User Reviews

Critics seem to be getting hung up on the realism of the set up for this series. Is it realistic that Russia would undertake a 'soft' invasion of a small European country after critical energy production was stopped in response to climate change, and would NATO sit back and allow it to happen on their doorstep? Probably not, but that's not what this brilliant political thriller is really about. If a more powerful country invaded YOUR country, would you resist, would you keep your head down and try to 'get along' with the invaders if they kept promising to leave but didn't, what compromises would you make to try to avoid a full blown military invasion and loss of life. At what point would you decide that 'enough's enough'? When you see someone openly shot in the street by the occupiers? When free press is shut down? Vichy France, Russia's recent forays into the Ukraine and Hong Kong being handed back to China, all spring to mind. Viewers need to get over the likelihood or otherwise of the basic premise of this series, and just enjoy a really well written, well acted mini series that keeps you in a state of nervous suspense. One that makes you think about history, current world events and future possibilities. How far would you allow yourself to be pushed around before you decided to push back?

This is a very very slick, if very complex, political thriller. I binged it over three days and still struggled with the nuances of the plot. Multiple languages, subtitles, many many important characters, all complex and clearly damaged, makes it a very absorbing and challenging watch. No clear heroes and multiple protagonists makes it even more challenging.

That said, very entertaining and thought provoking. Moral dilemmas abound at all levels and ethical compromises rush past at pace.

This is political Scandinavian-Russian noir at its best. Highly recommend!

It has been criticized by other reviewers, that the plot is not plausible. In a situation, where the energy supply is decreasing it might well be plausible to force Norway to keep supply up. The reason for Russia to do that must not necessarily be an economical one. The force used to direct Greece is an example for what happens in a situation where a small country is not following the dominating powers' interest. The Prime Minister in "Occupied" faces a situation where he cannot keep his promises for the sake of avoiding disaster. This is again a situation similar to what happened in Greece (avoiding the "Grexit"). The point is that the plot is plausible in the sense that is not contradictory and is based on assumptions that are not arbitrary. The series also shows the dilemmas faced by different persons in different contexts. There is a journalist who wants to report the truth but is told by his wife and the prime minister to be responsible. This is a dilemma everyone of us might face (depending on the circumstances).

Very good and complex story writing! I don't get the bad reviews that criticize that the plot is illogical. I think it is very well thought-out if one accepts the premise: Norway wants to quit the oil production and the EU and Russia don't like it. Hej, it's fiction - just like the Zombie-Apocalypse in the Walking Dead - so get over it! Then the interesting things start to happen. If one considers the situation that a small country such as Norway faces when it is caught in the middle of forces out of their control, there really is not much Norway can do on their own. It all depends on what Russia, the EU and the US do. And all of these play their role in this scenario representing their own interests. And of course there is some resistance from the Norwegian population, even terrorism. But there is no obvious good or bad side. To all the Russians: the role Russia plays is not ALL bad. Yes, they are the bad guys that occupy Norway, but actually the EU started the whole conflict and the US do everything so they don't have to intervene. So everyone of the big players is an asshole. I am looking forward to see a second season.

10 episodes of blissful engagement. Somebody skillful achieved what I'd consider an understated style of the TV series '24', without the body count. A pleasant surprise.

Things begin with a middle-aged man walking solo down the center of a snow- covered road, looking bewildered. A quick flashback to who he is and how he got there, then back to the road where the story turns into a snowball itself — entangling more characters and subplots as it rolls along. Every scene counts, and contributes to the quick pacing as the story unfolds.

If you're watching these on Netflix, don't go past episode six unless you have time to finish. Don't bother trying to stop after that, it's not possible — I tried… ;-)

Worth it's weight in subtitles, 'Occupied' is a great show.

This is a great well done show, very dark but with bright daylight action that doesn't fatigue you. The scenario is great and acting convincing. It's dystopian but still so real and feels so... Like it's all ready happening.

Go for it, it's a good one. I will update my score as I proceed with the series. So far so good so great!

