Beartown (TV series)

Beartown (Swedish: Björnstad) is a five-episode 2020 drama series directed by Peter Grönlund. Based on Fredrik Backman's 2016 novel of the same name, the series centres on the fallout of a violent incident between two teenagers in a rural, declining town in Northern Sweden, where hockey is not just a sport but a way of life. The series features an ensemble cast led by Ulf Stenberg, Miriam Ingrid, and Oliver Dufåker.

Filmlance International, best known for co-producing The Bridge (2011–2018), announced they had secured the rights to Backman's novel in 2017. Two years later, HBO Europe reported the series had been greenlit, making it their second Swedish production. Bonnie Skoog Feeney and Mattias Arehn produced the series through Filmlance. The story was adapted and written by screenwriters Anders Weidemann, Antonia Pyk, and Linn Gottfridsson. Hockey experience was a major consideration during casting, with casting director Maggie Widstrand contacting schools and hockey clubs throughout Northern Sweden. Filming primarily took place in Gällivare, Norrbotten County, from February to May 2019 over 72 days. Post-production was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The first two episodes of Beartown premiered on 18 October 2020 on HBO Nordic, with the remaining three being released weekly until 8 November. The series also had a North American release via Max on 22 February 2021. Noted for its exploration of toxic masculinity in hockey culture and community complicity, it received generally positive reviews from both Swedish and international critics. Praise was given to the adaptation of Backman's novel, Grönlund's direction, technical portrayal of the sport, and the performances of the cast. The series was nominated for Best TV Drama at Kristallen 2021. Stenberg and Ingrid received Kristallen nominations for Best Lead Actor and Actress, respectively. The series' original score was also recognised; Johan Testad earned a nomination for the HARPA Nordic Film Composer Award.

Fredrik Backman began writing Beartown as a television series, which explains why the novel, unlike his previous works, follows multiple characters. However, he ultimately decided, after advice from his wife and agent, that he was not suited to the collaborative and meeting-intensive process of television production.^[1] The novel, Backman's fourth, was published in 2016.^[2]

In February 2017, the Swedish production company Filmlance International announced they had secured the rights to adapt Beartown into a television series.^[3] Filmlance was best known for its co-production of The Bridge (2011–2018), a popular Danish-Swedish crime drama which spurred multiple international remakes.^[4] Two other Backman novels had been adapted for screen: A Man Called Ove (2015), previously released to great box office success, and Britt-Marie Was Here (2019), which was in production at time of the series announcement.^[5] However, Beartown was the first Backman novel adapted for television rather than film. Backman was credited as an executive producer for the series, but characterised his involvement as minimal. He described his team's approach to screen adaptations as: "we try to find the best possible people to work with, ask a lot of questions in advance, but then we move out of the way and let them do their job" (vi försöker hitta bästa möjliga människor att jobba med, ställer väldigt många frågor i förväg, men sedan flyttar vi oss ur vägen och låter dem jobba).^[6]

Peter Grönlund, a filmmaker known for Drifters (2015) and Goliath (2018), was selected to direct the series. In an interview with Drama Quarterly, Grönlund said he was perhaps not a natural pick to lead a Backman adaptation, as he was known in Sweden for naturalistic films dealing with heavy sociopolitical topics.^[7] Having also never worked on a television series, Grönlund expressed that he had not planned to ever direct anything written by someone else, but was drawn to thematic commonalities between Beartown and his own works—namely patriarchy and a culture of winning at any cost.^[8] The novel was adapted by Anders Weidemann, who was instructed to develop the script so that it would be commercially viable in Sweden and abroad.^[9] Screenwriters Linn Gottfridsson and Antonia Pyk were added to the project in the spring of 2018, after an American project of Weidemann's reached the next stage of development. Gottfridsson and Pyk spent about a year collaborating on the script.^[10] In January 2019, HBO Europe announced Beartown had been greenlit, confirming it would be directed by Grönlund and co-written by Weidemann, Pyk, and Gottfridsson, and produced by Bonnie Skoog Feeney and Mattias Arehn.^[11] Beartown marked HBO Europe's second Swedish series, after Lukas Moodysson's Gösta in 2019, and third Scandinavian series, after Gösta and the Norwegian Beforeigners (2019–2021).^[12]

As he did in his previous films, Grönlund prioritised assembling a cast that contained established actors alongside newcomers who "could relate to the show's environment and its culture."^[7] In autumn 2017, the production team visited hockey clubs in Northern Sweden.^[13] The casting director for Beartown, Maggie Widstrand spoke about the difficulty of finding young prospective actors with hockey experience from the region. She travelled around Norrland and emailed numerous schools to find suitable candidates.^[14] Hockey experience was a major consideration, as the series would otherwise require stunt doubles or extensive training for actors.^[15] Accordingly, actors who played on the fictional junior hockey team were recruited from Norrbotten and speak with the characteristic regional dialect. Oliver Dufåker had no acting experience before being cast as Kevin Erdahl, but played junior hockey in Luleå, Boden, and Timrå.^[16] Ulf Stenberg, who played a lead role of hockey coach Peter Andersson, was born in Boden and raised in Umeå. Stenberg noted that the locker room talk shown in the series was similar to what he observed growing up, and that he recognised himself in the character he played.^[17] Other actors in the series with roots in Northern Sweden include Otto Fahlgren, Charlotta Jonsson, Einar Bredefeldt, Najdat Rustom, Alfons Nordberg, and Sanna Niemi.^[18] Extras were also sought from Northern Sweden.^[19]

Filming began on 4 February 2019 and finished in May.^[20] It was primarily filmed in Gällivare.^[21] Other sites included Övertorneå, Haparanda, Kalix, Malmberget, and Kiruna.^[17] Many scenes were filmed at the Gällivare ice rink, while others were set outside or at a local pub.^[22] Over 72 days of filming, the production experienced equipment malfunctions due to harsh conditions, including snow depths up to 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) and temperatures as low as −35 °C (−31 °F).^[7] Petrus Sjövik served as the cinematographer and Aimee McDaniel as the sports choreographer.^[23] By the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Beartown had finished editing, so it was able to proceed with its planned release date, but post-production such as automated dialogue replacement had to be done remotely.^[24]

The series' original score was composed by Johan Testad. He had previously worked on several projects with Grönlund, including Goliath, for which he won a Guldbagge Award for Best Original Score.^[25] Beartown's official soundtrack also featured one song each by myie and Lasse Nystromz Orkester.^[26]

In June 2020, HBO announced via press release that the series would be released in the autumn simultaneously on HBO Nordic and HBO Europe.^[27] The announcement was accompanied by the release of the first still photographs and a teaser.^[28] The first two episodes of Beartown premiered on 18 October 2020, with the remaining three being released weekly afterwards.^[29] By 30 November, it was the tenth most-watched series on HBO Nordic.^[30] The series was made available to North American audiences on 22 February 2021 via Max.^[31] In 2023, Beartown and 20 other HBO Europe originals were moved to the Skyshowtime streaming platform.^[32]

Critics identified Beartown as an examination of toxic masculinity and herd mentality within a rural, sports-centric community, in which the Northern Swedish setting plays an active thematic role rather than functioning as mere setting or atmosphere.^[33] Both Malin Slotte of Hufvudstadsbladet and Karolina Fjellborg of Aftonbladet felt the series illustrates the tangible risks of being ostracised in such a cold, sparsely-populated landscape.^[34] The surrounding forest was further read as a visual expression of the town's decline by Ashlie D. Stevens of Salon; she wrote it suggested a community being slowly invaded by wilderness and abandoned by the wider world.^[35] Dorothy Rabinowitz of The Wall Street Journal added that the town's tranquil, snowy environment created contrasted with the narrative's eruptions of violence.^[36]

Matthew Gilbert of The Boston Globe called the series a "much darker" version of Friday Night Lights, noting its unvarnished approach to the hostile denial a community can fall into when a star athlete is accused of a crime.^[37] Critics also focused on the portrayal of hockey culture. Jacob Lundström of Dagens Nyheter noted that Beartown did not paint a flattering image of hockey; Slotte agreed, writing that it was "portrayed as a sport where violence is sanctioned and the language is grossly sexist" (skild­ras som en sport där våld sank­tio­ne­ras och språk­bru­ket är grovt sex­is­tiskt).^[38] This sentiment was echoed by The Daily Beast's Nick Schager, who observed that the hockey programme functions as an incubator for toxic masculinity, teaching young men that the path to success is through overpowering others.^[39] Schager highlighted the decision not to cast the protagonist Peter as an ideal saviour; he is instead portrayed as an alcoholic with an unpleasant approach to coaching, and a man whose past misbehaviour ended the hockey career of Kevin's father Mats.^[39] Slotte added that Peter displays an aggressive temper and has his own problematic views about women.^[40] Gilbert further noted that this environment even impacts Peter's parental instincts, which causes him to initially doubt his own daughter's rape accusation.^[37] Similarly, several critics commented on the series' exploration of the roots of Kevin's actions without absolving him.^[41]

