Well there you have it: television as it should be. You do not see such apparently effortless perfection very often. Please do not wait for US remakes, treat yourself to the original! Very often, lead characters are well played, and you see some mediocre work here and there in the background. What strikes me with Arvingerne is that there is not a single instant where I can recall a glitch or less convincing acting. It is miraculous; where do children for example learn to act like that? The plot is a real actors' challenge, normal people turning into devils when a large inheritance seems to be coming their way, and back again into loving, good people when things settle down for a moment. Very often parties with loud music and dancing are hard to film, it is difficult to get a large cast of supporting actors to look like they are having fun. No problem for the Arvingerne crew! A special mention for Carsten Bjørnlund, playing the complex character of Frederik Grønnegaard. A very impressive performance indeed. There was for example one love scene where the point was that love at that juncture was awkward. I don't know how an actor is supposed to get that across, but he did, very movingly.
18 Reviews
Danish drama to keep you hooked
topchook29 April 2017
I really enjoyed the Danish drama series, "The Legacy". It features more self-absorbed, narcissistic, self-destructive characters than I have seen in a long time. I'm not sure there are any likable main characters - it's more a case of degrees of difference in their selfishness. This show really reinforces the expression "Monkey can't buy you happiness." It traces the lives of a family thrown into turmoil after receiving news of their inheritance. The acting is superb - enough to make you despise, loathe, pity or feel contempt for this family and their behaviour. Recommended.
Trouble, drama, failing relations
JohnM6323 November 2021
This is one of those series that you either love or hate. There's hardly anything in between. Three seasons show how all kinds of things are happening within a family, but nothing ever really changes. It is however better than your average soap if you like drama, failing relationships, people not learning from earlier mistakes and all kinds of other psychological issues. It's going nowhere but kept me watching, because of the setting, curiosity and also the great acting. At times it feels as if you're watching a documentary instead of a television series. Just try it. You will find out soon enough if this is something for you.
The reason I gave it only 7 stars is the fact that the series just has too much storylines that start but are not finished properly. I consider that to be a major flaw in the scenario next to the sometimes terrible leaps in time, where you can only conclude that there obviously has been some kind of development.
The reason I gave it only 7 stars is the fact that the series just has too much storylines that start but are not finished properly. I consider that to be a major flaw in the scenario next to the sometimes terrible leaps in time, where you can only conclude that there obviously has been some kind of development.
Superb soap at its finest
danish_mermaid5 January 2014
Do see this! For all of the millions of people out there whose entire lives have been molded by selfish parents who lost their common sense somewhere between a kiss and the diamond ring, here's a soap opera for you. The two main female roles are portrayed very convincingly, notably Trine Dyrholm as "Gro Grønnegaard" and Marie Bach Hansen as "Signe Larsen". The plot quickly thickens as the question of inheritance brings out the weasel in just about everyone. Psychologically, anyone who has ever dealt with inheritance issues will recognize several themes and reflect on their own personal stories and reactions. As a result maybe this defining drama can pave the way for deeper family dialogs among the lucky viewers who have the guts to speak up.
Danmarks Radio scores again
jmr712330 May 2014
With programs like Forbrydelsen and Borgen, Danmarks Radio has secured an international reputation as a powerhouse for serial drama, and this continues in spades with Arvingerne. Writing, acting, directing, etc., all show a level of artistic merit that puts the great majority of UK and American shows to shame (that's why BBC rebroadcasts them and US networks like AMC make crappy remakes). This is a new genre choice, however: the dynastic family drama, centering on the four squabbling children of a hippie artist mother from the sixties. I binge-watched it in 3 days, something very rare for me. In particular, Carsten Bjørnlund, a Forbrydelsen alum, is brilliant in the role of deeply damaged son Frederik, but all the principals are compelling. Just beginning to be available, in various ways, with English subtitles, but definitely worth seeking out.
Bingewatchable
Dodo-917 September 2017
This is exceptional TV!!!!! Superb acting, a fascinating storyline and the display of art makes you believe that the writer must be more than just a writer. it's not predictable and every second of it is interesting. I would've loved to continue watching more than 3 seasons but it's all in all very satisfying. This is my first danish series and now I'm hooked. You can buy all three seasons now so binge watching can be guaranteed :-) enjoy this piece of art!
Brilliant show with amazing characters
cath85830 May 2017
Warning: Spoilers
I love Danish cinema. They can come up with a story boring as hell on paper and turn it into an amazing and touching film. This is the case with the legacy. When you read the synopsis, you think 'yeah another family dispute, saw it a million times'. You couldn't be further from the truth. I don't know what is their recipe but the characters and atmosphere just take your breath away. It is deep without being pompous.You just feel part of the family, you feel their pain as they do stupid things, it sometimes does not make sense as it does in life. I think this so brilliant, it now has become one of my all-time favorite show. Ever since dogma, Danish cinema and series have discovered something unique. The finale of the Legacy is just perfect, yes perfect. I couldn't have imagined a better one. Please do watch this show.