I could not stop watching Occupied once I started - in fact, I binge watched it because I was so enthralled. It is a quality series - great writing, fantastic main character, and a plot that evokes a range of unsettling emotions. The premise is plausible as democracy is often at risk or takes second place to wealth and power. While Russia plays the typical role of evil super power, this show also exposes the self serving agenda of the U.S. whose politicians choose to strategically turn a blind eye to the occupation of Norway. I highly recommend Occupied to anyone who wants to be enthralled by a thought provoking political thriller. Hoping for a season two!

The fictional idea of this story is that Europe's mail oil producing country, Norway, is forced by foreign powers to continue their oil production after getting a new extreme green environmental government announcing the end of fossil fuel production. This critique is based upon all ten episodes in the first season.

Occupied is a ten episode first season based upon a script idea by acclaimed novelist Jo Nesbø. In hand of three re-known screen writers, his has been made into a series which has been given much interest even before it was aired for the first time on October 4th. The Russian embassy in Norway has already condemned the series, or rather the whole idea, before seeing as much as a trailer.

In the near future one of the biggest oil producing countries in the world, Norway, has elected a green environmentally eager government after the severe extreme weather Maria has killed 700 people in the most severe natural catastrophe in the country ever. The new prime minister announces that Norway will stop their production of fossil fuels like oil and natural gas, in order to reduce carbon dioxide put out into the atmosphere, what we know as global warming. This happens at the same time as the world sees an energy crises, with civil wars in the Middle East, and is not liked by either the European Union or Norways biggest neighbor Russia. In addition to this the United States has withdrawn from their NATO membership. After opening a thorium power plant, the newly elected Norwegian prime minister leaves after saying to the world press that the age of fossil fuel is over, and is kidnapped by Russians in a helicopter. At the same time a group occupies oil production facilities in the North Sea, basically to force Norway to continue their oil production. Norway has just seen a Russian silk occupation, with threats of something more severe.

The series is fast paced, and jumps in time, telling in retrospect what has happened since last episode, and this functions surprisingly well. This means you have to think more about what's been happening, and since the series challenges what you really happen in such a situation. However, you sometimes would like to see some of the things happening in between the episodes.

The first impression of the series is both interesting food for thought and exciting as a a dramatic event forced by nature, global warming and energy crises. However, in my opinion, the series struggles to keep the needed realism along the way, especially in the second half of the episodes. Then you'll take it as a pure fictional story, not even based on a plausible idea.

There are weaknesses in instruction of some of the actors, especially the young resistance movement. Some of the dialog would need several more takes to be natural. This annoys quite a bit, and very much so, since this is one of Norways most expensive dram series ever.

The series has already been sold to a lot of markets based on the idea, solely. Well worth a watch, even with the weaknesses. And it's likely that a new season will be made after the success this have had, especially abroad.

I passed this by for a couple years because the plot sounded silly, but now that Russia has invaded Ukraine, it doesn't seem so far-fetched. I've been so bored by many series and abandoned them a few shows in, or immediately forget them, but this series is pleasant surprise! It is imaginative, interesting, and I found myself binging show after show. Another great Nordic series! Highly recommend.

I immensely enjoyed the first two seasons of this Norwegian political thriller series. It was imaginative, suspenseful, highly original and very well written, weaving multiple intelligent storylines into one another and populating the show with interesting characters.

However, with the last season, things have taken a dramatic turn for the worst. There are entirely too many things going on for the short amount of episodes in this third and final season. Whereas the first season had 10 episodes and the second 8, the third is even further reduced to just 6 episodes. But there is so much intrigue going on, that it is impossible to fit them all neatly into this small number of episodes. One had to wonder why it was not given three or four additional episodes to work out all the storylines.

As a consequence, the third season feels immensely rushed. There is so much going on in every episode that you can't catch a breath. Plot lines are as abruptly finished as they began. Characters and situations change on the drop of a hat. And because all of this, there is precious little time for character development. The condension of so many storylines into such a short timeframe also diminishes the show's credibility, as it's simply not plausible that events of this magnitude would come in such quick succession or be resolved that quickly.

