Blackport
Native nameVerbúðin
Genre
Writer
Director
Starring
CountryIceland
LanguageIcelandic
Num seasons1
Num episodes8
Producer
CinematographyHrafn Garðarsson
CompanyVesturport
NetworkRÚV
Released26 December 2021

Blackport (Icelandic: Verbúðin) is an Icelandic television drama miniseries, written by Gísli Örn Garðarsson, Björn Hlynur Haraldsson and Mikael Torfason[1] and produced by Vesturport in association with RÚV. The first episode of the eight part series[2] premiered on the RÚV (TV channel) on 26 December 2021.[3][4]

Synopsis

The series takes place from 1983 to 1991 and follows a married couple, Harpa and Grimur, who buy an old trawler with their childhood friends and build a small fishing empire in a village in the Westfjords of Iceland. All goes well until the Icelandic government starts enforcing new restrictive fishing quotas which turn their lives upside down and result in a feud of jealousy, greed and betrayal.[5]

Cast and characters

Production

Filming started in 2020 and took place in Reykjavík and in the Westfjords.[12][13]

Reception

According to a poll by Prósent, 57% of the Icelandic population watched the first episode of the show with 88% giving it a positive review.[14][15] Following the shows première, Independence Party parliamentarian Ásmundur Friðriksson criticised the show for its portrayal of the rural people of Iceland.[16][17]

Awards

In September 2021, the series won the Grand Prize at the 2021 Series Mania festival.[18] In November it won the jury prize at the Serielizados Fest in Spain.[19] On 2 February 2022, the Nordisk Film & TV Fond announced that Gísli Örn Gardarsson, Björn Hlynur Haraldsson and Mikael Torfason, writers of Blackport, were the recipients of the 2022 Nordic TV Drama Screenplay Award.[20][21][22]

Sequel

In March 2025, it was reported that a sequel, titled Stick 'Em Up, was in the making.[23]

References

  1. ^ Jakob Bjarnar (24 January 2022). "Verbúðin er því sem næst heilagur sannleikur" (in Icelandic). Vísir.is. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  2. ^ Davíð Roach Gunnarsson & Atli Már Steinarsson (4 July 2020). ""Það var bara unnið, drukkið og djammað"" (in Icelandic). RÚV. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  3. ^ Anna Marsibil Clausen (27 December 2021). "Búningarnir fengnir úr fataskáp ráðherra" (in Icelandic). RÚV. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  4. ^ "Verbúðin slær í gegn hjá Íslendingum" (in Icelandic). Morgunblaðið. 27 December 2021. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  5. ^ Hallgerður Kolbrún E. Jónsdóttir (4 December 2021). "Fyrsta stiklan úr Verbúðinni: "Þetta er óður til níunda áratugarins"" (in Icelandic). Vísir.is. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  6. ^ Hallgerður Kolbrún E. Jónsdóttir (4 July 2021). "Sagði sig frá Witcher vegna Verbúðarinnar" (in Icelandic). Vísir.is. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  7. ^ Júlía Margrét Einarsdóttir & Atli Már Steinarsson (10 January 2022). "Áskorunin var klárlega í því að Sveppi missti höndina" (in Icelandic). RÚV. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  8. ^ "Áskorun að missa útlim í Verbúðinni" (in Icelandic). K100. Morgunblaðið. 17 January 2022. Retrieved 18 January 2022.
  9. ^ Davíð Kjartan Gestsson & Baldvin Þór Bergsson (11 January 2022). "Á sundskýlunni í heimspressunni" (in Icelandic). RÚV. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  10. ^ "Þegar Steingrímur sprangaði um á sundskýlunni" (in Icelandic). Morgunblaðið. 10 January 2022. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  11. ^ "Verbúðin sprengdi skalann í gærkvöldi" (in Icelandic). Morgunblaðið. 24 January 2022. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  12. ^ Orri Freyr Rúnarsson (21 May 2020). "Tökur hafnar á spennuþáttum um kvótakerfið" (in Icelandic). RÚV. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  13. ^ "Sjáðu heimili Hörpu og Gríms í Verbúðinni" (in Icelandic). Morgunblaðið. 3 January 2022. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  14. ^ Þorvarður Pálsson (11 January 2011). "Höfuðborgarbúar ánægðari með Verbúðina en landsbyggðin" (in Icelandic). Fréttablaðið. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  15. ^ "Mikið áhorf og mikil ánægja með fyrsta þátt Verbúðarinnar" (in Icelandic). Klapptré. 14 January 2022. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  16. ^ Jakob Bjarnar (27 December 2021). "Ásmundur segir Verbúð lýsa landsbyggðarrasisma RÚV" (in Icelandic). Vísir.is. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  17. ^ Arnar Þór Ingólfsson (27 December 2021). "Þingmaður upplifði "landsbyggðarrasisma" við sjónvarpsáhorf á öðrum degi jóla" (in Icelandic). Kjarninn. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  18. ^ Ragnar Tómas (3 September 2021). "Icelandic Thriller Blackport Takes Grand Prize at Series Mania 2021" (in Icelandic). Iceland Review. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  19. ^ Þorgils Jónsson (5 November 2021). "Verbúð verðlaunuð á Spáni" (in Icelandic). Vísir.is. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  20. ^ "Hljóta verðlaun fyrir handrit Verbúðarinnar" (in Icelandic). Morgunblaðið. 2 February 2022. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
  21. ^ "Blackport wins the 2022 Nordisk Film & TV Fond Prize". Nordisk Film & TV Fond. 2 February 2022. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
  22. ^ Sylvía Rut Sigfúsdóttir (2 February 2022). "Verbúðin hlaut Norrænu sjónvarpshandritaverðlaunin" (in Icelandic). Vísir.is. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
  23. ^ Oddur Ævar Gunnarsson (14 March 2025). "Harpa kvótadrottning aftur á skjáinn" (in Icelandic). Vísir.is. Retrieved 14 March 2025.