Salatut elämät


Salatut elämät is a Finnish television soap opera that premiered on MTV3 on 25 January 1999. The series' storylines follow the daily lives of several families who live in the same apartment block, Pihlajakatu 23 B in Helsinki. The series primarily centres on residents of Pihlajakatu and its neighbouring areas. Only four of the original twenty characters – Ismo, Kalle, Aki and Kari – still remain in the series, and most of the series' current characters have made their debuts in 2010 or later. [|Ismo] is the only character who has never left the series.
During the series' 25-year run, over 4,600 episodes have been aired, making it the longest running drama in television in the Nordics. On 12 June 2017, it was announced that Salatut elämät will be on the air until the summer of 2023, making the series the longest-lasting drama series of all time in Finland. It was later stated that the series would continue airing after 2023.
MTV3 also airs reruns of the series every weekend. In the summer, the channel airs reruns of the series; in the summer of 2014, episodes from the season 2009–2010 were aired.
Eight web spin-off series have been made; Romeo & Rafael Desperados in 2008, Lillukanvarsia in 2010–2011, Tuuliranta in 2011–2012, Young Man Cash Man in 2013, Young Girl, Dream Girl in 2014, Satula in 2015, Bikineitä ja timantteja in 2016 and Pihlajakadun tuhmat tädit in 2016–2017.
On 5 December 2012, the first Salatut elämät movie was released. The teen thriller movie Nightmare – Painajainen merellä was one of the most watched Finnish films of 2012. The film was directed by Marko Äijö and the main characters are Peppi, Heidi, Jiri, Joonatan, Miro, Oona and Sampo. Nightmare - Painajainen merellä also won the Jussi Award in the category Public Favorite. A second film, called Nightmare 2 was released in December 2014.
The show's romantic storyline between Lari and Elias, nicknamed "Larias", initially proved very popular on YouTube. A fan account featured clips of the two gay characters. The production company decided not to intervene because they saw it as good publicity.
Another LGBT couple Mira Jokinen & Viola Helenius have also become popular on YouTube. "Miola" became a phenomenon abroad after a Finnish fan started uploading their story with English subtitles on Youtube series. Mira and Viola even got married, being the first same-sex couple to be married in a Finnish soap.

The starting position of the series

At the beginning of the series, at the request of a janitor Seppo Taalasmaa and his wife Ulla, the police have come to investigate why Tyyne Puustinen does not open the door. She is found dead in her apartment and police begin investigating the cause of death. The couple later tells their daughter Elina Taalasmaa about Puustinen's death.
[|Aki] Nikkinen and Markus Ekholm have been looking for a suitable retail space for their café for a long time and eventually find a suitable one. Katja Vainio promises to be an interior designer. Katja's sister and roommate Jenni has brought a gentleman Toni Veijalainen to her home. Jenni receives a letter stating that she has been expelled from school due to continued absences. At the same time, the subsidies also run out, so Jenni asks Toni to be their subtenant.
Jukka Salin and his new wife Hanna return home from the Canary Islands. At home, they are received by Aleksi, who has just left the army, the middle child of the family Saku and the family pit Silja. Hanna and Jukka reveal to the children that they got married during the trip. Saku and Aleksi are happy about Hanna's move to them, but Silja doesn't take the news well, and it doesn't help that Silja hears that Aleksi knew about their marriage intentions.
Next door to Salin family lives Ismo Laitela, who is a widow with two teenage children, Miia and [|Kalle]. Ismo works as a retailer in a kiosk-like shop called Ismon Valinta. Lawyer Laura Kiviranta lives alone as a sworn single.

