7/9/14

Scandinavian Humor with Amy Poehler's Brother

Tomorrow night (June 10th) on NBC you can watch the new series Welcome to Sweden produced by Amy Poehler and starring her brother Greg.  And as the title suggests, we are no longer in Indiana.  Instead, the new series comically illustrates Greg's adventures in Sweden.  In fact, Greg Poehler moved to Sweden with his wife and his three children awhile back, but I am hoping he had a slightly better experience.

Here is the general plot:

Bruce Evans (Greg Poehler) and Emma Wiik (Josephine Bornebusch, Swedish hit drama "Solsidan") seem to be the perfect couple. He is a successful money manager to the stars, living his life in New York with Emma, the sweet woman from Sweden whom he loves and adores. A rare combination of intelligent, funny, kind and beautiful, Emma believes she has finally found her true soul mate. So when she makes the life-changing decision to move back to her native Stockholm to accept a prestigious banking job after being with Bruce for a year, she is surprised and thrilled that he agrees to move with her to begin a new life together. 

Moving halfway around the world with a new love is a huge step. With no job, friends or real clue about what he is getting himself into, Bruce is quick to face the many unique challenges and culture clashes that living in a foreign land presents. The most notable one is how to win over Emma's strange and very Swedish family, starting with her parents, Viveka (Lena Olin, "Chocolat") and Birger (Claes MÃ¥nsson), whom they move in with. Viveka, who is a therapist, dearly loves her family but has difficulty showing it, especially to Emma, and much to Bruce's dismay, she harbors a dislike for him from day one. Birger, a retired sea captain, is a typical Swede - tall, kind and silent. Since his spoken English isn't very sharp, it only adds to the communication barriers.

Emma's younger brother, Gustav (Christopher Wagelin), is a 28-year old mega-slacker who, for some reason, can do no wrong in his mother's eyes. Bengt (Per Svensson), Birger's younger brother, is an American-adoring rockabilly type who seems to live his life through Hollywood movies.
As for Bruce's family, his dad, Wayne (Patrick Duffy, "Dallas"), is conservative by nature and resides in a small Midwestern town. Like Wayne, Bruce's adoring mother, Nancy (Illeana Douglas, "Grace of My Heart"), wants nothing but the best for her son, but has no understanding whatsoever of his decision to leave his happy life in New York.
 
The series was broadcast earlier this year in Sweden and the Swedes seemed to like it, with the show already being green-lighted for a second season.  This cross-over series reminds me of Netflix's Lilyhammer where the Norwegians took a liking to a dark American comedy before we even had a chance to see it for ourselves.   And I am happy to hear that Amy will be appearing in some of the episodes, as will  Aubrey Plaza, Will Ferrell, and Gene Simmons. 

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