'Norsemen' Season 3: Will the upcoming prequel season bring Frøya back?
The Norwegian-language 'Norsemen' (aka 'Vikingane') is a highly underrated hilarious show that fuses thriller, blood, mystery, gore, drama, romance, politics, comedy and whatnot to produce one of the most irreverent comedies you have ever watched. Set in Norheim in AD 790, we follow a group of dysfunctional Vikings doing their usual plundering, pillaging and raping all while facing day-to-day conflicts. The show is filmed twice — once in Norsk and then in English for its global audience.
Season 1 and 2 focused on the dispute with Jarl Varg (Jon Øigarden), the leader of a rival tribe — a power struggle for the map to the West. At the same time, Rufus (Trond Fausa) rising the ranks from slave to HOD of the Culture Department of Norheim. In between was Orm's (Kåre Conradi) constant drive to be the Chieftain of their tribe.
Season 2 ended with Silje Torp's Frøya being killed at the (prothetic) hands of Jarl Varg. Following this, the entire village abandons Norheim based on Arvid's (Nils Jørgen Kaalstad) plan and sets sail to the West. They leave behind Rufus, Orm and Liv (Kristine Riis). One would naturally assume that Season 3 would take over from events of the previous season.
But Season 3 is actually going to be a prequel — Season 0 that will "tell the story that led up to Season 1". In an interview with MEA WorldWide (MEAWW) last year, creators Jon Iver Helgaker and Jonas Torgersen said, "We had plotted out most of the story beyond Season 2, but we could not let go of the urge to tell the story that led up to Season 1."
Although the official synopsis of Season 3 isn't available or the official trailer for English, the Norwegian trailer for NRK1 (Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation's main channel) offers some insight into the upcoming season.
From the looks of this trailer, some of the characters are due to return in the prequel. Henrik Mestad is set to reprise his role as Chieftain Olav, Marian Saastad Ottesen as his wife Hildur, Nils Jørgen Kaalstad as Arvid, Kåre Conradi as Orm, Trond Fausa Aurvåg as Rufus, Øystein Martinsen as Kark, Jon Øigarden as Jarl Varg, Kristine Riis as Liv and Bjørn Myrene as Torstein Hund.
Alongside the old cast, the upcoming season will see new additions Iben Akerlie, Per Christian Ellefsen, Thorbjørn Harr, Jakob Oftebro, Pia Tjelta and Amir Asgharnejad. However, details about the characters they play are not known so far.
The video shows a younger Jarl Varg being mocked by fellow Vikings. This is possibly before he became the powerful, ruthless (then hand-less) chieftain of Norheim's rival village. But this time around, Chieftain Olav and Jarl Varg seem to have joined forces against the leader of another tribe. And by the end of the trailer, they emerge victorious.
It also shows Frøya, quite in her element, getting acquainted with Orm. Here is the beginning of their hilarious failure of a marriage. We also see Orm giving in to some of his homosexual instincts standing underneath the toilet to gape at people using it.
There is also a glimpse of Rufus, in all his glory back home in Rome. So it is a possibility that we will follow Norheim's Vikings on their raid to Rome. Season 3 of 'Norsemen' arrives on Netflix on July 22, 2020. The first two seasons are currently streaming on the site.
