‘Suburbia,’ Discovery Plus’ New Swedish Original, Skewers Scandi Consumerism

variety.com:

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent“Fitness advice, gig economy, binge watching Danish crime series, sustainability, sex when the kids watch cartoons, mobile bank ID, personal development 5:2 diet, anti-aging cream, Adobe updates, climate friendly travel, body activism,” Anders rants quietly to the camera, as he walks from his car to home in the equivalent of white picket fence Sweden at the beginning of Swedish Discovery Plus Original “Gotebia,” a half-hour dramedic psychological thriller.“Exterior renovations, Roblox, mini Rodini hats, dinners from Fedora.

Shared family calendar. Find us-time, life with kids, drainage pipes, hot yoga, performance review, changing the plumbing, pub crawls, doggy day care,” he goes on.

43, Anders is out of his depth at work where his company’s motivational speakers are no longer found in the newspaper or on TV but on YouTube, TikTok, Snap and Instagram.

And suffering to keep up with the Joneses – in this case tennis player and neighbor Martin’s macho consumerism with his red sports car, new deep fryer and oven which doubles up as a microwave – Anders rebels via petty acts of violence, key ripping Martin’s car, head-butting an obstreperous cyclist and tipping his boss’ Entrepreneur of the Year trophy into the wastepaper bin.Then when he discovers that his tween daughter is being bullied at school, something snaps.The Discovery Plus Original is also set to air on Sweden’s Kanal 5 from March 2022.