The discovery of oil in the North Sea brought sudden and unexpected wealth to a previously rural part of Norway; 'State of Happiness' follows both the history of the birth of the Norwegian oil industry, and the period of societal change. While some of the story feels generic, there were two details I liked. Firstly, the portrait of the canny Norwegian politicians who figured out how to make sure that their country, and not just the multinationals, made money out of oil. As a Briton, I got the idea that the founding of the State Oil company may play an analagous role in contemporary Norwegian mytholgy to the founding of the N.H.S. does in my country's. The other thing I liked is the way that the social transformation allows a number of the younger characters (two of them women) to find and value themselves; this plotline is well telegraphed throughout but still nicely executed. As an aside, although everyone is constantly bewailing the Stavanger weather, the story is filmed in generally much more clement conditions than we see in Scandinavian crime thrillers. And it's much more interesting than many of those.
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paul2001sw-125 May 2020
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Tweekums25 May 2020This series is set in the Norwegian city of Stavanger in the late 1960s. As the story starts it is a fairly quiet fishing town with a reputation for being rather religious. There are Americans in town looking for oil in the North Sea but it looks as though they are about to wind up their operation... then a massive oil field is discovered; this will affect the lives of our various protagonists. Throughout the series we see events through the experiences of a group of characters; most importantly Anna Hellevik, a young woman who works as a secretary to those making the decisions. Her fiancé is a diver working for an oil company; his father owns a struggling fishing company; she catches the eye of an American initially tasked with shutting down their Norwegian operation; and one of her friends is pregnant by an American working for another company.
I really enjoyed this Norwegian series; it made a refreshing change from the, admittedly excellent, 'Scandi-nior' we've been treated to over the last few years. The way Anna was involved with people from so many different groups may seem contrived but it was an effective way of showing us how the changes were effecting the various parts of the community. The story proved to be gripping even though most viewers will know, or at least guess, which city will ultimately be selected to be Norway's 'Oil Capital'; there are enough unknowns to maintain the viewers' interest. The cast does a fine job making the characters feel real. Overall I'd certainly recommend this to people looking for something a little different.
These comments are based on watching the series in Norwegian with English subtitles. -
romanhob30 June 2020An intelligent and watchable series from Norway. Educational too. Impressed by the attention to small details, such as geologists sighting down along paper seismic sections at a low angle looking for subtle changes in geology when looking for oil. This is exactly how it used to be done before the advent of the Personal Computer. Not sure, but I think there is a brief allusion to the Moller-Maersk company (Maersk Oil - sadly now defunct , having been gobbled up by Total SA) when discussing Danish 'Social Democracy' allowing the North Sea to be invested in by a 'family-run' business. I think the ethos of Nordic 'Jante Law' (nowadays increasingly derided in Scandinavia), with its conservative socio-religious demands of obligation of self to the wider community, has prevented Norway from 'squandering' its North Sea Oil wealth. It now has the biggest Sovereign Wealth fund in the world ! A good reason to be Hygge !
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yyavas28 May 2020I watched this wonderful Norwegian TV series on BBC. We decided to look at the first episode with my wife. That was it. We couldn't stop watching the rest. Since dialogues are a little crowded and in Norwegian, we had to to watch some scenes twice. I am looking forward to another season. Those who say this is a soap or disappointing are probably depressed people. I find a little difficult not to enjoy this TV series.
Strongly recommended. Watch it at least for lovely Ana.
Yalcin -
kanjivsorbit16 January 2019Lykkeland inadvertently encapsulates how it is to grow up and live in Norway post-oil: yes, there are underlying problems in everyone's lives (and in society in general), but if you pursue your own well-being and believe in goodness, you can absolutely achieve happiness.
Despite the fact that I'm not especially fond of happy endings and despite that I think we gradually should stop pumping the North Sea for oil, the series put me in a blissful awe.
The actors, the cinematography, the character building, the side stories - it's all fantastic. Even though I've never really wanted to be born anywhere else in the world, this series really reminded me how lucky I've been.
The build up is a bit slow, which in my opinion is not bothersome, but if you are not like me, you have been warned. On the other side, I think most viewers in the latter category will fall in love with the series if they just pull through the first couple of episodes.
There are only one downside of the series in my opinion:- (spoiler) the fate of the main character's (Anna) relationship to her fiancé (Christian) quickly becomes a bit predictable. (/spoiler)
The series could be criticized for leaving out some of the story's more tragic aspects, for example oil spills and some of the divers' suffering from brain damages later in life. Meanwhile, I don't think it would fit the narrative of season one. Maybe this could be illuminated in later seasons? (crossing my fingers)
The story of Lykkeland, combined with some minor knowledge of the political landscape of USA today, is proof that The American Dream is a nightmare come true compared to The Norwegian Fairytale. -
keithnovak3 October 2021As someone else said "scandi without the noir!" I haven't finished it yet but at episode #5 I'm really enjoying this series and fail to understand the people who can dismiss it as a soap opera? Some beautiful locations, an interesting story and most of the cast members are very easy on the eye ... and of course they can all act! The female lead 'Anna' in particular is superb ... her character with her slight quirkiness and do all attitude. Just great.