One departure from Backman's novel was the decision to establish a relationship between Maya and Kevin prior to the rape, with Katie Baker of The Ringer noting that in the book, the two were just passing acquaintances. Grönlund noted that the change led to the tragedy being framed as an almost love story that was shattered by entitlement. Despite the lack of legal consequences for Kevin, Baker found points of optimism in the finale through the moral growth of secondary characters. Benji ending his friendship with Kevin and Bobo protecting Amat were both cited as pivotal moments where individuals chose to break away from the "herd" at great personal risk.^[15] Allison Keene of Paste also highlighted themes of mercy and tentative hope in the finale: Maya ultimately spares Kevin in the flashforward confrontation, and begins healing with her family through shared remembrance and music, while Kevin remains haunted and isolated because of his actions.^[42]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 93% of 14 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.8/10. The website's consensus reads: "Acutely observed and coiled with dread, Beartown is an intelligent sports drama that explores how the culture of an insular community can be complicit in a crime."^[43] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, gave Beartown a score of 82 out of 100 based on 7 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".^[44] Domestically, the series earned an average rating of 3.8/5 based on 19 critics on the Swedish review aggregator site Kritiker.^[45] It was featured on several best-of lists by Swedish outlets. Hugo Lindqvist of Dagens Nyheter called it one of the best shows of the year, and Jonatan Blomberg of MovieZine describing it as the best new Swedish TV series of the year and the fifth-best amongst international productions.^[46] Beartown was also nominated for Best TV Drama at Kristallen 2021.^[47]

Beartown's story and pacing were generally well-received. The decision to adapt Backman's "complex" novel into a series rather than a film was commended by Kaveh Jalinous of Under the Radar.^[48] Judy Berman of TIME, who described it as one of the best new programmes of February 2021, noted that the series distinguished itself from a standard crime drama template by spending nearly the first two episodes building character and setting to make the eventual assault feel "inevitable and crushing."^[49] Schager similarly found the delayed exposition convincing.^[39] He also praised the complementary subplots involving Amat's experiences with racism and Benji's as a closeted hockey player.^[39] Some critics felt secondary characters and plot threads were underwritten. In a generally positive review, Lundström described Peter's wife Mira as relegated to a "helpless supporting figure, rather than a person in her own right" (ohjälpligt en assisterande figur, snarare än människa i egen rätt).^[50] Melanie Åström agreed in Norrländska Socialdemokraten; she cited the lack of development for Benji's character arc as the worst aspect of the series.^[51] Jalinous too felt the non-primary storylines were not given sufficient depth.^[48]

The technical execution and atmosphere created by Grönlund and cinematographer Petrus Sjövik were commended by critics. The series' original score was recognised, with Testad nominated for a 2022 HARPA Nordic Film Composer Award.^[52] Lundström cited the production as a rare example of a "small-town portrait from Norrbotten...that on the whole [feels] dialectally correct" (småstadsporträtt från Norrbotten sällsynta... som på det stora hela känns dialektalt korrekta).^[50] Shane Ryan in Paste too highlighted Grönlund's direction, noting an "almost Robert Altman-esque vibe" to the overlapping dialogue.^[53] He also praised the series for a realistic depiction of the sport.^[53] John Doyle echoed this sentiment in The Globe and Mail, calling the on-ice scenes "thrillingly authentic."^[54] Baker commended the series' sports choreographer Aimee McDaniel for focusing on "mundane necessities like D-to-D passes" rather than "miraculous last-second goals."^[15] A dissenting perspective came from Michael Tapper of Sydsvenskan, who found the staging "lamely square" and argued Grönlund's direction lacked artistic nerve, while Jalinous criticised a reliance on montages to show the team's improvement over time.^[55]

Composed of established actors and newcomers, the cast received positive reviews. Stenberg was praised by Lundström for his portrayal of Peter Andersson's "confident but misguided masculinity" (självsäker men vilsen manlighet).^[50] Lundström also highlighted the performance of Miriam Ingrid, writing that she played Maya with "sensitive integrity" (känslig integritet).^[50] Stevens praised Ingrid's depiction of Maya's transformation from a giddy teenager to one tormented by trauma.^[35] Ryan praised her performance as the most compelling of the series.^[53] Ingrid and Stenberg were recognised with nominations for Best Actor and Actress, respectively, at Kristallen 2021.^[47] Dufåker's acting debut as Kevin Erdahl was generally well-received; Åström called his performance "brilliant and impressive" (strålande och imponerande); she and Lundström both noted his ability to balance the character's dual emotions.^[56] In contrast, Jan Andersson of Göteborgs-Posten was less impressed by the younger amateur actors but cited Stenberg as a standout.^[57]

• Beartown at IMDb
• Beartown at Rotten Tomatoes