Feature Story
The Scandinavians are known worldwide for their free-thinking, liberal governing style. Whether it comes in the form of universal health care, affordable education or immigration policy, many of the world’s countries look to that part of the world as a model. But as the Danish series “Borgen” illustrates, that doesn’t mean the system is perfect.
“Borgen” premieres its fourth season — already underway on Denmark’s DR1 and on Netflix in Scandinavia — Thursday, June 2, on Netflix in the United States and Canada.
Not dissimilar to other political cabinet series such as “House of Cards” or “The West Wing” in its makeup, the series follows fictional Danish Prime Minister Birgitte Nyborg (Sidse Babett Knudsen, “Westworld”) while she secures a shocking victory as the country’s first female prime minister during Season 1. Before long, a smattering of scandal and disaster heads her way, all while Nyborg faces gender discrimination and political roadblocks from her adversaries.
While Seasons 1 through 3 were made available worldwide to Netflix users as of September 2020, Season 4 will be different as, according to the streamer, it acts as a “stand-alone continuation of the previous seasons” — think Seasons 4 and 5 of “Arrested Development” for comparison.
While originally a production of Danish network DR1, it seemed the series was poised to end with the wrap of its third season in March 2013. However, with the streaming success of the series since 2020, Netflix ordered a revival; this time as a Netflix Original production.
Season 4 will continue to follow Nyborg and her administration, however, and fans of the series can expect to see the return of some of their favourite characters, including Katrine Fønsmark (Birgitte Hjort Sørensen, “Pitch Perfect 2,” 2015), Torben Friis (Søren Malling, “The Investigation”), Anne Sophie Lindenkrone (Signe Egholm Olsen, “Into the Wild,” 2007), Philip Christensen (Mikael Birkkjaer, “Tinka og kongespillet”), Pia Munk (Lisbeth Wulff, “Ambassadøren”), Jon Berthelsen (Jens Albinus, “Deutschland 83”), Søren Ravn (Lars Mikkelsen, “The Witcher”) and more.
Given that Season 4 is a continuation of previous seasons (“stand-alone” or otherwise), it would be an oversight not to address the events of Season 3. (It did conclude nearly a decade ago, after all.)
“Borgen’s” third installment began as Nyborg, recently divorced and retired from politics, planned a comeback due to her rising disillusionment with the direction her former party was heading. Unable to reclaim her place within its changing structure, Nyborg created her own political party called the New Democrats.
Throughout the series, the New Democrats assert themselves as a rising power by addressing every issue, from the quality of locally sourced pork to prostitution and the integration of ethnic minorities.As the election drew nearer throughout the season, Nyborg was also forced to come clean to her coworkers about her steadily declining health.
Now, headed into the newest season, Nyborg takes on a new position as Denmark’s foreign minister, while her former head of press, Katrine Fønsmark, takes a step away from the New Democrats to return to a life on the front lines of journalism at a major TV news station.
In her new position, fans of the show can expect to see Nyborg tackle all manner of international strife, beginning with, though not limited to, a Russian-owned company that has been drilling for oil in Greenland. It is this very issue that could pose a threat to the new foreign minister’s political and moral integrity later in the season.