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Salatut elämät (Secret Lives) is a Finnish television soap opera that premiered on MTV3 on 25 January 1999. The series' storylines follow the daily lives of several families who live in the same apartment block in Helsinki.
About the show
Salatut elämät ("Secret Lives", literally "Concealed Lives") is a Finnish television soap opera that premiered on MTV3 on 25 January 1999. The series' storylines follow the daily lives of several families who live in the same apartment block, Pihlajakatu 23 B in Helsinki. The series primarily centres on residents of Pihlajakatu and its neighbouring areas. Only four of the original twenty characters – Ismo (Esko Kovero), Kalle (Pete Lattu), Aki (Sami Uotila) and Kari (Tommi Taurula) – still remain in the series, and most of the series' current characters have made their debuts in 2004 or later. Ismo is the only character who has never left the series.
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During the series' 27-year run, over 5,000 episodes have been aired, making it the longest running drama in television in the Nordics. On 12 June 2017, it was announced that Salatut elämät will be on the air until the summer of 2023, making the series the longest-lasting drama series of all time in Finland. It was later stated that the series would continue airing after 2023.
MTV3 also airs reruns of the series every weekend (Monday-Wednesday episodes on Saturday, Thursday-Friday episodes on Sunday). In the summer, the channel airs reruns of the series; in the summer of 2014, episodes from the season 2009–2010 were aired.
Eight web spin-off series have been made; Romeo & Rafael Desperados in 2008, Lillukanvarsia in 2010–2011, Tuuliranta in 2011–2012, Young Man Cash Man in 2013, Young Girl, Dream Girl in 2014, Satula in 2015, Bikineitä ja timantteja (or in English known as Bikinis and Diamonds) in 2016 and Pihlajakadun tuhmat tädit in 2016–2017.
On 5 December 2012, the first Salatut elämät movie was released. The teen thriller movie Nightmare – Painajainen merellä ("Nightmare – Nightmare at Sea") was one of the most watched Finnish films of 2012. The film was directed by Marko Äijö and the main characters are Peppi (Sara Säkkinen), Heidi (Venla Savikuja), Jiri (Mikko Parikka), Joonatan (Markku Pulli), Miro (Patrik Borodavkin), Oona (Sara Lohiniva) and Sampo (Sampsa Tuomala). Nightmare - Painajainen merellä also won the Jussi Award in the category Public Favorite. A second film, called Nightmare 2 was released in December 2014.
The show's romantic storyline between Lari (Ronny Röslöf) and Elias (Petteri Paavola), nicknamed "Larias", initially proved very popular on YouTube. A fan account featured clips of the two gay characters. The production company decided not to intervene because they saw it as good publicity.
Another LGBT couple Mira Jokinen & Viola Helenius (now having Viola's grandmothers maiden name, Angervuo as their surname) have also become popular on YouTube. "Miola" became a phenomenon abroad after a Finnish fan started uploading their story with English subtitles on Youtube series. Mira and Viola even got married, being the first same-sex couple to be married in a Finnish soap.
From Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
Where to watch
In the UK, updated daily.
Not available to stream, rent or buy in the UK right now.
Streaming data provided by JustWatch.
Behind the camera
- Created by
- Jason Daniel, Anne Harris, Greg Stevens
Seasons
Next episode: S29 E57, Friday 13 November
