Rod Knock 2, Pørni triumph at Norwegian TV series critics awards

NRK’s Rod Knock won Best Norwegian TV drama of the year while Viaplay’s Pørni created by and starring Henriette Steenstrup won Best Actress and Best Comedy series.

The Norwegian Critics’ Awards voted upon by a jury of 23 established Norwegian TV series critics, was held on-site in Oslo last Thursday at the closing night of the local industry event Oslo Series Days (Oslo Seriedagene).

The jury said about Rod Knock: “The winning series is an intelligent and gripping drama which, despite its seriousness, never gets heavy. This is a moving, bold and beautiful storytelling that brings out strong emotions from a wide audience.”

The Best TV Drama award to NRK’s youth series was the second major accolade from local TV drama professionals after the seven Norwegian Gullruten TV Awards scooped last May.

Created by Linn-Jeanethe Kyed, the coming-of age drama follows a group of young gearheads as they deal with the trials and tribulations of early adulthood, including heartache, uncertainty and loss. The series was produced by Fenomen and Storyline, with support from Nordisk Film & TV Fond, co-financing from Yle, TV4/C More and DR. Beta Film will present it at MIPCOM’s Market Screenings & Showcases next week.

Meanwhile Nent Group streaming service Viaplay’s hit series Pørni (6x30’) was praised by the jury for being “daring, sensitive and close, very close to reality. We laugh out loud in one moment and get a lump in our throat the next. The series has a solid script and a lovely cast,” they said.

The heart-warming comedy drama about a single supermom trying to balance her complicated life with raising teenage kids, was produced by Monster Scripted. It had its international premiere in competition at Series Mania in Lille and plays next at Serielizados Fest in Barcelona and Madrid (October 18-30). Keshet International handles global distribution.

Oslo Seriedagene held September 30 had a packed programme of inspiring discussions about the streaming war, young streamers-who they are and how to reach them, Norwegian directors (Magnus Marten, Erika Calmeyer, Anne Sewitsky) making it big on international shows and a Drama summit attended by NRK's Ivar Køhn, Discovery’s Rasmus Øien, TV2 Norway’s Alice Sommer, HBO Nordic’s Christopher Haug and Viaplay’s Camilla Rydbacken.

Illustrious speakers who held masterclasses include Danish creator/writer Adam Price who discussed Netflix/DR’s much anticipated new Borgen, Norwegian cinematographer Pål Bugge Haagenrud, who explained how he made NRK’s hit show Exit look expensive and sexy, despite its relatively modest budget, The Queen’s Gambit production designer Uli Hanisch, and cult series The Sopranos creator David Chase.

Oslo Series Days was co-organised by the leading Norwegian media outlet Aftenposten, NRK, TV2, Media Exchange, the Norwegian Film Institute and Norwegian producers association Virke.