Norway recently became the first country outside Iceland to screen the crime series Trapped (Óveður) after the National broadcasting service RÚV prime time TV premier in December. The series was initially screened at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 20th 2015.
It was the Norwegian NRK who took the lead on January 11th and gave the series a prime spot, one previously held by the acclaimed The Bridge (Broen) on Monday nights at nine. Initial reception in Norway seems promising, giving the first episode substantial viewing numbers. Denmark and Finland are to follow, screening the series early in the new year and there is more to come, BBC 4 will be among the networks to adopt the series in spring, also giving it the spot held by The Bridge and moreover it is to be the first Icelandic series screened in the USA.
The narrative takes place in a small village in an Icelandic fjord, revolving around a mutilated body found under suspicion circumstances. With severe winter storms isolating the village from the outside world, limiting the investigative resources and overshadowing the lives of the villagers, the plot soon thickens.
The principal role of Trapped is held by the precarious Icelandic weather, exposing its many faces although the nasty one is highlighted. However the series also features an impressive gallery of actors such as Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, Ilmur Kristjánsdottir, Ingvar Sigurðsson, Nina Dögg Filipusdottir, Bjarne Henriksen and Björn Hlynur Haraldsson.
The concept is developed by director Baltasar Kormákur and Sigurjón Kjartansson and the series has four directors apart from Baltasar; Baldvin Z, Óskar Þór Axelsson and Börkur Sigurþórsson with Golden Globe winner and two times Oscar nominee Jóhann Jóhannsson as the music score composer.
Grand Production and Mixed Reception
Trapped has been named the most expensive TV series produced in Iceland estimating an overall cost exceeding 6.5 million euros. The first season, which includes 10 episodes, was filmed mainly in the small towns of Siglufjord in the north and Seydisfjord in winter.
Critical reception in Iceland has so far been mixed, with one critic, Benedikt Bóas Hinriksson of Morgunblaðið, grinding the script, however offering the team of actors a good review, giving them credit for holding their own despite what he calls a sloppy screenplay (paraphrasing).
There is an Icelandic saying, No man is a prophet in his home country, and it might be applicable in this case.