Less than a month before the show’s premiere on Norway’s TV2, the political thriller series Occupied featuring the fictitious invasion of Norway by Russia, has already raised controversy.
Vyacheslav Pavlovsky, the Russian ambassador in Oslo, told Russia’s Tass news agency that “Russia, regrettably, has the role of the aggressor. In the worst traditions of the cold war, [this show] decided to scare Norwegian viewers with a non-existent threat from the East.”
TV2 Head of Drama Christopher Haug told the Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet: “We note that there has been a reaction [from Russia], but we are surprised in that this is fiction and not any attempt at being a documentary. This series is primarily about Norway and Norwegians, not Russia.”
Based on an idea by Jo Nesbø, the ten part series by creators Erik Skjoldbjærg and Karianne Lund is TV2’s biggest TV drama ever, with a NOK80m budget. “There is much happening at TV 2's drama department, told Haug to nordiskfilmogtvfond.com. Other TV2 autumn premieres include the satirical drama Hæsjtægg that looks at the blogger phenomenon, and the closing Season 4 of Dag The shooting of The Third Eye Season 2 is nearly finished and two major dramas are in the pipeline.”
Occupied was produced by Yellow Bird Norway, GTV in France in co-production with TV2, ARTE France, and support from Nordisk Film & TV Fond.