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jeanette_fjeldheim4 January 2019I enjoyed every single episode! Great acting, great story and a mix between fiction and facts. The personal stories of the characters are obviously fiction, but the story about finding oil and Norway becoming an «oil Nation» with help from the Americans is true. I really don't believe that you have to be Norwegian to enjoy «Lykkeland». I'm looking forward to season 2!
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sir_paulsen30 October 2018I live in Stavanger , so I had great expectations before the first episode. It was everything I wanted it to be. Great actors and dialouges. I really look forward to watch the show further on.
After the first episode there is a lot of " loose threads" that needs to be tied up. A great start to what I predict to be one of the best Norwegian tv-series ever. -
wheatley-202303 October 2022This is an engaging drama with rounded characters in realistic situations against the backdrop of the discovery of Norway's oilfield. Everything is set to change and the lives of all are affected.
Series 2, however, brings something extra, with the last 2 episodes hitting hard, depicting very realistically what it must be to experience a major disaster, from the perspective of both those in peril and also their loved ones sitting at home and desperate for news.
A fine cast are generally able to bring all this to life, making you care for their predicaments. Unfortunately this quality went missing as marital problems intervened for one of our married couples. I could not understand why the person at fault in the marriage did so little to fix the problem he/she had created. -
kevinkeable12 July 2020Although I didn't get to Stavanger until 1985 this reminds me so much of my life. The city, the people, the language - and of course fiskeboller! I even windsurfed off Sola beach.
Not only that but it's a great drama with great acting, production and direction. -
I've only seen the first season so far, so my review is limited. The acting was uniformly good, with believable characters. I found the story interesting but disjointed, given that there are multiple stories intertwining. Some of the jumps back and forth didn't quite work in that they sometimes terminated the previous scene when it was approaching some depth, and it left patches of shallowness that lowered my enjoyment.
The story of Norway's oil bonanza and how the state moved to manage the riches only made sense at times. At other times it seemed murky or poorly explained. Perhaps it relied to some extent on the viewer knowing the history, which I didn't, unfortunately. Still, the characters were engaging even if it was occasionally hard to follow. This was also party due to skillful editing and camera work.
The story had too much of a soap opera quality for my taste, giving more weight to romance and relationships than the history it was trying to explore. Predictably, the smooth, bold American was able to steal the pretty, sophisticated girl from her rough, all too human Norwegian fiancee. Something didn't feel quite right about that. It felt too often that the Norwegian man was being held to a stereotype while everyone else was moving past him. I would have enjoyed it more -- and the story might have taken a different direction -- if he had been allowed to develop.
All in all, despite my reservations, the series has so far been enjoyable to watch -- not least because of the excellent Anne Regine Ellingsæter as the main character Anna Helvik. I will probably watch the second season to see how things develop, although I'm a bit apprehensive. -
rangerista23 June 2020I came across this series when searching for something to watch during the lockdown. The story of the beginning of the Norwegian oil industry doesn't sound too exciting a subject, and it isn't if you're expecting loads of action in the North Sea. Yes, there's some good tension in the diving scenes, but its really more about the personalities and how the discovery of oil effects them and their town, that's the thing that draws you in,
The acting is first superb from all the cast, but I have to say that the beautiful actresses playing Anna and Toril, are in a class of their own. The production standards of this series are first class, the attention to detail is superb, the Sixties are captured just fine to this eye (the Norwegian audience will have its own take on this), none more so than the Glasgow Rangers team picture which briefly features in episode 2: that's the personal clincher for me.
I do hope there's a second series being planned, it deserves nothing less. -
tony-70-66792017 May 2020I'm grateful for all the Scandinavian series we've had on TV, particularly on BBC4 on Saturdays. Noirs (particularly the first series of "The Killing"), cops ("Wallander" and "Beck"), political drama ("Borgen") historical ("1864") and fantasy (the Russians invading Norway in "Occupied.") Loved them all. However, I fear the vein may be running thin. After the anti-climactic ending of "Twin" comes this one, which is basically a soap opera with lots of tedious business and political wrangling. There are pluses (the acting, the '60s music and the beauty of Norway) but I'm not sure I'll make it to the end.
