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The Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y., Friday, February 19, 2021 4 By Rachel Jones TV Media I f you like hockey, Swedish backdrops, shocking twists and inspiring stories about small communities, then you're in luck. The five-part series "Beartown" takes all of these qualities and turns them into a new series that is set to pre- miere Monday, Feb. 22, on HBO. It isn't every day you see a hockey drama hit the main- stream, and this one is certain- ly a far cry from the Mighty Ducks movie franchise. As Beartown, a small community in Sweden, prepares for its ju- nior ice hockey team to win in the Swedish national semifi- nals, it is clear that, for all in- tents and purposes, this partic- ular group of teenage boys is the forest town's last beacon of hope. Hockey is no joke in Beartown, as is proven by the events to come — beware: some sensitive/potentially trig- gering event details to follow. The intense pressure of the impending game has been weighing heavy on one of the team's star players, Kevin (new actor Oliver Dufåker), and at a party he sexually assaults 15-year-old Maya Andersson (Miriam Ingrid, "Day Trip," 2020). As she tries to heal from the trauma caused by the crime, the series turns from an intense hockey showdown to a domino-effect, he-said-she- said drama. The event's turmoil leaves no resident untouched and Beartown, known for its reputation as a hockey town, is left to deal with the ripples of the act of violence. Meanwhile, Benji (budding actor Otto Fahlgren), a sensi- tive, troubled character who lost his father when he was young, is used to getting him- self into trouble. While Kevin's entitlement goes so far as to have the charges against him dropped, his friendship with Benji goes through major changes as Benji learns the truth of what happened that fateful night with Maya. Maya is an artistic and am- bitious young girl who does not care for hockey, despite her father's position as the team's general manager. Unfortunate- ly, she's up against Kevin's glowing reputation and the community's love for him, put- ting her at a loss with her case. How she handles this struggle remains to be seen, though footage from the trailer shows her fixing a rifle on a perceived off-screen threat. Also appearing in "Beartown" is Ulf Stenberg ("Love Me") as Maya's father, Peter Andersson, and Aliette Opheim ("Thicker Than Wa- ter") as her mother, Mira. The two are joined by Opheim's "Thicker Than Water" co-star Tobias Zilliacus as Mats Erdahl. The series stars actors that may be unfamiliar to U.S. audiences but are well known in Europe, particularly in the Scandina- vian countries. But for actors Otto Fahlgren and Oliver Dufåker, who play Benji Ovich and Kevin Erdahl, "Beartown" is their first production. It's obvious "Beartown" is not your typical feel-good sto- ry. The Swedish drama explores more than just the quaint and welcoming things that bring a community together. It dives into the secrets that can tear communities apart, the conse- quences of how we raise our boys and what it takes to go against a group. Based on the book "Beartown (Björnstad)," the show is the brainchild of its au- thor Fredrik Backman. The nov- el was not only a New York Times Bestseller when it was published in 2018, but it was also put up for several awards, including an Audie Award, the Goodreads Choice Award and Book of the Year Award in its home country of Sweden. This wasn't the first time Back- man's writing has garnered in- ternational attention, either. Producers made a film adapta- tion of Backman's 2012 debut novel, "A Man Called Ove," which went on to receive two Oscar nominations in 2017. Looking to the novel for clues about what the series will bring, we know that it's shocking. Shocking enough for a North Carolina school to re- move it from its reading list for being too vulgar. So, U.S. audi- ences can only imagine how the show will approach such a sensitive subject (it does have a rating of TV-MA). But produc- ers chose Backman's story for a reason; it isn't just shock value. The characters are multi-di- mensional, the plot is unique and it dares to venture into cul- turally relevant, moral territory. As the #MeToo movement holds strong and millennials and Gen Zs largely tear apart the elements of "toxic mascu- linity," the scope of "Beartown" goes beyond an audience looking for a new bingeable series, and it does so without pushing any agenda. The