Vacation Fun on the Danish Coast
If you are looking for a sweet and charming TV series to watch, this is my number one right now. It is streaming now on PBS. Just join your local PBS station an for $5 a month you can stream their content. Seaside Hotel is a Danish comedy-drama set at, yes, a seaside hotel. The show spans the late 1920s to just after WWII. There are nine seasons. Season 9 is due out in 2022. Seaside Hotel follows the vacation lives of the well to do guests and those of the staff who spend their summers every year at the hotel. Unlike our rushed one to two week vacations, the guests have plenty of time to spend at the beach, play bridge or croquet, ride bikes, read, rehearse plays, and eat the delicious meals. You will wish you were there!
Upstairs/Downstairs
There’s a little bit of an upstairs-downstairs feel with the contrast between the staff and guests. For example, the maids have one or two dresses, while the guests bring plenty of stylish clothes. The Depression leaves the guests unscathed while Denmark suffers 30% unemployment. The unemployed and homeless make a stop at the hotels kitchen for a penny and a sandwich, while champagne flows in the dining room. Even so, this isn’t Downtown Abbey with it’s strict social casts and rules. The Danish are a bit more egalitarian. Delightfully, even the King of Denmark answers his own phone, rides a bike and mingles with regular people.
Idyllic Summers Touched by Reality
The idyllic summers spent at Anderson’s Seaside Hotel are not untouched by reality. As Hitler rises to power, intolerance and persecution increases in Germany and slips across the border to Denmark. Some characters seem oblivious to it. Others seem to be determined to keep Seaside Hotel as their escape. This becomes harder to do as Germany occupies Denmark and a regiment of German soldiers ends up camping out next door.
Perfect Pandemic Viewing
Seaside Hotel is a perfect pandemic escape, or as someone put it “my happy space.” Who doesn’t want to imagine themselves in this beautiful summer place. I’m sure there are many people are making plans right now to visit this magical place. The show does provide escape but it also touches on topics pertinent now regarding intolerance and persecution and our responses to it.
What else is in it for me?
Scenery
Seaside Hotel features the wonderful scenery of the Jutland, Denmark. It takes place during the summer when there is quite a bit of light that goes on into the evening. As others have commented–it’s not the usual Nordic noir of darkness and crime.
Costumes
There are period costumes from the 20s 30s and 40s. Like I said before, while the staff may have a dress or two, the guests bring trunk loads, everything from evening dresses to stylish outfits for walking the beach or biking.
Sympathetic Characters
With the exception of a handful of peripheral characters, the primary characters no matter their foibles are written in a sympathetic way. The writing, acting and directing are excellent, and after each season is over its hard to wait for the next installment of the characters’ lives.
