Norwegian Princess Märtha Louise and her husband, Durek Verrett, appear in a new six-part Viaplay reality series about Norway’s alternative treatment scene. Reviewers in both Norway and Denmark have criticized the program for asking no critical questions.
DR reports that the series, called “Alternative Norge”, is streaming on Viaplay in Norway and in Denmark. Across six episodes, the couple visits shamans, breathwork therapists, clairvoyants and people who say they can communicate with animals.
Fie West, entertainment editor at B.T., has watched the first two episodes. She told DR’s radio program P1 Orientering that viewers meet a woman who says she can talk to dogs. Verrett, a self-described shaman, also carries out a sound therapy session, and the series includes a visit to a witch.
Another participant is Magnus Støre, the son of Norway’s prime minister, who works as a spiritual guide. The program presents these environments to Danish TV audiences through Viaplay’s streaming service.
Norwegian reviewers criticize the series
In its review, Aftenposten wrote that the series takes a completely uncritical approach to an industry that in part targets people in vulnerable situations. The newspaper described the program as ethically questionable.
The Norwegian outlet VG reached a similar conclusion. Its reviewer described the series as the laziest, most uncritical and most context-free form of television production imaginable.
Danish editor calls it microphone-holding
West used the Danish expression “mikrofonholderi”, meaning simply holding out the microphone, to describe the program. According to her account to P1 Orientering, the series contains no critical questions at all about the treatments shown.
She said viewers are shown these environments without facts being placed on the table. Experts could have added nuance, she noted, or the hosts could have asked a few counter-questions to make viewers better informed about what is happening.
Viaplay itself classifies the program as reality rather than documentary. West said she still believes critical questions would have been appropriate, regardless of the genre label.
Madeleine Liereng, press contact for the series at Viaplay in Norway, responded to the criticism. As previously communicated in a press release, she said, the series does not take a position on the claims presented. It instead gives viewers the chance to enter the various alternative environments and their world.
Liereng added that the series sits in the reality category on Viaplay and is in line with the premise the company has communicated. The six episodes are available on the platform in both Norway and Denmark.
