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12th March 2025
09:35am GMT
The BBC has announced it will be airing Families Like Ours, the new epic disaster drama series from Oscar-nominated director Thomas Vinterberg (Another Round).
Co-written by the filmmaker, the show is set in Denmark in a not-too-distant future where rising water levels can no longer be ignored and the country needs to be evacuated.
As people disperse in all directions, they must bid farewell to what they love, what they know, and who they are.
The plot synopsis adds:
"Slowly but steadily, everything changes. All property becomes worthless, all fortunes shift, and luck favours only a few. Those who can afford it travel to affluent countries while the less well-off depend on government-funded relocation to more challenging destinations.
"Families, friends and loved ones are separated. Some are overcome by hatred and division, while others nurture love and foster new beginnings.
"Against this backdrop, the story introduces Laura, a high school student in love for the first time and on the cusp of graduation. When news of the evacuation breaks, the course of Laura and her family's lives are changed forever, and Laura is forced into the impossible dilemma of choosing between the three people she loves the most."
Shot on location across five countries (Denmark, France, Sweden, Romania and The Czech Republic), the cast of Families Like Ours includes such acclaimed Danish actors as David Dencik (Chernobyl), Magnus Millang (Another Round), Nikolaj Lie Kaas (Riders of Justice), Paprika Steen (Open Hearts) and Thomas Bo Larsen (Another Round).
The series premiered to rave reviews at the prestigious 2024 Venice Film Festival, before going on to become a "national talking point" in Denmark.
In a statement about the show, Head of BBC Programme Acquisition, Sue Deeks, said: “Families Like Ours is a beautifully constructed, thought-provoking drama about what happens when people are confronted by the inconceivable, and forced to make seemingly impossible choices.”
You can read a sample of some of the glowing write-ups for Families Like Ours below:
Espinof: "A remarkable family drama that explores the collapse of privilege in the face of catastrophe."
Loud and Clear Reviews: "Families Like Ours' brilliant premise is exactly what it takes for Europe to understand the refugee crisis, in a marvel of a series that brims with humanity and puts its characters first."
MovieWeb: "It forgoes the unrealistic Roland Emmerich-style disaster sequences, opting instead for tense verisimilitude. A typhoon is not going to kill these protagonists; desperate looters, human traffickers, hunger and poverty, or anti-refugee sentiment may, though. That's our future."
Comprising of seven episodes all directed by Vinterberg, Families Like Ours will air on BBC Four and be available to stream on BBC iPlayer with a release date yet to be confirmed.
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