Concordia – Series Review

CONCORDIA is a new sci-fi thriller series taking place in an alternative present that doesn’t seem all that unfamiliar. A murder triggers a closer look at the AI-driven city where the victim lived. Read our Concordia miniseries review here!

CONCORDIA is a new mini-series with just six episodes and a very international cast. A bit like several of the Viaplay-produced series released on The CW or Max. The plot of this mini-series sounds intriguing as the sci-fi crime thriller hybrid takes place in the present, but not quite as we know it.

The genre of this series is also referred to as “social commentary techno-thriller”, which is certainly appropriate. The focal point is AI which is used to run an entire city via data and surveillance. However, it’s been built to prevent crime and not for actual surveillance. At least that is the utopian goal.

Continue reading our Concordia miniseries review below.

Social Commentary Technological Nordic Noir Crime Thriller

Concordia is billed both as a “Nordic noir-inspired series” and a “social commentary techno-thriller”. Both are correct, but it’s also a crime story, as the whole focal point is a murder that needs to be solved. A young man who has been living in a city monitored via AI is found dead outside the city limits.

Sweden’s Concordia is a city of the future powered by AI to protect citizens. It’s a city that many dream of living in. The city’s AI was created to monitor, but not for the typical opportunistic purposes where the data is to be sold.

On the contrary, it is for the health and safety of the citizens. The purpose of this AI is to create a more free, fair, and humane society. After almost two decades, the city is a success, and preparations are being made to build another “Concordia city” in Germany.

Unfortunately, there is a real snag in the wheel. First, the murder (of one of the city’s citizens, but not in the city itself). Second, the city’s impenetrable AI is hacked. Both the murderer and the hacker must be found so that everyone can once again focus on all the wonders of AI.

Unfortunately, more “challenges” arise along the way.

Huge international cast

There are an awful lot – even too many – characters in the world of this Concordia story. It’s a hyper-international cast where English is predominantly spoken, which also means it appeals more to international audiences.

However, Swedes do speak Swedish when they’re alone together. The same applies to Germans, who naturally speak German internally. Needless to say, I am very pleased this is the case as the unnatural use of English as the default is a real pet peeve of mine.

To me, it’s a cinematic deadly sin that both The Snowman, Domino, and most recently Tubi’s La Madre suffered from.

In the cast we find, among others, Ruth Bradley (The Fall, Holidays), Nanna Blondell (Red Dot, House of the Dragon), Christiane Paul (8 Days), Alba Gaïa Bellugi (The Swarm, Into the Night) and Karoline Eichhorn (Dark).

These are obviously just a few of the people in the vast cast. Especially as we have to follow the characters in their current murder/hacker case and their lives at home. Regardless of whether home is in Gothenburg (located directly next to the Concordia city) or in another country.

In fact, there are just too many small stories in Concordia.

AI is not the enemy – humans are!

As we know from all sorts of sci-fi horror productions, technology (or zombies or even aliens) is rarely the primary enemy in the end. Rather, it is us humans. We are always the most dangerous animals in the jungle.

Even if the jungle basically exists in cyberspace.

After all, we are the ones who build the AI and give it directions and limitations, respectively. Incidentally, this is also the core plot of Atlas (out on Netflix now).

But are we even smart enough to control AI when we hand over too much power to something non-human? And are there perhaps people who cannot resist the temptation of being in power? Especially if they can use AI to their own advantage via a “back channel” of sorts?!

We all probably already know the answer to these questions. Especially those of us who watch a lot of genre productions.

Watch Concordia on SkySkowtime now!

Concordia is – quite understandably – often described primarily as the latest production from Emmy winner Frank Doelger. He is both executive producer and showrunner, but his name is also synonymous with Game of Thrones, arguably one of the biggest series successes in recent times.

Frank Doelger was a producer on Game of Thrones but has also been a producer on other prominent and successful series such as the Viaplay/CW series The Swarm and The Frankenstein Chronicles.

At least as important as a good producer are the creators. For Concordia, the creators are Nicholas Racz and Mike Walden (Marcella) as they came up with the story and wrote the screenplay. All episodes in this multinational series are directed by Barbara Eder (The Swarm, Barbarians).

With its international release on SkyShowtime (which often results in a US release on Paramount+), we’re getting weekly episodes. This should mean a strong opening to keep us viewers coming back. Well, it is interesting, and some elements make me curious, but there is too much “fluff” as well.

I’m probably curious enough to want all the answers. But would I wait to check out new episodes weekly? No, there isn’t enough of a “hook” or tension in the first two episodes to win me over.

Concordia had its international premiere with the first two episodes on SkyShowtime on May 23, 2024. The entire series will be released over three weeks via two weekly episodes. At the moment we don’t have a US release date.

Details

Creator: Frank Doelger
Director: Barbara Eder
Cast: Ruth Bradley, Nanna Blondell, Christiane Paul, Steven Sowah, Ahd Kamel, Hugo Becker, Kento Nakajima, Joséphine Jobert, Karoline Eichhorn, Jonas Nay, Alba Gaïa Bellugi, Maeve Metelka, Mohamed Achour