The Danish winner of the Viaplay Talent Award «One of The Boys» / «En af Drengene» will have its world premiere at the international festival Series Mania

Viaplay’s new youth series «One of The Boys» / «En af Drengene» takes place outside a small Danish provincial town. Here is a group of 9th grade boys on their way to the city’s traditional manhood tour, which, according to the enthusiastic adults on the tour, «must turn the boys into men», before their further journey towards adulthood. Although the trip is associated with honour and prestige, not everyone is happy.

16-year-old Lau can’t stand the popular boys who talk about breasts and sneak out to drink beer in the evening. He is awkward and barely knows the rules of football, and he struggles to live up to the masculine ideals and expectations he meets from the other boys and from the adults who are on the trip.

When Lau strikes up a conversation with the charming Aksel, who has just moved to the city from Copenhagen, he sees for the first time that you can be a boy and a man in many ways. Aksel is open-minded, true to himself and is not afraid to stand out or speak up to others, and this fascinates Lau, who just as quietly develops feelings for Aksel. The meeting with Aksel forces Lau to deal with his feelings, because soon it is no longer possible for Lau to pretend he is something he is not.

When Danes talk about Denmark, they often describe themselves as inclusive, understanding and accepting. But growing up in a provincial town doesn’t always feel that way. They still need to see more male queer representation, and we need to see it portrayed honestly. The beauty of the first crush, the pain that comes from the bullying, and the sadness that comes from the pressure of having to perform as ‘a real man.’I hope that «One of The Boys» / «En af Drengene» can help young people out there who right now feel like outsiders , says director Teys Schucany.

«One of The Boys» / «En af Drengene» is a coming-of-age miniseries of four episodes of approx. 17 minutes. The series lovingly treats themes such as sexuality, masculinity, bullying and, not least, feeling different. It is a sensitive, funny, heartbreaking and poetic glimpse of a culture in a small provincial town in Denmark. Although Lau’s story is entirely her own, «One of The Boys» / «En af Drengene» describes a universal feeling of wanting to find yourself, even though you might feel like you stand out.

We are proud to promote the representation of LGBTQ+ with a series that we believe approaches the subject differently from other Danish series on the market, says Filippa Wallestam to GayQube.com, EVP & Chief Content Officer at Viaplay Group.

«One of The Boys» / «En af Drengene» will be coming to Viaplay during 2023.