HBO’s Forgotten 12-Episode Sci-Fi Thriller Is One of Television’s Most Unsettling

HBO Nordic’s Norwegian sci-fi thriller *Beforeigners* combines time travel, a murder investigation and social commentary about immigration and xenophobia. Set in near-future Oslo, it follows a burned-out detective and a former Viking warrior turned police officer as they investigate a killing linked to people arriving from the past.

The two-season series premiered in 2019 and centres on “beforeigners” from the Stone Age, Viking era and late 19th century, who must adapt to modern society. Its second season widens the story with a murder that raises the possibility Jack the Ripper has travelled to the present, while tensions grow over the newcomers. Season 1 received a 100% Rotten Tomatoes score based on five critic reviews.