And plausibility was already a big weak spot of the last season. Whereas the first two seasons were fantastical, yes, they were still believable. In the last season, though, the writers went really over the top, and any semblance of believability is thrown out the window. It seems as if, in their zealous for stoking anti-Russian sentiment, the writers sacrificed credibility for sensationalism. Especially the finale was cringeworthy. This is too bad, because it really hurt my investment in the fate of the characters. But they are made to behave in ways that taunt my suspension of disbelief. Therefore, the finale for me missed the emotional impact it could have had.

The third season really did a disservice to the characters and robbed them of a satisfying conclusion. As is, I was left wholly unaffected by the finale, and considering what happened in that final episode, that's not a good sign. I recommend the first two seasons, but don't waste your time with the third one.

I really enjoyed seasons1 and 2 and rated the show an 8. Excellent character development and full of intrigue and suspense but unfortunately Season 3 has fallen victim to the desire to add irrelevant subplots that meander with little to do with what the original story was about. Acting is still great but the plot has deteriorated to the point the story is rambling along with no purpose.

Commendable political drama. The plot is very complex. Maybe my appreciation of this was helped by the fact that I have little interest in politics. So I found it credible, for the most part. There was a good balance of international intrigue, party politics, personal, family and romance subplots. The whole thing just zipped along with plenty of thrills in every episode.

At times, during my bingeing, I was contemplating awarding one of my rare 10s. But during the final series, I began to feel that the writing had run out of steam. While the complexity increased, the credibility reduced. Like some other reviewers, I thought the final series was a bit of a disappointment compared with the rest.

Having said that, I still think the whole show is great, and well worth viewing. This is a show that really requires binge-watching, otherwise you may completely lose the complex threads.

Occupied is a faced paced political thriller. Occupied covers political issues currently facing our modern world. Set in Norway, the film takes advantage of the modern architecture and vast wilderness landscapes to present a stylish modern setting. In this setting, the plot explores the political questions surrounding global warming, cooperation, isolationism and peak oil demand.

The film moves quickly through a well written plot. The series has solid acting and excellent character development. With a diverse line-up of actors, Yellow Bird Productions gets it right again. Viewers may recognize Yellow Bird as the company behind the Wallander series. Occupied viewers must enjoy subtitles. Two Thumbs Way Up!

I have watched this series till the 4th episode so I can't comment on the whole storyline. The start on the other hand is very promising: it shows a low level form of 'occupation' of Norway by a foreign nation on bequest of the EU (this is not a very likely situation, given the state of the EU, but okay ....). What makes it very much believable are the dilemma's that are increasing facing the main characters of this series.

It is very well filmed and the actors are very well chosen and all act to their hearts content. Although I don't understand a word of Norwegian (I'm Dutch) and had to do with very poor subtitles I thought the story was very well written as well.

So try to get a version with good subtitles and enjoy this series!!

We seldom binge on any series but we couldn't help ourselves with Occupied. Now in Season 2 on Netflix, we watched every episode available and have nothing to be ashamed/guilty about. The writing is top notch and based on a completely plausible premise. Norwegians have always felt they were more environmentally responsible than their neighbours, thanks to ample renewable sources of electricity. The primary premise is that, having decided to help their European neighbours get off oil by developing a new, safe source of nuclear power, the Europeans don't want help. Another premise is that the US has become insular and withdrawn from NATO. Don't tell me that's far-fetched in the age of Donald Trump. Finally, Russia has a well-planned scheme to take over Norway. I will bet that there is a filing cabinet somewhere in Moscow filled with exactly such scenarios as this. The premises are all more plausible than the Game of Thrones, which is what makes Occupied so fascinating to watch.

Another source of plausibility is a cast that resembles real people rather than talking Barbies and Kens. Foreign film always has a more everyday quality to the cast which is why they can portray everyday situations so much better. Throw in some adultery and miscellaneous sex with knotty ethical dilemmas and you'll watch all 18 episodes without a break.

