Swedish Cold War Satire to Debut on Disney+

Disney+ has slated the premiere of the Swedish Cold War political satire Whiskey on the Rocks, its first Nordic original, for January 22.

Inspired by real events, the series begins when a Soviet nuclear Whiskey class submarine is spotted aground inside a restricted Swedish military area in the early hours of October 28, 1981. With the global superpowers on edge, the world turns to Sweden’s prime minister, Thorbjörn Fälldin, a former sheep farmer, to keep the peace between Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev and U.S. President Ronald Reagan.

Rolf Lassgård stars as Fälldin, while Lithuanian actor Kęstutis Stasys Jakštas plays Leonid Brezhnev and British actor Mark Noble plays Ronald Reagan. The cast also features Elsa Saisio, Anders Mossling, Niklas Engdahl, Filip Berg and Adam Lundgren.

The series is based on a story by author Jonas Jonasson (The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared) and written by Henrik Jansson-Schweizer (Thicker Than Water, Superswede). Björn Stein (Shed No Tears, Midnight Sun) is the director.

Whiskey on the Rocks is a co-production between SVT and The Walt Disney Company Nordic & Baltic. Jan Marnell is a producer. Executive producers are Patrick Nebout, Henrik Jansson-Schweizer, and Magnus Bimberg for Humanoids; Sonja Hermele and Anna Croneman for SVT; and Nanna Mailand-Mercado for Disney+.

The series’ six episodes are going to broadcast on SVT1 during the Christmas season. The series will then bow on Disney+ around the world, excluding Sweden, and on Hulu in the U.S. on January 22.

“The true story behind Whiskey on the Rocks is both dramatic and absurd, and something we felt would work very well as political satire,” director Stein said. “The ambition was to use a visual and suspenseful language to contrast and enhance the humor, in a way you rarely see in comedies. Then when it shifts into true suspense, we are already in that visual world. And although the events in the series happened more than 40 years ago, looking around the world today, it is frighteningly topical.”

Vibeke Lia, director of programming and production at The Walt Disney Company Nordic & Baltic, added, “We are very happy to have partnered up with SVT and Humanoids on Whiskey on the Rocks. Bringing the first Nordic production to Disney+ is incredible. The series is a testament to the richness of our stories, the talent of our region and the global appeal of Nordic storytelling. We can’t wait for audiences around the world to experience the alternate version of what happened outside Karlskrona in 1981.”