Beartown

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.

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.

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...

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.

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.