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It's interesting the way the story is told. Little by little. Wasn't aware of the book so everything was unexpected and fortunately it was worth the watching. Scandinavians never disappoint. Well, this last is not objective...

Having read through the previous reviews here the main gripe i find people having with this show seems to be how it isn't an accurate portrayal of it's source material. So having not read the book i'll judge it purely on it's own merit.

Now i pretty much boycott every production that springs from Sweden. What made me give this one a go was mainly how it was an HBO production, a company i associate with quality tv. As i suspected the production was very good with nice cinematography and sets etc. But the best thing was the story and the actors who kept me glued to the screen all the way through. I do however have a few gripes about this show, and the reasons to why i'm not rating this any higher than an eight.

First of i think that the delivery of certain lines from the younger cast felt a bit stiff even if the written dialouge itself was very good and believable. This didn't happen often and the cast was overall very good. My main gripe however was that i felt the show was a bit too short. The build up to the main conflict was great, with the show doing a good job at introducing us to a large amount of interesting characters. The pacing was also really good at first but i thought the second half of the show was a bit rushed. Character motivations started to change too quickly and i felt some more screen time should have been handed to some of the side characters to flesh out the story more and cover more topics. But all in all it was a great show, well made and exciting from start to finish whilst also raising some important questions.

Well constructed...yet, the script push few of the characters into a strange and abnormal behaviour. It's a movie, a fiction, so stop complain about "the book.." Who could ever read all the books and novels to infer a fault ? Just watch the show.

Foreign-language shows with English subtitles are always fascinating, and with the backdrop of cold winter, "Beartown" adds that lonely, bleak, mysterious air. I hit "Play Episode1" on HBO Max not previously knowing anything about the book or that the show is even about hockey. As the episodes progress, you become intertwined into the lives of the characters in this foreign world. Their motivations and decisions captivate you, however, some are portrayed rather one-dimensional and under-developed. The ending doesn't help either, wrapping up the show in an ambiguous fashion which leaves a lot to be desired.

After two episodes one can tell that this is a great piece of swedish tv-drama. Former NHL-player and his family comes back to his old home town in the north of Sweden and makes an immediate impact on former friends and enemies. And there is this feeling of something bad and disturbing lurking around the corner from the beginning of the first episode, which also gets you hooked at once. Great cast where the actors actually act and talk like normal people (not very common in swedish productions) and the adaption from the critically acclaimed book by Fredrik Backman seems to be very successfull. Can't wait for the rest of season 1.

Beartown, the 5-episode Swedish mini-series adapted from Fredrik Backman's acclaimed novel, is an emotionally charged winter drama set in a struggling small town where ice hockey is more than just a sport-it's a way of life. With its atmospheric northern setting, the series kicks off with the arrival of Peter, a former NHL star, and his family, as he attempts to revive the local junior hockey team.

From the very first episode, Beartown sets a moody, snow-drenched tone that contrasts sharply with the explosive human drama unfolding beneath. The Series weaves themes of ambition, masculinity, and loyalty, all set against a sport that becomes a crucible for deeper tensions. While its "soap opera" storytelling style-jam-packed with character dynamics and emotional stakes-is valuable, it delayed its central plotline until late in the game.

Despite some pacing issues and a polarising conclusion, Beartown remains a worthwhile watch. It's gripping, haunting, and-though not a perfect sports drama or literary adaptation-it manages to strike a chord; just don't expect a typical feel-good hockey tale.

