New York Mafioso Frank Tagliano rats out his boss to the FBI and goes in to hiding. He fell in love with the small Norwegian town of Lillehammer after seeing it on TV during the 1994 Winter Olympics and demands to be settled there with a new identity, despite knowing very little about Norway or Norwegian culture. What he faces in Norway turns out to be something entirely different than what he expected, and he quickly moves to use his street knowledge to make the place feel closer to home. Thus the stage is set for a hilarious culture clash when this uncompromising American gangster does what he knows best in a completely naive and gullible town.
This show has been tagged in Norwegian media as a Sopranos set in Norway, owning to the star of the show, Steven Van Zandt, also known as the legendary "Silvio" in Sopranos. But to even compare this show to Sopranos is just wrong. If that's what you are expecting you're in for a huge disappointment. This is not Sopranos, and to be fair, it doesn't try to be. Whereas Sopranos was a television epic with intelligent character development and a subtle script, this is a light- hearted comical approach to the Mafia and culture differences. And this is also a part of the show's problem. It tries to be funny, but in many instances it goes too far. Although the show has some exceptionally funny scenes, it's also filled with cheap slapstick humour and some very two-dimensional characters that are there to offer comical relief. The foolishness of these characters is almost on Disney level and it somewhat destroys immersion. The idea is great and the scriptwriters have come up with tons of brilliant ideas for what a New York gangster would find strange in Norwegian society, but for every great scene there is an equally stupid scene.
If the show had been more disciplined with it's search for comical situations, it could have acquired a cult following. Instead you sit back with very mixed feelings. As stated earlier, you are offered a mix of some very intelligent black humour, and some scenes that just make you cringe with embarrassment. None the less, this is an original idea and the entertainment value still makes it worthwhile. Some of the characters are lovable and the general storyline keeps you watching.
This show has been tagged in Norwegian media as a Sopranos set in Norway, owning to the star of the show, Steven Van Zandt, also known as the legendary "Silvio" in Sopranos. But to even compare this show to Sopranos is just wrong. If that's what you are expecting you're in for a huge disappointment. This is not Sopranos, and to be fair, it doesn't try to be. Whereas Sopranos was a television epic with intelligent character development and a subtle script, this is a light- hearted comical approach to the Mafia and culture differences. And this is also a part of the show's problem. It tries to be funny, but in many instances it goes too far. Although the show has some exceptionally funny scenes, it's also filled with cheap slapstick humour and some very two-dimensional characters that are there to offer comical relief. The foolishness of these characters is almost on Disney level and it somewhat destroys immersion. The idea is great and the scriptwriters have come up with tons of brilliant ideas for what a New York gangster would find strange in Norwegian society, but for every great scene there is an equally stupid scene.
If the show had been more disciplined with it's search for comical situations, it could have acquired a cult following. Instead you sit back with very mixed feelings. As stated earlier, you are offered a mix of some very intelligent black humour, and some scenes that just make you cringe with embarrassment. None the less, this is an original idea and the entertainment value still makes it worthwhile. Some of the characters are lovable and the general storyline keeps you watching.