'Dallas' for the XXIst century
bertrandma14 September 2023
Signe Larsen, a young woman from relatively modest stock--working in a flower shop--discovers she was adopted and that her real family is a rich and decadent lot, fighting over the titular legacy of her recently deceased mother.
This sounds like a terribly worn out premise, but the writers actually succeed in transfiguring it by carefully avoiding the vulgar clichés we might expect: this is 'Dallas' alright, but 'Dallas' for the XXist century. The dead mother was not an oil magnate but a conceptual artist, the brothers and sisters are curators, lawyers and beach bums, all rather bohemian in their own privileged way. In place of gold watches and sports cars, we have conspicuous displays of cultural capitals (art books, white cubes and subdued designer dresses.) Behind this urbane and cultured façade, however, J. R. has nothing on any of them: Gro the curator dress her self-interest as selfless dedication to her mother's memory, Emil's devil-may-care altruism is fueled by privilege and self-indulgence, Thomas is perpetually escaping from his responsibility, and Frederik alone wears his stony heart on his sleeve.
The result is a populist Cinderella: Signe stands for honest work and common sense. Her decadent siblings, with their high-falutin modern culture and high-minded hypocrisy, are the fabled 'cosmopolitan elite'. But Avringerne is not *genuinely* populist: it is too well written, too well acted, too tastefully produced to appeal to the little man. Signe, pure as a lamb, perpetually turning the other cheek, is also the least compelling of the characters. This is a populist tale not for the little man but for the self-hating cosmopolitan elite.
The result is compelling: acutely observed, well cast, restrained and mostly credible. It does suffer from the failings of its soap opera model: as the episode count rises, the accumulation of peripeteia inevitably becomes less and less believable, so that by the end of the first season the viewer is already hard-pressed to suspend disbelief. By the end of the second, it has all become quite strained and repetitive. One wishes the writers had spread out their episode in time, avoiding thereby the artificiality of perpetual emergency and giving their characters time to grow.
This sounds like a terribly worn out premise, but the writers actually succeed in transfiguring it by carefully avoiding the vulgar clichés we might expect: this is 'Dallas' alright, but 'Dallas' for the XXist century. The dead mother was not an oil magnate but a conceptual artist, the brothers and sisters are curators, lawyers and beach bums, all rather bohemian in their own privileged way. In place of gold watches and sports cars, we have conspicuous displays of cultural capitals (art books, white cubes and subdued designer dresses.) Behind this urbane and cultured façade, however, J. R. has nothing on any of them: Gro the curator dress her self-interest as selfless dedication to her mother's memory, Emil's devil-may-care altruism is fueled by privilege and self-indulgence, Thomas is perpetually escaping from his responsibility, and Frederik alone wears his stony heart on his sleeve.
The result is a populist Cinderella: Signe stands for honest work and common sense. Her decadent siblings, with their high-falutin modern culture and high-minded hypocrisy, are the fabled 'cosmopolitan elite'. But Avringerne is not *genuinely* populist: it is too well written, too well acted, too tastefully produced to appeal to the little man. Signe, pure as a lamb, perpetually turning the other cheek, is also the least compelling of the characters. This is a populist tale not for the little man but for the self-hating cosmopolitan elite.
The result is compelling: acutely observed, well cast, restrained and mostly credible. It does suffer from the failings of its soap opera model: as the episode count rises, the accumulation of peripeteia inevitably becomes less and less believable, so that by the end of the first season the viewer is already hard-pressed to suspend disbelief. By the end of the second, it has all become quite strained and repetitive. One wishes the writers had spread out their episode in time, avoiding thereby the artificiality of perpetual emergency and giving their characters time to grow.
Very human and unforgettable characters
montsegimenez24 February 2019
Good story, good script, magnificent interpretations. Entertaining, comical, dramatic, it has everything, it's a great series. The naturalness of the interpretations, the realism and the lack of pretensions are magnificent. At the time I missed it because here, in Spain, has not been just publicized as other more famous series (some of them very overrated and boring). I need a fourth season! Please, please, please
Great Danish Storytelling
matrullo25 May 2016
It is difficult to not give this series a 10, but one always imagines something can be better. In this story, set in Funen, the island of Hans Christian Anderson, a family encounters itself in all its complex, passionate, devious depths. The writer Maya Ilsøe is superb -- fascinating concerns with truth and lie, with nature and art, with the truth about fathers and mothers, and the deviations of children who have to live with their lies.
