January 12 in Swedish History
1973: The Norwegian television series “Fleksnes fataliteter,” starring Rolv Wesenlund, premieres on Swedish television. The series becomes one of the greatest successes in Nordic television history, and airs until 2002. “Fleksnes” (as it became known) was based on the scripts for the British series “Hancock’s Half Hour.” The series came about when Swedish-Norwegian writer Bo Hermansson began translating the British comedy series in the early 1970s, drawing attention from three different Nordic broadcasters who eventually produced and aired the series together. The main dialogue is in Norwegian, but nearly all episodes featured guest stars from both Sweden and Denmark. “Fleksnes” was only meant to be a single series of five or six episodes, but it became such a popular show in all three countries (Norway, Sweden and Denmark), that it was immediately renewed for six more episodes. Its continued success eventually produced a total of six seasons over the span of thirty years. A movie “Den Siste Fleksnes” ("The Last Fleksnes") was made in 1974 as well, between the first and second series.

You can watch some of the more popular episodes here: De beste klippene fra Fleksnes