New Swedish language Netflix series Clark is set to tell the story of “celebrity gangster” Clark Olofsson, the man who gave rise to the psychological concept of “Stockholm Syndrome” – where a hostage feels sympathy and even develops an attachment towards their captor.
Bill Skarsgård (IT, Eternals) stars as the charismatic criminal, with the six-part series using Olofsson’s autobiography to tell a fictionalised version of events from his own perspective.
The official synopsis for the series reads: “The fictional drama series Clark follows the man behind the expression “The Stockholm syndrome” on his life journey as he fooled all of Sweden to fall in love with him, despite several counts of drug trafficking, attempted murder, assault, theft and dozens of bank robberies.
“Based on the truths and lies revealed in Clark Olofsson’s autobiography and directed by Jonas Åkerlund, the series provides a fictional take on one of the most controversial personalities in contemporary Swedish history.”
Read on for everything you need to know about Clark on Netflix.
Clark release date
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All six episodes of Clark will release on Thursday 5th May 2022, so there isn’t long to wait now.
The episodes range between 54 minutes and 69 minutes long, meaning the series clocks in at around about six hours – perfect for a weekend binge.
Clark cast: Bill Skarsgård plays Clark Olofsson
Bill Skarsgård leads the cast as Clark Olofsson, a charming yet dangerous career criminal. He is joined by his own brother Kolbjörn Skarsgård, who plays the young Clark, alongside actors including Adam Lundgren (Chernobyl), Vilhelm Blomgren (Midsommar) and Hanna Bjorn.
The full cast list includes:
- Bill Skarsgård as Clark Olofsson
- Kolbjörn Skarsgård as Young Clark
- Lukas Wetterberg as Teen Clark
- Adam Lundgren as Kurre Räven
- Vilhelm Blomgren as Tommy Lindström
- Hanna Björn as Maria
- Christoffer Nordenrot as Janne Olsson
- Björn Gustafsson as Kaj-Robert
- Isabelle Grill as Madou
- Sofie Hoflack as Marijke
- Agnes Lindström Bolmgren as Ingela
- Malin Levanon as Liz
- Sandra Ilar as Ingbritt Olofsson
- Peter Viitanen as Sten Olofsson
The series is directed by Jonas Åkerlund, the prolific music video director who also directed Mads Mikkelsen thriller Polar.
Skarsgård said of his casting in the show: “Clark Olofsson is, for good and bad, one of Sweden’s most colourful and fascinating individuals. I accept this challenge with delight mingled with terror and think that with Jonas [Åkerlund, director] and Netflix in the back, we can tell a groundbreaking story with a pace and madness we may not have seen on TV before.
“Clark’s life and history is so incredible and screwed that it would even make Scorsese blush.”
Is Clark a true story?
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The series is based on Clark Olofsson’s autobiography, and tells the story of his criminal life (beginning in the 1960s) and his journey to becoming “one of the most controversial personalities in contemporary Swedish history”.
The series also covers the infamous, failed robbery at the Norrmalmstorg square in Stockholm, Sweden in August 1973, which gave rise to the term “Stockholm Syndrome”.
His life was full of shocking and unbelievable events which are charted throughout the episodes. However, given that the series is also told from Clark’s perspective, it is given a fictional bent: he’s an unreliable narrator so, while the events may have occurred as they do in the show in his head, reality was likely very different.
Clark trailer
You can watch the glorious, wild trailer for Clark below.
Clark will stream on Netflix from 5th May 2022. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what’s on tonight.
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