The tale is sensitively brought to our eyes by intelligent actors and producers. I have long been a fan of Danish TV, and this lives up to the best of it. Hoping for a strong 3rd season, which I understand will be the last.
The tale is sensitively brought to our eyes by intelligent actors and producers. I have long been a fan of Danish TV, and this lives up to the best of it. Hoping for a strong 3rd season, which I understand will be the last.
Like watching a train wreck... compulsive and mesmerizing
sandhan-5207211 May 2017
Having watched all 3 seasons of The Legacy you'd think I'd give it a higher score, but despite the great acting and weird plot twists I always come away wondering if people are honestly REALLY THAT dysfunctional? There's probably only one character over the age of 20 (Robert) who shouldn't be in therapy. ... oh wait... that could be the spin off series.
Despite my criticisms it's obviously very watchable if only to see if anything noteworthy is ever going to happen so 50% of the time I feel like the protagonists all need a darned good shaking and the other 50% like watching a train wreck I can't turn off...
Despite my criticisms it's obviously very watchable if only to see if anything noteworthy is ever going to happen so 50% of the time I feel like the protagonists all need a darned good shaking and the other 50% like watching a train wreck I can't turn off...
Complex intriguing kaleidoscopic family drama
LyceeM1614 August 2016
Warning: Spoilers
I read the reviews on this site and was intrigued. It does not disappoint. The characters are complex and flawed and one's view of them changes constantly as does the relationship between almost all of the pairs of the characters changes....... as a result of the original action taken by Veronika weaves its way into the fabric of this family, creating and unraveling (and churning up secrets and choices). The twists so far (I'm at the end of series one) do not feel contrived but they do feel plausible in a family where so much is below the surface. I enjoy the Danish cadences and the rhythms of the language as well. The opening credits are wonderful. The actor who plays Robert is devastatingly handsome. All the characters seem developed, complex, and human. I read somewhere that the series creator wanted to stop the series before it started to get stale. Great plan! But- that has not happened- please give us the next season!
The Legacy
glenn-whitelaw27 May 2017
Warning: Spoilers
Just watched final episode of season 3 which is the very final episode of the drama. Thoroughly enjoyed this drama of a family self destructing and then reunited. Thanks to everyone involved and cannot recommend this highly enough. The main four characters supported by the other members of the cast entwine a story of love, life and the obstacles to them overcoming these. This is not a police or crime or usual standard drama. This pushes the boundaries of emotions within the cast and is shows.
Caught it by chance on Public Broadcasting, BBC, Antennae TV. Enchanted by it.
prairiesanctuary21 September 2018
Warning: Spoilers
By sheer chance, I accidentally came across the first episode of "The Legacy", on antenna TV, one night while cleaning up the kitchen at my old farmhouse. The first episode shows an older woman,an artist named Veronika, (Kirsten Olesen) who is in the winter of her beauty, but still very beautiful. She is being treated very rudely, on Christmas Eve, by her children and grandchildren. I was shocked, I started crying, because the acting was so amazing, that I was in tears. All I could think of was "Why are they being so mean to Mama"?
Poor, dear old Mama, has to hear all the insults, mean words, and rude comments directed at her, on Christmas Eve, when her children and grandchildren come to visit. She has to hear why they are dissappointed in her, and they wonder why she didn't decorate for Christmas. WOW! It's heart breaking! As they leave her home, even her oldest daughter, Gro, ( Trine Dyrholm) tells her off, and yells at her in a very mean way. My heart went out to Veronika, and I became hooked on this show! What a brilliant and remarkable first episode. After she was verbally abused, and on the night before Christmas, she calls a lovely young woman, Signe, ( Marie Bach Hansen) who delivered flowers to her. In that night scene, she is dying, but no one knows.
In a moment of sheer despair, she writes a death bed will and gives it to that young woman, who she tells is her daughter that she gave away, long ago!
Signe calls an ambulance. Veronika is taken to the hospital. Some of her children are starting to think of her and Gro comes back , on Christmas Day to apologize and see her mother. When she learns about what happened, she goes to the hospital, and is very sad at the way she treated her mother.
This is a first class series. I never heard about it , before, but I was able to see it, accidentally, by chance on antenna TV.
If you are looking to see a real life show, complete with flawed characters who display their emotions on their sleeves, and pull at your emotions, this will draw you in. I am still on season 1, as I write this.
Thank you to all the actors in this series. Thank you to the producers and writers who made this show possible. How did I never hear of this show before ? I keep waiting for the Gronnegaard house to be given to the siblings, but it was as if their treatment of their Mother sealed the fate of the house.
