''Below the Surface'' () is a Danish

action Action may refer to: * Action (philosophy), something which is done by a person * Action principles the heart of fundamental physics * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video gam ...

hostage A hostage is a person seized by an abductor in order to compel another party, one which places a high value on the liberty, well-being and safety of the person seized—such as a relative, employer, law enforcement, or government—to act, o ...

thriller drama television series, written and directed by

Kasper Barfoed Kasper Barfoed (born 1972) is a Danish film director. Barfoed was born in 1972, in Copenhagen, Denmark. He has a bachelor's degree in comparative literature from the University of Copenhagen. Selected filmography (as director) *''The Lost Treasu ...

, that was based upon an idea of

Adam Price Adam Robert Price (born 23 September 1968) is a Welsh politician who served as Leader of Plaid Cymru from September 2018 to May 2023. He has been the Member of the Senedd (MS) for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr since 2016, having previously been ...

and Søren Sveistrup. The first eight-part series focuses on an act of terrorism committed on the Copenhagen Metro, where fifteen people are taken hostage. Former soldier Philip Nørgaard (), who is head of the

PET A pet, or companion animal, is an animal kept primarily for a person's company or entertainment rather than as a working animal, livestock, or a laboratory animal. Popular pets are often considered to have attractive/ cute appearances, inte ...

Terror Task Force (TTF), tries to save the hostages with help from members of his elite team. TTF members are portrayed by , Alexandre Willaume, , , and Kenneth M. Christensen. The basis for the series was adapted from a series of conversations between Barfoed and Danish photographer Daniel Rye, who lived as a hostage within the terrorist organisation of

Islamic State The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadism, Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS ...

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

for more than a year. In

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, the series is known as ''Countdown Kopenhagen''. On 2 April 2017, the series premiered in

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

on Kanal 5, and was released on DVD in

on 19 October 2017. In the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

BBC4 BBC Four is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

broadcast the first four episodes during March 2018. The BBC pulled the series from their schedule for 24 March only following the

terrorist attack Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war a ...

Carcassonne Carcassonne is a French defensive wall, fortified city in the Departments of France, department of Aude, Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania. It is the prefectures in France, prefecture of the department. ...

and continued on 31 March. The second season premiered on 26 March 2019 in Denmark. Lassen and his cast mates, except Ditlevsen, reprise their roles as TTF members, which deal with the Elsinore–

Helsingborg Helsingborg (, , ), is a Urban areas in Sweden, city and the seat of Helsingborg Municipality, Scania County, Scania (Skåne), Sweden. It is the second-largest city in Scania (after Malmö) and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, ninth ...

ferry hijacking by four Islamic terrorists. Hijackers are after foreign fighter June al-Baqee (Yasmin Mahmoud) with Philip as a fellow passenger-hostage.

Plot summary

In Series 1, 15 people are held hostage in a subway train. A police terror taskforce led by former- Jaeger Corps soldier Philip Norgaard (Johannes Lassen) and Louise Falk (Sara Hjort Ditlevsen) is dispatched to rescue them. Meanwhile, reporter Naja Toft (Paprika Steen) acts as a go-between with the hostages and police. As the media frenzy takes hold, the country becomes divided on whether to negotiate with the terrorists or not. In Series 2, anti-ISIS fighter June al-Baqee (Yasmin Mahmoud) is kidnapped after alerting Philip that Danish soldiers were killed in Syria. Despite being on leave from work, Philip follows June onto a Sweden-bound ferry, where her kidnappers take passengers and crew hostage. Philip contacts the taskforce and updates them on the situation. The criminals order the ferry to stop, when they learn police await them in Sweden. June escapes and hides on board, while Philip tries to find her before the kidnappers do.

Cast and characters

* as Philip Nørgaard: Henning's son, former Jaeger Corps soldier, held hostage by Islamic forces, becomes head of

Danish Security and Intelligence Service The Danish Security and Intelligence Service (DSIS; (PET)) is the national security and intelligence agency of Denmark. The agency focuses solely on national security while foreign intelligence operations are handled by the Danish Defense Intel ...

