One of Norway’s most high profile and respected TV executives, Tone Rønning’s career in television in Norway spans more than four decades.

At NRK, she has moved from directing, writing and producing - initially mainly kids programmes - to commissioning and executive producing award-winning TV shows, such as Lilyhammer, The Half Brother, The Heavy Water War, Valkyrien, State of Happiness, Atlantic Crossing and most recently Countrymen. The series was picked by Variety and Hollywood Reported as one of the best TV shows of 2021, and it is running for the Nordisk Film & TV Fond Prize at Göteborg’s TV Drama Vision.

Rønning also served as Executive Producer for the European Broadcasting Union (EBU)- Drama and Kids in the 2000s, initiating a collaboration with the Asian Broadcasting Union. She was instrumental in strengthening European and Nordic co-productions (via EBU and Nordvision), and ran numerous storytelling-based workshops in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Just as she had bowed farewell to NRK in the fall, she was headhunted by Netflix as Director of Content Nordic Series.

You’ve spent most of your TV career at NRK - what have been the most defining moments?
Tone Rønning: I would say there has been two pivotal moments and key encounters during my time at NRK. Firstly in 1976, 720 people applied for NRK’s educational department, wanting to train in production. There was a jury of five people interviewing and I was lucky to be selected. Ada Haug [influential Norwegian media personality] believed in me, although I had dropped out of architecture studies, was on the verge of dropping out of media studies and had travelled to India. She probably liked the fact that I was non-conformist. Later on, she looked at me straight in the eyes and said: you are going to work in drama! So I started to direct TV drama.

Another mentor at NRK was Petter Wallace, who set up in 2009 NRK’s division of commissioning external independent programmes. I was then hired as commissioning editor/executive producer for drama and arts. Petter was a visionary leader and helped me to fly, giving me freedom, while being demanding at the same time. He has been very important to me.

Then among international TV executives, I can mention Kudos' co-founder Stephen Garrett. I was at a meeting where he made a talk. As I recall it, he said, “Don’t ever believe a commissioner when they say they want to be brave, because they are not. They are afraid that if they don’t deliver an audience for their shows, they will go down. But everyone has to go down sometime, and if you are brave, at least you go down with a glory!” I thought OK, I'll try that and I promised myself not to be afraid of failing and falling.

The fish-out-of-water comedy drama Lilyhammer (produced between 2013-2015) was a trail-blazing series, which evolved across its three seasons, from an NRK show bought by Netflix, to the first Netflix Original ever, and the US streamer’s door-opener to the Nordic market. At the time, how did you view Netflix?
TR: Lilyhammer’s first season was indeed 100% NRK. In post-production, we did a teaser, shown at MIP in Cannes. When showrunner Eilif Skodvin [Rubicon TV] told us the show had been sold to the US, we were all ecstatic. I asked who bought it? He said…someone called Netflix. I had never heard about them.

We saw the potential in a second season but we needed extra funding. I suggested for Steven van Zandt [main actor and later co-writer and executive producer] to speak to Netflix’s Ted Sarandos and ask if they could do a 50/50 co-production. We then co-produced S2 and S3 with Netflix. The editorial responsibility was with NRK by me. At the time, Netflix had a very small staff and over the three seasons, we received perhaps only one note from Netflix. Today, at Netflix Nordics, we are many people giving many notes! Lilyhammer became NRK’s first major international drama hit.

After Lilyhammer, would you say that the hospital dystopian thriller Valkyrien was another ground-breaking show, which proved that NRK could raise the quality bar in a totally new direction?
TR: If there is one thing I regret it’s not to have commissioning a second season to producers Tordenfilm. I would say that Valkyrien was agenda-setting and it is still one of the most cited NRK series by journalists, five years after it first aired on NRK.

