What a mob guy from New York can change in a little town in one of less corrupt country in the world , Norway ....

I give it 2 for the idea. Other than that, it is insulting to Americans, Norwegians, Muslims, women, intelligence and comedy. It's even insulting to gangsters. The central character is a boorish, bigoted, creepy creep who stalks a much younger woman, calls a Muslim character a 'towel-head' (I don't care if that character was portrayed as disrespectful to women; that entire sequence came off as disgustingly ignorant and bigoted and felt like we're supposed to be in on it with mafiaman, slapping the guy around and enjoying it because he's Muslim, not because he was a rude misogynist.) The show is an embarrassment to Americans. Truly, I am embarrassed for America watching this. I am embarrassed for the writers too, who I believe are Scandinavians, and that is a great shame coming from a part of the world currently delivering some of the best crime fiction TV on the planet. Fail.

When we last saw Tony Soprano's Consigliore and confidant, he had been critically wounded, in a coma and on life support after a hit by the NY mob. While the Silvio character didn't apparently survive, Stevie Van Zandt keeps him alive in a solid Netflix series, "Lillyhammer" playing Frank Tagliano, a mobster who goes into the FBI witness protection program. It becomes a classic fish out of water story as Frankie adapts from the NY underworld to living in Norway, which seems to be the most PC place on the planet, excepting most American college campuses.Obviously, Van Zandt loved playing Sil, as he plays Frank (who becomes Giovanni "Johnny" Hendrikson in his new identity) exactly as he played Sil. He had the character nailed. He decides on Norway because he thought the place looked inviting after watching the 94 Winter Olympics on TV. Frank is able to go there and pretty much take over the town, owning the hottest club in town, running various scams as he manages to assemble his own crew and teach them how to intimidate and control the locals. It's all pretty much done in a light hearted and mostly comedic way. Frank also falls in (and out)of love with a local, fathering twins and in general endearing himself to most of the locals. There is violence as Frank's crew runs into rivalries with Russian and Arab mobsters, plus the NY mafia eventually finds where he has relocated. Also some funny references dropped to Soprano life during the series…if you were a Soprano fan you should like this.

I've never seen "The Sopranos" so I don't have anything to compare the performance of Steven van Zandt, except as a musician. Thus, when I saw the name i the writing and producing credits I did not make the association. On the one hand, with all my Norwegian friends, I am appalled at the corruption, but on the other hand, it is intriguing as to how the blackmailing process is executed. We also like it that the Norwegian characters answer in their native language and that everyone is so polylingual. This is a great series that American audiences could use as an intro to European sociology. The scenery of Norway should also be included in the credits, as it is beautiful. If Trond (Torgeir) is excluded from subsequent episodes, I will be severely disappointed.