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“Reindeer Mafia,” first called “Poromafia,” is an interesting new Nordic crime drama that won the Golden Venla Award for Best Drama Series in 2023. In this show, the snowy landscape serves as a metaphor for mental loneliness, exploring familial conflict and the haunting beauty of Finland’s Lapland.

The series looks at power, inheritance, and betrayal against the stark beauty of Finland. The cold landscape reflects the cold family relationships, where love isn’t as important as ambition. It’s reminiscent of old Westerns, but it takes place in the middle of winter, which gives it a constant weight.

Nordic crime fiction, which often has dark humor, makes people think about identity and morals. The reindeer represent the burdens of the characters’ heritage and the moral decline of society as they travel perilous physical and metaphorical paths. In the end, “Reindeer Mafia” challenges our ideas about family and ambition, and its...

Samuli Edelmann as Sameli in the Finnish TV series “Reindeer Mafia.” Courtesy of MHz Choice

The title of this Finnish crime dramedy series, “Reindeer Mafia (Poromafia),” is a bit misleading. It’s not a major crime syndicate on the tundra. It’s a small club of guys wearing vests with their Wolverine logo (not the Hugh Jackman kind), hanging out in their clubhouse, and dabbling in petty crimes. The eponymous nickname is a tongue-in-cheek choice. The setting is a rural area, in which the strictly protected reindeer provide a significant part of the economic base.

The eight-episode season begins as their leader, Sameli (Samuli Edelmann) is returning from a stretch in prison for a manslaughter he may not have committed. His mother, Brita (Rea Mauranen) has just died after a long bout with cancer. She was the area’s biggest landowner, and the disposition of her estate becomes the central plot-driving element.