Swedish Dicks American Series Premiere Plot Summary:
Swedish Former stuntman turned private eye Ingmar (Peter Stormare) is hired to retrieve a stolen laptop a down-on-his-luck former semi-popular Swedish DJ named Axel (Johan Glans). The two form a weird friendship, which eventually leads them to working together as the PI duo known as “Swedish Dicks.”
Swedish Dicks is a fun watch.
The series, which originally aired on the Swedish streaming service ViaPlay back in 2016, follows two down-on-their-luck Swedes, who team together to form a private detective agency. The show plays like your typical buddy cop series — there’s the cranky old vet (Stormare), and his plucky/annoying new partner (Glans).
However, Glans and Stormare don’t give us the same pat performance we’d expect from a tried, and kinda tired trope like the buddy comedy. They’re both kind of annoying in their own right, but also quite likable, and endearing. The two have a wonderfully charming chemistry that makes you look past some of the obvious jokes, and plot twists.
The plot of each episode, for the most part, is not necessary to enjoying the series at all. It’s all about how the two main characters interact. And to that point, this is the biggest problem with the show. The plot is just kind of there, and the show relies on its immensely talented stars to be funny. There’s no investment in the episode, you’re just kind of waiting for Glans and/or Stormare to be funny. If they’re not doing something funny interest wanes easily.
There is a glimmer of story hope for Swedish Dicks though — we’re given a glimpse of Stormare’s character being held at gunpoint by Keanu Reeves’ (that’s not a typo) hitman character. This snippet makes me want to come back to find out more, because it’s not every day Keanu Reeves is on a TV show.
Swedish Dicks is not reinventing the comedy wheel, but at the end of the day it’s just a fun little show. It’s a 30 minute that moves at a quick pace, is good for a few laughs, and has intriguing plot potential. Give it a watch.
Rating: 6 out of 10
