When you see Steven Van Zandt you probably recognise him as the guitar player in Bruce Springsteen’s band or as Tony Soprano’s consigliere, Silvio Dante. Even though he never aspired to be an actor he rolled into it when the writer of The Sopranos, David Chase, saw him presenting an award on TV. He asked him to play a role in the show, to which he agreed and so his acting career began. With Lilyhammer he returns into playing the role a mob guy. The question is whether this show can even be compared to the hugely succesful Sopranos.
To immediately answer that question: No. The reason for it is a simple one: this show doesn’t aim to be an epic crime drama. It’s got a much lighter feel to it, almost comedic. Storylines are usually nicely wrapped up at the end of each show. It feels a lot smaller and personal as well.
Lillyhammer tells a fish out of water story about mobster Frank Tagliano. When he is nearly killed he decides to be an informer. Because this makes him a hunted man he asks if it is possible to live in Lilyhammer, Norway. It might not be a logical choice, but his reasoning is that it looked great during the olympics and that there are a lot of beautiful women there. Once he gets there though the reality is very different and he has to try to start a new life in a place where things are not done in the way he is used to.
Although he has a new identity it is hard for him to adjust his ways and soon he is back to bribing and blackmailing people to get things done. This is the basic idea behind each episode. Of course the local police does take note of him (which because of the wintery setting and the female police officer reminded me a bit of Fargo) and the question is whether they will be able to catch him or find out about his real identity.
As the show is set in Norway it features a lot of Norwegian (and thus subtitling), something not everyone will like. I personally did not mind this at all as it does make the show stand out. It did take me a couple of episodes to really get into it. The reason for this was because problems Van Zandt’s character faces are usually solved really quickly through a lot of coincedence. This makes it feel kind of unnatural, but if you look at the show as a light comedy/drama it fits.
You can watch one episode and feel like it comes to a statisfying conclusion. With only 8 episodes for the first season it is an enjoyable show which you can quickly get through. The Norwegian cast is great and are a big source for the comedy. His righthand man, Torgeir Lien (played by Trond Fausa) was a personal favorite as he can be a bit clumsy at times.
Although the first series was broadcast on Norwegian TV and was also shown by the BBC it is one of the first steps Netflix took in producing its own content. The show has been a success and Netflix will release the second season on December 13. Steven Van Zandt has already confirmed to be working on a third season. Personally I’m looking forward to seeing more of the show.
I’ve always liked Steven Van Zandt in the E Street Band and on The Sopranos, but I’ve only watched the pilot of Lillyhammer, which I enjoyed but not enough to make me watch the rest of the season. I probably owe it a second chance. Nice review.
I can understand you would give up after one episode and I wasn’t completely crazy, but like I say in the review it grew on me. Not the best show out there, but I got enjoyment out of it.