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ficottercraig10 May 2020This is a fabulous series and moves the idea of SkandiTV out of the world of the serial killer and into real events. It is beautifully written, directed, produced and cast. Engaging and believable characters, strong and interesting storyline but with an undercurrent of small town mentality and the insecurity of change about to happen. The costumes and art direction are Oscar-worthy. I liked it
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Being of fan of 'Local Hero' (a film about an American oil exec visiting a remote Scottish village to develop the North Sea Oil Fields in the 1980s) I've always wondered if the idea had legs to be a series now the Norwegians have given us the answer - impressive, well designed and enthralling
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boophillips14 May 2020I had read nothing about this so I had no expectations (probably the best way to approach any film or tv series) and I feel really lucky to have stumbled across it. The writing is naturalistic, as is the acting, the plot isn't always neatly tied up and concluded (just like real life) and characters are multifaceted. I love the late 60's early 70's fashion and set pieces. The sound track and score bring a lot to the mix as well. I love how it is filmed, the feeling of this Norwegian town on the brink of something that could catapult it or destroy it is expertly captured.
I really hope they do a 2nd series. There is so much rubbish being churned out at the moment and I'm always really shocked that tv series like this and for example Press, often get dropped after 1 season, or 2 seasons like Mindhunter (which tonally, this reminds me of)
More please! -
bwgood7715 February 2022This is a solid show with interesting characters who are well developed and have depth, and the business/politics is interesting as well. But the heart of it is the characters and how all of this is impacting their lives in big ways. I like how they really focus on the four characters. The two female leads are great, particularly the one who plays Anna. Really looking forward to season 2 if I can find it anywhere.
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I remember several years ago seeing a documentary series about the discovery of North Sea oil and how it changed the the economy and way of life of the people of Aberdeen. As I was watching I thought this would make a great TV series.
Well several years later swap Aberdeen for Stavinger in Norway a struggling small fishing village transformed overnight with the discovery of North Sea oil. Not just the economic benefits but the influx of millionaire Stetson wearing Texan oilman to this sleepy town.
Not only is there much needed wealth but the impact on the love lives local industries and jobs in the town. Throw in to the mix the extreme danger involved in drilling for oil, and you have a series which pretty well has everything. 8/10 -
Just finished watching series 2. This Norwegian drama is a gem. The second series is perhaps more dramatic than the first but follows the development of the characters and the plot very well.
The Mayday episode is particularly spectacular and brings the whole drama to a peak. It is made better by the fact that the dramatic twist comes unexpectedly.
A tight script which moves between English and Norwegian effortlessly and is very believable. The acting is excellent
I hate it when you can work out the plot early on but this drama takes different routes over the two series whilst still retaining the main characters.
It's signed implying that is the end of the drama which would be fair enough.
Great viewing. -
tony-hager24 August 2019Just a soap opera dealing with boring events about ordinary boring people.
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marccherry-1586623 May 2020Gotta admit on face of it a drama about oil discovery off Norwegian coast didn't strike me as being particularly compelling how wrong I was superbly acted & scripted it took yer thru the roughs & the smoothes, the highs & the lows for the people involved. One of the very best drama series I've seen in a long time. Only seen one other Norway TV series & that was the also excellent Wisting. Hope to see more quality Norway TV drama here in UK
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finecopy4 June 2020I loved this. Made a great change to have a non-murder Scandi. In particular the piece was brilliant on design and period - just sit back and admire the continuity of those period colours in every scene - terracotta and teal everywhere. The two lead young women were winners without having to be Woke whiners. My only criticism is that it did not explain the oil bits fully so we had to guess why the clever bloke with the pipe was so obsessed about the town. Even has the requisite fairy tale ending. Lovely stuff.
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sallye-6522112 June 2022Terrific casting and acting and a brilliantly sympathetic storyline centred around Stavanger. Incredibly accurate. My brother and his Norwegian wife were brought together when they moved to Stavanger along with all the other 'oil' folk. No longer a sleepy, religious fishing town! Many a fine vacation there!
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AKA Lykkeland Starting off in 1969, I really enjoyed the first series.
There were good storylines, good characters and it was interesting throughout.
Anne Regine Ellingsæter is an absolute standout in the lead role.
Second Series.
Seven years further on from the end of the first series.
Christian is replaced by a different actor, which was initially disappointing.
I was disappointed that the pipe-smoking Geir Vegar Hoel from the first series was missing, then I learnt that he had died. What a tragedy!
It was going ok up until the last part of episode 3.
Following an excellent long scene in the Atlantic restaurant with brilliant writing and editing, the story started to slip a bit.
There are too many superfluous subplots which, to be honest, look like bolt-ons to pad out the series (Cafe37, gambling, Marius, music).
Worst of all is the complete out of character actions by Anna in episode 4 to facilitate a breakdown in her romantic storyline.
Her character is built up to be one of intelligence and they destroy it with an act of complete naivety The best episodes are 2 and 7 with some proper drama.