Exit: Norway’s own “Wolves of Wall Street”

The second series of hit Norwegian show, “Exit” premiered earlier this year. It is a very Norwegian satire of the excesses and depravity of the financial elite in this country.

An NRK hit which taps into the current mood against big money

Ever since the 2008 global financial crisis, the financial elite has come under serious attack. A whole generation has now grown up (online of course) on seeing “Wall Street” as the bad guy. This new paradigm was hilariously sent up in Martin Scorsese’s 2013 brilliantly hilarious “The Wolf of Wall Street“.

This anti-money mood has also swept across Norway too. Traditionally Norway is an egalitarian society with strong financial regulations and control. The recent electoral success, however, of political parties that aren’t traditionally the friendliest to bankers and brokers, like the Red Party (Rødt), shows that some Norwegians are fed up with all this focus on money and wealth.

Philip Roth, an American author, said it best when he quipped that “satire is moral outrage turned into comic art.” This is no more evident than in NRK’s wildly successful series “Exit”. Written and directed by Øystein Karlsen (the man behind the wildly funny show “Dag“) it follows the lives of four men who, though it is not clear exactly what they do, all work in finance and have a lot of cash to splash.

Adam (Simon J. Berger), Henrik (Tobias Santelmann), William (Pål Sverre Hagen), and Jeppe (Jon Øigarden) seemingly have it all: millions of kroner, beautiful wives, cars, and houses. Yet all have found that this wealth is, actually, extremely boring. They spent most of their time doing drugs, drinking, partying, carousing with “ladies of the night” and other debaucherous activities.

Biting satire of the boredom of having it all

Karlsen claims that the show is based upon the real lives and stories of people within the finance sector here in Norway. If this is indeed true, it’s a wonder that Norway is still one of the richest countries in the world with its finances in the hands of this awesomely overindulgent foursome. The series shows the very human cost of all this revelry with marriages, families, and friendships severely tested. Those these four men seemingly have everything, the question remains whether this is really true or not.

Given that this time of year is perfect to cuddle up on the couch and binge a series, “Exit” is a brilliantly witty show that highlights the often idiotic and very over-indulgent nature of capitalism in Norway.

NRK has confirmed that “Exit” will return for a third season in 2023 which gives you plenty of time to catch up on the guys’ antics before then.

Source: #Norway Today / #NorwayTodayTravel

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