The biggest Nordic releases coming to Netflix this year

As the ongoing pandemic continues to keep our social life somewhat restricted, we find ourselves yearning for ways to take our minds off the mundane and keep us entertained. If you – like probably most of us – spent the holidays catching up and binging on all the newest addictive additions on Netflix and have found yourself salivating for more, fret not.

For 2022, Netflix has planned a myriad of new Nordic releases which are assured to bring a dash of drama into our everyday lives, whilst also perfectly filling those empty gaps that might exist in our social calendars right now. Whether you fancy crime, action, comedy or romance, Netflix has got you covered. Below, we have gathered some of the most anticipated new Nordic releases set to come on Netflix this year, and glimpses of what can be expected.

Warning: spoilers ahead.

The electrifying Swedish teen drama had us glued to our screens when the first season premiered in July 2021. Taking us through a tangled romantic tale of boy meets boy sprinkled with dramatic twists and turns, the scandal-infused ending of Young Royals season one left us guessing the fate of the relationship between the charming Crown Prince Wilhelm (Edvin Ryding) and small town boy Simon (Omar Rudberg).

At the moment, Netflix is keeping the release date for season two on the down low, however judging from the release of the first season, one could predict season two airing around July 2022. What can we expect from the second season? Things may get even more heated between Wilhelm and August due to the latter leaking the sex tape of the Prince and Simon. Perhaps further romantic plot twists will occur too, involving the other students of elite Hillerska Boarding School.

Related: Everything we know about Young Royals Season 2 so far

A prequel to the original Vikings series, Vikings: Valhalla is a story that takes place in the early 1000s, following the legendary adventures of some of the most famous Vikings in the history. As the tensions between the Vikings and English royals explode, the famous explorer Leif Eriksson (Sam Corlett), his fiery and headstrong sister Freydis Eriksdotter (Frida Gustavsson) and the ambitious Nordic prince Harald Sigurdsson (Leo Suter) embark on a journey that sees them across seas and through dangerous battlefields. The three Vikings will have to fight for glory and for their survival. Vikings: Valhalla is set to premiere on Netflix on the February 25.

Related: The striking Viking: Frida Gustavsson on her journey from catwalk to silver screen

Based on Jens Lapidus’ novel Snabba Cash published in 2006 and a film trilogy carrying the same name, the Netflix series illustrate the colliding lives of an ambitious entrepreneur, a group of gang members and a troubled teen set in the bleak suburbs of Stockholm. Snabba Cash (Easy Money) is a gloomy yet realistic depiction of a relentless quest for wealth, and the first season was released in April 2021. Since then, fans have been kept on their toes waiting for when the addictive action series will continue, which at the moment will be sometime in 2022.

In season one, we witnessed the ongoing struggle and strive for success of businesswoman and single mum Leya (Evin Ahmed), whose life gets intertwined with gang enforcer Salim (Alexander Abdallah), whilst troubled pre-teen Tim (Ali Alarik) gets involved with Salim’s gang. For some of the characters, the ferocious pursuit of money does not have the happiest ending. In season two, we expect to follow the life of Tim after the police came to arrest him, while we’re also eager to see what Leya will do now that she has money and the upper hand over gang leader Ravy.

Related: Everything we know about Snabba Cash Season 2 so far

A Norwegian youth film based on the acclaimed book by Randi Fuglehaug and Anne Gunn Halvorsen, Royalteen is an uplifting love story about overcoming your fears, accepting past mistakes and being successful on social media. Directed by Per-Olav Sørensen (Biggest of all, Home for Christmas, Nobel) together with Emilie Beck (When you left, Do you want me back?), Royalteen tells a modern fairy tale of Prince Karl Johan (Mathias Storhøi) and newcomer Lena (Ines Høysæter Asserson). Prince Kalle is known to enjoy partying, and his nights out often spark rumours - one of which is started by Lena. The two start developing feelings for each other, however as we’ve seen in Young Royals, a relationship with a future king can be a tad complicated. What makes the situation even more complex is that Lena has a big secret that previously made her leave her hometown…

Another exciting release directed by Per-Olav Sørensen that is set to hit the silver screen this year (exact time yet to be announced) is The Playlist, a drama series that tells the story of Swedish start-up Spotify, that turned into one of the world’s leading music services. Inspired by the book Spotify Untold by Sven Carlsson and Jonas Leijonhufvud, The Playlist centres around the young Swedish tech entrepreneur Daniel Ek (Edvin Endre) and his key partners who together transformed the whole music industry by offering free and legal streamed music around the world. The fictional series will consist of six 45 minute episodes, delving into the birth of Spotify, whilst also acting as a show of how not giving up and fighting for your dreams can result in small players challenging the status quo.

