Last year this quirky NZ fantasy series surfaced on late night TV (probably as part of the Australian content requirements). It is about a family of four brothers (Mike, Ty, Anders and Axl) who are part of a collective of Norse gods living in human form in New Zealand. The underlying premise is that when the youngest brother, Axl, who is Odin, finds his soulmate Frigg, the gods will regain their full powers. In the first series, the brothers spend a lot of time trying to avoid being killed by a group of goddesses, one of whom turns out to be their mother. Mischievous god Loki (a lawyer!) gets up to lots of mischief.
In the second series, which screened recently on Australian TV, Axl discovers that this flatmate Gaia (who he truly loves) is the one who will morph into Frigg on her forthcoming 21st birthday. One of his brothers decides to lose his powers in order to gain the woman he loves (this fails as she no longer recognises him), Loki causes more trouble, a god-slayer arrives from Northern Europe, some local Maori gods also believe that Axl's flatmate will become their equivalent of Frigg and there is an unexpected ending. One of the goddesses, who is infatuated with Anders, is slain and her spirit enters "the chosen one" during the 21st birthday ceremony instead of Frigg. Gaia heads for Anders, Axl looks on in disbelief, and the Maori gods shrug their shoulders nonchalantly and leave.
This leaves the door open for a third series, as Frigg is still "out there" to be found. Aside from an enormous amount of gratuitous sex and alcohol consumption (which does become a bit tiresome at times) the series is quirky, clever, imaginative and well-acted. Worth a look, especially if you like something a little bit different.
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