Rita (TV series)
Rita Madsen is an unconventional secondary education teacher who, according to her, chose this profession "to protect students from their parents". While she goes out of her way to advise and help her pupils, Rita's personal and family life seems to need the same kind of assistance. Her youngest son, Jeppe, is discovering his homosexuality, while the older ones, Ricco and Molly, are experiencing the mishaps of adulthood. Other main characters include Hjørdis, a naive teacher who becomes Rita's best friend; Rasmus, former school headmaster with whom Rita has an on-again, off-again relationship; Helle, school counselor and former Rita's rival; and Uffe, Hjørdis' husband. Henrik Palle wrote for "Politiken" that the series "works really well with some characters who actually look like people". "Hjørdis" follows the eponymous teacher as she tries to put together a school play about bullying. It was broadcast between 18 May and 8 June 2015, consisting of four episodes. A US remake was planned with a pilot episode filmed in 2013, starring Anna Gunn, but it was not picked up as a series. In 2019, American premium cable network Showtime commissioned a pilot order for a remake starring Lena Headey. The series will be a joint production between Showtime Networks and Platform One Media. Torpe will serve as showrunner and write the pilot episode while Headey will also act as executive producer. A Dutch remake called "Tessa" was made, airing in November 2015 on NPO 1, lasting only one season. The lead role was played by Thekla Reuten, following the storyline of Rita Season one, with only a few changes. The series has also been remade in France by TF1 as "Sam", starring Mathilde Seigner in the title role, with the show spanning 3 seasons to date. The second season of "Sam" entered production in 2017 with Natacha Lindinger replacing Seigner in the title role.
Related media ; Spin-off
In the story, Hjørdis tries to put together a school play about bullying, one of the many social themes discussed throughout "Rita".