''Swedish Dicks'' is a comedy

web television Streaming television is the digital distribution of television content, such as films and television series, streamed over the Internet. Standing in contrast to dedicated terrestrial television delivered by over-the-air aerial systems, cable te ...

series created by

Peter Stormare Rolf Peter Ingvar Stormare (; Birth name, né Storm, 27 August 1953) is a Swedish actor. He played Prince Hamlet, Hamlet for Ingmar Bergman, Gaear Grimsrud in the film ''Fargo (1996 film), Fargo'' (1996) and List of Prison Break characters#John ...

, Glenn Lund, Peter Settman, and Andrew Lowery. The plot follows two unlicensed Swedish

private investigator A private investigator (often abbreviated to PI; also known as a private detective, an inquiry agent or informally a wikt:private eye, private eye) is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. ...

s trying to make a living in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. It was premiered on September 2, 2016, on the Swedish online streaming service

Viaplay Viaplay is a Swedish video streaming service owned by Viaplay Group. History Originally owned by Modern Times Group, it was launched in May 2007 as Viasat On Demand. It was rebranded as Viaplay in 2011. Viaplay released its first origina ...

. In the United States, the series began on the Pop television network on August 9, 2017, as well as being distributed worldwide by the American company

Lionsgate Television Lionsgate Television is the television division of the American production company Lionsgate Studios. History The company was established in July 1997 as Lions Gate Television, Inc. with the establishment of Lionsgate Films. In June 1998, it ...

. In October 2016, the series was renewed for a second season which began on December 25, 2017, in northern Europe, and in 2018 in the United States.

Premise

A former

stuntman A stunt performer, often called a stuntman or stuntwoman and occasionally stuntperson or stunt-person, is a trained professional who performs daring acts, often as a career. Stunt performers usually appear in films or on television, as opposed ...

, Ingmar Andersson (Stormare), works as a private investigator in Los Angeles. His life crosses paths with the struggling DJ Axel Kruse ( Johan Glans). After giving up his DJ career, he decides to join Ingmar and becomes a partner of his detective firm "Swedish Dick" (now "Swedish Dicks"). Together, they solve various cases, as well as compete with Ingmar's long-time rival and owner of the best investigating company in

, Jane McKinney (

Traci Lords Traci Elizabeth Lords (born Nora Louise Kuzma; May 7, 1968) is an American actress and singer. As a 15-year-old high-school dropout, she used Identity document forgery, fake identity documents to enter the sex industry, where she began appearin ...

). Axel is also trying to discover Ingmar's past and the circumstances of his retirement from stunt performing.

Production

Stormare came up with the concept for ''Swedish Dicks'' in 2014. He began writing the script for what was intended to be a one-hour drama. When he showed the script to Settman, he suggested that it would be better as a series. Stormare was inspired by his real-life friends, one ex-military and the other an ex-stuntman, who really did become private investigators.

Casting

The series was announced in November 2015 with Stormare and Glans confirmed for the cast. In March 2016, it was announced that

Keanu Reeves Keanu Charles Reeves ( ; born September 2, 1964) is a Canadian actor and musician. The recipient of numerous accolades in a career on screen spanning four decades, he is known for his leading roles in action films, his amiable public imag ...

and Traci Lords had joined the show. Stormare confirmed that he wrote the part of Jane McKinney with Lords in mind: "I had never met her, but whenever I saw her in a photo or anything, I just felt a connection to that face. And then she had written a book that is fantastic, about her survival, and how that girl survived is a miracle. So it was like a voice within me when I was writing, saying, 'You have to get Traci Lords, Traci Lords, Traci Lords.' Like she was channeling me." Lords described Jane as "the kind of a woman who likes to play with men and use her femininity. At the same time, she believes that she definitely has the biggest dick in the room."

Cast

as Ingmar Andersson * Johan Glans as Axel Kruse, Axel Magnus Enström * Vivian Bang as Sun * Felisha Cooper as Sarah Andersson *

as Tex Johnson *

as Jane McKinney * Stephanie Koenig as Eve

Episodes

Season 1 (2016)

Season 2 (2017)

Broadcast

The first two episodes of ''Swedish Dicks'' were premiered on September 2, 2016, by the Swedish online streaming service,

. Later that month, it was announced that the series had been picked up by the American company Lionsgate TV to be distributed worldwide. It was premiered in the United States on the

Pop TV Pop TV is a Slovenian generalist television channel operated by Pro Plus d.o.o., a subsidiary of Central European Media Enterprises (CME), which is in turn owned by Czech investment company PPF. History It was established by ProPlus, CME's Sl ...

television network on August 9, 2017. In October 2016, the series was renewed for a second season that was shown in December 2017 in Northern Europe and in January 2018 in the United States.

Reception

''Swedish Dicks'' received mixed reviews from critics. Karolina Fjellborg of ''

Aftonbladet (, lit. "The evening paper") is a Swedish language, Swedish daily tabloid newspaper published in Stockholm, Sweden. It is one of the largest daily newspapers in the Nordic countries. History and profile The newspaper was founded by Lar ...

'' wrote, "Initially, I felt a concern that this series would be more silly than funny, but soon I realized that it is actually both - and it works." Pål Nisja Wilhelmsen of ''SIDE3'' found the first episode "shockingly weak" but pointed out that "the two leading roles have a good chemistry, and the script gives them room for friendly banter". He added that the series is "entertaining enough, but is probably no classic". Roger Wilson of

Sveriges Radio Sveriges Radio Aktiebolag, AB (; "Sweden's Radio") is Sweden's national publicly funded radio programming, radio broadcaster. Sveriges Radio is a public limited company, owned by an independent foundation, previously funded through a television ...

wrote that ''Swedish Dicks'' is "one of those strange Swedish productions, where you think you do not need any act or joke if you just set it the United States and add guest appearances by Traci Lords and Keanu Reeves. It gets a little better when Traci Lords is in order, she can at least understand that she is part of a

slapstick Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such as ...

series." Steve Greene of '' IndieWire'' wrote, "... 'Swedish Dicks' still has one ray of hope in the form of Keanu Reeves. Though he only appears for the briefest of moments, his presence and giddy deliveries of southern twang pep talks are at that ideal intersection between heightened genre riffing and a dash of needed pathos. As the spectral memory of Ingmar's deceased stuntman partner Tex, Reeves is the kind of anchoring force that the rest of the scenes without him are in search of."

References

External links

* * {{IMDb title, 5324116 2016 American television series debuts 2018 American television series endings 2010s American comedy-drama television series 2010s American crime drama television series Swedish comedy television series Swedish crime television series Television series by Lionsgate Television Television shows filmed in Los Angeles Television shows set in Los Angeles