Politician. Poet. Prime Minister? Some have labelled Benedikt Ríkardsson an unorthodox radical; he calls himself an honest citizen of Iceland. Who better to be the voice of this great nation? Benedikt is not interested in power—he wants to listen to the people, change the country, and make it better. Radical or righteous? One thing is for sure, he will be a leader unlike any we’ve ever seen before.
Benedikt Ríkardsson takes a radical approach to politics, earning him the support of the Icelandic people. This takes the nation’s political establishment by storm, and Benedikt finds himself becoming the Chair of the Independence Party and Iceland’s Prime Minister. What the nation does not know, however, is that Benedikt is suffering from an underlying bipolar disorder. As his disorder worsens, the Prime Minister’s team and their allies are forced to endanger both the stability of the government and their private lives; some hide the illness while others abuse it.
After the dramatic finale of Season One, Benedikt is back and this time he wants to change the country’s approach to mental health. However, branded as the poster child for mental illness, it proves difficult for Benedikt to find his feet. Meanwhile there is a power struggle within the political system, with individuals from different factions competing to take control, and willing to stop at nothing to get their way. Benedikt becomes caught up in the whirlwind of power struggles while trying to fix what is most important to him, his own and other people’s mental health.
The series stars Ólafur Darri Ólafsson (Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, Trapped, True Detective), Aníta Briem (Salt and Fire, You, Me & The Circus), Þuríður Blær Jóhannsdóttir (The Swan, The Flatey Enigma), Thor Kristjánsson (The Swan, Dracula Untold), Elva Ósk Ólafsdóttir (Trapped, Brave Men’s Blood), Oddur Júlíusson (1991), and Jóel Sæmundsson (Solitude, Trapped).
Awards
Venice TV Awards 2020, Best TV Series nominee
Prix Europa 2020, TV Fiction nominee
Content Innovation Awards 2020, Distribution Initiative nominee
