M/S Romantic


M/S Romantic is a Finnish four-part black comedy miniseries created by Jani Volanen and Tommi Korpela. Volanen directed the series alone. The M/S Romantic depicts one day aboard a cruise ship traveling between Helsinki and Stockholm. The series aired on Yle TV1 from 24 February to 17 March 2019, and all episodes were simultaneously released on the streaming service Yle Areena on 24 February.
The first episode was watched by 574,000 people on television and had over 350,000 views on Yle Areena by 6 March 2019. M/S Romantic won the 2019 Golden Venla for Best Drama Series. Additionally, Jani Volanen received the Best Director Venla, Volanen and Korpela jointly won Best Writer Venlas, and Hannu-Pekka Björkman was awarded Best Actor.
The series' budget was €1,221,058, of which €100,000 was funded by the Finnish Film Foundation.

Plot

The series follows six intertwined stories taking place on a cruise ship over one day between Helsinki and Stockholm. The manic cruise director Joakim "Jocke" Stenroos returns to work prematurely after the birth of his fourth child, trying to keep demanding passengers satisfied and the ship in perfect order. His task proves difficult as he clashes with crew members, including the apathetic cruise hostess Jenna and cynical pub troubadour Mike.
Other storylines include bachelor friends Kaide and Emppu hunting for one-night stands, shy entrepreneur Matias seeking love during a speed dating event, and Veli Kallio taking his six-year-old nephew Samu on a "men's trip." Teenagers Annika and Kaapo seek alcohol and freedom aboard, while newlyweds Pike and Jamo deal with tensions, exacerbated by attempts from singer Gusu to seduce Pike.

Cast

Reception

Helsingin Sanomat's Laura Kytölä praised the series for capturing Finnishness with dark undertones, comparing it to Jani Volanen's earlier works, Ihmebantu and Häiriötekijä. She commended the series' weaving of six storylines into a cohesive narrative.

Awards

  • Golden Venla: Best Drama Series 2020
  • Best Director Venla
  • Best Writer Venla
  • Best Actor