Witch Hunt (2020) User Reviews

True to life premise

[guycharl-19594 · 8/10 · 14 July 2021]

Working in a similar field I can confirm that these kind of activities and the difficult dilemmas they pose for compliance staff are all too common.

I found the series a great binge watch, with entertaining if predictable plot turns and excellent acting.

My main criticism is that while virtually every male is portayed in a negative way (dishonest, greedy, sexist, weak, alcoholic, bullying, unpleasant) all of the several female leads are honest, caring, likeable, intelligent and downtrodden. This blanket approach to characterisations is very obvious and becomes tiresome quite quickly. A little more balance between the sexes would have been appropriate.

The burden of being a whistleblower.

[DimitrisPassas-TapTheLine · 7/10 · 2 December 2020]

Witch Hunt (original title: Heksejakt) is a 2020 Norwegian financial thriller that focuses on the interweaving of the economical and political power, inside the broader contemporary European socio-political context, that crashes any individual attempt of finding any kind of justice. In a way, the plot of the show is reminiscent of another similar Nordic TV production, the Danish series Follow the Money (original title: Bedrag), which dealt with money-laundering and fraud in a massive scale, conducted by a gigantic energy company in Copenhagen. In Witch Hunt, the audience witnesses the efforts of several individuals to stand up against a corrupt system that involves businessmen, lawyers, politicians, and journalists who are worried that their dirty laundry is about to exposed by the protagonists. The series features a fine cast and a well-crafted storyline that keeps the viewer engaged throughout the eight episodes of the first season and the nicely-outlined main characters are easy to identify with. It is a nice change from the usual gloomy and gory Nordic noir productions and I hope that we will have the chance to watch more similar productions originating from the Scandinavian countries in the near future.

The show adopts a David versus Goliath angle that puts the protagonist, Ida (Ingrid Bolsø Berdal), a chief accountant in a high-end Oslo law firm, against her own employers when she detects a money-laundering scheme on behalf of the company's biggest client, the tycoon Peer Eggen (Mads Ousdal). Ida will immediately voice her concerns to her superiors, only to be persecuted by them with fabricated accusations of harassment. Ida will be left with no other choice but to turn to the Economic Crime Authority (Økokrim) and the honest, though a bit emotionally unstable, investigator Eirik Bråten (Fridtjov Såheim) who is dead set on bringing down Eggen and whoever associates with him in his shady dealings. As the investigation progresses, Eirik with the help of a young immigrant journalist, Aida (Sara Khorami), will realize that the case is more complex than he initially thought as the Norwegian Minister of Justice, along with her husband, seems to be involved. What follows is an uneven battle between the mighty Peer Eggen and Eirik who urges Ida to come forward and become a witness in order to build his case.

Witch Hunt's primary target is to portray the personal cost that the main characters have to pay in their quest for justice and redemption. The case causes a massive strain on Ida, Eirik, Aida, and their beloved ones as they one by one become prey of a faceless and ruthless network of immense power and reach. Nevertheless, there is a glimmer of hope in the season's finale that leaves the viewer feeling satisfied and optimistic about the future. Ingrid Bolsø Berdal is excellent as Ida and the same is true about Fridtjov Såheim's performance in the demanding role of the temperamental fraud investigator, Eirik. There are more well-known Norwegian actors in the cast such as Axel Boyum (Eyewitness, Home Ground), Gard B. Eidsvold (Hamsun, In Order of Disappearance), Bjørn Skagestad (Wisting, Grenseland), and Preben Hodneland (As I Fall, Amundsen). Overall, this is a recommendable show to the fans of the genre and all those who are keen on television productions that delve into the murky world of finance in the modern age. Give it a try and you won't regret it.

Nordic drama at its best

[erguncoruh · 8/10 · 20 September 2020]

If you're like me fed up with thriller hype, overdosed violence, postmodern sex scene cliches and banality of abundant f-word use, try Nordic, in which you can have fine drama with breathless pace minus artificial ingredients. People look more real and actors behave more real in Nordic drama along with realistic screenplay and dialogs. Actors are natural method actors who will deliver intimacy and authenticity. This one delivered so well that I binge watched in 2 nights. Switch to Nordic or Spanish drama.

Story from almost real life

[kallawrence · 9/10 · 27 February 2020]

Anyone who have followed in Norway Tore Tønne case will realize that this series is partly based on true story.

Great performances all round

[sjhawley66 · 10/10 · 29 September 2021]

This series was a real surprise for me. Kept me on the edge of my seat for the entire run. Ingrid Bolsø Berdal delivered a stand out performance with excellent support from Preben Hodneland and Ola G. Furuseth. Downside was the portrayal of the lead's husband. He came across so unsupportive.

Good start, bad development

[MiguelAReina · 6/10 · 25 January 2021]

With a really interesting beginning, which builds a labor persecution in retaliation for the denunciation of an irregularity, the story unfolds taking a predictable path, stretching the main plot with twists that end up being absurd. The series has two very different parts: a first one of excellent in crescendo tension, and a second one (the minister's subplot) that falls into the void of redundancy. Something similar happened with "Frikjent" (TV2, 2015-), the previous show of its creators. There is a promising start and a stuttering development.