Themes

The series has dealt with a wider range of subjects such as abortion, drug abuse, alcoholism, homosexuality, incest, animal rights, rape, religious fanaticism, gambling addiction, teenage pregnancy, domestic violence, cancer, eating disorder, school bullying, narcissistic personality disorder and its effects to the family, the search of biological parents, stealing and racism; many episodes involving these themes have caused public debate.
An exceptionally widespread controversy was started by the season finale aired on 1 June 2009. In the episode, a pregnant woman, Paula Sievinen, was seemingly buried alive and a café Kentauri exploded during a wedding celebration, which implied death of many main characters. Many, including Finland's Minister of Communications Suvi Lindén, questioned the show's suitability for school children. FICORA decided later that the episode was not suitable for children under the age of 11, but the show's programming slot was late enough to meet the regulations. In 2013, the original main character Jenni Vainio played by Anu Palevaara, was shot on front of the main house, which caused a lot of talk among the fans of the series. Jenni left the series after a 14-year presence. However, producer Marko Äijö said that the biggest sensation of the series was in the early days, when Kalle Laitela, played by Pete Lattu, kissed another man. At that time, the channel MTV3 received over 40 meters of fax about the kiss.
During the series' entire run in Finland, a 30-minute episode has aired every weekday in an early-evening slot at 7:30 pm. A new season usually premieres in either late August or early September and concludes by the beginning of June. Normally, the series is on a hiatus during the Christmas holidays, approximately 3 or 4 weeks. The series' episodes are also available online at the website https://www.mtv.fi/ for 30 days after their original airing.

Settings

Salatut elämät's main focus is the fictional street Pihlajakatu, located in Ullanlinna, Helsinki. Other locations include a high school, a hospital, Café Moose and an inn, Amanda, which contains a hotel and a restaurant. It had also a day spa from 2009 to 2014, and a gym from 2010 to 2017. Former "main café" was Kentauri which, however, exploded due a gas leak during a wedding celebration in the season 11 finale.
All of the houses and other locations featured in the show are filmed at the FremantleMedia studio in Konala, Helsinki. In real life, Pihlajakatu is Huvilakatu, which is located in Ullanlinna, Helsinki. Salatut elämät has also filmed scenes in Tampere and in Lapland. A few episodes have also been filmed in the Canary Islands, Lithuania, London and Copenhagen.

Theme song

The original theme song was called Tunteisiin and performed by Anna Hanski but in 2001, the theme was changed to a version performed by Jore Marjaranta. In 2004, the theme song was replaced by an electronic version of the theme music. In 2014, the theme song was switched back to the original one, first heard in 1999. In 2019, the series got completely new theme song again.

Television ratings

Since its first episode aired in January 1999, it has been one of the most popular TV shows in Finland, regularly attracting around a million viewers. At the moment Salatut elämät is the highest-rated drama series in Finland, although its viewership has declined during the past few years.
SeasonEpisodesTimeslotSeason premiereSeason finaleTV seasonMost-watched episode
1.90Weekdays 7:30 p.m.25 January 19993 June 199919991.191
2.170Weekdays 7:30 p.m.30 August 199910 May 20001999–20001.216
3.180Weekdays 7:30 p.m.4 September 200014 May 20012000–20011.360
4.170Weekdays 7:30 p.m.20 August 20013 May 20022001–20021.308
5.165Weekdays 7:30 p.m.2 September 200216 May 20032002–20031.294
6.160Weekdays 7:30 p.m.1 September 20036 May 20042003–20041.150
7.150Weekdays 7:30 p.m.6 September 200427 April 20052004–20051.226
8.150Weekdays 7:30 p.m.
Mondays – Thursdays 7:30 p.m. 		30 August 200529 May 20062005–20061.160
9.150Mondays–Thursdays 7:30 p.m.14 August 200624 May 20072006–20071.105
10.190Weekdays 7:30 p.m.20 August 20074 June 20082007–20081.033
11.190Weekdays 7:30 p.m.18 August 20081 June 20092008–20091.043
12.180Weekdays 7:30 p.m.24 August 200931 May 20102009–20101.063
13.180Weekdays 7:30 p.m.30 August 201027 May 20112010–20110.937
14.180Weekdays 7:30 p.m.29 August 20118 June 20122011–20120.970
15.180Weekdays 7:30 p.m.3 September 201213 June 20132012–20130.958
16.170Weekdays 7:30 p.m.9 September 201312 June 20142013–20140.896
17.185Weekdays 7:30 p.m.25 August 201411 June 20152014–20150.813
18.180Weekdays 7:30 p.m.31 August 201515 June 20162015–20160.783
19.188Weekdays 7:30 p.m.16 August 201613 June 20172016–20170.748
20.189Weekdays 7:30 p.m.21 August 201713 June 20182017–20180.709
21.189Weekdays 7:30 p.m.20 August 201819 June 20192018–20190.662
22.209Weekdays 7:30 p.m.19 August 201923 June 20202019–20200.646
23.219Weekdays 7:30 p.m.3 August 202029 June 20212020–20210.540
24.219Weekdays 7:30 p.m.23 August 202122 June 20222021–20220.506
25.199Weekdays 7:30 p.m.8 August 202222 June 20232022–20230.519
26.173Weekdays 7:30 p.m.7 August 202325 June 20242023–20240.546
27.180Weekdays 7:30 p.m.12 August 20244 July 20252024–2025
28.Weekdays 7:30 p.m.11 August 20252025–2026

