''Rita'' is a Danish

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

television series created by Christian Torpe for TV 2. It premiered in Denmark on 9 February 2012, and concluded on 20 July 2020, with 40 episodes broadcast over five seasons. Produced by

SF Studios SF Studios is a Swedish film and television production and distribution company (both Swedish and international) with headquarters in Stockholm and local offices in Oslo, Copenhagen, Helsinki and London. The studio is owned by Nordic media ...

, the series was filmed in

Rødovre Rødovre is a town in eastern Denmark, seat of the Rødovre Municipality, in the Region Hovedstaden. The town's population 1 January 2019 was 39,907, and in addition 145 persons had no fixed address, which made up a total of 40,052 in the munic ...

Zealand Zealand ( da, Sjælland ) at 7,031 km2 is the largest and most populous island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 January 2020. It is the 1 ...

, and executive-produced by Keld Reinicke, Karoline Leth, Lars Bjørn Hansen, Birdie Bjerregaard, Christian Rank, Jennifer Green, and Torpe, who also served as

head writer A head writer is a person who oversees the team of writers on a television or radio series. The title is common in the soap opera genre, as well as with sketch comedies and talk shows that feature monologues and comedy skits. In fictional comedy o ...

. All episodes are available internationally on

streaming service Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...

, who partnered with TV 2 to produce the later three seasons, becoming a

Netflix Original Netflix is an American global Internet streaming-on-demand media provider that has distributed a number of original streaming television shows, including original series, specials, miniseries, and documentaries and films. Netflix's original pr ...

. Mille Dinesen portrays the

lead role A leading actor, leading actress, or simply lead (), plays the role of the protagonist of a film, television show or play. The word ''lead'' may also refer to the largest role in the piece, and ''leading actor'' may refer to a person who typica ...

of Rita Madsen, a headstrong and unconventional teacher and single mother who protects and helps her students but struggles to manage her own personal life. One of Rita's closest friends is portrayed by Lise Baastrup, the only other actor who appeared in all the episodes besides Dinesen; a

spin-off Spin-off may refer to: *Spin-off (media), a media work derived from an existing work *Corporate spin-off, a type of corporate action that forms a new company or entity * Government spin-off, civilian goods which are the result of military or gov ...

centered on the character, '' Hjørdis'', was broadcast between 18 May and 8 June 2015, consisting of four episodes. In the story, Hjørdis tries to put together a school play about

bullying Bullying is the use of force, coercion, hurtful teasing or threat, to abuse, aggressively dominate or intimidate. The behavior is often repeated and habitual. One essential prerequisite is the perception (by the bully or by others) of an ...

, one of the many social themes discussed throughout ''Rita''. Upon airing, ''Rita'' received generally favorable response from critics.

Premise

Rita Madsen, a compulsive smoker, is an unconventional

secondary education Secondary education or post-primary education covers two phases on the International Standard Classification of Education scale. Level 2 or lower secondary education (less commonly junior secondary education) is considered the second and final ph ...

teacher who, according to her, chose this profession "to protect students from their parents". While she goes out of her way to advise and help her pupils, Rita's personal and family life seems to need the same kind of assistance. Her youngest son, Jeppe, is discovering his

sexuality Human sexuality is the way people experience and express themselves sexually. This involves biological, psychological, physical, erotic, emotional, social, or spiritual feelings and behaviors. Because it is a broad term, which has varied wit ...

, while the older ones, Ricco and Molly, are experiencing the mishaps of adulthood. Other main characters include Hjørdis, a naive teacher who becomes Rita's best friend; Rasmus, the school headmaster with whom Rita has an

on-again, off-again relationship An on-again, off-again relationship (also known as an on–off or off–on relationship) is a form of personal relationship between two persons who keep breaking up only to reconcile afterwards, thus repeating a cycle. Researcher Kale Monk, an a ...

; Helle, school counselor and former Rita's rival, Uffe, Hjørdis' husband and Jonas, a former school headmaster who is now a rather self-assured teacher at Rita's school.

Cast and characters

Main

* Mille Dinesen as Rita Madsen, an unconventional teacher and single mother.

