Sunday’s premiere of Maipo Film’s State of Happiness (Lykkeland) on NRK1 drew 629,000 linear viewers, for a 37.4% share, and an extra 70,000 watched it online on NRK TV.

“We’re very happy with the ratings, especially as competition was particularly tough on Sunday evening with a football match and The Farm on rival channels,” said NRK’s Head of Drama Ivar Køhn to nordicfilmandtvnews.com. “The series had perhaps the best opening for a TV drama on NRK in 2018, and we’re expecting ratings to continue to climb with online viewing.”

The eight-part Norwegian drama written by Mette M. Bølstad, tells of the discovery of oil and its impact on Norwegian society, through the story of four young people in the coastal town of Stavanger. 

Maipo Film’s producer Synnøve Hørsdal, who came up with the idea, was also pleased with the first ratings and stressed the strong visibility on social media and critical praise in Norway. “The series is very visible in social media and I think the discussions around it will increase as we progress in the story. Having worked on something like this for years, it is always nerve wracking to get reviews. You are so close to the material that you always fear you might be blind. But the reviews have been very good.”

The series, supported by Nordisk Film & TV Fond, won Best Script and Best Music at the first Canneseries TV Drama Festival in Cannes last April.

State of Happiness premiered simultaneously in Denmark on DR1 on its 22.10 slot. It will air at a later date on SVT and Yle. DR Sales handles world distribution.

A returning season has been written by Mette M. Bølstad, set to focus on the period 1977-1980, while season 1 focused on 1969 to 1972.

Read our interview with Mette M. Bølstad and Synnøve Hørsdal: CLICK HERE.