In the sci-fi drama Beforeigners from HBO Nordic, Oslo is overrun with immigrants and refugees. But they haven’t come from other countries. They’re from the past. In fact, they’re from three specific eras: the Stone Age, the Viking age, and the Victorian age. No one knows why or how they came, but police detectives Lars Haaland and his partner Alfhildr Enginsdottir – who is a former Viking herself – are uncovering mysteries and conspiracies that might lead to the truth. The show was created by Eilif Skodvin and Anne Bjørnstad, and I was very happy that I got to talk with Anne about how they created the show, and why time travel turns out to be a great metaphor to explore issues of immigration and national identity.
NOTE: Five months after this episode aired, Discovery took over Time Warner Media and removed Beforeigners from HBO Max (along with a ton of other shows and films) as part of a drastic overhaul of their inventory. Unfortunately, Beforeigners is no longer available to stream anywhere in the world, and they lost the opportunity to make a third season.
