Norwegian series Ragnarok is coming to Netflix in January

The Scandinavians really know how to put together an exciting book or cool series. My bookshelf is already full of Henning Mankell and Stieg Larsson, but when they also came up with The Bridge , I knew: they get it. Thrillers. Tension. Netflix had pretty much the same idea and the first Netflix Original is almost a fact. The Norwegian series Ragnarok will be available on Netflix from January 31, the trailer is already out, and I tell you: it looks good.

And they didn't leave Ragnarok to just anyone. The producers are SAM Productions, who are also the creators of The Killing.  So you understand: the expectations are high. A nice detail is that Ragnarok is loosely based on Norse mythology. Normally, I tend to shy away from that (simply because I don't really connect with it), but from the trailer, it doesn't seem too heavy-handed. No problem for me.

Ragnarok revolves around five young people living in the Norwegian Edda who all have their issues. They also all seem not to be who they say they are. That sounds a bit mysterious, and it is, but it makes each character very interesting. Each of the five has their own problems and secrets, and besides that, there is enough happening in the village of Edda to worry about.

Because if you are a bit familiar with the Norwegian language (I wasn't, but Google was), you might know that Ragnarok stands for the Day of Judgment. Yes, and that's where the mythology comes into play. Strange things are happening in their village, like icebergs melting in the blink of an eye, various thunderstorms, tropical winters, and more of that nonsense. A bit like The Day After Tomorrow shenanigans, only with warmer temperatures.

The group of five thinks that these natural phenomena are a sign of Ragnarok and will do their best to intervene. I expect a lot of tension, some drama here and there, cool special effects, and an addictive new series. Can you deliver that, Netflix? I think so, right?