If you have ever gone through any type of inheritance squabbles with your family, this show will ring true. This show reveals everyone's character flaws and will leave you wanting for more.
An excellent show. I long to see more of these characters and of this show. Brilliant show!
Complex Family Odd Characters Well Done
Borg22219 December 2023
Ignore some critics like boomeran......they may not read subtitles. ...or ...well just missed it.
Nice to see known danish actors draw on their skills for variety of characters. Story moves along and some sneaks up on you. Wish there were some more seasons. There are a few other danish and Swedish shows with similar family turmoil. Some of the shots seem to remind me of the great Susanne Beir winners. Expressions can tell us so much.
I liked the whole story but especially the odd folks. Tryne was great...seen her in about 8 other movies and she was perfect in this one. Someone mentioned criticizing it as a train wreck. Well yeah the family is....a fast moving cone at that. Have fun.
Nice to see known danish actors draw on their skills for variety of characters. Story moves along and some sneaks up on you. Wish there were some more seasons. There are a few other danish and Swedish shows with similar family turmoil. Some of the shots seem to remind me of the great Susanne Beir winners. Expressions can tell us so much.
I liked the whole story but especially the odd folks. Tryne was great...seen her in about 8 other movies and she was perfect in this one. Someone mentioned criticizing it as a train wreck. Well yeah the family is....a fast moving cone at that. Have fun.
Incredible Nordic TV show
martinpersson9715 April 2024
Warning: Spoilers
Scandinavia has, of course, provided lots of ever impressive and incredible films throughout the years, many of them TV series, and this ever thrilling and unconventional drama is definitely one of the better.
Without having seen the second season, I can safely say that this is one of my all time favourites already. The actors all do an incredible job, all of them the acting elite of Sweden and Denmark, and all of them giving the performance of a life time. Very emotional, very raw, and filled with twists and turns. Beautiful writing, wonderfully paced.
The cinematography, cutting and editing is great, very feature worthy, of course, and very beautifully put together indeed.
Overall, definitely an incredible film, that is highly recommended for any lover of film!
Without having seen the second season, I can safely say that this is one of my all time favourites already. The actors all do an incredible job, all of them the acting elite of Sweden and Denmark, and all of them giving the performance of a life time. Very emotional, very raw, and filled with twists and turns. Beautiful writing, wonderfully paced.
The cinematography, cutting and editing is great, very feature worthy, of course, and very beautifully put together indeed.
Overall, definitely an incredible film, that is highly recommended for any lover of film!
Several hours of life I will never get back
laduqesa23 April 2020
It gets 2 stars because I watched it to the end, despairingly hoping it would get better.
I saw this a long time ago and watched all three seasons. I watched every season to the end and felt a fool. It was ridiculous from the start and got just stupid by then. People just don't act like that; no one would behave in that manner nor would they put up with the behaviour of some of the characters. I could barely believe in them and their reactions in the first season, season two got worse and the plot lines in the third were just unbelievable.
It was in the heady days of scandi drama imports so one was meant to like it. That's why I stuck with it. If it started from season one today, I'd give up after a couple of episodes.
I saw this a long time ago and watched all three seasons. I watched every season to the end and felt a fool. It was ridiculous from the start and got just stupid by then. People just don't act like that; no one would behave in that manner nor would they put up with the behaviour of some of the characters. I could barely believe in them and their reactions in the first season, season two got worse and the plot lines in the third were just unbelievable.
It was in the heady days of scandi drama imports so one was meant to like it. That's why I stuck with it. If it started from season one today, I'd give up after a couple of episodes.
4 for the actors
boomeran30 November 2023
I saw the outcome miles away, I knew how it would end before starting to watch it, in fact.
A Danish telenovela...hey, why not, but at least spare us the artsy bs, don't try to induce the idea that it is about some high ideas and about educated people.
Just a bunch of mediocre souls, with some evil accents from time to time, who fight on an inheritance. They would destroy their brother's life to get what they want. How is that interesting? Oh right, in the end they get together (what was clear from the start would happen) and they learn to behave. For now. (I speculate a bit, I started skipping around mid-first season and then finished the 2 seasons in half an hout or so)
The moral of the story? Wealth saves lives and makes people better. How cute.
A Danish telenovela...hey, why not, but at least spare us the artsy bs, don't try to induce the idea that it is about some high ideas and about educated people.
Just a bunch of mediocre souls, with some evil accents from time to time, who fight on an inheritance. They would destroy their brother's life to get what they want. How is that interesting? Oh right, in the end they get together (what was clear from the start would happen) and they learn to behave. For now. (I speculate a bit, I started skipping around mid-first season and then finished the 2 seasons in half an hout or so)
The moral of the story? Wealth saves lives and makes people better. How cute.
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