– It was important for us to do something that was not in the same street as “Couples Therapy”, but that felt most new and fresh. And which we ourselves had not seen before, says Kevin Vågenes.
The comedian is perhaps best known from the successful series “Parterapi” where characters such as “Kjell-Simen” and “Siv-Anita” were particularly popular.
Now he is current with the series “What happened to Solveig?”, which he has written together with Martin Zimmer and Lars Kristian Flemmen.
The series is a humor series that uses genres from true crime.
Because in “What happened to Solveig?” the blogger Solveig Lyngåsen is attacked and killed during her own live broadcast.
The police’s tunnel vision and amateurish work mean that the murder is never solved. Therefore, two journalists decide to unravel what happened to Solveig.
In “What happened to Solveig?” we get to know new characters, but we also get a reunion with familiar characters from “Couples Therapy”.
Photo: Seefood / NRK
True crime-komedie
It was no accident that the series creators chose to make humor about true crime:
– There were many things that appealed. Here there are “talking heads”, there are journalists who weigh in on the case, and there are archival images and reconstructions that we can put our own spin on, says Zimmer.
– In true crime series we also meet police officers, witnesses, journalists and others involved. This was a genre that made it possible for us to bring in different types and characters. In that way, we could get as large and fun a gallery of people as possible, says Vågenes.
In this series too, Vågenes plays most of the characters, more precisely a total of 17 roles.
Photo: Kjetil Solhøi / NRK
But how do you go about creating humor in a genre that is basically dark and inflammatory?
No specific case
– For us, it has been important to use all the typical features found in true crime documentaries, and to stretch and stretch them so that they fit into our silly true crime, says Vågenes.
– This means that we have tried to use archive footage in a humorous way and make the reconstructions as comical as possible, adds Zimmer.
– What has been the biggest challenge?
– Our approach has been to let it be as general as possible, and not let it resemble one specific case. Because you don’t want someone to look at it and get a bad feeling. Because this is humor, says Zimmer.
Martin Zimmer is one of the series creators, and has also worked with Kevin Vågenes on other projects, including “Couple Therapy”.
Photo: Kjetil Solhøi
Completely fictitious
Kevin Vågenes goes on to say that right from the start they have been aware that the victim in the series should not resemble a concrete person.
– The victim in the series is completely detached from both international and national matters, and is completely fictitious.
– What do they say to those who are still critical of making humor in this type of genre?
– If there is anything that is caricatured or made fun of in this series, it is the work of the police, and it has turned out to be a regular occurrence, and I think it is okay to comment on that, Vågenes replies.
Martin Zimmer and Kevin Vågenes have been out in the woods a lot in connection with the new series “What happened to Solveig?”.
Photo: Kjetil Solhøi
The seafarers solve the murder mystery
According to media researcher at UiO, Timotheus Vermeulen, true crime has existed since the beginning of the 20th century, but has gained renewed popularity in recent decades.
– The reason why it appeals to us so much is because it corresponds to how we perceive the world. In this genre, we are asked to be detectives together with the documentary filmmaker. Our task as viewers is to solve the murder mystery, he says.
In addition, the true crime genre follows all the rules of detective fiction.
– That genre has always spoken to us, and is one of the oldest genres in film and TV, the researcher points out.
Vermeulen adds that all genres create their own parodies. Also true crime.
– True crime parodies already exist. On Netflix, for example, you can watch “American Vandal”, and from podcasts you can listen to “A Very Fatal Murder” by The Onion.
This is nevertheless the first time there has been a Norwegian true crime comedy.
You can see “What happened to Solveig?” in NRK TV.
2023-08-18 10:44:53
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