The plot, reading some of the reviews, seems to throw many people. But, as I understand it, the Middle East is in chaos, The US has turned isolationist, and Russia alone can't provide enough oil and so at the behest of the EU, Russia sends in forces to Norway, now ruled by a very environmentally conscious government, to force them to produce oil again.

That's the plot but at its heart, and even if it makes little real world sense, it is asking the same question USA Network's "Colony" does - how far would you go in collaborating with an enemy or fighting one (especially if they were much more powerful)?

I am sure if you are Russian or an EU advocate, you don't like being portrayed as the bad guys (USA Network is safe in that if there are actual aliens, I doubt they watch our TV shows to be offended).

But to me it is all just fantasy to get to the ethical dilemma both series present. And I like, so far, what I consider the better acted and written Occupied though I watch both.

We really enjoyed the first 2 seasons of Occupied. Strong characters, good acting, and an engaging (and believable) plot. The political tension was really well done, and the interpersonal dynamics between the characters did not superimpose over the main story line. It was a really good series, and when season 2 ended we eagerly anticipated the release of season 3 on Netflix.

Then season 3 arrived. Wow, what a train wreck. Mercifully, the last season was only six episodes long, but it was still hard to finish them. In the third season, the focus shifted from political tension to soap-opera like relational conflicts. Instead of going out with a bang, all the heroes sort of fade out weakly, all of them trying to make some sort of moral statement about the state of the world.

Were it not for season 3, I'd give it a 9/10. Soooooooo close to being exceptional.

I started watching the Norwegian television series 'Occupied' (original 'Okkupert') due to Jo Nesbø appearing on the posters as one of its creators. The Norwegian author's detective books are exciting. I watched the first season, realized in 2015, a few years ago, and now time came for the second. I'm not sure that I'll care to see the third and final season, which premiered in Norway and Netflix about two months ago. The shortcomings of the formula adopted by the creators of the series deepened from the first to the second series, and I have a feeling that the good ideas were a bit exhausted and were replaced by clichés and uninspired story twists.

A geopolitical thriller that insists on anchoring its action in reality and bringing on screen real countries and political organizations and the politicians who lead them, always carries risks, even if it uses the pretext of anticipation. The formula was tried quite successfully by the American television. A series like '24' had a decade ago a respectable audience and a large number of fans, but was faced with the need to constantly invent great new ones to create tension and keep the attention. A similar phenomenon occurs with 'Occupied'. The first season was based on the idea of ??Norway's 'soft' occupation by a Russia acting on behalf of the European Union. Cause? Counteract the actions of a Norwegian 'green' government that had shut off its oil supply to Europe. The original idea did not have much support in international political reality, but what happens in season two accentuates this feeling of fake. In the absence of new ideas, the creators of the second season of the series insist on personal conflicts that support their formula, but these are not interesting enough and cannot compensate for the feeling of watching a political and historical dystopia without much touch with the reality.

Norway's specific dilemmas presented in this film may be more visible to those who know better the history and mentality of this country. All Scandinavia faced throughout the 20th century the Russian/Soviet danger, and each of the Nordic countries responded in its own way. What we see in the film is something similar to what happened in post-war Finland, and the Norwegian dilemma is choosing the least bad solution between 'Finlandization' and war, given the historical trauma of the German occupation and the Quisling government's collaboration during WWII. However, there is little awareness of all these in this series, which emphasizes the action at an alert pace, similar to the style of American TV series. The result is not bad, the acting performance is very good, the cinematography is professional, but I personally could not escape the feeling of fake. Too many details I know about Europe and the way European institutions work contradict what is shown in this film. The very accuracy of the details, the credible descriptions of the background and the good understanding of the political and judicial procedures that I appreciate in Jo Nesbø's books are missing here. The northern landscape is present, but the ice looks thin.

A plot that cycles between people and couples and families. A great story with all the twists and turns of the best stories, politically, personally and socially tense. The realism is something you might want to debate but the story and presentation is good. A very enjoyable series- even with the subtitles. Well worth watching.