Tessa Hoder Tessa is a feminine given name, sometimes a shortened form of Theresa. It may refer to: People * Tessa Albertson (born 1996), American actress * Tessa Balfour, Countess of Balfour (born 1950), British aristocrat * Tessa Blanchard (born 1994), Am ...

portrays a young Rita in season 4. * Lise Baastrup as Hjørdis, a naive teacher and Rita's best friend. *

Carsten Bjørnlund Carsten Bjørnlund (born 28 June 1973) is a Danish theatre, film and television actor. Bjørnlund's first leading film role was Rasmus in 2008's ''One-Way Ticket to Korsør''. He played one of the leading characters in the second series of ''Fo ...

as Rasmus (seasons 1–3 and 5), school headmaster in seasons 1-2, and on-again, off-again boyfriend with Rita and Helle. *

Ellen Hillingsø Ellen Gunilla Hillingsø (born 9 March 1967) is a Danish actress who is known primarily for her work in films. She is also a voice actress, narrating audio books. Early life Ellen Gunilla Hillingsø was born on 9 March 1967 in Copenhagen to Kj ...

as Helle (seasons 1–3; guest season 5), school counselor in seasons 1-3. *

Nikolaj Groth Nikolaj is a Danish given name, derived from the name Nicholas. Many different ways of spelling the name have been approved in Denmark. It may refer to: * Nikolaj Abraham Abildgaard, Danish artist * Nicolaj Agger, Danish professional football pla ...

as Jeppe Madsen (seasons 1–3 and 5, guest season 4), Rita's gay youngest son. *

Morten Vang Simonsen Morten is a common given name in Norway and Denmark. Approximately 22,138 have this name as a given name in Norway and about 52 people have it as a surname. Notable people with the name include: * Morten Abel, Norwegian singer *Morten Andersen, Da ...

as Ricco Madsen (seasons 1–2; guest season 3), Rita's oldest son. *

Sara Hjort Ditlevsen Sara may refer to: Arts, media and entertainment Film and television * ''Sara'' (1992 film), 1992 Iranian film by Dariush Merhjui * ''Sara'' (1997 film), 1997 Polish film starring Bogusław Linda * ''Sara'' (2010 film), 2010 Sri Lankan Sinhal ...

as Molly Madsen (seasons 1; guest seasons 2–5), Rita's daughter. *

Kristoffer Fabricius Christopher is the English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek name Χριστόφορος (''Christophoros'' or '' Christoforos''). The constituent parts are Χριστός (''Christós''), "Christ" or "Anointed", and φέρει ...

as Uffe (season 3-5, guest season 1-2), Hjørdis' boyfriend and, eventually, husband.

Recurring

* Lykke Sand Michelsen as Bitten Dyrehave (seasons 1–2), Ricco's wife * Carsten Nørgaard as Tom Dyrehave (seasons 1–2), Bitten's father and Rita's ex-boyfriend * Lotte Andersen as Jette Dyrehave (seasons 1–2), Bitten's mother * Lea Maria Høyer Stensnaes as Rosa (season 1), student * Ferdinand Glad Bach as David (seasons 1–3), Jeppe's boyfriend *

Peter Gantzler Peter Gantzler (born 28 September 1958) is a Danish actor. He is perhaps best known for his parts in ''Taxa'' and ''Italian for Beginners''. Biography Peter Gantzler originally studied Danish at the University of Copenhagen, but changed to the D ...

as Niels Madsen (seasons 1–2, 5), Rita's ex-husband *

Alexandre Willaume Alexandre Willaume (born 20 December 1972) is a Danish actor having had roles in '' Home Fires'' (2016), ''Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets'' and ''The Last Kingdom '' (2017), ''Tomb Raider'' (2018), '' COBRA'' and '' The Head '' ...

as Jonas Poulsen (seasons 2–3), schoolteacher * Tommy Kenter as Erik (season 2), schoolteacher * Zaki Youssef as Said (season 3), Rita's crush * Belal Faiz as Karim (season 3), student and Said's brother * Frederik Winther Rasmussen as Niklas Verner (season 3), student * Charlotte Fich as Alice Verner (season 3), Niklas' mom and city mayor * Ole Lemmeke as Bjarne (season 4), headmaster * Charlotte Munck as Lea (season 4), Rita's childhood friend *

as young Rita (season 4) * Sofie Juul as young Lea (season 4) * Christine Exner as Susanne (season 4), Lea's mother and Rita's teacher in 1985 * Kurt Ravn as Rostrup (season 4), Rita's teacher in 1985 * William Friis Nelausen as Reinulf (seasons 4–5), Hjørdis' and Uffe's son * Søs Egelind as Gerd (season 5), Rita's student * Ari Alexander as Ole (season 5), Jeppe's crush

