Swedish Dicks

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Swedish Dicks
GenreComedy
Created by
Directed by
Starring
Composers
  • Anders Niska
  • Klas Wahl
Country of origin
  • Sweden
  • United States
Original languages
  • English
  • Swedish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes20 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
  • Peter Settman
  • Glenn Lund
  • Fredrik Ljungberg
  • Andrew Lowery
Production locationLos Angeles, California
Cinematography
  • Pål Bugge Haagenrud
  • Hallgrim Haug
Running time25 minutes
Production companies
  • Brain Academy
  • Viking Brothers Entertainment
Original release
NetworkViaplay (Sweden)
Pop (U.S.)
ReleaseSeptember 2, 2016 (2016-09-02) –
present

Swedish Dicks is an American-Swedish comedy web television series created by Peter Stormare, Glenn Lund, Peter Settman, and Andrew Lowery. The plot follows two unlicensed Swedish private investigators trying to make a living in Los Angeles. It premiered on September 2, 2016, via Swedish online streaming service Viaplay. In the United States, the series premiered on the Pop television network on August 9, 2017, as well as being distributed worldwide by American company Lionsgate Television. In October 2016, the series was renewed for a second season which premiered on December 25, 2017, in Northern Europe and premiered in 2018 in the United States.

Premise

A former stuntman, Ingmar Andersson (Peter Stormare), works as a private investigator in Los Angeles. His life crosses paths with struggling DJ Axel Kruse (Johan Glans). After giving up his DJ career, he decides to join Ingmar and becomes a partner of his detective firm "Swedish Dick" (now "Swedish Dicks"). Together, they solve various cases, as well as compete with Ingmar's long-time rival and owner of the best investigating company in Los Angeles, Jane McKinney (Traci Lords). Axel is also trying to discover Ingmar's past and the circumstances of his retirement from stunt performing.

Production

Peter Stormare came up with the concept for Swedish Dicks in 2014. He began writing the script for what was intended to become a one-hour drama. When he showed the script to Peter Settman, he suggested that it would be better as a series.[1] Stormare was inspired by his real-life friends, one ex-military and the other an ex-stuntman, who really did become private investigators.[2]

Casting

The series was announced in November 2015 with Peter Stormare and Johan Glans confirmed for the cast.[3][4] In March 2016, it was announced that Keanu Reeves and Traci Lords had joined the show.[5] Stormare confirmed he wrote the part of Jane McKinney with Lords in mind: "I had never met her, but whenever I saw her in a photo or anything, I just felt a connection to that face. And then she had written a book that is fantastic, about her survival, and how that girl survived is a miracle. So it was like a voice within me when I was writing, saying, 'You have to get Traci Lords, Traci Lords, Traci Lords.' Like she was channeling me."[2] Lords described Jane as "the kind of a woman who likes to play with men and use her femininity. At the same time, she believes that she definitely has the biggest dick in the room."[6]

Cast

Episodes

Season 1 (2016)

