The first few minutes are the deciding factor.
In the Name of Love
The first two episodes debuted Sunday, September 7, exclusively on ViaPlay. New episodes debut every Sunday.
In the first minute, the series, created by director Bård Breien (The Art of Negative Thinking, Havnaa, Next Summer) and inspired by his own real-life experiences, advise the viewer that what follows is intended for adult viewers. As if that wasn't enough, practically the first words of dialogue consist of a young boy explicitly explaining to his friend about a sexual matter.
The two boys are soon filled with wonder by what one calls the "best vacation ever." Their father, Lars, played by Trond Espen Seim, is a magazine editor and publisher in Norway whose most recent venture has just folded. Undaunted, he takes the family on a trip to Copenhagen, where he introduces the boys to the eye-opening joys of Copenhagen in the 1970s.
Lars' true purpose, however, was to cadge ideas from a prominent "men's magazine" there, whereupon he realizes that he could follow a similar formula in Norway. His magazine will mix high-toned articles to go along with the expected naked pictures of women, with the idea that it will have a bit of respectability.
Their mother, portrayed by Maria Bonnevie, is a school teacher who is also changed by the trip to Copenhagen; she discovers a women's group that is in direct opposition to what her husband publishes, and carries those ideas home with her to Norway.
The second episode shows a rift that opens between Lars and their mother, when ducking back to show the challenges for the boys in adulthood. Rather than sensationalize the material, the series treats it with rare respect and with an equally rare "insider's perspective" on how the "adult entertainment" business grew, and the effect it had on one family in particular.