As episode 1 of "Beartown" (original Swedish title: "Björnstad; 2020 release; 5 episodes of about 55 min. each) opens, Peter, an ex-NHL player, and his family (wife and two teenage kids Maya and Leo) arrive in Björnstad (a small town in northern Sweden), where Peter grew up and whose hockey team has seen better days. Peter's task is to turn the hockey team's fortunes around. One of the stars on the hockey team is Kevin, and Maya and Kevin are drawn to each other, even as Peter and Kevin's dad (same age as Peter) can't stand each other... At this point we are 15 min. into the opening episode of this mini-series, but to tell you more of the plot would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Couple of comments: this is the TV adaptation of the Swedish best-selling book of the same name. I haven't read the book so I can't comment on how closely the TV series sticks to the book. Regardless, after seeing Episode 1, the best way to sum up what we have here is that it is a Swedish small town hockey soap, pure and simple. There is so much plot in just Episode 1, I'd need pages and pages to describe all of it (which of course I wouldn't do in any event so as not to spoil your viewing experience). So let me just say that by the end of Episode 1, we have been familiarized with the primary characters, and it's only a matter before we get get some explosive plot twists (if you've seen the trailer airing on HBO, you know exactly what I mean). The winter scenery in norther Sweden is pure eye-candy from start to finish. Makes you want to go check it out for yourself.

Episode 1 of "Beartown" premiered on HBO this week, and is now available on HBO On Demand and other streaming platforms. New episodes air Monday evening at 9 pm Eastern. Can't wait to see how it will all unfold! If you have any interest in a good ol' fashioned soap opera, albeit with a Swedish twist, I'd readily suggest you check this out and draw your own conclusion.

The acting is really good from everyone in this serie. Often when I see a show from Sweden there use to be at least one actor that you can't stand. I think this serie show that we have learned alot lately from making good shows and that we are getting better and better at it. To make this serie a 10/10 show we need to bring back Ludwig Göransson from US to make the background music :p

I adored Fredrick Backman's book so I had quite high expectations for an adaptation that did it justice. It is a very emotional and important story that deserved an appropriate portrayal. For the most part this tv show didn't disapoint. The characters were cast very well (especially maya and amat - they were exactly how i imagined them in the book) and the acting was also fantastic. I did feel, however, that five episodes wasn't enough to completely introduce all the characters. The first book went into a lot more detail, portraying the characters with significant depth.

Overall, this was a very good adaptation but I do recommend reading the book first, Backman's writing and storytelling (even being translated from swedish) is unparalleled.

So I wasn't keen on the subtitles as I tend to go for dubbed versions (please don't judge!) but seeing how much I enjoy the books by Fredrik Backman I wanted to give it a go. Note - I hadn't read the book so can't compare.

I really enjoyed this, the pace, the location & cinematography, the acting, the soundtrack & the story.

Don't let the subtitles put you off if you can't understand Swedish.

A little slow and soapy, but still an emotional rollercoaster (especially if you watch it at a faster speed).

It has the problem of many productions nowadays: a lot of themes/angles stay superficial and feel like they were designed just to create the illusion of coolness/complexity or artificially strengthen characters' motives. Yet they don't serve any real purpose, they aren't explored, they transform the characters into puppets, they feel disjointed to the rest of the story.

Still Beartown succeeded where most of the tv-series I watched recently failed: getting me to the end and not feeling like a chore.

The series very powerfully captures how toxic masculinity can permeate through a small town and destroy lives, but is an absolute travesty to the characters that populated the pages of Backman's original novel.

Characters like Anna, Amat and Benji get so little development I do wonder why they were included at all. The life-long frienship and deep caring between Anna and Maja, one of the most heartwarming parts of the novel, is turned into the two characters just meeting on the first episode of the tv-series, and Anna turns into a complete accessory of Maja, loosing her storyline from the book and any sense of being an independent character. The racism that Amat has felt his entire life is reduced to just a few lines here and there and is addressed just superficially.

As for the adult cast, I have no clue why they decided to turn Peter, who was soft-spoken, loved hockey but loved his family even more, to a hyper-masculine, always yelling, travesty of the original character. I also didn't understand why they decided to make him coach of the B-Team, instead of General Manager of all the teams, as this greatly reduced the roles of Sune and David. The changes to David were the most insulting to me, since he went from a good coach who understoood his team, had trained them since they were little, and loved them as if they were his own children, to an incompetent young-man who was always whining and minging and jealous of Peter.

