Premiering July 18th
The dark Swedish family drama Thicker Than Water premieres July 18th on MHz Choice. Here’s the lowdown…
Set in the beautiful Åland islands midway between Sweden and Finland, Thicker Than Water tells the story of a popular bed and breakfast run by Anna-Lisa Waldemar and her youngest son, Oskar. Anna-Lisa has summoned her daughter Jonna, an actress, and eldest son Lasse, a restaurateur, back home to the island – together again for the first time in years. The siblings are stunned when Anna-Lisa suddenly dies, and even more stunned when they discover that her will stipulates that all three siblings must run the family B&B together for the entire summer or they won’t inherit anything at all. It’s a mother’s last effort to reunite her estranged children, and it forces them to confront the family’s unsolved past and some very dark secrets…
Lasse is played by Björn Bengtsson, probably best-known to MHz Choice viewers for his memorable and scary guest star turn in Beck: The Scorpion. Joel Spira plays younger brother Oskar; you may recognize him as Johan Gustav Dåådh’s faithful friend Simon Freund in Anno 1790. Sister Jonna is played by Aliette Opheim, recently seen as crime queen Leila in The Fat and the Angry. Waldemar family matriarch Anna-Lisa is played by Stina Ekblad, who also co-starred as Karin the coroner opposite Krister Henriksson in Wallander. And Lasse’s teenage daughter Kim is played by Molly Nutley. If she looks a little familiar, it may be because she’s the daughter of original Annika Bengzton actress Helena Bergström; both Molly and her mother will be seen on MHz Choice again this fall (2017) in the four-part thriller Missing.
Cast of Characters
Lasse
The oldest son, a rebel who left home early because of constant friction and physical fights with his father, Mauritz. He’s on the brink of bankruptcy after a failing restaurant and shady loans. On returning to the B&B, he not only reunites with Jonna and Oskar but also with Oskar’s wife, Liv – who just happens to be Lasse’s childhood sweetheart!
Oskar
The hard-working and perpetually suspicious Oskar sees himself as the rightful heir to the B&B, having taken care of it all these years with his mother, Anna-Lisa. He resents Lasse for leaving him behind, and is hyper-competitive with him in everything – especially regarding his wife, Liv, who was Lasse’s childhood sweetheart.
Jonna
The strong-willed, free-spirited Jonna fled the B&B at a young age to pursue her acting aspirations. She resents her mother for playing tricks on them from beyond the grave, and for the fact that being stuck at the B&B all summer will rob her of acting opportunities on the mainland. She is soon joined on the island by her playwright/director boyfriend, Manne.
Anna-Lisa
Hiding her illness from Oskar, Anna-Lisa’s last wish is for her three adult children to reconcile with each other so they can once again be a family. To this end, she issues cryptic invitations home to Lasse and Jonna, keeping her true intentions secret even from Oskar. This is her last good deed, her final testament – but their childhood wounds may be too deep to heal…
Liv
A native Ålander, Liv is the backbone of the bed and breakfast and has always stood by the Waldemars – as Lasse’s girlfriend in her youth, as Anna-Lisa’s trusted friend and now as Oskar’s wife and Cecilia’s mother. But with Anna-Lisa’s passing comes uncertainty as to the future of the B&B – and with Lasse’s return, her feelings for him also resurface.
Kim
Kim hates everything to do with Åland and the B&B, since her father’s return means she won’t see her friends in Stockholm all summer. What a bummer! Kim is so desperate to leave the island that she even contemplates running away to Copenhagen to stay with her mom, but she soon bonds with Oskar and Liv’s daughter, Cecilia – and also with Fredrik, the neighbor’s son!
Cecilia
Teenage Cecilia has lived on the island all her life, and has grown up working in the bed and breakfast. Although mature for her years, she has lived a very sheltered life compared to her cousin Kim and the two quickly become firm friends. Over the course of the summer, Cecilia meets a boy (about time!) and contemplates leaving home – against her father’s wishes.
Manne
Jonna’s long-time boyfriend, Manne badly misses Jonna and soon joins her on the island, at first for a short visit which then drags into a summer-long stay. When Jonna lands a role in a local theater production of Chekhov’s ‘The Cherry Orchard’, Manne is inspired to start writing a new play for her – one which Jonna finds disturbingly familiar…
Keen-eared listeners may detect characters speaking Swedish with strong Finnish accents; that’s because the series is set in (and filmed on) the stunningly beautiful island of Fasta Åland, the largest of the Åland islands located midway between Sweden and Finland, and home to its provincial capital, Mariehamn. Although the people of Åland speak Swedish, this autonomous territory is actually part of Finland! (As might be surmised, the series is a Swedish-Finnish co-production.) This also explains why characters transact in euros instead of Swedish kronor and why Lasse is, at one point, described as “going abroad” when he travels from Stockholm to Åland. There’s a lot of boating back and forth to the islands in this, and it’s all stunningly photographed; this may just be the most lush and gorgeous-looking Swedish series yet!
Thicker Than Water Season 1 premieres July 18th on MHz Choice.
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