Norwegian drama State Of Happiness will receive its UK premiere on BBC Four on Saturday May 2nd at 9pm with a double bill, it has been announced.
State Of Happiness is set in the summer of 1969 in the small coastal town of Stavanger, Northern Europe. International oil companies have been test drilling for years, but nothing has been found and they are in the process of leaving. Phillips Petroleum, however, are contracted to drill a final hole.
Stavanger lives off fish, and the North Sea is emptying out. No more cod, no more herring. Something has to happen. The town is in crisis. The night before Christmas 1969, the gas flare at the Ocean Viking is lit. Phillips has found the largest sub sea oil basin in history. And everything is about to change. Norway’s oil was never owned privately, the state kept it, and in 1969, Norwegians were wealthy. The series explores how it happened, how much individuals are willing to give up for the greater good, and how much society is willing to give up for each and everyone else.
It follows stories of four young people growing up in a country that, in a matter of a few years, will change from being a small fishing nation and European outpost, to becoming a leading oil nation. The series shows how these four people, their families and relationships, are affected by this dramatic growth. The eight episode drama series is produced by Maipo Film for NRK and stars Anne Regine Ellingsæte, Amund Harboe, Malene Wadel and Per Kjerstad. Mette M. Bølstad is the head writer, while Synnøve Hørsdal and Ales Ree are the producers. Petter Næss and Pål Jackman directed.
TVWise’s UK Premiere Dates page has been updated with this new information.
