The chairman of the association fighting to preserve Tange Sø says he feels exposed by a character in TV 2’s new drama series “Rivalerne,” which had its name changed from Jarl to Carl shortly before the premiere.
Jarl Gorridsen, chairman of Foreningen til Bevarelse af Tange Sø, says the businessman character Carl Felding draws too closely on his real campaign for the lake. As DR reported on September 18, 2026, he told the radio program P1 Morgen that he and his lawyer wrote to TV 2 about the character.
“Rivalerne” is set in the fictional town of Elverkilde. The plot centers on a conflict over restoring a stream that runs through an artificial lake. Biologist Karen wants the waterway restored, while Carl Felding has financial interests in keeping the lake.
TV 2 changed Jarl to Carl
According to TV Midtvest, TV 2 changed the character’s first name from Jarl to Carl after the complaint. Gorridsen told P1 Morgen he wrote to the broadcaster because it looked like a potential smearing of his character in real life.
He says Carl Felding is portrayed as malicious and abrasive, and that he himself is neither rich nor conspiratorial. Per his account to DR, the character’s viewpoint parallels his association’s position, but is presented one-sidedly. He added that their cause is constantly attacked by Danmarks Naturfredningsforening and Dansk Sportsfiskerforbund.
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Writer points to a different origin
Head writer Anders Rønnow Klarlund says the idea came from meeting a biologist involved in the debate about restoring waterways. She had lost her husband and was left alone with five children. That inspiration, about loss, grief and restoration, is the theme of the series, he told P1 Morgen.
He says he cannot claim the series has nothing to do with Tange Sø, and that he is of course inspired by that conflict. Similar disputes over rivers and artificial lakes exist in Norway and France, he noted. The production built a fictional frame, with a lake called Morild Sø and a plant called Morild-værket.
Klarlund says there was never any intention to smear a living person. He notes that name changes late in production are common, pointing out that Indiana Jones was called Indiana Smith until very late in the process. In the series, Lars Mikkelsen plays Carl Felding, opposite Johanne Louise Schmidt as Karen.
Sara Askeløv, senior executive producer at TV 2, stated in a written response that name choices are part of the artistic writing process. The character was originally called Jarl Felding because the name was meant to signal high status in the series universe. Once the production was made aware that it could create a link to Jarl Gorridsen, the name was changed.
Tange Sø is Denmark’s largest artificial lake and was created in 1920 in connection with the Gudenaacentralen power plant, also known as Tangeværket. A conflict over whether to remove the lake and restore the river’s free flow has run for years in central Jutland.
