Netlix’s February 6, 2012 premiere of it’s first original content series, “Lilyhammer” starring Steven Van Zandt leaves the audience begging for more. The plot on the surface is simple enough. Van Zandt, familiar to most audiences as Tony Soprano’s right hand man and Bruce Springsteen’s go-to guitarist turns state’s evidence against a familial organized crimes boss and joins the witness protection program. The twist is Van Zandt’s character Frank Tagilano aka Giovanni Hendrickson decides relocation in the USA is too dangerous and requests Lilliehammer, Norway. In part because he watched the 1994 Olympics in the bucolic remote setting and mostly because the women are pretty.
The charm of the 8 episode first season of Lilyhammer is it’s unabashed sweetness. While some may view it as a saga of the age old “fish out of water”. In my opinion, it is about world-wide similarities in matters of the heart and purse strings. Norway noted for its Nobel Peace Prize prides itself on civil dialogue in resolving conflicts among people and wolves. Hendrickson is bombarded with state sanctioned new immigrant programs and a host of home rules that put him at odds with local police and bureaucrats. Lilyhammer, the series explores in a serious, but not in your face kind of way, people are people no matter where you call home.
The use of sub-titles in the series reminds the viewer the setting is Norway. The interaction of the characters and episode plots demonstrate the fears, hopes and dreams of all people are more similar than different. According to The Wrap, Van Zandt said, “Ever since I began doing my solo records, I had started spending most of my time in Europe, and I love that cross-cultural thing.”. Lilyhammer as pristine and remote as it is situated in not immune from the concerns of the world.
The series writers include Steven Van Zandt along with the Norwegian husband and wife team, Anne Bjorstad and Eilif Skodvan. Each episode touches on a chord that strikes softly, but poignantly at modern day life. The loss of a father figure or colleague, bullying, homophobia, Mid-Eastern phobia, bureaucratic bungling, love, hate, honesty, trust and deceit to name a handful of themes. The stories unfold via “the old school” method in a juxtaposition with Norwegian culture culminating in a provocative turn of events allowing the viewer to draw its own conclusions.
In my opinion, Lilyhammer offers audiences fresh content and options. Netflix allows subscribers to download the entire series on its streaming video. No commercials or needless cliff-hangers. Lilyhammer gives new meaning to the phrase, “you can run but not hide” from a good story. I enjoyed the first season and have my fingers crossed for season two.