In essence, while this may be a great series (and it is), it really reduces Bjornstad to its main storyline of Maja and Kevin, without adressing all the other topics (racism, homophobia, conformity, etc) that were such an integral part of the novel. I do think its a great standalone series, that completely captures the essence and raw emotion of the Maja storyline, has beautiful cinematography, and an amazing cast, but, I do think it'll be a bit disapointing for fans of the book.

What can HBO-money do? This.

And what is this?

Perfect drama.

The show had something for it. But the political correctness of it all is unbearable, reflecting the current situation in Sweden.

Yet another quality Scandinavian drama, strong story and backed up by equally strong performance, HBO never disappoints!

Watch with subtitles and original language. Never red the book, i heard compare to it is a very bad adaptation, changing most characters. I sure would have been unhappy with that. 5 episodes works well. binge able. Watch movie Slap Shot for a great hockey comedy with Paul Newman! The english and French canadian Dub is awesome late 70s classic.

We need more seasons of björnstad! A really good Swedish drama. And I feel that it is very true. So much agrees with what reality might look like for some people. Stuck directly to it on the first episode. Definitely worth seeing! Would love if more seasons came.

I find it really irritating when a drama opens with a scene from the future.

You wait for the scene to transpire all the way through every episode, in this case until towards the end of the last episode.

This is a three part drama spread out over five episodes. The first two episode had little to do with the main theme of the drama which only became apparent at the end of episode two.

The first episodes covered the implausible story of an ice hockey coach turning a losing team into a winning one in next to no time at all. Bad or average players do not become good overnight.

Overall this is not a very good representation of ice hockey as a sport, at least I hope not. It appears to be an excuse for young men to knock the hell out of each other while being encouraged by their parents.

The real story is encapsulated within the last three episodes and it is strong stuff, but ultimately disappointing and frustrating because in the end the guilty get away with everything and the innocent are the ones who suffer which is ironic considering the amount of political correctness and diversity that is included and seems mandatory these days.

... you can actually feel cold emanating from the story (filmed almost as far north in Sweden as you can get)... there's now such a wealth of good Scandinavian actors, this production filled with 'em... only five episodes, that should be well enough time to thrash-out a really good crime-story emotional-drama... overall a good production, ending just a bit anticlimactic

... besides watching a very good series, Aliette Opheim was a real find here... should you have liked her work in this series, she has lots of recent screen performances from which to choose.... most all with good IMDb ratings.

I haven't read the book but my wife has and really enjoyed it. She was livid at how this adaptation both loses so much of what was good in the book and then what it adds only makes the "good" characters less likeable and adds unnecessary fluff to the storyline. Apparently it also changes a lot from the book for the worse.

Having not read the book I felt that this series while well very shot with great scenery, and reasonably well acted, just lacks any kind of satisfactory conclusion.

I also found by the end of it all of the characters that have been built up become less likeable in what is a poor finale. Even the main character is made out to be less decisive and that leads to a feeling of "meh".

I know having only 5 episodes make this a tricky adaptation, but listening to my wife rant for 45 minutes in frustration demonstrates how many obvious improvements could have been made.

Basically if you've read the book, don't watch this. If you haven't, then it feels like a frustrating and incomplete story with far too many loose ends.

I get the feeling it didn't have to be like this, perhaps another adaptation can do better in the future.

If I could give 0 stars I would. This show is nothing like the books and ruins what Fredrik Backman worked so hard for. People will watch this show and think this is what Beartown is. If you want to see and understand Beartown then you should read the books because the show is the complete opposite of everything. The characters in the show are not who they are in the books. The books have so much more meaning and the show ruins this for the people who only watch shows. This show doesn't follow the book at all and it doesn't even come close to sending the message it's supposed to.