Worth My Time

[dmoorejdrf · 9/10 · 4 April 2021]

The first season of the show was excellent TV viewing. The only issue I had with it is there were too many of "bad guy" victories with few "victim" success moments. Unfortunately that is the usual patter for shows like this. The end did give the viewer their long awaited win, but again, little satisfaction from the nasty bad guys loss. With that said, the writing was credible and the acting was excellent.

Apparently realistic, but several predictable moments and "arid" subject

[BeneCumb · 7/10 · 10 July 2022]

Corridors of different power are not too known for laymen who tend to stick to ingrained ideas how the financiers and politicians operate and cooperate... On the other hand, criticism is often painful and almost every company has something to hide -- so the fate of whistle-blowers if disclosed is never too mild, even in countries with strong legal basis. All this is decently depicted in Heksejakt, both script-wise and cast-wise (with Ingrid Bolsø Berdal pleasantly "in charge"), but pessimism prevails over optimism, paving the way for the outcome we saw (in a way, I liked it as a US series would have used an only positive one).

As I know that Norway is one of the least corrupt countries in the world, many aspects/twists/solutions seemed somewhat far-fetched to me. So "only" 7 points here this time.

Very griping based on true story

[sas2014 · 9/10 · 4 December 2021]

As Norwegian there was a time, when I believed corruption in high places & government level doesn't / shouldn't happen in the best democracy I know. Unfortunately we know now that no country is protected from greed & power that people with money & connection to high places.

Starts well then loses it's way

[ikanboy · 7/10 · 9 March 2021]

A whistleblower is fired and tries to fight her way back, but she runs into serious problems. The lawyer she chooses, her brother in law is a drunk. Her husband is as supportive as a thorn in one's shoe. A step son has the ability to dig up dirt but the script skips by it, and a government official regularly breaks so many ethics that he's a major hurdle. Did I mention the Nancy Drew reporter (of color) who is as aggressive as a kicked hive of bees. It all comes down to a trial in which everything goes wrong but our heroine does a weak imitation of Jimmy Stewart as Mr. Smith, and voila the judges ignore all the lack of evidence and...

Very good serie .

[jeda-89590 · 9/10 · 21 December 2020]

I thought this would be a dull series than after the first emission i got catch.i like it very much when we can see photos and ways that foreign country live !!

Highly Manipulated

[Warin_West-El · 7/10 · 20 March 2023]

Key scene, the witness receives a threatening phone message. PROBLEM? Cell phones are not allowed in courtrooms and certainly NOT while on the witness stand. Furthermore, if the witness receives a threatening message while testifying, what's to prevent him from revealing the threat to his attorney and the court? Why, the screenwriters, of course.

Jonas Waage decides he should come forward. Yet, we do not see him testifying as a rebuttal witness against Pedram Samadi. Nor do we see him reveal that he and Pedram destroyed documents together. The testimony is only about him being fired and his relationship with Birgitte Bugge. IOW: None of what would have been his most powerful testimony was ever brought out in court.

The writers deliberately weaken all of the characters so they can pull their deus ex machina ending of out their back pocket. This series has been described as a David vs Goliath story. However, the plot has been highly manipulated to give the impression that David didn't stand a chance in the fight. Without the multiplicity of manipulations, Goliath gets his butt kicked at least 2 episodes sooner.

Had potential

[orjanmjanger · 5/10 · 20 February 2020]

Had a lot of potential, but falls victim to cheap and predictable plot twists again and again

Well sustained drama

[xmfbpy · 9/10 · 20 November 2021]

Enjoyable, tense drama from start to finish. Did not find it predictable. Excellent acting from main characters. More credible and better developed than many British series.

Vert good

[ivararneberge · 10/10 · 17 July 2021]

Good acting and a very good story in this Norwegian drama series.

Gets bland

[kbondhartley · 4/10 · 20 September 2020]

Started out great but by the 7th episode, you lose the will to watch it because the plot devices become incredibly ridiculous. I was almost expecting the "baddies" to simply kill off all the "goodies" in this by lining them up like ducks and executing them in a dark alleyway. End of story. Very black and white story. Certainly no shades of grey here.

Strong start but fades pretty quickly

[qui_j · 5/10 · 31 December 2022]

This is a Norwegian drama that deals with corruption, something that is not very common there so it does make good subject matter when brought to the screen. The premise is that of someone who cannot ignore a wrongdoing and tries to fight the situation by bringing it to light. The series has a strong start but seems to rapidly run out of ideas and and ultimately lose its way. It tries to bring in other issues but eventually runs out of steam and crash lands. The ending is not very sensible but must have something to do with the way the Norwegian justice system works, and the constant quest for "correctness" and "equality" within their society. Throughout the series, viewers experience a repetitive David vs Goliath scenario which eventually wears thin since there appears to be no satisfactory resolution.

The acting is not bad but the makeup artists could do with some modern skills so that the actors do not appear to have industrial strength makeup and clown faces at times!

Spoileralert....

[abuijs-30907 · 3/10 · 14 August 2021]

I have watched the First 6 or 7 episodes with a curiosity to the next episode.

The last (8) episode was a disaster I saw this coming from a distance. The writer(s) have come up with an end wich is very dissapointing. That is an understatement. Once every few years I watch a tv show serie wich is building to a end, to a climax If you want, of a very bad quality. Lack of ideas, no clue about a storyline, I do not know.

So If you want to be as dissapointed as I am, please watch. For me this was a waste of time and more important, I have the feeling the makers have made an attempt to insult me. Really? That was the question that is stil in my mind. Really?