Eyewitness (Øyevitne) is a Norwegian crime drama from 2014, produced by Norway's NRK. It was written and directed by Jarl Emsell Larsen.[1] The series follows the investigation into a multiple homicide witnessed by two teenage boys. The series was remade for USA Network in 2016 as Eyewitness,[2] for HBO Europe as Valea Mută, and for TF1 in 2018 as Les Innocents.
| Øyevitne | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Drama |
| Created by | Jarl Emsell Larsen |
| Written by | Jarl Emsell Larsen |
| Directed by | Jarl Emsell Larsen |
| Opening theme | "Savior Unknown" by Shaun Bartlett |
| Country of origin | Norway |
| Original language | Norwegian |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 6 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Release | |
| Original network | NRK |
| Original release | 20 October (2014-10-20) – 24 November 2014 (2014-11-24) |
The 15-year-old teenagers Philip and Henning live in the small village Mysen, close to the Norwegian border with Sweden. They are classmates and neighbors, but also secretly in love. During a discreet liaison at a gravel pit in the nearby forest, they witness the shooting of four members of a criminal gang. They too come under threat from the murderer, but overpower the killer and escape with the murder weapon. Not wanting their relationship to be revealed, the boys decide to keep silent about being at the scene of the crime as it unfolded.
The local police chief, Helen Sikkeland, heads up the investigation into the murder. She is also Philip's foster mother. As the gang violence continues and more police resources are given to the investigation, the boys' secrecy pact unravels. This drives a wedge between Philip and Henning, who is most anxious not to reveal why they were in the forest together that night. And while Helen doggedly pursues the truth, Henning is tracked down and attacked by the murderer. It turns out the killer is much closer to the investigation than everyone realises.
In January 2016, USA Network gave a 10-episode straight-to-series order to a US adaptation from Shades of Blue producer Adi Hasak titled Eyewitness.[3] Eyewitness premiered on USA Network on 16 October 2016.[4] Starting from 23 October 2016, HBO Europe presented a four-episode Romanian adaptation of the series, titled Valea Mută (The Silent Valley).[5] In January 2018, TF1 aired a six-episode French adaptation of the series, titled Les innocents (The innocents).[6]
International Emmy Awards 2015