James R | On 21, Jun 2017

Things are heating up on Walter Presents this July, as the streaming service takes us to Hellfjord and back.

The VOD platform, which is part of All 4, continues to handpick some of the brightest and best foreign-language TV from around the world for Brits to watch for free. Next month, that comes in the shape of three new box sets, kicking off with Hellfjord and Forgotten Girls.

Hellfjord takes us back once again to the Norwegian coastline for an eccentric black comedy chronicling the antics of small town folk and their questionable habits. From Tommy Wirkola, the writer and director of the cult film series Dead Snow, it follows mounted Police Sergeant Nesbit Salmander (Zahid Ali), who is dismissed from the Oslo police force after accidentally killing his police horse in front of thousands of children at the Independence Day parade… and becoming public enemy number one.

While he serves his notice period, Salmander’s captain banishes him to the fishing community of Hellfjord in the far north of Norway, a local place full of local people where 100 per cent of the population smokes, the average age is 67, and 60 per cent of the town is employed at the Hellfish processing factory. As Salmander scratches the surface of the town, with the help of journalist Johanne and his freakishly, unkempt, not-so-helpful new deputy, Kobba (played by Dead Snow co-writer Stig Frode Henrikson), he discovers a fishy secret that threatens to turn Hellfjord upside down.

Filmed in the tiny fishing village of Gryllefjord, the show mixes Twin Peaks-style music with Murder in Successvile-style eccentricity to create a politically incorrect romp with irreverent humour and a splash of Wirkola’s trademark gore. In the words of Walter himself, this is Norway on a face full of Fleinsopp.

Forgotten Girls is a French thriller from acclaimed director Hervé Hadmar (the creepy Beyond the Walls – available on Shudder). When a young woman goes missing, Lieutenant Christian Janvier is convinced her disappearance is linked to the unsolved cases of six other missing girls whose bodies have never been found – girls he refers to as “the forgotten” – who have vanished without a trace over the past 15 years. All previous investigations have led to a dead end: no suspect, no trail. This time, however, there are clues.

With the faceless killer finally out of hiding and making their first mistake, Janvier is determined to solve the case.

Starring award-winning actor Jacques Gamblin, the show collected the Grand Prize Thriller award at the Luchon International Film Festival.

They both arrive as full box sets on Walter Presents on Friday 7th July – just in time to download them and binge-watch them on the plane or beach during your holidays.

Their dual premiere paves the way for another Norwegian hit: Young and Promising. Combining the warmth and anarchic humour of HBO’s Girls with the originality and emotional honesty of the very best Nordic fare, the bright, beautiful, summery series has taken Norway by storm.

Created by the award-winning writer and lead actress Siri Seljeseth, the semi-autobiographical show is based around Siri’s own experiences. It follows three ambitious 20-somethings desperately trying to make their mark in Oslo. Elise, who has been living in LA trying her hand at stand-up, returns home to renew her visa only to find out it has been refused. Awkwardly, this now means she must face her best friend, Anders, whom she hasn’t spoken to since an ill-advised night of passion, prior to her leaving for America. Alex has got through to the final round of auditions for the most exclusive drama school in Oslo, but the stress is threatening her long-term relationship with her boyfriend, Kimmo, and Nene has written her first book and doesn’t have the faintest idea what to do with it.

Young and Promising has picked up the Best Script and Best Editing prizes at the Norwegian TV Awards, with its second season’s ratings recently going through the roof. With a third and fourth season only just commissioned, what at first appeared to be a niche comedy series for millennials hitting a quarter-life crisis is all set to become a universal success.

The first two episodes of Young and Promising will air on Channel 4 mid-July, with the complete box set of Season 1 and 2 then available on Walter Presents.

For more on what’s coming soon to Walter Presents, click here for our TV guide.

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