Welcome to Sweden, Greg Poehler’s new show based on his actual experiences following his girlfriend to Sweden, is more cute than the laugh-out-loud comedy I was expecting. That said, it is really endearing and seems really sweet. It came to America and Canada after what I assume to be a successful run in Sweden.
Poehler’s Bruce leaves his fancy accounting job in New York, where he even has celebrity clients, to follow his girlfriend back to her home country of Sweden, but it is not the exciting, spontaneous, romantic adventure he was expecting. He has no plans beyond finding himself and being with his girlfriend Emma, and people think he’s crazy to follow his girlfriend around the world like that. Not only that, but Emma’s mother is very hard to impress. She doesn’t like Greg right from the beginning. Plus, he’s so short! The characters on Welcome to Sweden are all fun and kooky and it’ll be and it’ll be fun to get to know them better as Bruce tries to assimilate to his new home.
One of the main reasons I wanted to watch this show, and I’m sure this is true for a many people, was that Poehler’s sister Amy serves as executive director. I love Parks and Recreation and Amy Poehler, so if she had anything to do with this, I knew it would be pretty good. And she did not disappoint. She had a great cameo as herself in the first episode where she fires Bruce for making her too much money. And there are a lot of other great cameos set up for the season, which I am very excited about.
One thing that people seem on the fence about in Welcome to Sweden is the use of subtitles, but I actually loved that idea. It definitely makes this show different and more authentic. Plus, it gives the audience a sense of what it’s like for Bruce to be completely out of his element.
Welcome to Sweden seems like it’ll be a really sweet show. It’ll be fun to watch and see if Bruce can really make it in a new place, if his relationship with Emma will make it through this transition, and if Emma’s mom will ever accept him. I’ll definitely keep watching it.