Lilyhammer co-creator Anne Bjørnstad also worked on Countrymen, another daring series which challenges stereotypes about Muslims. What was your first reaction when she approached you and are you pleased with the way Norwegians’ reacted to the show, which premiered last October on NRK?``
TR: We’ve had a great collaboration with Anne on Lilyhammer, although it was very stressful to create three seasons so quickly. She came up with the idea for Countrymen, and writer/director Izer Aliu joined the project, which was just perfect for NRK. Its core values are to be open, brave and trustworthy. Public service broadcasting has a responsibility to take risks, should serve the whole audience, not part of it, and if groups in society aren’t reached, we should work extra hard to connect with them.

Regarding the ratings, I have been spoilt in the past with ultra-high ratings for most shows I’ve worked on, that have grabbed around 1 million + viewers. Countrymen hasn’t reached a large audience, but in a way, I was not surprised. Its structure is unconventional, and perhaps some people struggled with the fact that the storytelling is not following traditional rules. I see this as a compliment. You cannot be afraid of not succeeding if you do want to succeed. Public broadcasters need to give room for unique voices like Izer Aliu's and to the characters he created. Actors, who’ve been cast as gangsters for 20 years, really appreciated to portray these characters.

That said, we did get heart-warming feedback from a lot of viewers, with people saying it’s filled with genius. Multi-cultural focus groups assured us that story and characters were authentic and believable. The fact that the series received two prizes at Canneseries for the ensemble cast, and a High-School Best Series Prize from local students meant a lot as they represent France’s multi-cultural society. Norway hasn’t been multi-cultural a long time and has a long way to go.

In today’s hyper-competitive TV drama world, keeping talents is perhaps the biggest challenge for countries with a small market such as Norway. What are your views on the subject?
TR: When I worked at NRK’s external commissioning department, we did two things: develop existing talents and nurture newcomers. For instance The Half Brother and Nobel’s writer Mette Bølstad, as well as director Per-Olav Sørensen, got the chance to have continuity in their work, which is important to improve.

Per-Olav directed The Heavy Water War as well, written by Petter S. Rosenlund. Mette continued with State of Happiness. Meanwhile Countrymen is the first drama series from Izer Aliu, and newcomer Brwa Vahabepour was episode director.

You can do both in the same show, but you need a clear strategy. If you only look for the best creators today, that might not be a good investment as everyone is looking for the same A-list talent.

Do you feel streamers have transformed storytelling?
TR: No, not at all. I feel drama in general sticks to specific formats 6-8-10-13 episodes of 25 to 45 minutes. That surprises me. Before an episode should be not more than 43 minutes and 12 frames. It was specific on the frame to be put in a specific slot and schedule. It’s not the case anymore in our digital world. But even streamers stick to the same formats. I think there are so many possibilities, with technology, still to be explored. NRK’s children and youth department, worked on web series for a decade before SKAM. It didn’t come from thin air. But perhaps the audience wants something predictable.

You’ve been very active in Nordic and international co-productions. What is the recipe for the best co-production and creative collaboration?
TR: The international world has been very inspirational and given me a chance to learn from others. The best collaborations stem from sharing good ideas, staying open-minded, and creating the right environment for creative work. That doesn’t mean 100% harmony all the time. I don’t think full harmony is a recipe for the very best storytelling. You need a climate where you can address good and bad elements in a story. Also, you have to respect the creatives, let them find their own solutions, and not force your own creative solutions upon them.

You can open doors to possibilities, set targets, but ultimately, the creatives have to be respected. Otherwise, you can as well go out to direct and write your own show!

How do you feel about starting a new chapter at Netflix, just as you had ended a long and successful career at NRK?
TR: I was contacted by Netflix’s Talent Acquisition division last fall. They wanted to know if I’d be interested [to join them]. Although I’m 69 years old, I felt I simply had to do it. It’s a unique opportunity for me to work in a completely new organisation, with a new culture and thrilling people. I love it. As Director of Content Nordic series, I do more or less what I was doing at NRK and report to Jenny Stjernströmer Björk, Director of Nordics Original Series. So many great Nordic stories are yet to be told.