(PET's) Terror Task Force (TTF); Louise's former love interest, becomes Beate's domestic partner * Alexandre Willaume as "SP" (Steen Per) Byager: TTF member, leads major investigations * as Hans Hejndorf:

(PET) Director General * as Esben Garnov: TTF negotiator, later leader * as Simon Clausen: TTF member, generally works with SP * Kenneth M. Christensen as Daniel Cramer: TTF member, lead strike force squads * as Ebbe Moller: Ministry of Justice, minister's assistant, TTF liaison * as Henning Nørgaard: Philip's father, former Chief of Defense

Series one

* as Louise Falck: TTF member, Philip's former love interest, negotiator *

Paprika Steen Kirstine "Paprika" Steen (born 3 November 1964) is a Danish actress and director best known for her performances in Dogme 95 films '' Festen'', '' The Idiots'', Mifune, and '' Open Hearts''. Steen was the first Danish actress since Karin Nell ...

as Naja Toft: TV news reporter *

Alba August 1993 births Living people Actresses from Copenhagen Danish film actresses Danish television actresses English-language singers from Sweden Swedish child actresses Swedish film actresses Swedish television actresses 21st-century Danish act ...

as Marie Bendix: Aksel's daughter, trainee nurse, hostage *

Jakob Oftebro Jakob Hoff Oftebro (born 12 January 1986) is a Norwegian actor. He has appeared in more than twenty films since 2004 including Hamilton and ''Kon-Tiki'', which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 85th Academy ...

as Alpha/Mark Hald: former Jaeger Corps soldier, fellow hostage with Philip; leads train hostage-takers; kills himself * as Jonas/Ben: Jim's brother, hostage-taker's accomplice, poses as Leon's son *

Dar Salim Dar Salim is an Iraqi-born Danish actor. He became known for his role as Green Party chairman Amir Diwan in the Danish TV series '' Borgen'', and starred in the 2023 film '' Guy Ritchie's The Covenant''. Early life Salim was born on 18 August ...

as Adel Rasul: karate instructor, hostage, killed by hostage-takers * Sus Wilkins as Denise Hansen: young mother, hostage * as Bodil Pedersen: retired teacher, hostage, killed by hostage-takers * as Joachim: wealthy businessman, hostage * Tommy Kenter as Leon: retired worker, diabetic, hostage * as Ricco: Leon's friend, hostage * Adnan Hasković as Bravo: hostage-taker, killed by TTF squad * Muhamed Hadžović as Charlie: hostage-taker, killed by TTF squad * Allan Hyde as Silas Jensen: disc jockey, hostage * as Aksel Bendix: Marie's father * Cecilie Stenspil as Anne Gornstein: National Police Commissioner * Henrik Prip as Palle Wulff: Chief of Defense * as Ahmed Mahmoud: Afghan head guard, tortures Philip (only in flashbacks), believed killed in drone attack * Jens Sætter-Lassen as Sammy: serving soldier, former member of Mark and Jim's squad * Jesper Zuschlag as Jim: Ben's brother, held hostage with Philip and Mark, kills himself

Series two

* Yasmin Mahmoud as June al-Baqee: convicted foreign fighter: fought ISIS in Syria; kidnapped by Yusuf's team *

Ola Rapace Sonny Ola Rapace Jawo (; né Pär Ola Norell; born 3 December 1971jihad ''Jihad'' (; ) is an Arabic word that means "exerting", "striving", or "struggling", particularly with a praiseworthy aim. In an Islamic context, it encompasses almost any effort to make personal and social life conform with God in Islam, God ...

ist; leader of kidnappers, hostage-takers; hired by Anna * Ali Sivandi as Rami Hadad: Mahdi's older brother, kidnapper, hostage-taker *

