When aired on September 30, the first episode of DAG was seen by 509,000 people. Since then, each of the ten episodes has had an average 440,000 viewers. Why do you think it is so successful?
Anders Tangen: First of all, I think it has to do with the fact that the scriptwriters Øystein Karlsen and Kristoffer Schau wrote it from their hearts and combined comedy and drama in a very innovative way. The series features marital therapy sessions, something that many adults are familiar with. Actually all adults should really sit on a sofa! DAG is also based on true stories, taken from real people's lives. It's very emotional and you care about the characters. Norwegians are actually aware of much more crazy things than most people think and know of! The success probably also comes from the excellent acting (alongside Atle Antonsen is Anders Baasmo Christiansen and Tuva Novotny), the direction and great set design.
The dark and satirical tone was daring for the small screen. How did you get TV2 on board and what budget did you have?
Øystein and Kristoffer had a great track record with De 7 Dødssyndene (The Seven Deadly Sins) already shown on TV2 and the station also wanted something new. Also, my production partners and I watch a lot of US TV series like HBO's Mad Men. We wanted to show that we can deliver the same quality in Norway. TV2 was great and supportive from the beginning. Our total budget for the 10x23' series was NOK16.5 million. We got support from the Norwegian Film Institute, but we also personally put our own money in it.
What's your plan for Season 2?
We have the same creative team and plan to start filming next April. The advantage of a second season is that you don't have to establish the characters, so Øystein and Kristoffer will go deeper into the drama and into each character. Again, we will use real stories and the same format. Some people asked us why we wouldn't make 52 minute episodes, but we're fond of the 23 minutes and the director knows exactly what he's doing and why.
How do you think the series will travel across borders and in the rest of the world?
The subject of therapy is interesting to all audiences, especially in our western world. Nordic World is in charge of international distribution. We also plan to do a Swedish remake, just for fun.
Any feature film you're working on?
I'm actually working on a feature film by DAG's writer/director Øystein Karlsen called Fuck Up, with Jon Øigarden, Tuva Novotny, Anders Baasmo Christiansen and Kristopher Schau in the main roles. It‘s the story of Jack, an eager philanderer with a sweet tooth for booze and cocaine who has just decided to turn his life around and become a dedicated father, until his best friend crashes into a moose with 2.5kg of Colombian white in the trunk of his car on the Swedish/Norwegian border. Within 24 hours, Jack looses everything. Illusion Film is my Swedish co-producer. The film will start shooting in January close to Trollhättan.
I also have in the editing room the new film by Lars Krutzkoff Jacobsen (5 Lies). It's the story of three broken teens who think society ‘owes' them money. The lead actors are Hanne Bache Hansen, Daniel Gjerde and Kjetil Skrede. We're planning to finish it in the spring 2011. I'm producing both Fuck Up and Immorals for ViaFilm.