''Below the Surface'' ( da, Gidseltagningen) is a Danish action hostage

thriller Thriller may refer to: * Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television ** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre Comics * ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...

drama television series, written and directed by

Kasper Barfoed Kasper Barfoed (born 1972) is a Danish film director. Barfoed was born in 1972, in Copenhagen, Denmark. He has a bachelor's degree in comparative literature from the University of Copenhagen. Selected filmography (as director) *'' The Lost Treas ...

, that was based upon an idea of

Adam Price Adam Robert Price (born 23 September 1968) is a Welsh politician serving as the Leader of Plaid Cymru since 2018. , he has sat in the Senedd for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr, having previously been a Member of Parliament (MP) for the Carmart ...

and Søren Sveistrup. The first eight-part series focuses on an act of terrorism committed on the

Copenhagen Metro The Copenhagen Metro ( da, Københavns Metro, ) is a 24/7 rapid transit system in Copenhagen, Denmark, serving the municipalities of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, and Tårnby. The original system opened in October 2002, serving nine stations on t ...

, where fifteen people are taken hostage. Former soldier Philip Nørgaard (Johannes Lassen), who is head of the PET Terror Task Force, tries to save the hostages with help from members of his elite team. The basis for the series was adapted from a series of conversations between Barfoed and Danish photographer Daniel Rye, who lived as a hostage within the terrorist organisation of

Islamic State An Islamic state is a State (polity), state that has a form of government based on sharia, Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical Polity, polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a t ...

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

for more than a year. In

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, the series is also known as ''Countdown Kopenhagen''. On 2 April 2017, the series premiered in

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

on Kanal 5, and was released on DVD in

on 19 October 2017. In the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

BBC4 BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

broadcast the first four episodes during March 2018. The BBC pulled the series from their schedule for 24 March only following the terrorist attack in

Carcassonne Carcassonne (, also , , ; ; la, Carcaso) is a French fortified city in the department of Aude, in the region of Occitanie. It is the prefecture of the department. Inhabited since the Neolithic, Carcassonne is located in the plain of the ...

and continued on 31 March. The second season premiered on 26 March 2019 in Denmark.

Cast

PET Terror Task Force

* Johannes Lassen as Philip Nørgaard * Sara Hjort Ditlevsen as Louise Falck *

Alexandre Willaume Alexandre Willaume (born 20 December 1972) is a Danish actor having had roles in ''Home Fires (British TV series), Home Fires'' (2016), ''Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets'' and ''The Last Kingdom (TV series), The Last Kingdom '' (2 ...

as SP * Flemming Enevold as Hans Hejndorf * Esben Dalgaard Andersen as Esben Garnov * Peder Thomas Pedersen as Simon Clausen * Kenneth M. Christensen as Daniel Cramer * Kasper Leisner as Ebbe Moller

Civilians

Paprika Steen Kirstine "Paprika" Steen (born 3 November 1964) is a Danish actress and director best known for her performances in Dogme 95 films ''Festen'', ''The Idiots'', Mifune, and ''Open Hearts''. Steen was the first Danish actress since Karin Nellemose ...

as Naja Toft * Jesper Hyldegaard as Aksel Bendix * Henning Jensen as Henning Nørgaard *

Cecilie Stenspil Cecilie Maria Stenspil (born 22 October 1979) is a Danish actress. She graduated from the School of Acting at Odense Teater in 2006. She has had leading roles in a large number of performances at several Danish theaters, including the Royal Dan ...

as Anne Gornstein *

Henrik Prip Henrik Prip (born 31 March 1960) is a Danish actor. He appeared in more than sixty films since 1994. Selected filmography Henrik Prip References External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Prip, Henrik 1960 births Living people Danish male ...

as Palle Wulff

Hostages

Alba August Alba Adèle August (born 1993) is a Danish-born Swedish actress and singer. Early life She is the daughter of Danish director Bille August and Swedish actress and director Pernilla August, who divorced in 1997. Her older sister Asta Ostergren i ...

as Marie Bendix * Sus Wilkins as Denise Hansen *

Dar Salim Dar Salim (born 18 August 1977) is a Danish actor. He received a Bodil Award nomination in the category Best Actor for the film ''Go With Peace, Jamil'' in 2008. Early life Dar Salim was born in Baghdad, Iraq. He fled to Denmark as a six-year-ol ...

as Adel Rasul * Lane Lind as Bodil Pedersen * Michael Asmussen as Joachim * Anders Nyborg as Ricco *

Allan Hyde Allan Hyde (born 20 December 1989)"Allan Hyde"
''Danskefilm'', retrieved 14 September 2021 . is a < ...

as Silas Jensen * Tommy Kenter as Leon

Criminals

Jakob Oftebro Jakob Hoff Oftebro (born 12 January 1986) is a Norwegian actor. He has appeared in more than twenty films since 2004 including Hamilton and ''Kon-Tiki'', which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 85th Academ ...

as Alpha *

Adnan Hasković Adnan Hasković (born 23 December 1984) is a Bosnians, Bosnian actor. Biography Adnan Hasković studied acting in Academy of Performing Arts in Sarajevo from 2003. He studied under professor Izudin Bajrović and then under professor Admir Glamo� ...

as Bravo * Muhamed Hadžović as Charlie * Jacob Lohmann as Jonas * Hadi Ka-Koush as Ahmed Mahmoud

Plot summary

In Series 1, 15 people are held hostage in a subway train. A police terror taskforce led by former- Jaeger Corps soldier Philip Norgaard (Johannes Lassen) and Louise Falk (Sara Hjort Ditlevsen) is dispatched to rescue them. Meanwhile, reporter Naja Toft (Paprika Steen) acts as a go-between with the hostages and police. As the media frenzy takes hold, the country becomes divided on whether to negotiate with the terrorists or not.

Episodes

Filming

MJK34774 Gidseltagningen (Berlinale 2017)

The team responsible for filming the series attended the

67th Berlin International Film Festival The 67th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 9 to 18 February 2017 with Dutch filmmaker Paul Verhoeven as President of the Jury. ''Django (2017 film), Django'', directed by Etienne Comar, opened the festival. The Golden Bear ...

, where the series was promoted prior to the broadcast of the first episode.

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, id=tt5180734, title=Below the Surface 2017 Danish television series debuts 2017 Danish television series endings 2010s Danish television series Danish drama television series 2018 British television series debuts 2018 British television series endings Danish crime television series Danish-language television shows Television series by StudioCanal Kanal 5 (Danish TV channel) original programming