Exclusive: SVT’s family saga The Restaurant opened with more than 1.4 million viewers while the premiere of DR’s own family drama Ride Upon the Storm converts nearly a million Danes between live and catch up TV.  

Launched on Monday on SVT1, SVT’s hugely ambitious family saga The Restaurant (Vår tid är nu) hit its target with overnight ratings showing an excellent 1,488,000 viewers for a 45.7% share. Although consolidated figures will be announced only on Tuesday, SVT’s communication officer Jan-Erik Westman, could confirm from overnight figures that this is the fourth best opening in the last four years for an SVT drama, after Season 4 of Saltön (1,644,000), Spring Tide(1,532,000) and the third season of The Bridge (1,489,000). The Restaurant beat the openings of other high profile recent SVT shows in the traditionally popular crime genre such as Before We Die (1,407,000) and Midnight Sun (1,391,000). 

Reviews as well were mostly outstanding, with critics praising the acting from the Löwander restaurant’s matriarch Helga played by Suzanne Reuter, her sons played by Mattias Nordkvist and Adam Lundgren, but also newcomers Hedda Siernstedt and Charlie Gustafsson as Nina Löwander and her love interest, the kitchen boy Calle. 

Produced by Jarowskij, The Restaurant is a rare collaboration between the pubcaster SVT and MTG’s streaming service Viaplay which will launch the serial in the fall 2018. Two seasons have been commissioned, covering 1945 to 1962 and a third season – waiting for ratings of season 1 to be greenlit - is expected to run until the mid-1970s.  The show will be introduced to world buyers at MIPCOM by sales rep Banijay Rights. 

Read our interview with co-creator/head writer Ulf Kvensler CLICK HERE.  

Ride Upon the Storm (Herrens veje) opens in Denmark

Ride Upon the Storm (Herrens veje), Lars Mikkelsen© Tine Harden
Ride Upon the Storm (Herrens veje), Lars Mikkelsen© Tine Harden


Also commissioned as two seasons of 10 episodes each, DR Drama’s own major bet Ride Upon the Storm (Herrens veje) created by Adam Price opened on DR1 on Sunday September 24 with 928,000 viewers and a share of 43%, plus 157,000 on DR.TV. Episode 2 had last Sunday 811,000 live viewers for a 39% share, plus 45,000 extra viewers online over the weekend. 

Piv Bernth, DR Head of Drama told nordicfilmandtvnews.com: “It’s evident for us that the move from linear to streaming has a great impact in Denmark now. We have not had a first episode with figures below one million for many years - but if you put the figures together we are past the million. We are extremely happy about the series and the reviews have been overwhelming. The debate that it has created in Denmark is very satisfactory. We wanted people to have conversations about the themes - and that has happened.”

Ride Upon the Storm was produced by DR Drama with SAM le Français and ARTE France. The character-led drama about how faith and religion affect our lives, focuses on the minister of the Church of Denmark Johannes (Lars Mikkelsen), his wife Elisabeth (Ann Eleonora Jorgensen) and their sons August (Morten Hee Andersen) and Christian (Simon Pears). Johannes’ favouritism for August and his disappointment with Christian force both into making desperate choices in order to either gain his love or break free from him. The show won the TV Critics award and Buyers Coup de Coeur Award at MIPDrama Screenings 2017. Studiocanal is selling it at MIPCOM. 

Read our interview with creator Adam Price CLICK HERE.

Both The Restaurant and Ride Upon the Storm were backed by Nordisk Film & TV Fond.