No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release dateUS viewers
(thousands)
11"When Ingmar Met Axel"Peter SettmanAndrew LowerySeptember 2, 2016 (2016-09-02)127[7]
Ingmar (Peter Stormare) is a former stuntman who works as a private investigator in Los Angeles. He is in danger of losing his detective business if he doesn't pay off his debt. After he fails to solve his last case, he is hired by Theodore (Brando Eaton), a young DJ who offers Ingmar $8,000 to find his stolen laptop. He is led to a once famous DJ named Axel (Johan Glans). After the two spend a night at a bar, Ingmar steals the laptop from drunk Axel's hotel room and returns it to Theodore. However, he soon finds out that Theodore is a bartender who was hired by a club owner Tony (Julio Oscar Mechoso) to steal Axel's music.
22"The Blind Leading the Blind"Peter SettmanAndrew LowerySeptember 2, 2016 (2016-09-02)87[7]
After becoming detective partners, Ingmar takes his new colleague Axel to a shooting range where they encounter Ingmar's enemy and founder of the best investigating company in Los Angeles, Jane McKinney (Traci Lords). Ingmar bets with Jane that he can make Axel shoot better than one of her guys in one week. Meanwhile, the "dicks" are hired by a blind man, Jeff, to find out if his wife is having an affair. Axel is introduced to Ingmar's daughter Sarah (Felisha Cooper).
33"The Very Brief Adventures of Maintenance Guy and Plant Man"Peter SettmanAndrew LowerySeptember 9, 2016 (2016-09-09)110[8]
An owner of an advertising agency, Dan (Josh Daugherty), has a suspicion that someone has been stealing and selling his company's ideas. The investigation is complicated after the agency's owner commits suicide.
44"Let's Talk About Cults"Jon HolmbergAndrew LowerySeptember 9, 2016 (2016-09-09)71[8]
Ingmar is haunted by a ghost of his old friend and stunt partner Tex (Keanu Reeves). A female couple (Musetta Vander and Laney Fichera) hire the "dicks" to find their missing daughter Rachel (Ashley St. George) who joined a cult. Axel finds the cult leader Sam (Taylor Nichols) and pretends he wants to join.
55"Howl Like a Big Dog"Jon HolmbergAndrew LowerySeptember 16, 2016 (2016-09-16)102[9]
Young female porn star Taylor Slow (Jane Levy) hires the "dicks" to catch her stalker. Axel is trying to infiltrate Jane's detective company.
66"Tale of the Tape"Jon HolmbergAndrew LowerySeptember 23, 2016 (2016-09-23)129[10]
Axel decides to stop taking his antidepressants without his therapist's approval, which leads to him suffering from its side effects. With Ingmar, they find the cameraman who they believe had been shooting behind-the-scenes footage on the set of Blood Curse 2. He is willing to give them a copy of the footage under one condition: they kill him. Meanwhile, Anne, owner of a pet cemetery, reaches out to the "dicks" to help her convict her competitor Carl of unethically cremating animals in large groups, instead of individually as he claims. After they arrive late to their appointment, they are suggested to find an assistant. On their way to the office, they run over a dog that survives. They bring the dog to the cameraman who agrees to exchange it for the tape. On the tape they find out that Tex had been having an affair with a girlfriend of a Russian mobster Dimitri. When they finally force Oscar to make a video confession, Anne decides to make him her business partner instead of turning him in to the police.
77"The Curse of the North Korean Curse"Jon HolmbergAndrew LowerySeptember 30, 2016 (2016-09-30)N/A
Ingmar finds a way to get a large amount of money, so that he can buy a car from the guy he suspects killed his friend Tex. Meanwhile Axel tries to make friends in L.A. and ends up hanging out with Ingmar's daughter, Sarah.
88"Back to School"Peter SettmanAndrew LoweryOctober 7, 2016 (2016-10-07)96[11]
Ingmar tries to set a meeting with Dimitri (Carlo Rota), a Russian Mafia boss who sells stolen cars, who he suspects killed his friend Tex a couple years earlier. Meanwhile Axel is hired to solve a case of cyberbullying.
99"There’s Something About Tex"Jon HolmbergAndrew LoweryOctober 14, 2016 (2016-10-14)89[12]
Ingmar and Axel are hired by an Australian sheep farmer Jack (Anthony LaPaglia), his daughter Sheila (Katherine Wallace) and son (Josh Harp), to recover their stolen ram named Russell Crowe.
1010"See You Later, Alligator"Jon HolmbergAndrew LoweryOctober 14, 2016 (2016-10-14)N/A

Season 2 (2017)

