Soon, the two families find themselves entwined in a traumatizing act of violence. The two parents quickly represent two sides of the same coin, and Kevin is the one flipping allegiances between his father and his coach. Psychologically and physically abusive, Mats applies the same win-at-all-costs ethos Peter has, only with a more villainous conviction. Not only is Kevin already idolized as the second-coming of Peter - a once-in-a-lifetime talent destined to represent Beartown in the NHL - but he’s the son of Peter’s old teammate, new neighbor, and enduring nemesis, Mats (Tobias Zilliacus). The new girl in school, Maya latches on quickly with Ana (Sanna Niemi), a kind girl with a locker nearby, but she also innocently flirts with the star hockey player on her dad’s team, Kevin (Oliver Dufåker). Peter is the focal adult character, and his journey is an often-uncomfortable journey of self-discovery, but his daughter, Maya (Miriam Ingrid), is one of our key gateways into teen life, and her story keeps us hooked into the present. Miriam Ingrid in “Beartown” Niklas Maupoix / HBO Nordic

He lives by the ethos of winning at all costs, and “Beartown” soon shows exactly what it costs him. He pushes players beyond reasonable limits based purely on his own belief they can do better. He bullies his way into getting the team he wants to coach. They even manage to get you caught up in the stakes of individual games, while simultaneously emphasizing how a fixation on wins and losses defines the young lives of current players and resulted in the man Peter, among others in town, has become.Īnd Peter is no saint. Director Peter Grönlund and writers Anders Weidemann, Antonia Pyk, and Linn Gottfridsson take the necessary time to show how sports culture envelops the town. There’s a silent, haunting scene where a group of young girls are practicing figure skating, when a whistle suddenly blows and the older hockey players burst off the bench and skate circles around the class, both as a warning to clear the ice and as a thoughtless act, like those little girls don’t even exist. This kind of player empowerment translates time and time again to entitlement.

They hold meetings over the coaching decisions, get drunk in the bar talking about upcoming games, and generally do whatever is necessary to produce a winning team. They do the same at practices, which they attend religiously. Parents scream profanities at the refs - and young players - from the stands.

While this may sound like a rather mundane life development for a former professional hockey player, Beartown is obsessed with its hockey club. The ‘Succession’ Finale Set a Series Record in Viewership, but…įlashing back to what led to such drastic measures, Peter Andersson (Ulf Stenberg) and his family return to his titular hometown in Sweden, where he’s accepted a job to coach the local ice hockey team.

Sequel to beartown