Guest

* Lisbet Lundquist as Lillebeth Schmidt Kronborg (season 1), Rita's mother * Line Kruse as Gitte Nielsen (season 1), Rita's sister * Laura Bach as Gitte Nielsen (season 2), Rita's sister *

Kristian Halken Kristian Halken (born 3 April 1955) is a Danish actor. He appeared in more than sixty films since 1981. Selected filmography References External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Halken, Kristian 1955 births Living people People from Horsens D ...

as Flemming (season 2), teacher * Nikolaj Dencker Schmidt as Alex (season 5), Jeppe's boyfriend * Lisbeth Dahl as Gudrun (season 5), Ole's grandmother

Episodes

Series overview

Season 1 (2012)

Season 2 (2013)

Season 3 (2015)

Season 4 (2017)

Season 5 (2020)

Reception

Critical response

Henrik Palle wrote for ''

Politiken ''Politiken'' is a leading Danish daily broadsheet newspaper, published by JP/Politikens Hus in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was founded in 1884 and played a role in the formation of the Danish Social Liberal Party. Since 1970 it has been indepe ...

'' that the series "works really well with some characters who actually look like people".

Awards and nominations

Related media

Spin-off

'' Hjørdis'' follows the eponymous teacher as she tries to put together a school play about

. It was broadcast between 18 May and 8 June 2015, consisting of four episodes.

Adaptations

A US remake was planned with a pilot episode filmed in 2013, starring

Anna Gunn Anna Gunn (born August 11, 1968) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Skyler White on the AMC drama series ''Breaking Bad'' (2008–2013), for which she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a ...

, but it was not picked up as a series. In 2019, American

premium Premium may refer to: Marketing * Premium (marketing), a promotional item that can be received for a small fee when redeeming proofs of purchase that come with or on retail products * Premium segment, high-price brands or services in marketing, ...

cable network Networking cables are networking hardware used to connect one network device to other network devices or to connect two or more computers to share devices such as printers or scanners. Different types of network cables, such as coaxial cable, o ...

Showtime commissioned a pilot order for a remake starring

Lena Headey Lena Kathren Headey ( ; born 3 October 1973) is a British actress. She gained international recognition and acclaim for her portrayal of Cersei Lannister on the HBO epic fantasy drama series ''Game of Thrones'' (2011–2019), for which she rec ...

. The series was to be a joint production between Showtime Networks and Platform One Media, with Torpe serving as showrunner and writing the pilot episode and Headey also acting as executive producer. This pilot was not picked up for a full series either. A Dutch remake called ''Tessa'' was made, airing in November 2015 on

NPO 1 NPO 1 (''NPO een'', formerly Nederland 1 until 2014) is the first national television station in the Netherlands. It launched on 2 October 1951. It provides public broadcasting and currently exists next to sister channels NPO 2 and NPO 3. Severa ...

, lasting only one season. The lead role was played by

Thekla Reuten Thekla Simona Gelsomina Reuten (born 16 September 1975) is a Dutch actress. Life and career Reuten was born in Bussum, Netherlands, the daughter of a Dutch father, Joost Reuten, and an Italian mother, who was born in Benabbio near Bagni di Lucc ...

, following the storyline of Rita Season one, with only a few changes. The series has also been remade in France by TF1 as ''Sam'', starring

Mathilde Seigner Mathilde Seigner (born 17 January 1968) is a French actress. Early life Seigner was born in Paris. She is the granddaughter of actor Louis Seigner (1903–1991). She is the sister of Emmanuelle Seigner and a niece of Françoise Seigner. Car ...

in the title role for the first season. The second season of ''Sam'' entered production in 2017 with

Natacha Lindinger Natacha Lindinger (born 20 February 1970) is a French actress. She has appeared in more than sixty films since 1991. Selected filmography Film Television References External links * 1970 births Living people French film actresses ...

replacing Seigner in the title role. The show has aired three seasons to date.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, tt1973692
Rita at TV 2
2012 Danish television series debuts 2020 Danish television series endings 2010s LGBT-related comedy television series 2010s LGBT-related drama television series 2010s school television series 2020s LGBT-related comedy television series 2020s LGBT-related drama television series 2020s school television series Danish-language television shows Television series about educators Television shows set in Denmark TV 2 (Denmark) original programming