ABSTRACT
North-European television drama has recently gained success in both national and international markets, especially due to Nordic Noir series, such as Wallander, Forbrydelsen, Lilyhammer, Bron/Broen, and to a certain degree also SKAM. This chapter focuses on the benefits, constraints, and challenges of performing as very small television nations to which larger media nations now listen. It is based on research that locates a range of relevant material from the involved television series: among them, creativity theories. Many successful North-European series accord with the popularity of the 'Noir-ish' crime drama. The chapter looks at Norwegian and Danish television production culture in a rough historical draft. Murray Smith offers a deeper view into what it means for viewers to engage with fictional characters as an imaginative activity. Intrigued by the place after watching the Winter Olympics in 1994, Frank Tagliano is relocated to Lillehammer, a small town in Norway, for the protection program.