Present cast and characters

Regular cast members

ActorCharacterDuration
Esko KoveroIsmo Laitela1999–present
Pete LattuKalle Laitela1999–2002, 2012–present
Sami UotilaAki Nikkinen1999–2002, 2014–present
Tommi Taurula[|Kari] Taalasmaa 1999, 2001–2005, 2007–2010, 2014–present
Timo JurkkaLasse Sievinen2004–2015, 2019–present
Teemu LehtiläAaro Vaalanne2004–2007, 2009, 2012, 2015, 2017–present
Hanna KinnunenSalla Taalasmaa 2006–2010, 2019–present
Sampsa Tuomala[|Sampo] Kaukovaara2008–2010, 2020–present
Mikko Parikka[|Jiri] Viitamäki2010–2020, 2024-
Maarit PoussaJutta Korhonen2014, 2016, 2017–present
Oona KareMarianna Kurki2013–2017, 2023-present
Monika LindemanLinda Eerikäinen2015–present
Inkeri MertanenDahlia Mustavaara2016–present
Raimo GrönbergGunnar Mustavaara 2017–2024, 2025–present
Jarkko MiettinenNoel Axelsson2018–present
Elmeri Ylä-RautioMatias Kajander2020–present
Sofia LehtinenLaila Kajander2020–present
Johanna AnttilaJoanna Lumijoki2021–2024, 2025-present
Tuure TaskinenHenrik Ekholm2021–present
Axel MilliamKristian Harju2021–present
Lenita SusiDaniela Axelsson 2021–present
Sami SoweOlli Oksa2023–present
Aida FanfaniErika Ekholm2023–present
Akseli SarvilinnaVertti Seppänen2024–present
Leevi RapeliMagnus Mustavaara 2024–present
Marko NurmiTatu Väre2025–present

Recurring cast members

ActorCharacterDuration
Roope MalkkiTukku Taalasmaa2023–present
Inka YlönenKerttu Mäkeläinen2024–present
Minna KoskelaIisa Havu2025–present
Lenni Jyllinmaa Hugo Väre2025–present
Luka TöyräPaavo "Väyrynen" Luhtinen2025–present

Former cast and characters

Last appeared in 2018

Last appeared in 2010

Last appeared in 2002

Books based on the series

  • Miia ja Saku
  • Kallen inttivuosi
  • Siljan Jenkkivuosi
  • Aamun uudet kuviot
  • Saku ja suuri suru
  • Teemun tarina
  • Aamu, Inka ja ihana Ilari
  • Ken ja isosiskon viimeinen kesä
  • Ami ja ensirakkaus
  • Annika ja Amerikan unelma
  • Ken ja Sauli kaukana kotoa
  • Ossi ja lumikuningatar
  • Romeo ja onnentähti
  • Sofia ja salaisuuksien kevät
  • Salla ja haaveiden kaupunki