Notre grande famille

As an Dutch expat living in Spain I watch this Swedish serie via Netflix. This Swedish family gives me such a good feeling. It makes me feel easy. I love it to watch. I hope many episodes will follow then the 3 I have seen till so far.

I binge watched most of the three series on Netflix. The series shows a couple, their exes and the children from their respective relationships. The newly gained children or parents are not called stepson or stepmother, but bonus-son or bonus-mother. Other than this politically correct streak, any issue that might arise in these circumstances comes round: a child with ADHD, adolescent moods, exes still being in love, grandparents barging in etc. And these are dealt with in a modern way, i.e. not judgemental, but also not always very efficient. I loved the realistic display or people changing their mind on both rational (not often) and emotional grounds as well as the unlikely couples (as in life): the 'anally retentive' math teacher with the liberal, artsy mother; the career-wise not very successful man, still living in with this mother, getting the most balanced wife (with a complicated family) and the rather spoilt children growing up and dealing with/exploiting their having to live (part of the time) with all their parents and their bonus siblings. And last but not least, the peculiar therapists couple that is called for frequently. The negative reviews you might encounter here, to me demonstrate that the show is so realistic that some people start to criticise the characters' actions (as morally or otherwise corrupt). Especially after the cliff hanger of the third season, I hope Netflix will commission the fourth series. I will certainly watch it.

I hated, I hated, I hated her. She was such a selfish, unmature, whiny and greedy woman with no ability to raise her children. Otherwise this could have been a great serie.

Just a couple of things: The negative or lukewarm reviews here seem to do mostly with people claiming offense at the living arrangements. But this sort of mixed and complex family configuration, which can be found in many contemporary societies, is precisely what the positive term "bonus family" indicates. If you're priggish about contemporary family practices, then don't watch a series whose very title gives you advance warning of what it deals with.

Second, this is absolutely not a Scandinavian version of Modern Family. Except for the general framing of contemporary cross families that have become common with the availability of divorce, there are no similarities between the two series. Indeed, to think that there are is reductionistic and even carries a whiff of ethnocentrism as Bonus Family is much better than Modern Family and not just a rip off but a highly original work that stands on its own merits.

Third, while I share the exasperation with the Eddie character and agree that he is a horrible spoiled brat, he really doesn't take up that much screen time and his presence simply injects a very realistic dimension to the intertwined family lives. No one should not watch the series just for a single character.

I'm a big fan of anything scandanavian . Great show top notch acting . Really captures modern European family life.