 200,000. 

The toughest competitor to Midnight Sun on Sunday’s prime time slot was the Swedish crime show Johan Falk that posted a 14.1% share on TV4.

The Swedish/French show co-written/directed by Måns Mårlind and Björn Stein was backed by rave reviews in the Swedish media, with 5 stars (out of 5) in Aftonbladet, Göteborgsposten and 4 stars (out of 5) in Dagens Nyheter.

Commenting on the opening ratings, executive producer Stefan Baron (Nice Drama) said: “I am very happy that the reviews are so positive and that reviewers recognise Måns and Björn's vision and work. It’s great to learn that a large audience tuned in to see the first episode. Hopefully the online numbers will be very high as well and viewers will hold over all eight episodes.”

In the rest of Scandinavia, Midnight Sun will premiere on RUV on December 5 at 21.00 on the Icelandic public channel’s best drama slot, Super Primetime where cult series The Bridge, Night Manager, House of Cards were shown in the past. DR, NRK and MTV3 have not set their premiere dates yet (although early 2017 is most likely) and co-producer Canal+ in France will launch it later this year. 

Midnight Sun is sold internationally by Studiocanal.

Read our interview with Måns Mårlind and Björn Stein CLICK HERE.