Television’s impressive artistic and commercial success is not a solely American phenomenon – it is not even an English language phenomenon. The case of the Danish series Borgen (2010-2013) is exemplary. Borgen brought together on average a 50% share in its home market and was shown all over the world to great acclaim. Much like The West Wing, it worked as a reminder that sincere idealism can still be part of politics, while at the same time giving a pretty nuanced idea of how politics work. Danish TV drama (shows like The Killing/Forbrydelsen of 2007-2012, The Bridge/Bron from 2010-2013, and most recently The Legacy/Arvingerne and soon-to-be-released 1864) began its revival about fifteen years ago – at the same time as its domestic film industry, and with the fiction department of the public channel DR as its driving force.
By now Denmark, together with its Scandinavian neighbors, is considered Europe’s purveyor of high quality TV series. It should therefore come as no surprise that the Third World Conference of Screenwriters that took place in Warsaw in October 2014, dedicated a part of its program to the Scandinavian phenomenon, attempting a closer look at the key factors of that development. What was most interesting was not the similarities with the American model (that the Danes consciously reproduced,) as much as the differences.
The main common feature in both models is clearly the positioning of the creator – and the respect for his or her unique ‘voice’. Just as American cable TV channels have found success by giving primacy to the writer, DR practices what it calls ‘one vision’. One Vision means that you believe in the head writer and their vision of the story. And differently than in the American model (where a showrunner may be replaced by another showrunner,) in Denmark when the writers stop, the show stops. This leads to TV shows that usually do not last more than three seasons and that will often end at the highest point of their success.
Another key difference is Danish TV’s clear focus on social issues. Denmark is still mindful of the European tradition of educating people through television and of influencing their view of the world and the social realities. And if anyone has ever wondered whether social issues with local character can travel, well, now they know. In fact, the more local, the more global.
Another interesting difference to the American film and TV industries is that in Denmark there is no visible differentiation between movies and television. Both are approached with the same respect and filmmaking interest, and there is no crossover angst whatsoever.
Last but not least, 5 out of 10 head writers in Denmark are women.
And while all of this is very exciting, there is also a key difference that could be considered problematic: in the Danish model the showrunner is not a writer-producer, so there is no combination of the writing and producing responsibilities in one and the same person as in the American model. Moreover, the Danish creators work closely with a producer throughout the series, something that could make decision making difficult in key issues such as casting, choosing directors and final cut, but that seems to be working in a culture that values consensus more than conflict and power.
So, what doesn’t work? One thing that was brought up was that Danish writers may be so overwhelmed by the success that no one is making anything new, out of fear that the success may not continue. The fear also leads to the same people writing and producing again and again.
There is a positive aspect to that, though: the Danish society does not seem to have the same issues with ageism as other societies do. As Katrine Vogelsang, head of fiction at TV2, put it: ‘someone who has more experience, writes better scripts.’ Plus Danish writers are currently among the most welcome writers abroad, while companies and broadcasters are traveling to Denmark to see how they are doing it – an interesting reversal, if one considers that the Danish writers actually copied the American writers’ room model and that the shows that created their interest in TV and that showed them what TV can do, were reportedly Twin Peaks, NYPD Blue and The Sopranos.
Christina Kallas’ credits as a writer/producer include a number of awarded feature films and TV series, among them The Commissioner, I.D., Danni Lowinski, and Mothers. In 2011 she relocated to New York City, where she is currently teaching at Columbia University’s and Barnard College’s Film Programs, as well as at the New School for Media Studies, and editing her next feature film (and her first as a director,) 42 Seconds of Happiness. She is the author of Inside the Writers’ Room. Conversations with American TV Writers and Creative Screenwriting: Understanding Emotional Structure (London/NYC, 2014 and 2010). Most recently, Kallas was honored for her outstanding contribution to the international writers’ community for her eight years of tenure as President of the Federation of Screenwriters in Europe – in which time she organized the European Conference of Screenwriters, that produced the Manifesto of European Screenwriters, as well as initiated the series of World Conferences of Screenwriters that after Athens 2009 and Barcelona 2012 saw its third edition in Warsaw 2014. You can reach Christina Kallas at improv4writers@gmail.com, follow her on Facebook or Twitter and join the Writers Improv Studio group page for updates.
