NYSocBoy's Beefcake and Bonding: Pernille: Norwegian angst comedy with a gay dad, a bi nephew (probably), a gay wedding (almost), lots of funerals, and n*de Vikings

May 20, 2025

Pernille: Norwegian angst comedy with a gay dad, a bi nephew (probably), a gay wedding (almost), lots of funerals, and n*de Vikings

**Link to the n*de dudes**

I did my undergrad at a Swedish Lutheran college, where everyone had to read Ibsen and Strindberg (ugh!), and listen to Peer Gynt (shudder), so I don't trust Scandinavian fiction. Even the comedies tend to the dark and dreary. So, when Pernille (2021-24), renamed from the Norwegian Pørni for obvious reasons, appeared on Netflix as a "triumph of Norwegian television," I decided to do a little research before jumping in:

1. Any gay characters?

2. How many deathbed scenes?

The premise: Pørni, a single mother (until she starts dating Bjørnar in Episode 1.2), works for child protective services. After her sister's tragic death, she becomes responsible for her teenage nephew Leo (Jon Ranes)

Left: Gunnar Eiriksen plays Bjørnar, but I think this is a different one.

Episode 1.3, "Don't Get a Boyfriend, Please": "When Leo has an angry outburst during a match, Pørni urges him to deal with the elephant in the room."

The elephant must have something to do with the request to not get a boyfriend. Leo must be gay, and Auntie Pørni disapproves.

Nope, the elephant is: His dad killed his mother, and wll probably go to prison, but Leo hates him, and thinks that he should have died.

Pørni advises that, regardless of the anger he feels, Leo owes the kid he attacked an apology, and he shouldn't have called him "mongo." Not a gay slur -- it refers to a mental disability.

Episode 1.6: Leo has a "Big Day," but when I checked, it turned out to be his confirmation (joining the Lutheran Church). And the guy sitting next to him is a family member, not a boyfriend.

Leo next appears in the plot synopsis in Episode 2.3, when a girl named Rains appears, and everyone is shocked: "I thought they broke up." "No, they're just open to seeing other people." Heterosexualized in Season 2!

But in Episode 5.6, which I skimmed through for another reason, Auntie Pørni asks Leo, "Have you seen Lukas lately?" with that eager gleam that you doubtless recognize from your childhood, when your parents were playing matchmaker. He responds, "Not since I picked up the t-shirts for the bachelor party. Why?" "Oh, no reason." Gleam, gleam, knowing smile.

They use he/him pronouns: Lukas is a guy. And it sounds very much as if Pørni is trying to push them together. Maybe Leo has come out as bi.

Actor Jon Ranes plays a youth gang member in the concurrent Flus (2022-24), and sings under the name Loverboy. I don't know if he's gay in real life or not, but I have my suspicions.

I was so invested in skipping over the darkness, depression, and unyielding agony of life in Scandinavian comedies that I missed the elephant in the room:

Episode 1.1: While dealing with the grief over her sister's murder, Pørni learns that her elderly father (Nils Ole Oftenbro) is dying of an incurable brain tumor. As he will be dead soon, he reveals a secret that he has been keeping for 70-plus years.

Yep he's gay. And the brain tumor was a misdiagnosis. He's fine; well, terribly depressed, but in a Scandinavian comedy, who isn't?

Left: Nils Ole Oftenbro, early photo. He's been acting since the 1960s.

More after the break.

Left: Nils and his son play the older and younger Peer Gynt (shudder), from a 2017 article where he discusses his cancer diagnosis (naturally).

Dad begins dating Stephen (Henrik Mestad) around Episode 1.5. Stephen appears in 14 of 23 episodes.

In Season 4, Dad becomes a queer activist, which alienates the boyfriend. But they reconcile in time to march with the other queer retirees in the Oslo Pride Parade.

Season 5 is about their wedding plans, not fitting into the tux, preparations for the bachelor party, and the big event. But this is Norway, so nobody gets a happy ending. Guess who has an egregious death just as the wedding is starting?

Exactly as the wedding is starting, as Stephen is waiting to walk down the aisle. That's not just depressing, Norway, it's downright sadistic.

Aren't you glad I did some research?