''Beforeigners'' is a Norwegian television series that premiered on 21 August 2019. The show was created and written by Eilif Skodvin and Anne Bjørnstad, and directed by Jens Lien. Produced by Rubicon TV AS for HBO Nordic, it is the first Norwegian-language series produced by the Nordic region channel of American network

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

. The series concerns the titular "beforeigners", people from different time periods who suddenly appear in the present, and their integration into 21st-century Norway. The protagonists are Lars (

Nicolai Cleve Broch Nicolai Cleve Broch (born 14 November 1975) is a Norwegian theatre and film actor. He rose to national fame playing one of the leading roles in the 2002 drama series ''Lekestue'', which aired on NRK in 2002. He is also known for playing the protag ...

), an Oslo police detective, and Alfhildr ( Krista Kosonen), a Viking-era recruit, who investigate the murder of a

Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistoric period during which stone was widely used to make tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years, and ended between 4,000 BC and 2,000 BC, with t ...

r. In September 2020, HBO confirmed that the series had been renewed for a second season. Season two premiered on HBO Max in Europe on 5 December 2021, and in the United States on 23 December 2021. In the second season, Alfhildr and Lars investigate Oslo murders with ties to Jack the Ripper.

Premise

Season 1

''Beforeigners'' is set in Oslo, where people from the

, Viking Age, and the 19th century appear in

Bjørvika Bjørvika is a neighborhood in the Sentrum borough of Oslo, Norway. The area is an inlet in the inner Oslofjord, situated between Gamlebyen and Akershus Fortress. It serves as an outlet for the river Akerselva. Since the 2000s, it has been und ...

bay. These migrants, or "Beforeigners", attempt to integrate into contemporary Norway. Senior detective Lars and Viking-era recruit Alfhildr investigate a Stone Age woman's murder. Alfhildr and fellow shield-maiden Urðr help their Viking commander, Thorir Hund. Lars' daughter, Ingrid, and her friend Maddie, fake a "time migration" for Russefeiring. Maddie returns older and with visions of the past. Maddie welcomes the arrival of Olaf the Stout.

Season 2

Lars and Alfhildr investigate brutal murders with ties to Jack the Ripper. Two fake UK police consultants confirm the link to Ripper murders, though these are later denied by real London police. Note: Season 2 description based on first five episodes. Ingrid is pregnant with Sturla's baby. A search is on for three women who "time-migrated" from Victorian-era London to Oslo. Magnus the Good's DNA confirms the identity of Olaf the Stout. A Viking-era völva reveals Alfhildr's importance to Olaf's reinstatement as King of Norway. Lars and Alfhildr pursue John Roberts, a theoretical physicist.

Cast and characters

Sources: *

as Lars Haaland: Oslo police senior detective * Krista Kosonen as Alfhildr Enginnsdóttir ( patronymic literally: no one's daughter): former Viking shield-maiden, multi-temporal police recruit *

Tobias Santelmann Tobias Santelmann (born August 8, 1980) is a German-born Norwegian actor. He is best known for starring in the Academy Award-nominated film ''Kon-Tiki'' (2012). He has also had supporting roles in the films ''Hercules'' (2014) and ''Point Break' ...

as "Blond Viking" ( Olaf the Stout)/Olav Haraldsson: Viking king of Norway, later canonized as St. Olav * Ragnhild Gudbrandsen as Wenche: police detective, Lars' subordinate * as Harald Eriksen: police section leader, Lars' superior *

Stig Henrik Hoff Stig Henrik Hoff (born 4 February 1965) is a Norwegian actor. He was born in Vadsø but grew up in Berlevåg and Darbu Darbu is a village within the parish of Fiskum, in the municipality of Øvre Eiker, Buskerud County, Norway. The populati ...

as Tommy Henriksen/ Thorir Hund: former Viking commander, delivery rider * as Gregers Nicolai Schweigaard: Marie's 19th-century husband * Ylva Bjørkås Thedin as Ingrid Haaland: Lars and Marie's daughter * as Chief of Police, Grete Skog: Harald's boss * Mikkel Bratt Silset as Nabo (literally: neighbour) Kurukhés: Note: using English subtitles. Lars' neighbour * Madeleine Malling Breen as Madeleine "Maddie" Aas: Ingrid's school friend * as Alex Pedersen: police detective, Lars' subordinate, undercover Norwegian intelligence agent * Lavrans Haga as Jørn: police detective, Lars' subordinate * Agnes Kittelsen as Marie Gran: Lars' ex-wife, married to Gregers * as Othilia Winther: 19th-century journalist *

Pål Sverre Hagen Pål Sverre Valheim Hagen (born 6 November 1980) is a Norwegian stage and screen actor. He is perhaps best known internationally for playing Thor Heyerdahl in the Oscar and Golden Globe nominated film ''Kon-Tiki''. Early life and education Pål ...

as Doctorand: former scientist, neo-Luddite cult leader * as Oddvar: forensic pathologist * Celin Ayara as Sofie: Maddie's school friend * Tiril Gjesdal Clausen as Aisha: Maddie's school friend * Aslak Maurstad as Preacher: 19th-century doomsayer

Season 1 cast

* Ágústa Eva Erlendsdóttir as Urðr Sighvatsdóttir: former Viking shield-maiden * as Navn Ukjent (literally: Name Unknown): Stone Age man * as HC (Holger Caspersen): 19th-century brothel owner * Eili Harboe as Ada/Trine Syversen: former military drone specialist, neo-Luddite * Jeppe Beck Laursen as Skjalg Egilsson: Viking

skald A skald, or skáld (Old Norse: , later ; , meaning "poet"), is one of the often named poets who composed skaldic poetry, one of the two kinds of Old Norse poetry, the other being Eddic poetry, which is anonymous. Skaldic poems were traditionally ...

* Bhkie Male as Gedi Suleyman: security company director *

Odd-Magnus Williamson Odd-Magnus Williamson (born 14 September 1980) is a Norwegian comedian and actor. He is known to Norwegian television audiences for his recurring appearance in commercials for the grocery chain ICA and his performance on the Norwegian version o ...

as Jeppe: harbour police *

Nils Jørgen Kaalstad Nils Jørgen "Jøgge" Kaalstad (born 23 January 1979 in Bærum) is a Norwegian actor and musician who performs under the stage name Sideshow Jøgge. He is best known to international audiences as Dag Solstad from ''Lilyhammer'' and Arvid from '' ...

as Kirketjener/Church Servant: Olaf adherent * Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson as Kalv Torbjørnsson: Viking, Åsatru missionary * as Jeanette: Tommy/Thorir's modern-era wife

Season 2 cast

Sources:Season 2 cast: * * * * * * Hedda Stiernstedt as the völva: former Viking-era slave, later a witch and Old Norse spiritual leader * Paul Kaye as John Roberts: theoretical quantum physicist, researched time-migration and 19th-century serial killer Jack the Ripper *

Billy Postlethwaite William John Postlethwaite (born 1989) is an English actor. He is the son of actor Pete Postlethwaite, and grew up in Shropshire. He began training in acting at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in 2008 and graduated in 2011. That sam ...

as Isaac Ben Joseph: Victorian-era Ripper hunter, follows Jack to modern Oslo, poses as English consultant, "Mr. Rubenstein" * Jade Anouka as Adepero Abeke: Nigerian-born 19th-century time migrant, London-based neo-Luddite, poses as English police officer, "Precious Clark" * Philip Rosch as Henry Black: Counter Terrorism Command (SO15) senior investigator *

Herman Flesvig This list shows the songs which have been number one on the official chart list ( VG-lista) in Norway. The single list started in 1958, and the albums list in 1967. The show is broadcast every Wednesday by NRK P3, one of Norwegian Broadcasting ...

as Sturla Arnesson: Viking-era TV weatherman, Olaf's friend * Ann Akinjirin as Precious Clark:

Scotland Yard Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's 32 boroughs, but not the City of London, the square mile that forms London's ...

homicide officer * as Odin: Lars' hallucination, appears as a small woman * Marius Lien as Aslakr: Olaf's subordinate * Per Kjerstad as Gegnir: Olaf's subordinate * Hanne Skille Reitan as Sunniva: police psychiatrist * as Sarah Murphy: 19th-century time-migrant, subway tunnel victim * Eva Verpe as Emma Wilson: 19th-century time-migrant,

Ekebergparken Sculpture Park Ekebergparken Sculpture Park is a sculpture park and a national heritage park close to Ekebergrestauranten with a panoramic view of the city at Ekeberg in the southeast of the city of Oslo, Norway.Lilyhammer'', Anne Bjørnstad and Eilif Skodvin decided to explore science fiction ideas. Skodvin suggested the core concept of "refugees arriving not from a different location but from different times". The story of ''Beforeigners'' was built around that concept, with two main characters, Lars and Alfhildr, chosen early on. The creators were inspired by shows such as '' True Love'' and '' District 9'', and the story itself was influenced by '' The Leftovers'' and the sci-fi classics '' Brave New World'' and '' Nineteen Eighty-Four''. In July 2017, Rubicon TV received from the Norwegian film and television incentive scheme to develop ''Beforeigners'', and awarded in April 2018 to produce the series. Bjørnstad and Skodvin hired linguists for the actors. Julian Kirkeby Lysvik provided the Stone Agers' language, Alexander Kristoffersen Lykke translated Old Norwegian for Viking speech, and André Nilsson Dannevig tackled the 19th-century version of Norwegian. Finnish actress Krista Kosonen had to learn Norwegian and Old Norse for her role. Filming of season 1 took place in Oslo and Lithuania. In February 2020, Rubicon TV was granted in incentive scheme funding to produce a second season. Filming began in October 2020 but was delayed due to COVID-19 restrictions and shutdowns in Oslo. Bjørnstad and Skodvin returned as scriptwriters and Lien as director, with HBO Nordic replaced by HBO Max. In January 2022, the

Norwegian Film Institute The Norwegian Film Institute ( no, Norsk filminstitutt) was founded in 1955 to support and develop the Norwegian film industry. On 1 April 2008, it was merged with Norwegian Film Fund, Norwegian Film Development, and Norwegian Film Commission to ...

announced that Rubicon TV had applied for funding from the Norwegian incentive scheme to produce a third season of the series.

Removal of series by HBO Max

In the first week of July 2022, HBO Max abruptly removed ''Beforeigners'' from its series lineup, along with all Nordic-region content, after the merger of WarnerMedia with Discovery. WarnerMedia owns HBO.

Release

''Beforeigners'' premiered in Europe on HBO Nordic and

HBO Europe HBO Europe is a premium television group of channels by HBO. It is available as a group of film channels and streaming television services in Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia, ...

, and in the United States on

, on 21 August 2019. The second season premiered in Europe on HBO Max on 5 December 2021, followed by the United States on 23 December 2021.

Reception

Nina Metz of the '' Chicago Tribune'' gave the series three (out of four) stars and said it was "A sci-fi buddy cop series, the show pairs a grizzled detective rochwith an eager-to-impress Viking warrior osonen.. Though structured as a crime drama, the show has a wonderfully dry sense of humor, and there's something intriguing in the idea of people from different eras jostled together, some adapting better than others. The metaphors relating to racism and xenophobia and a host of other bigotries are obvious." ''Pajiba''s Dustin Rowles wrote, "It's a solid crime drama with a neat, high-concept premise, and some fantastic performances (again, especially that of Kosonen). If you have a few hours and love murder shows, time travel, commentary on immigration, and even a touch of Scandinavian history, ''Beforeigners'' is an addictive binge." Tor Aavatsmark of ''Lyd & Billede'' found the show "focusing on the uniqueness and originality of the fact that a whole bunch of people from the Stone Age, Viking Age and 19th century suddenly find their way into today's Scandinavian welfare state – with all the challenges, cultural conflicts and overtly comic situations that this entails." But Aavatsmark felt that season 2 is "far less funny...and the comedy that remains rarely causes the laughter muscles to move. The fact that Olav the Holy in the present ends up as a narcissistic cocaine junkie seems more sought after than funny...production seems so cheap... tsspecial effects are under criticism. Just look at the weird artificial filter laid over Oslo's skyline to make it look worn and dirty, or the bullet whizzing through the air in slow motion. It's on the edge of the amateurish." Mia Carlsen of ''Serienytt'', on the other hand, found that " tgives the impression that the series holds on to its charming narrative style and is true to its characters. Everything and everyone seems to be the same as when the series left us...but with darker undertones than last time. Either way, it's good to be back in dystopian Oslo. At least we're ready for some answers." Note: based on first four episodes. Carlsen praised the series creators, Bjørnstad and Skodvin, who have "put a lot of effort into creating a full-fledged experience of what is happening in Oslo and elsewhere in the world. I don't think we're ever going to fully understand or appreciate how amazing this is done, from language to costumes to food to norms to behavior and religions."

Awards and nominations

''Beforeigners'' was nominated for Best Drama Series at the Gullruten 2020 awards, thus becoming the first HBO production to be nominated for this prize. At the Norwegian Series Critics Awards in September 2020, the series was nominated for Best Norwegian Drama, while Krista Kosonen received a nomination for Best Actress in a Norwegian Series.

Episodes

Season 1 (2019)

Season 2 (2021)

References

External links

* *
''Beforeigners''
at Rubicon TV * {{Epguides, id=Beforeigners
''The Languages of Beforeigners''
(website of ''Beforeigners'' linguists) 2019 Norwegian television series debuts 2010s Norwegian television series 2010s science fiction television series Norwegian crime television series Television shows set in Norway HBO Europe original programming HBO Max original programming