No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release dateUS viewers
(thousands)
111"A Thief Among Us"Peter SettmanPer GavatinDecember 25, 2017 (2017-12-25)N/A
Ingmar wants the Dicks to go legit and apply for PI licenses, but that creates unexpected immigration trouble for Axel. Meanwhile, Elvis (Joe Hursley), Robin Hood (Joe Sofranko), French tourist Jean (Terence Leclere) and Frankenstein's monster ask them to catch a thief on Hollywood Boulevard.
122"Dial M for Medium"Peter SettmanChris Hazzard & Michael FontanaDecember 25, 2017 (2017-12-25)N/A
When Sarah introduces her yoga class friend Eve (Stephanie Koenig) to the Dicks, Axel is smitten; but he is trying to keep it "strictly" professional at least until they solve the case involving Eve, her mom and a medium.
133"It Had to Be Lou"Peter SettmanTim MeltregerJanuary 1, 2018 (2018-01-01)55[13]
The Dicks meet a mystery client in prison asking them to help his friend who has been framed for a murder he didn't commit. At the same time Sun helps Axel with his little visa problem, through the funeral director Lou.
144"Floyd Cal Who"Peter SettmanTim MeltregerJanuary 1, 2018 (2018-01-01)55[13]
When the founder of a dating app realizes that his app is finally getting traction, he asks the Dicks to help him find and stop the hit man he hired to kill himself when he had hit rock bottom.
155"Two Dicks Walk Into a Bar"Andreas LindergardChris Hazzard & Michael FontanaJanuary 8, 2018 (2018-01-08)79[14]
166"Behind Bars"Peter SettmanPer GavatinJanuary 8, 2018 (2018-01-08)64[14]
177"Dawn of the Dicks"Andreas LindergardTim MeltregerJanuary 14, 2018 (2018-01-14)74[15]
188"The Swedish FBI"Peter SettmanPer GavatinJanuary 14, 2018 (2018-01-14)47[15]
199"Girls Day!"Peter StormareChris Hazzard & Michael FontanaJanuary 21, 2018 (2018-01-21)67[16]
2010"Till Dicks Do Us Part"Peter SettmanTim MeltregerJanuary 21, 2018 (2018-01-21)80[16]

Broadcast

The first two episodes of Swedish Dicks premiered on September 2, 2016, via Swedish online streaming service Viaplay. Later that month, it was announced that the series had been picked up by American network Lionsgate TV to be distributed worldwide, and premiered in the United States on the Pop television network on August 9, 2017.[17][18][19] In October 2016, the series was renewed for a second season.[20][21] It aired in December 2017 in Northern Europe and January 2018 in the United States.[2]

Reception

Swedish Dicks received mixed reviews from critics. Karolina Fjellborg of Aftonbladet wrote: "Initially, I felt a concern that this series would be more silly than funny, but soon I realized that it is actually both - and it works."[22] Pål Nisja Wilhelmsen of SIDE3 found the first episode "shockingly weak" but pointed out that "the two leading roles have a good chemistry, and the script gives them room for friendly banter". He added that the series is "entertaining enough, but is probably no classic."[23] Roger Wilson of Sveriges Radio wrote that Swedish Dicks is "one of those strange Swedish productions, where you think you do not need any act or joke if you just set it the United States and add guest appearances by Traci Lords and Keanu Reeves. It gets a little better when Traci Lords is in order, she can at least understand that she is part of a slapstick series."[24] Steve Greene of IndieWire wrote: "Yet, “Swedish Dicks” still has one ray of hope in the form of Keanu Reeves. Though he only appears for the briefest of moments, his presence and giddy deliveries of southern twang pep talks are at that ideal intersection between heightened genre riffing and a dash of needed pathos. As the spectral memory of Ingmar's deceased stuntman partner Tex, Reeves is the kind of anchoring force that the rest of the scenes without him are in search of."[25]

