1 month ago
Welcome to Global Breakouts, Deadline’s strand successful which, each fortnight, we radiance a spotlight connected nan TV shows and films sidesplitting it successful their section territories. The manufacture is arsenic globalized arsenic it’s ever been, but breakout hits are appearing successful pockets of nan world each nan clip and it tin beryllium difficult to support track… So, we’re going to do nan difficult activity for you.
It would beryllium incorrect to ever propose that aesculapian dramas are retired of vogue, but pinch The Pitt winning Emmys and The Best Medicine demanding large audiences, nan genre is having yet different moment. This week, we present 1 of nan hottest caller aesculapian bid retired of Europe successful nan style of Norway‘s Still Breathing. Featuring a group of eager interns successful a high-pressure nationalist hospital, Still Breathing’s debut this period was NRK‘s biggest-ever opening for a play extracurricular of nan pubcaster’s fruitful show play shows.
Name: Still Breathing
Country: Norway
Producers: Rubicon TV
Distributor: DR Sales
Network: NRK
For fans of: The Pitt, Grey’s Anatomy
We each cognize nan set-up: an overstretched hospital, young workers astatine breaking constituent and unit wading done never-ending bureaucracy. Many aesculapian dramas of nan modern era broadly travel a akin pattern, but what sets Still Breathing, Norway’s latest introduction into nan canon, isolated is nan measurement successful which it makes expansive statements astir nan request to protect nan institution of nan nationalist infirmary done stories that subordinate to each audiences.
“We look for shows that tin stitchery those ample experiences successful society, wide pinch younker appeal,” says Marianne Furevold, Head of Drama astatine Norwegian pubcaster NRK. “Our compass erstwhile we spell into projects is that they will beryllium entertaining but besides fortify and create populist – stories that travel up pinch caller perspectives and create conversations. Hospital play is cleanable for that. It is virtually life and death.”
Titled LIS in Norway, Still Breathing follows 26-year-old Petra (Elpida Stojcevska), an idealistic aesculapian intern astatine a struggling mid-sized Norwegian hospital, moving alongside chap newbies Joakim (Deniz Kaya), Samuel (Taume Dery), and Kissy (Sofia Tjelta Sydness) arsenic they look gruelling agelong days, analyzable aesculapian cases and a never-ending watercourse of patients – resulting successful civilized dilemmas. Anders Baasmo Christiansen, Cathrine Frost Andersen, Hannah Haslie, Thomas Gullestad, Andreas Stoltenberg Granerud, Henrik Rafaelsen and Kenneth Homstad besides star.
“We started penning this astir 3 years ago, driven by a increasing consciousness of nan unit points wrong nan nationalist healthcare system,” says Karianne Lund, nan show’s co-creator. “The volition was to create a believable infirmary play group successful present-day Norway – a play that would consciousness acquainted to anyone who has spent clip successful a hospital, whether arsenic a relative, a patient, aliases an employee.
“I besides recovered it peculiarly absorbing to show nan communicative from nan position of a inferior doctor. From their very first day, they transportation work for people’s lives and health, and making mistakes tin person fatal consequences. They guidelines astatine nan period betwixt mentation and responsibility, and done them, nan play explores really ideals are tested, reshaped, aliases sometimes broken.”
Occupied writer Lund and shaper Nicolai Moland are nan co-creators and co-writers, pinch Banijay Nordic-owned Rubicon TV nan accumulation location and DR Sales shopping internationally. While NRK is nan lead commissioner, nan show has backing from various nationalist broadcasters done nan New8 European commissioning club, meaning ZDF (Germany), NPO (Netherlands), VRT (Belgium), SVT (Sweden), DR (Denmark), YLE (Finland) and RÚV (Iceland) are attached done acquisitions. The Norwegian Film Institute and Nordisk Film & TV Fond person besides provided support, and backing came from nan Banijay Scripted Fund.
“The Banijay Scripted Fund was genuinely instrumental successful nan early shape of development,” says Ivar Køhn, CEO and exec shaper astatine Rubicon, which is cognize for shows specified arsenic Beforeigners. “Launching a caller show, particularly 1 group wrong a highly-specialized master situation for illustration a hospital, requires extended investigation and groundwork, pinch consultation and clip needed to build authenticity. The money allowed america to decently put successful that process.”
Still Breathing debuted connected NRK connected April 11 pinch apical ratings. With 428,000 watching (231,000 connected streamer NRK TV and 197,000 connected nan Sunday day linear debut connected NRK1), section 1 of nan eight-parter was nan most-watched opening for a play connected nan Norwegian web extracurricular of its ever-popular Christmas almanac shows, breaking a grounds antecedently held by 2023’s The Power Play, which took 197,000.
The capacity justified nan first two-season bid that Furevold greenlit. “It’s ever a spot risky going 2 seasons because you don’t cognize really it is going to beryllium embraced, but it felt for illustration a show that would fulfil our strategical needs and beryllium very bully drama,” she says. “The group down it are very talented and reliable, and it felt awesome erstwhile we launched it. The show has been truthful very good received by nan assemblage and created nan conversations successful nine that we wanted.”
In a competitory market, wherever streamers proceed to put successful originals, commercialized networks are beardown and imports complaint well, nan consequence was satisfying for NRK. “I felt very assured we had a awesome show, but location is simply a batch of title from different types of contented and life itself, and successful wide nan past mates of years nan audience’s modus erstwhile it comes to watching is truthful different,” says Furevold. “It was astonishing to see.”
Production connected Season 2 has wrapped up of autumn motorboat and Rubicon’s Køhn adds that discussions for a 3rd play are already underway. “The reception successful Norway has been incredibly positive, which has been very encouraging for everyone involved,” he says. “It’s nary wonderment Banijay is looking astatine trading nan format internationally.
“There’s a clear inclination successful play to framework stories toward a recognizable, almost documentary-like reality. Audiences respond to characters who beryllium successful systems they understand, for illustration healthcare, justice, education, because those systems style mundane life,” adds Køhn. “These shows induce chat beyond nan screen, sparking conversations astatine workplaces and astir meal tables. For a nationalist work broadcaster for illustration NRK, societal relevance is not an add-on; it’s a halfway objective.”
‘The Pitt’ effect
In television, location are 3 halfway procedural precincts that hap clip and clip again: Police, ineligible and medical. Even so, The Pitt‘s 2025 Emmy triumph for Outstanding Drama Series was a changeable successful nan limb for nan infirmary genre, highlighting really audiences could respond to gritty storytelling focused connected characters moving successful brutal, relentless circumstances. On nan lighter extremity of nan spectrum from nan Noah Wyle-starring HBO drama, Fox’s Best Medicine has rated strongly, while nan well-received return of Scrubs connected ABC has shown location is still abstraction for humor. Grey’s Anatomy, meanwhile, goes from spot to strength.
Lund didn’t want to transcript what was retired location but was fixed a ballot of assurance by nan occurrence of shows for illustration The Pitt.
She adds: “We had already begun processing our thought when The Pitt came along, and though it is very different from our series, it felt for illustration confirmation that these are still stories audiences are willing successful – and that striving for realism is not thing that scares viewers.”
