“I made it clear that the Greenlandic people had to recognize their land in the series. There are real issues between Denmark and Greenland and I wanted to put pressure on Denmark in this story,” says Per Fly, who spent a lot of time talking with Hardenberg and the Greenlandic people.

Respect

Together, Fly and Hardenberg rebuilt the character. They describe it as a lot of work, but Hardenberg has first-hand knowledge from the political world as he has been a politician, senior government official, and business owner. He also comes from a family of politicians.

In the end, reactions from the public were good, the pair says.

“People respected the portrayal of Greenland as the new, modern country it is today,” says Fly.

Real-life Arctic Ambassador of the Kingdom of Denmark Thomas Winkler, confirms that the series is a realistic take on the current geopolitical situation.

“Although real life is not as dramatic as on TV,” says Winkler with a laugh.

“But yes, tension is rising. The richness of the region is more accessible and is moving forward,” says the Ambassador.

No oil drilling

Greenland is absolutely on the world’s geopolitical game board, in real life as well as in Borgen, and director Per Fly says he is grateful that he had access to the Greenlandic politicians along the way, like Prime Minister Mute B. Egede.

But contrary to the series, in reality, Greenland has decided to completely stop further oil and gas exploration to make the country more sustainable. The Greenlandic government also stopped the exploration of uranium in Kuannersuit in South Greenland.

But these resources are the reason powerful nation-states like the United States and China have a special interest in Greenland. Greenland is also a hotspot for climate change and during his Arctic Circle speech, Prime Minister of Greenland Mute B. Egede made it clear that no drilling of oil will take place on his watch.

Mixed reactions

Hardenberg says he is happy with the result and convinced that the time the authors spent in Greenland helped them to fully understand the issues.

“You can only research up to a certain point from afar.”

However, since the show premiered, reviews in the Greenlandic press have been mixed.

“It quickly becomes a caricatured depiction of a beautiful land with noble people who are submissive,” wrote Member of the Folketing and Inuit Ataqatigiit, Aaja Chemnitz Larsen in Sermitsiaq.