Portside

In a not-so-distant future, Norway has elected a radical branch of the Green Party, and its charismatic new prime minister shuts down the country’s supply of oil and gas to continental Europe. Despite an impending climate crisis, the EU is none too pleased with this overnight weaning from petrol, and invites Russia to offer Norway “technical assistance” in restoring its fossil fuel production. Russian gunships descend on Norway’s oil platforms. America, having withdrawn from NATO, is nowhere to be found. And so begins a slow, doublespeak-laden, Putin-style escalation into occupation.

In a dramatic style characteristic of Scandinavian film and television, the characters, which are drawn from every faction of the political situation and include the prime minister, a Norwegian double agent, a newspaper reporter, his restaurateur wife, and even the de facto Russian governor of Norway, are all portrayed sympathetically. And as a viewer, it’s impossible to take sides, or even to see through the fog of war to what a good outcome might be.

Occupied is Norway’s most successful (and expensive) TV series ever. Coproduced by the Swedish company behind The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and Wallander, the show has garnered a wide audience across Europe—and strong objections from the Russian embassy in Oslo, which condemned the show. Netflix has just begun streaming Occupied, and though it’s unclear if the American audience will embrace an episodic with subtitles, this viewer, at least, found the series most binge-worthy.

Erik Skjoldbjærg, who directed Prozac Nation and the original, pre–Christopher Nolan Insomnia, is one of the show’s primary writers, and also the director of the first two episodes. Skjoldbjærg recently spoke with Vogue.com by phone from Stockholm’s Arlanda Airport, where he was momentarily stranded after missing a flight to Oslo.

How closely is Occupied related to what you and the other writers see in the real-world geopolitical situation?

Well, the Norwegian novelist Jo Nesbø came up with the idea back in 2008. I got involved a bit later on. And we obviously looked at the political situation in a number of different global conflicts. But we didn’t define it based on a single one. The day we started shooting, the Russian invasion of Crimea happened. And a lot of people have pointed to the similarities there. But obviously what happened in Ukraine couldn’t have been an inspiration. The season had already been planned.

But looking at the world, it’s obvious that at some point we are going to have an energy crisis, and with it an environmental crisis. And those two factors are going to, for sure, create some serious social changes. So in that sense, the series is realistic and mirrors the world’s current situation.

A lot of similar shows, even Homeland, have been criticized for creating a sort of false notion of good vs. evil. But with Occupied, I think most people will find themselves rooting for every character, even some of the Russian occupiers.

I’m glad you say that, because I always like to defend my characters to the bitter end. And I like actors who defend their characters. The really interesting conflicts are ones where you can understand both sides. It’s just a matter of what you emphasize. I don’t believe in evil, and I don’t find evil characters that interesting. In this show, everyone is trying to do their best, trying to do good in whatever situation they’re in. It boils down to their perspective and what they view as their task. And I think that’s part of why the world, why a lot of conflicts in the world, don’t have easy answers. But unfortunately we have to deal with them.

In some ways the show’s premise—a developed Western nation being invaded—is a bit far-fetched, and yet it all unfolds in quite a real-feeling way.

If our democratic rights were taken away from us, how would we react? I believe the vast majority would not take up arms. And I think, statistically, that is proven in both World Wars and in other conflicts with occupations. Most people would focus on their family, their jobs, their economy, their social status. These things are even more important than freedom of speech and other rights, at least for a while.

That was kind of our premise for the show. Follow these characters and see how they react. The myth is that people resist with everything they’ve got. Whereas the reality—if you look at it yourself and ask, What would you do? I’m not convinced I would take up arms and do, for instance, what the resistance group Free Norway does on the show.

During production I happened to hear that Kris Kristofferson song “Me and Bobby McGee.” You know, with the line, “Freedom’s just another word for nothin’ left to lose.” Janis Joplin sang it, too. Anyway, when I heard that, it felt like a tagline for the whole series.

Are you excited to be picked up by Netflix in the U.S.?

In a way, when you come from a small country, you are just happy to get something distributed. It’s already played above expectations, so that makes me feel confident.

Does that mean there will be a second season?

Yes.

Occupied is available to stream now from Netflix.