Based on a true story (and lies portrayed by Clark Olofsson himself in his autobiography), Clark is a Swedish Netflix series that follow convicted criminal Clark Olofsson (played by Bill Skarsgård) from his youth until today. Having started his criminal career back in the 1960s, Olofsson has become one of the most disputed personalities in the modern Swedish history. Being involved in drug trafficking, attempted murder, assault and theft alongside dozens of bank robberies, although sinister, Olofsson’s story is an intriguing one to tell. Causing grief, trauma and devastation along the way, the man also initiated the term “Stockholm Syndrome”. Perceived as a sort of a “charming” celebrity criminal, in Clark, people who were affected by Olofsson, who loved him and who put him in prison share their experience. The series is directed by Jonas Åkerlund and is set to air this year, date yet to be announced.

Directed by award-winning Danish director Peter Flinth and starring Emmy Award –nominated Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Game of Thrones) and BAFTA-nominated Joe Cole (Peaky Blinders, Skins), Against the Ice is a feature film delving into Denmark’s Alabama expedition in 1909. The expedition was designed to disprove the United States’ claim to northeastern Greenland, as the country was thought to consist of two different lands. The film is centred around Captain Ejnar Mikkelsen (Coster-Waldau) and his crew member Iver Iversen (Joe Cole), and as the two men gain evidence that Greenland is an island, they leave their ship and head to a journey where the men fight extreme hunger, fatigue and a polar bear attack. The fight doesn’t end as they return to their ship however, as more challenges are ahead testing the survival skills and mental health of men. At its core, Against the Ice is a story of the power of pure friendship. The film is set to release sometime in 2022.

One of the most addictive Nordic crime series on Netflix, Young Wallander is back with a new case to be solved. Taking place in Sweden, the six-episode series takes us back into the life of detective Kurt Wallander (Adam Pålsson), who this time is going through a rough patch in his life that has his future in the police force compromised. However, when a new manager for the serious crimes unit is hired, an opportunity for Wallander to come back to work is offered alongside a new mysterious case. As per usual, the case reveals to be more complex than Wallander may have thought and whilst solving it, unexpected challenges that could even ruin his career occur. Young Wallander is based on Henning Mankell’s best-selling books about Kurt Wallander and the exact time for release of the new season is yet to be announced.

Premiering on the 27th of January, Danish coming of age series Chosen is not exactly your regular teen drama, as the series take place in the world of sci-fi. Consisting of six episodes centered around a confused young girl Emma (Malaika Berenth Mosendane), the series take us on a journey to Middlebo, a small Danish town that has been said to have been hit by a meteor 17 years prior. Doubtful of this tale and questioning everything she has believed before, Emma finds out the truth about the sleepy town and learns that it is much more dangerous and unbelievable than she could’ve ever imagined. What actually happened to Middlebo 17 years ago? Created by Christian Potalivo and Jannik Tai Mosholt (producer and screenwriter for the Danish hit series The Rain) and although other-wordly, Chosen is a story of a teenage life that often involves struggles with social pressure, identity, secrets and lies.

The award-winning Danish series Borgen will continue this year with a fourth season and an updated cast. The series will continue following lead character Birgitte Nyborg (Sidse Babett Knudsen), her staff and the media who have been commissioned to monitor her now as she has stepped in as Foreign Minister. Another dimension to the plot, the series also explore the journey of Katrine Fønsmark (Birgitte Hjort Sørensen), Birgitte’s previous press secretary who has now gone back into journalism as the head of news department at a national television company. From the fourth season, we can expect further political plot twists and emotional relationship drama. The release date for the new season is yet to be confirmed.

The popular Swedish romantic comedy is back this year and picks up from where the first season left us in 2020. Love and Anarchy is pure evening indulgence that takes our minds off from the mundane and transports us into the world of relationship turmoil of Sofie (Ida Engvoll) and Max (Björn Mosten). In the first season we witnessed Sofie, a married consultant, starting a daring flirty game with young IT tech Max. As the flirting intensifies, so does the relationship drama, as Max and Sofie realise they are playing a dangerous game that challenges not only Sofie's marriage, but also societal norms. Season one left us yearning for a follow-up, as a possible move to London presents a new beginning (or an end) for both, Max and Sofie.

Although not a Nordic Netflix series per se, The Tinder Swindler is a must-see true crime documentary series releasing on Netflix on the 2nd of February. The Tinder Swindler tells a shocking story of a prolific conman posing as a billionaire playboy on Tinder, only to scam women to fall in love with him and loan significant amounts of money when he claims to be in trouble. What makes this jaw-dropping story all the more interesting for Scandis, is that the victims of the man have been Scandinavian women (and the man even ended up going to prison in Finland). In the series, we see the victims of the conman uncover his true identity, as the women battle to bring him to justice.