Articles about Viaplay
Worth watching
The stories of Swedish soldiers operating during the Bosnian War are dramatised in six-part drama A Life’s Worth. Writer Mona Masri and director Ahmed Abdullahi speak to DQ about creating this suspenseful and hopeful military series that finds its characters walking the line between duty and humanity.
Snow queen
Filmmaker Amma Asante takes her biggest step into television as the director of Smilla’s Sense of Snow, a six-part crime drama set in a futuristic Copenhagen. She speaks to DQ about how she related to the title character and the demands of making a miniseries.
Uncovering Secrets
Danish director Kaspar Munk reflects on the changing television landscape that led him to write and direct eight-part drama Secrets, the story of two siblings caught in a spiral of co-dependency and the lies that threaten to tear their seemingly perfect lives apart.
Now and then
Swedish stars Alexandra Rapaport and Ella Hammasten Liedberg join writer-director Martina Haag to pull back the curtain on the making of Det är något som inte stammer (Little Did I Know), a Viaplay film about a woman looking back on her childhood as she embarks on a journey of self-discovery.
Reinventing Rebus
Ian Rankin’s literary detective John Rebus returns to the screen as a young officer disenchanted by the police and his role in it. DQ visits the Edinburgh set to find out how Rebus tells the story of a man at a crossroads as his personal and professional lives implode.
Happily Eva after
Allt och Eva (All & Eva) follows a woman who grows close to her sperm donor, without telling him she is carrying his baby. Director Johanna Runevad and producer Sofie Palage tell DQ about upending romcom expectations and why their partnership is the real love story.
Skate star
Director Amir Chamdin reflects on the long journey behind making biopic sports drama Börje – The Journey of a Legend, and his relationship with the titular Swedish ice hockey star who broke down boundaries to become an NHL legend.
Global swarming
The Swarm is the eagerly anticipated big-budget adaptation of Frank Schätzing’s ecological disaster novel. DQ buzzes around production designer Julian Wagner, director Barbara Eder and VFX supervisor Jan Stoltz to hear about filming in Italy, shooting in water tanks and creating a pod of sleeping whales.
Grand designs
Director Kerren Lumer-Klabbers explains how she laid the foundations for her first TV series, Norwegian drama Arkitekten (The Architect), which presents a near-future Oslo where a young woman finds an unusual solution to building new housing.
Series to Watch: February 2023
DQ checks out the upcoming schedules to pick 10 new series to watch this February, from the story of a soap superstar and a diplomatic drama to the reimagining of a classic western.
Shot caller
Who Shot Otto Mueller? is the first Viaplay original series to emerge from Estonia. DQ speaks to writer Birk Rohelend about working with the streamer, toxic masculinity and her love of Agatha Christie.
Boys will be boys
Rising Danish director Jonas Risvig speaks to DQ about steering his biggest project to date, Viaplay drama Drenge (Boys), and how he drew on his own life for this story about a group of friends finding their way in life.
Baby blues
Star Pia Tjelta and the creative team behind Norwegian drama Made in Oslo discuss the conception and delivery of this fertility clinic-set series, which explores how far one woman is willing to go to become a mother.
Dark times
US director Dennie Gordon illuminates DQ on how she brought her taste for action drama to Last Light, a globetrotting family drama set at the start of an energy crisis that threatens to disrupt every corner of society.
Faroese fare
As Faroese drama Trom makes its UK debut, the cast and production team behind the series discuss filming challenges, language complications and why Nordic noir is still in demand.
History maker
Vikings creator Michael Hirst opens up about his fascination with history and explains why his latest project, Billy the Kid, isn’t the western drama you might expect.
Learning from Litvinenko
Writer George Kay and producer Patrick Spence give DQ an insight into upcoming true crime drama Litvinenko, which tells the story of police officers investigating the poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko and his wife Marina’s fight for justice.
Rise of the Faroes
As the first ever series filmed on the Faroe Islands, crime drama Trom promises to bring a new flavour to Scandinavian noir. DQ speaks to creator and writer Torfinnur Jákupsson.
Series to Watch: February 2022
DQ looks at the schedules to pick out 10 new series to watch this February, from the return of a Danish political drama and a US adaptation of an Israeli thriller to a UK literary adaptation and a fresh take on a beloved 90s sitcom.
Keeping it in the family
Showrunner Peter McKenna looks back on making his Dublin-set crime family drama Kin and assesses the new confidence of Irish television storytelling.