Matador poster

Matador

★ 9.2 6K votes 1978–1982 4 seasons · 24 episodes Ended DR1
Family sagaBonds and fractures across generations of one family.This show: 10/10Period pieceSet meaningfully in a past era.This show: 9/10Class divideWealth, poverty and the gulf between them.This show: 8/10Ensemble castMany characters carrying equal weight.This show: 8/10Small townA tight community where everyone knows everyone.This show: 7/10
Rate this series
Starring
Jørgen BuckhøjBuster LarsenGhita NørbyMalene SchwartzHelle VirknerKarin Nellemose
Written by
Erik BallingPaul HammerichLise NørgaardJens Louis Petersen
Starring
Jørgen BuckhøjBuster LarsenGhita NørbyMalene SchwartzHelle VirknerKarin Nellemose
Written by
Erik BallingPaul HammerichLise NørgaardJens Louis Petersen
Ratings per Episode
246810
Votes per Episode
03875113150

Matador Episode Ratings Heatmap

AvgE1E2E3E4E5E6
S18.78.68.68.98.78.88.6
S28.88.88.88.78.78.79.0
S38.78.58.48.68.78.69.2
S48.78.58.88.98.58.58.8

Download Infographic

Matador episode ratings heatmap infographic

The full episode-rating heatmap as a shareable image.

About

Matador is a Danish TV series produced and shown between 1978 and 1982. It is set in the fictional Danish town of Korsbæk between 1929 and 1947. It follows the lives of a range of characters from across the social spectrum, focusing specifically on the rivalry between the families of two businessmen: The banker Hans Christian Varnæs, an established local worthy, and social climber Mads Skjern, who arrives in town as the series opens. The name Matador was taken from the localised edition of the boardgame Monopoly, also the series' tentative English title. In addition, in contemporary Danish a "matador" is often used to describe a business tycoon, in the series referring to the character of Mads Skjern and his craftiness as a self-made entrepreneur. Directed by famed Danish film maker Erik Balling, Matador was the idea of author Lise Nørgaard who wrote the bulk of the episodes alongside Karen Smith, Jens Louis Petersen and Paul Hammerich. The series is one of the most well-known and popular examples of Danish television and represents the peak of longtime development of Danish TV drama by the public service channel Danmarks Radio. The series has become part of the modern self-understanding of Danes, partly because of its successful mix of melodrama and a distinct warm Danish humour in the depiction of characters, which were portrayed by a wide range of the most popular Danish actors at the time; but also not least because of its accurate portrayal of a turbulent Denmark from around the start of the Great Depression and through Nazi Germany's occupation of Denmark in World War II.

All Seasons

Season 11978
8.767065h 7m
Season 21979
8.856067h 22m
Season 31980
8.756767h 55m
Season 41981
8.748966h 21m

Full Cast & Crew

Cast

Jørgen Buckhøj Mads Skjern, Mads Andersen-Skjern
Buster Larsen Oluf Larsen
Ghita Nørby Ingeborg Skjern, Ingeborg Andersen-Skjern, Ingeborg Larsen
Malene Schwartz Maude Varnæs
Helle Virkner Elisabeth Friis
Karin Nellemose Misse Møhge
Holger Juul Hansen Hans Christian Varnæs
Kirsten Olesen Agnes Jensen, Agnes Rud
Elin Reimer Laura Larsine Sørensen
Benny Hansen Frede 'Fatty' Hansen, Frede 'Fede' Hansen

Crew

Erik Balling
Paul Hammerich
Lise Nørgaard
Jens Louis Petersen

Similar Series

Popular picks Shows that people who know this one usually know too. From our AI taste analysis.
Close in taste Nearest neighbors in our taste profile comparison: shared tone, themes and style.