Following a recent and entirely unprecedented boom in global exports, Danish TV drama series have become the ‘darling’ of the international television industry and enjoyed widespread acclaim from international critics and audiences alike. This international success, however, is not just unprecedented. It is also interesting from an academic point of view as it challenges existing and long-held theories on global media geography, import/export of audiovisual content, transnational media reception and the importance of transnational television viewing. According to these theories, non-Anglophone audiovisual content rarely exports outside its geo-linguistic region, which in Denmark’s case would be the Nordic region, and Denmark should therefore remain an entirely insignificant player in the worldwide exchange of audiovisual content, and Danish television series’ global popularity and impact therefore calls for alternative explanations.
This special issue wants to investigate the Danish television drama as an empirical object of analysis because its rise to international fame can shed light on recent changes and developments within the international television landscape and industry and within the relations between different stakeholders such as producers, broadcasters, sellers, buyers, audiences, journalists, critics and fans.