References

  1. ^ Bergqvist, Mattias (August 30, 2016). "Peter Stormare om nya serien "Swedish Dicks": "Det är min bebis"". Expressen (in Swedish). Retrieved September 4, 2016.
  2. ^ a b c Schager, Nick (August 8, 2017). "The Wild, Deliciously Weird Career of 'Swedish Dick' Peter Stormare". The Daily Beast. Retrieved August 8, 2017.
  3. ^ Mitchell, Wendy (November 16, 2015). "Viaplay recruits Stormare for Swedish Dicks". ScreenDaily. Retrieved August 27, 2016.
  4. ^ "Viaplay och Peter Settman lanserar första originalserien – Swedish Dicks". Mynewsdesk (in Swedish). November 17, 2015. Retrieved August 27, 2016.
  5. ^ Mitchell, Wendy (March 14, 2016). "Keanu Reeves joins comedy series 'Swedish Dicks'". ScreenDaily. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
  6. ^ Palm, Erik Augustin (August 20, 2016). "Traci Lords: "Lärde mig förstå svenska genom kroppsspråk"". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved September 9, 2016.
  7. ^ a b Metcalf, Mitch (August 10, 2017). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Wednesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 8.9.2017". ShowBuzzDaily. Archived from the original on August 10, 2017. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  8. ^ a b Metcalf, Mitch (August 17, 2017). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Wednesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 8.16.2017". ShowBuzzDaily. Archived from the original on August 17, 2017. Retrieved August 17, 2017.
  9. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (August 24, 2017). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Wednesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 8.23.2017". ShowBuzzDaily. Archived from the original on August 24, 2017. Retrieved August 24, 2017.
  10. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (August 31, 2017). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Wednesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 8.30.2017". ShowBuzzDaily. Archived from the original on September 1, 2017. Retrieved August 31, 2017.
  11. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (September 15, 2017). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Wednesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 9.13.2017". ShowBuzzDaily. Archived from the original on September 15, 2017. Retrieved September 15, 2017.
  12. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (September 21, 2017). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Wednesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 9.20.2017". ShowBuzzDaily. Archived from the original on September 22, 2017. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
  13. ^ a b Metcalf, Mitch (August 3, 2018). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Thursday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 8.2.2018". ShowBuzzDaily. Archived from the original on August 4, 2018. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
  14. ^ a b Metcalf, Mitch (August 10, 2018). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Thursday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 8.9.2018". ShowBuzzDaily. Archived from the original on August 10, 2018. Retrieved August 10, 2018.
  15. ^ a b Metcalf, Mitch (August 17, 2018). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Thursday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 8.16.2018". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on August 18, 2018. Retrieved August 17, 2018.
  16. ^ a b Metcalf, Mitch (August 24, 2018). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Thursday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 8.23.2018". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on August 25, 2018. Retrieved August 24, 2018.
  17. ^ Wilkes, Peter (September 14, 2016). "MTG and Lionsgate Strike Global Distribution Deal For Original Series" (Press release). Santa Monica, California and Stockholm, Sweden: Lionsgate. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
  18. ^ Lodderhose, Diana (September 14, 2016). "Swedish Comedy Series Starring Peter Stormare Eyes U.S. Network Pickup Via Lionsgate TV". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
  19. ^ "SWEDISH DICKS Official Trailer (HD) Peter Stormare, Keanu Reeves Pop Original Series". YouTube. June 6, 2017. Retrieved June 7, 2017.
  20. ^ Vlessing, Etan (October 10, 2016). "Keanu Reeves' TV Comedy 'Swedish Dicks' Gets Second Season". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
  21. ^ Keslassy, Elsa (October 10, 2016). "Mipcom: MTG Studios Orders Second Season of 'Swedish Dicks,' Lionsgate TV Takes Global Distribution Rights". Variety. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
  22. ^ Fjellborg, Karolina (September 2, 2016). "Premiär i dag för "Swedish Dicks" – som är bättre än du kanske tror". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved September 4, 2016.
  23. ^ Wilhelmsen, Pål Nisja (August 31, 2016). "Bør du vurdere Swedish Dicks?". SIDE3 (in Norwegian). Retrieved September 9, 2016.
  24. ^ Wilson, Roger (September 2, 2016). "USA-fixering enda räddningen för "Swedish Dicks"". Sveriges Radio (in Swedish). Retrieved September 9, 2016.
  25. ^ Greene, Steve (August 9, 2017). "'Swedish Dicks' Review: Keanu Reeves is a Rare Highlight in a Detective Series Too Goofy for its Own Good". IndieWire. Retrieved August 9, 2017.

External links