I remember an early routine that comedian Steve Coogan used to do when he pretended to be a foreign film actor whose dialogue was badly dubbed. Somehow he could make his lips move when nothing came out and, more impressively, he could make words come out when his lips were tightly shut. I was reminded of this when I started watching the dubbed version of the new Netflix Norwegian comedy-drama Billionaire Island.
The dubbing isn't Coogan-level bad, but it does seems odd at times. Some minor characters are given regional English accents while a secretary sounds like she is based on Bubble from Absolutely Fabulous. So my first advice to any viewers of Billionaire Island is to make sure you watch it in the original Nordic with subtitles.
But do watch it. It's great fun if you liked Succession or can remember Dallas (and if you don't remember ask your grandma). TV programmes used to be called things like Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? and Millionaire Matchmaker but perhaps inflation has hit TV titles. Maybe Millionaire Island didn't sound sexy enough for this glossy saga set in the dog-eat-dog world of, hold onto your fishing rods, the Norwegian salmon industry. Welcome to the world of high finance, betrayal and fish balls.
The plot, a tale of everyday rampant capitalism, is a tried and tested one. Two families become locked in a fight for control and only one can succeed. One boss is traditional, the other is fiercely ambitious and looks like they will stop at nothing to get a controlling stake and create the country’s largest salmon farming company.
The script might not be quite as sophisticated as Succession but the tone frequently hits the sweet spot. It was created by Anne Bjørnstad and Eilif Skodvin, who also came up with Lilyhammer, the fish-out-of-water mafia man-in-witness-protection drama starring Steven Van Zandt, from Springsteen’s band and The Sopranos.
The writers clearly have a dry, wry sense of humour. I particularly liked a reference to batting legend Sachin Tendulkar, probably the most unexpected cricketing namedrop since Graham Gooch was mentioned in the heavenly American comedy The Good Place.
It all kicks off when Marlax boss Julie Lange (Trine Wiggen) hits the ground running wearing a trouser suit with creases so sharp she could have your eye out. She wants to take over Meyer Fjordbruk, run by founder Gjert (Svein Roger Karlsen) who is understandably not happy about it. You can see his mustache visibly bristle at the very thought of imminent upheaval.
Gjert is certainly the more sympathetic character of the two, partly because he seems devoted to his wife who is silent after a stroke and maybe he was too preoccupied to realize something fishy was going on. But he is far from perfect. He might not seem as ambitious as Julie but he has a temper which means that it is hard to warm to him.
The opening action happens on confirmation day at the local church so the two main families are all conveniently gathered together in the scenic seafront town. Their different approaches can be summed up by their different gifts. Gjert gives his grandson Felix (Benjamin Bakkeid) — known as "monobrow" — an antique knife that has been in the family for generations. Julie books a K-pop band to land by helicopter and do a slick dance routine for her daughter Hennie (Nemi Storm).
By the way, I wonder if al fresco dance routines might be starting to become A Thing. I've recently been watching Nicole Kidman in The Perfect Couple (also Netflix) and there just happens to be a sunny dance sequence in that as well, with the entire cast throwing shapes in the open air. Is this going to catch on? Will there be beach-side break dancing in Bridgerton next?
Meanwhile, back on Billionaire Island there are further tensions, often played out among the younger characters. Julie’s son Jens (Vetle Røsten Granås) wants to shun the family business and become an actor. There are complaints from Julie’s older eco-aware daughter Amy (Ragne Grande) about a helicopter being bad for the environment, but, hey, if it’s dropping off a K-pop band then maybe it’s not so bad after all.
Apart from the ensuing corporate drama, the views of the Norwegian coastline are stunning. Billionaire Island certainly won’t do the tourist industry any harm. Do give it a watch. After one episode I took the bait and I was hooked. You might not pick up much about the intricacies of the salmon industry but pay attention, watch it in the original language and you might learn the Norwegian for "fish balls".
Billionaire Island is streaming on Netflix now.