Søren Pilmark Søren Louis Pilmark (born 16 October 1955) is a Danish actor. Pilmark has worked as a film and theatrical actor, a director, and as an author. Søren Pilmark er sammen med hans kone Susanne ambassadør foSOS Børnebyerne Career Theater ...

as Lars F. Bülow: Director General of Danish Defense Intelligence Service (FE) *

Søren Malling Søren Dyrberg Malling (; born 3 February 1964) is a Danish actor. Career Raised in Kjellerup, Malling trained at Skuespillerskolen at Odense Teater in 1992. He is best known for his role as Inspector Jan Meyer in the Danish TV crime thriller ...

as Thomas Hvalsø: Elsinore–

line ferry captain * Anis Alobaidi as Mahdi Hadad: Rami's younger brother, Tahira's husband; kidnapper, hostage-taker * Helle Fagralid as Beate Seitsø: Asger's mother, Philips's love interest; psychologist, treats

PTSD Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental disorder that develops from experiencing a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, warfare and its associated traumas, natural disaster, traffic collision, ...

clients * as Hassan previously Frederick Sørensen: kidnapper, hostage-taker * as Anna Kasharina: Russian cultural attaché, actually

Russian Foreign Intelligence Service The Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) is the civilian foreign intelligence agency of Russia. The SVR succeeded the First Chief Directorate of the KGB in December 1991.The Security Organs of the Russian Federation: A Brief History 1991–2004' ...

(SVR) agent * Maibritt Saerens as Ine Frølich: Minister of Justice, orders June's prosecution * Laura Christensen as Siri: ferry passenger, mother of baby Viola * as Herdis Krabbe: befriended by June * as Rene: Herdis's son-in-law *

Sandra Yi Sencindiver Sandra Yi Sencindiver (born 30 January 1980) is a South Korean-born Danish-American actress, writer, and artistic director. Early life Born in Busan, South Korea, Sencindiver and her twin sister were adopted by an American father and Korean mot ...

as Nina Sloth: TTF communications officer, works for Esben * Bertil Smith as Asger Seitsø: Beate's son * as Kiki: Peter and Beate's friend *

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 * {{Denmark-actor-stub 1955 births Living people People from Horsens Danish ...

as Olai: Kiki's dad, helps Peter renovate his boat * as Lauge: Kiki's friend, IT specialist * Sandra El-Hussein as Tahira Hadad: Mahdi's wife * Ramadan Huseini as SVR-Chauffør (English: SVR-Chauffeur): SVR agent, Anna's chauffeur-assassin * Moussa Daibes as Abdul Bashir: Rami's

imam Imam (; , '; : , ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a prayer leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Salah, Islamic prayers, serve as community leaders, ...

* Bo Carlsson as Hindborg: taskforce IT specialist, works for Simon and SP * Zein Ali as Elias: Syria freedom fighter, worked with June, recorded video of Russians killing Danes * Sarah Boberg as Inga Hvalsø: Thomas's wife * Judith Rothenborg as Dagmar: passenger, hostage * Fadime Turan as Kantinemedarbejder (English: canteen employee)/Zeynep Bilgin: ferry's cook * Abud Mustafa as Rafiq Hussein: Abdul's henchman, Rami's associate * as Marianne Seitsø: Beate's mother * as Dorthe: Herdis's daughter * Jakob Femerling Andersen as Sune: ferry passenger * Amany Turk as Junes Mor (English: June's mom)

Episodes

Season one

Season two

Filming

The team responsible for filming the series attended the

67th Berlin International Film Festival The 67th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 9 to 18 February 2017 with Dutch filmmaker Paul Verhoeven as president of the jury. '' Django'', directed by Etienne Comar, opened the festival. The Golden Bear was awarded to the ...

, where the series was promoted prior to the broadcast of the first episode.

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, id=tt5180734, title=Below the Surface 2017 Danish television series debuts 2017 Danish television series endings 2010s Danish television series Danish drama television series 2018 British television series debuts 2018 British television series endings Danish crime television series Danish-language television shows Television series by StudioCanal Kanal 5 (Danish TV channel) original programming