January Scandinavian Film & TV column

By now, Christmas will merely be a memory. And when you’re not out fulfilling one of your New Year’s resolutions, that this is the year when you will take up running, being battered by the gale-force winds, freezing temperatures and torrential downpours, you might feel desperate for some non-Christmas content. Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.

As you recover from your hangover on New Year’s Day, why not cosy up to Number 24 (NR. 24), the Norwegian WW2 film that Netflix is releasing on 1 January? The film, which premiered in Norway in October, documents apprentice Gunnar Sønsteby from Rjukan, who resisted Nazi Germany during the invasion, eventually rising to lead the Oslo Gang. Under his leadership, the group performed numerous acts of sabotage, cementing Sønsteby’s legacy as Norway’s greatest war hero.

On 7 January, Netflix is releasing The Breakthrough (Genombrottet). The plot is based around a double murder in Linköping, Sweden, back in 2004. It took 16 years to solve the crime, using genealogical research, and this was the first time it was used in Europe. The film follows the genealogist who made the breakthrough.

On 22 January, Disney+ is releasing its first Nordic Original on the platform, Whiskey on the Rocks, a political satire inspired by real events. All six episodes will be released at once. The series opens with the events unfolding in the early hours of 28 October, 1981, when a Soviet Whiskey-class nuclear submarine ran aground inside a restricted Swedish military area. With the world on the brink of a new world war, world leaders turned to Sweden’s calm and Prime Minister Thorbjörn Fälldin was tasked with keeping the peace between Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev and US President Ronald Reagan.

Also released on 22 January, on Apple TV+, UK political eight-episode drama Prime Target stars Danish actor Sidse Babbett Knudsen, who gained international fame for her role in Borgen.

Several other Nordic titles are slated for release in 2025, but no dates have yet been unveiled.

Anders Lorenzen is a Danish blogger and film and TV enthusiast living in London.