relationships and interac- tions between characters are commentary enough — and the outcome of the ruling against Kevin decries how peo- ple treat women when their at- tacker is a popular public fig- ure. Despite the incredible downs and darkness of the story, Backman injects an over- arching theme of hope: hope for the town, hope for recovery and hope that we can do bet- ter as a society. In charge of transforming the novel into a series are showrunners Anders Weide- mann ("30 Degrees in Febru- ary"), Antonia Pyk ("Blue Eyes") and Linn Gottfridsson (the Arne Dahl franchise). Filmlance International pro- duced the series which was then distributed by HBO's Max and Nordic divisions and was overseen by Bonnie Skoog ("Eternal Summer," 2015) and Mattias Arehn ("Para knas" 2017), and ex- ecutive producers Hanne Palmquist ("Beforeigners"), Steve Matthews ("Beforeign- ers") and Antony Root ("Tuff Money"). If fans of the novel have any concerns, they can rest easy knowing Filmlance is one of Scandinavia's lead- ing production companies, re- sponsible for numerous Swedish hits, including the Netflix series "Caliphate," the 2011 drama "Stockholm East" and the Torgny Segerstedt biopic "The Last Sentence" (2012). coverstory Tobias Zilliacus in "Beartown" Skating around secrets: New hockey drama 'Beartown' premieres on HBO By Adam Thomlison TV Media Q: Can you tell me who played the cop in "House at the End of the Street"? He looked really familiar to me and I'm not sure why. A: There are a number of reasons you might know Canadi- an-born actor Gil Bellows — either from one of his high-pro- file gigs or his multitude of smaller supporting roles — but you also might just feel that way because he's so comfortable in the sort of role he played in the 2012 horror flick "House at the End of the Street." He's had a long and pretty varied career, with an impressive 112 film and TV roles to his credit. That means, of course, there are a whole lot of reasons you might know him, but two stick out: "The Shawshank Redemption" (1994) and "Ally Mc- Beal." In "Shawshank," he played Tommy, who is incarcerated for burglary and reveals some key plot points to Andy (star Tim Robbins). Shortly after that, Bellows landed a very different role on the feather-light legal-comedy series "Ally McBeal" as Billy Thomas, the ex-boyfriend with whom Ally is forced to work at Cage and Fish. He was a part of the sprawling ensemble cast for the first three seasons, returning a couple of times after that. He also appeared in a crossover with its sister series, "The Practice." Along with "House at the End of the Street," there are a lot of authority-figure roles among the other 100-plus entries on his resume. For example, he played an FBI agent in 2016's "11.22.63" and the director of the NSA in the 2013 miniseries "Delete." He's also popped up on some of the biggest procedural se- ries of recent years — "Criminal Minds," "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" and, of course, "Law & Order," which coinci- dentally was his first TV role all the way back in 1991. Q: I put on a baseball movie the other day, but it wasn't what I was looking for. It was called "The Rook- ie" and I was hoping it was a '90s Disney movie about a teenager who breaks his arm and becomes a superstar pitcher. Instead, it was about a middle-age teacher who joins the majors. What was I looking for? A: The kid you were looking for wasn't just any old rookie, he was "Rookie of the Year" (1993). You're certainly not the only one to be disappointed by ex- pecting one and getting the other. They are, as you say, very different movies, despite both being made by Disney. And they were only released nine years apart (Dennis Quaid's "The Rookie" was released in 2002). "Rookie of the Year" is a light, kid-centric fantasy film, while "The Rookie" is going for something more realistic (though the idea of a middle-age man making the majors in today's big-money era isn't much less fantastic). Of course, you can't really lose by watching either film if you're a baseball fan. Sports news website BleacherReport. com included both of them on its list of the 25 greatest base- ball movies — "The Rookie" at No. 16 and "Rookie of the Year" just a few places lower at 24. For the record, "Field of Dreams" (1989) came first. Have a question? Email us at questions@tvtabloid.com. Please include your name and town. Personal replies will not be provided. hollywoodQ&A

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