Many theories have been proposed about why the serial killer dubbed Jack the Ripper appeared to murder at least five women in London in 1888, and then... just stopped. Time travel isn’t usually one of those theories.
But that is exactly the intriguing possibility raised, in crackingly good form, in season two of Beforeigners, the Norwegian police drama based on the idea of ‘timeigration’: the sudden appearance in today’s world of streams of bewildered people from three eras in the past.
In season one, we saw a shocked world dealing with arrivals from the Stone Age, the Viking era and the late 19th century. Six years after the arrivals begin, Oslo police officer Lars Haaland (Norwegian actor Nicolai Cleve Broch, whose prior productions include Ragnorak, streaming now ) is paired with Alfhildr Enginsdottir (Finnish actress Krista Kosonen, Blade Runner 2049), a woman originally from the Viking Age, to investigate a murder.
Nicolai Cleve Broch and Krista Kosonen join forces in season 1. Source: Eirik Evjen / Beforeigners
The second season ups the ante when a murder in Oslo raises the question of whether Jack the Ripper could be among those who’ve travelled from the past (film buffs might recall a time travelling Ripper was also an aspect of 1970s sci-fi thriller Time After Time). It also adds to the already stellar cast with the addition of Paul Kaye (Game of Thrones), Ann Akin (I May Destroy You), Jade Anouka (His Dark Materials) and Billy Postlethwaite (Chernobyl). Returning from season 1 are Stig Henrik Hoff, Tobias Santelmann, Agnes Kittelsen and Kyrre Haugen Sydness, among others.
Both seasons of this drama impressively balance crime, quirky comedy and social commentary. Many of the issues facing the arrivals are the same issues facing migrants around the world today. “It says a lot about our time,” says Broch, when SBS talks to some of the key cast and creatives ahead of the start of season 2 in Australia.
Billy Postlethwaite joins the cast as a man with a mission. Source: HBO Max
In theory, putting all this together in one show seems like a risky undertaking.
“I remember we were uncertain whether it was going to be like a big flop, and no one will understand anything, or great. Nothing in between,” says Broch.
Luckily, in the skilled hands of creators Eilif Skodvin and Anne Bjørnstad (who previously worked together on Lillyhammer) and director Jens Lien (Sons of Norway), the show sits firmly at the ‘great’ end of the spectrum.
In both seasons, an intriguing crime investigation plays out, alongside culture clashes and unpredictable comedy.
Was it hard for stars Kosonen and Broch to keep a straight face in some of those scenes?
“No, not really, because I think the take is just to be true to the situation and to the character and for the characters, it’s not really funny. You know, it’s difficult and strange, but not really funny. So it wasn’t like cracking up on set, really,” says Broch.
For Kosonen, there was a bigger challenge: she didn’t speak any Norwegian when she started filming.
“I had to do this mind game with myself instead of panicking about it. I thought that, in a way, it fits the character. Because she’s only been in this society for six years and she had to learn Norwegian herself. So I felt like, maybe this will suit the character. And everything is new to her. Alfhildr, I think is so brilliantly written that I was so happy about all the scenes, I found myself just being very kind of joyful about them every day.”
Language could have been a big barrier for the two leads, who met for the first time during auditions.
Nicolai Cleve Broch and Krista Kosonen in 'Beforeigners' season 2. Source: HBO Max
“I remember Nicolai came in. And because I was auditioning for the lead in a Norwegian show and then Yens, our director said that, ‘By the way, Krista doesn’t speak any Norwegian. So ...’ And I remember Nicolai’s face was like, ‘Is this a joke?’”
Broch picks up the story: “Because, you know, acting is, first, it’s about dialogue, talking to each other and reacting to each other. And then suddenly, to have a partner who doesn’t really understand what I’m saying, you know, it’s difficult, but I think chemistry between the characters really, really gained on it, because they’re from different times and different cultures, it kind of reflects on the partnership that we don’t really understand what we’re saying to each other.”
“For Alfhildr,” says Kosonen, “I think it gives this rhythm that is kind of offbeat because I am offbeat in a way, and I think for this character, it works.”
The offbeat moments continue in season 2, as the pair investigate a brutal murder; Olaf Haraldsson (Santelmann) tries to convince the authorities he’s actually Olaf the Stout, a Viking king (an actual historic figure, who was later made a saint); Alfhildr consults the Volven (Stiernstedt), a Norse psychic, about a sleepwalking problem; after his battle with an addictive drug called temproxate in season 1, Lars now has family issues; and things get complicated in dealings with the British police over the Jack the Ripper echoes in the local crimes. Trying to sort it all out sees Alfhildr and Lars travelling to London, while mysterious John Roberts (Kaye) trawls the streets of Oslo looking for an English woman of 19th century origin. 
Bjørnstad says Jack the Ripper was an idea that had been with them from the beginning.
Not what most of us wear on the way to work. Source: HBO Max
Paul Kaye as John Roberts. Source: HBO Max
“This is something I have noticed that people who discuss the series sometimes wonder about, you know, the people who come here, what happens in the other end? It’s like the people who come here, they disappear from their own time. And Jack the Ripper, a character who disappeared in his own time … And there has been a lot of speculation. Did he die? Did he go insane and get locked up? What happened to this murderer?”
“So one possible theory was that he timeigrated,” continues Skodvin. “His story fits our universe in a way, or the rules of our universe. And also, we find it very interesting because of this whole ‘fake news’. I mean, in season 1, we started bringing in the neo-Luddites, the 19th century, hostile to technology, slightly terrorist type movement and, and [in season 2] that energy of Jack the Ripper, you know, of ‘There are rumours that Jack the Ripper is back’. Is he really back, or is it just a lie from the neo-Luddites to create unrest?
“It feels very realistic, I think, that the press would be fast to speculate if something like that happened,” adds Bjørnstad.
Beforeigners is a huge undertaking, on many fronts, not least the challenge of realistically portraying people from four time periods.
Jack the Ripper grabs the headlines in Oslo. Source: HBO Max
“I think it’s been very helpful for us to work with Jens on all the episodes in both seasons, because we knew from the start that doing a sci-fi show with period elements would be very challenging. And I remember very early on when we just decided that we’re not going to take any shortcuts, we’re going to do this properly. We’re going to create a language for the Stone Age people, we’re not going to have the actors just improvising something. All these things we kind of agreed on from the start. And of course, it’s an incredible job. But when we’re all in it together, it works, because you find systems to make it work,” Bjørnstad says.
Says Jens Lien, “From the very beginning, we are focusing on details that are important, and all the whole crew and all the people involved we’re telling, ‘Nothing here you can just like “do it” you know, we have to do it properly.’ Because you have fans and you’re going to engage the audience to dig deeper.”
A flashback to the past for Tobias Santelmann. Source: HBO Max
And if watching seasons 1 and 2 leaves you hungry for more, it sounds like everyone’s keen for that.
“We would be keen,” says Broch. “Yes! For sure,” says Kosonen.
“That chances is always there,” says Skovdin. “We’re always thinking about, you know, how could we continue it and the way we end season 2… it’s possible to continue the story and so we just have to wait and see. You know, making a show like this is very difficult, we have a lot of great actors who are successful, on a lot of other movies and shows and it’s a big thing to get together. But yeah, we’re hopeful. I mean, we love the universe, and we definitely think there’s a possibility to continue this story.”
Or jump into the new mystery of season 2:
