Danish drama 'Families Like Ours' is coming to the BBC

The BBC has acquired Families Like Ours, the debut TV drama series from acclaimed Academy Award and BAFTA-winning director Thomas Vinterberg, for BBC iPlayer and BBC Four, in partnership with STUDIOCANAL.

Written by Vinterberg (Another Round, The Hunt) and Bo Hr. Hansen (Department Q: Journal 64, The Art of Crying), Families Like Ours (7x60) is set in a near-future Denmark where rising sea levels can no longer be ignored, prompting the country’s evacuation. As people scatter in all directions, they are forced to leave behind everything they cherish, their familiar surroundings, and their identities.

Gradually, everything transforms. Property loses its value, fortunes shift, and only a few benefit from the change. Those who can afford it head to wealthier countries, while the less privileged rely on government-funded relocation to more difficult destinations. Families, friends, and loved ones are torn apart. Some are consumed by hatred and division, while others embrace love and forge new beginnings.

At the heart of the story is Laura, a high school student experiencing her first love and on the verge of graduation. When the news of the evacuation is announced, it changes Laura and her family’s lives forever, forcing her to face an impossible decision between the three people she loves most.

Thomas Vinterberg says: "I have a deepfelt connection with the UK and as you will see, it also plays a part in this series. Therefore, it is with eager anticipation that I now await how a new audience will receive Families Like Ours, and I am very thankful to the BBC for delivering this story to a nation I feel such a close kinship with."

Sue Deeks, Head of BBC Programme Acquisition, says: “Families Like Ours is a beautifully constructed, thought-provoking drama about what happens when people are confronted by the inconceivable, and forced to make seemingly impossible choices…”

Filmed across five countries, the series received critical acclaim at both the 2024 Venice International Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival.