Borgen is a Danish political drama television series. Adam Price is the co-writer and developer of the series, together with Jeppe Gjervig Gram and Tobias Lindholm. Borgen is produced by SAM Productions on behalf of DR, the Danish public broadcaster, which previously produced The Killing. In Danish, Borgen, lit. 'The Castle', is the informal name of Christiansborg Palace where all three branches of Danish government reside: the Parliament, the Prime Minister's Office, and the Supreme Court, and is often used as a stand in term for the Danish Parliament.
The programme tells how, against all the odds, Birgitte Nyborg Christensen (Sidse Babett Knudsen)—a minor centrist politician—becomes the first female prime minister of Denmark. Other main characters are Birgitte Hjort Sørensen as Katrine Fønsmark, a TV1 news anchor; Pilou Asbæk as Kasper Juul, a spin doctor; Søren Malling as Torben Friis, news editor for TV1; Mikael Birkkjær as Birgitte's husband, Phillip; and Benedikte Hansen as Hanne Holm, a journalist.
Four seasons, each comprising 8-10 episodes, have been made. The first season was broadcast in Denmark in the autumn of 2010, the second in the autumn of 2011, and the third beginning 1 January 2013. In the UK, BBC Four started broadcasting the first season on 7 January 2012, with a repeat-showing starting on 13 June 2012. The second series started on 5 January 2013, with initial overnight viewing figures of over one million for the first episode. The third series began on 16 November 2013, with two episodes being shown back-to-back. The fourth series was announced on 29 April 2020 as a partnership between Netflix and DR, and began airing on 13 February 2022. The fourth season was released as a separate series titled Borgen - Riget, Magten, og Æren (known internationally as Borgen – Power & Glory) on Netflix on June 2, 2022.
The series has been broadcast in most European countries, as well as in the United States, Canada, Mexico, South Korea, Japan, Israel, India, Australia and New Zealand. The first three series were added to Netflix globally on 1 September 2020.
Cast and characters[]
- Sidse Babett Knudsen - Birgitte Nyborg
- Mikael Birkkjær - Philipp Christiansen
- Freja Riemann - Laura Christiansen
- Emil Poulsen - Magnus Christiansen
- Pilou Asbæk - Kasper Juul
- Morten Kirkskov - Niels Erik Lund
- Iben Dorner - Sanne
- Hanne Hedelund - Jytte
- Birgitte Hjort Sørensen - Katrine Fønsmark
- Benedikte Hansen - Hanne Holm
- Søren Malling - Torben Friis
- Lisbeth Wulff - Pia Munk
- Thomas Levin - Ulrik Mørch
- Christian Tafdrup - Alexander 'Alex' Hjort
- Anders Juul - Simon Bech
- Lars Knutzon - Bent Sejrø
- Dar Salim - Amir Diwan
- Stine Stengade - Henriette Klitgaard
- Jens Jacob Tychsen - Jacob Kruse
- Kristian Halken - Erik Hoffmann
- Julie Agnete Vang - Nete Buch
- Jens Albinus - Jon Berthelsen
- Lars Mikkelsen - Søren Ravn
- Peter Mygind - Michael Laugensen
- Flemming Sørensen - Bjørn Marrot
- Lars Brygmann - Troels Höxenhaven
- Bjarne Henriksen - Hans Christian Thorsen
- Petrine Ager - Pernille Madsen
- Søren Spanning - Lars Hesselboe
- Ole Thestrup - Svend Åge Saltum
- Marie Askehave - Benedikte Nedergaard
- Jannie Faurschou - Yvonne Kjær
- Signe Egholm Olsen - Anne Sophie Lindenkrone
- Fadime Turan - Aicha Nagrawi
- Claus Bue - Parly Petersen
- Mette Kolding - Inger Hansen
- Laura Allen Müller - Nadia Barazani
- Alastair Mackenzie - Jeremy Welsh
- Claus Riis Østergaard - Ole Dahl
- Mille Dinesen - Cecilie Toft
Real-life equivalents[]
| Fictional entity | Real-life equivalent | Entity |
|---|---|---|
| The Moderates (De Moderate) | Danish Social Liberal Party (Radikale Venstre) | Political party |
| Labour Party (Arbejderpartiet) | Social Democrats (Socialdemokraterne) | |
| Green Party (Miljøpartiet) | Socialist People's Party (Socialistisk Folkeparti) | |
| Solidarity Collective (Solidarisk Samling) | Red-Green Alliance (Enhedslisten) | |
| New Democrats (Nye Demokrater) | New Alliance (Ny Alliance) | |
| Liberal Party (De Liberale) | Venstre | |
| New Right (Ny Højre) | Conservative People's Party (Konservative Folkeparti) | |
| Freedom Party (Frihedspartiet) | Danish People's Party (Dansk Folkeparti) | |
| TV1 | DR1 | Broadcaster |
| 2'eren | TV 2 | |
| Ekspres | Ekstra Bladet | Newspaper |
International broadcast[]
| Country | Network | Local title |
|---|---|---|
| Denmark | DR1 | Borgen |
| International | Netflix | |
| Australia | SBS | |
| Belgium | Canvas | |
| Brazil | Globosat HD, Sundance Channel | |
| Croatia | HRT 3 | |
| Greece | NET | |
| Morocco | 2M TV | |
| Netherlands | NPO 2 (BNNVARA), Film1 Series | |
| Norway | NRK1 | |
| Portugal | RTP2, SIC Radical | |
| Sweden | SVT1 | |
| Turkey | Dizimax Drama | |
| United Kingdom | BBC Four | |
| United States | Link TV | |
| Austria | ORF 2 | Borgen – Gefährliche Seilschaften |
| Germany | Arte, WDR Fernsehen, EinsFestival, Das Erste | |
| Switzerland (German) | SRF 1 | |
| Canada | Ici ARTV, Ici TOU.TV | Borgen, une femme au pouvoir |
| France | Arte, Téva | |
| Switzerland (French) | RTS Un | |
| Estonia | ETV | Võimu kants |
| Finland | Yle Teema & Fem | Vallan linnake |
| Israel | yes Oh, Kan 11 | הממשלה |
| Italy | LaEffe | Borgen - Il potere |
| Japan | Super! Drama TV | コペンハーゲン |
| Mexico | Canal 22 | La esfera del poder |
| Poland | Ale Kino+ | Rząd |
| South Korea | JTBC, CNTV | 여총리 비르기트 |