Now that Season 3 of The Bridge has completed its run in the Nordic countries, curious minds want to know, “Will there be a fourth season?”
Fans of The Bridge (Bron/Broen) across Scandinavia have been positively effusive in their praise of the show’s third season.
During an online Q&A with Hans Rosenfeldt, the series’ creator and writer, and Christian Wikander, Director of Drama at Sweden’s SVT, viewers exclaimed:
“This was a gripping season…”
“…crazy good season…”
“ABSOLUTELY AMAZING SERIES!!!!!”
“Best so far!”
“This was the best I’ve ever seen. Superbly written.”
“WHAT SHOULD I DO NOW EVERY SUNDAY???”
Wikander’s industry peers on the commissioning side of television agreed, when Season 3 of The Bridge had a double win at last week’s C21 Drama Awards — for Best Returning Series and Best Female Performance for series lead Sofia Helin in her role as Saga Norén.
Those prizes capped off the season whose first episode garnered record viewership figures in Sweden, Denmark, and Finland.
Viewers also gave kudos to Rosenfeldt for the outstanding writing in Season 3.
“Hans, you’re a genius”
“Hans Rosenfeldt, if there were a Nobel Prize for a television script, you would definitely have it in a little box!”
And the introduction of Thure Lindhardt in the third season as Henrik Sabroe, Saga’s new partner from Denmark, received equally high marks.
“Without a doubt the best season, Henrik brought so much!”
“Henrik Sabroe, absolutely wonderful replacement for Rohde.”
“Henrik is really the best thing that happened Bridge!! <3”
“I’m still blown away by Henrik Sabroe, this character is in my opinion the most interesting… The actor is so good, he feels completely real and a better replacement for Kim [Bodnia] (Martin) could hardly be found… We want to see more of him!”
Needless to say, viewers expressed their desires and pleaded for, even demanded, a fourth season.
“I hope there will be a 4th season.”
“Fingers crossed for a 4th season”
“Please do a fourth season!!!”
“You must make a season 4!!”
“More [The] Bridge for the people!”
My favorite of the lot:
“Humanity needs a fourth season.”
So, will there be a Season 4 of The Bridge?
According to Rosenfeldt and Wikander, “We do not know yet.”
The deal is this: At this time, the producers are discussing the possibility with SVT and DR, which co-produce the series with Filmlance International AB, Nimbus Film Productions, Film i Väst, ZDF, ZDF Enterprises, Film i Skåne, and Norsk Rikskringkasting (NRK).
While Rosenfeldt believes everyone involved in the production are interested in another season, and he has ideas for it, both he and Wikander were quick to point out during the Q&A that a lot must be in place before a decision can be made. Namely, an equally good or better story, financing, and a schedule that works for everyone’s calendars.
One viewer brought up Swedish media reports about Helin’s aversion to doing another season, to which Rosenfeldt responded, “Sofia is not at all negative about participating. It’s about what stories we come up with, how the scheduling looks, and lots of other factors. In general, she is positive, but there is plenty to work out. For her, as for all of us.”
He stated in a separate interview with SVT that, given Kim Bodnia’s departure after the second season, the series can’t handle a similar “drop-out” of a major cast member. If there were to be any continuation of The Bridge, the character of Saga Norén would be front and center.
“It is very important that we find a new angle and say something new. Partly in general but above all for Saga. For Sofia to be able to step into this for another ten hours, we need to explore new sides of Saga. But if we find the right story and everything falls into place, and we get the money, we definitely want to make a fourth.”
In the same article, Helin offered little, except to say that she had “no idea” about where to take Saga if the series were to continue, and “no clue” about if she could do it. This followed a comment in a pre-premiere interview that her work on Season 3 was “even more exciting, challenging and exhausting” than in the previous two, and another in her post-premiere open letter to the series’ viewers that “The Bridge III is professionally the most demanding and challenging I have done so far in my life.”
Series director Henrik Georgsson, who’s been involved in every season of The Bridge, echoed some of Rosenfeldt’s sentiments.
“You need an exciting case first, then you have to find exciting things about the main characters, so that it does not feel repetitive… I do not have any desire to do a series that just rolls on, where you do not feel there’s something new to say. For all three seasons it felt that we had much that was new to say every time. It’ll be great fun if there are more seasons, but they need to be at the same level, otherwise I think it isn’t worth it.”
Wkiander added during the Q&A that the decision about Season 4 would likely be made in the spring of 2016, and if it’s a go, then the entire process, from scriptwriting to filming to post-production, would take between 18-24 months, which explains why there has been a two-year wait for each new season.
So there you have it. Fingers crossed that there will be a Season 4 of The Bridge.
The Bridge: Season 3 continues this Saturday, 12 December 2015, with Episodes 7 and 8, on BBC Four. There has been no announcement yet regarding its premiere date in the US.
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