The Rain

When a deadly virus wipes out large parts of the population, siblings Simone and Rasmus leave the underground shelter that kept them alive and head into a changed Scandinavia to look for other survivors. They cross paths with small groups who react to the collapse in different ways, from helpful allies to violent opportunists, and a mystery about immunity and the outbreak itself slowly comes into view. The show stays close to their bond as it shows how survival strains loyalties and forces each character to make painful choices, balancing tense set pieces with quieter family moments and gradual reveals rather than sudden twists.

Released on Netflix in 2018, The Rain was created by Christian Potalivo, Esben Toft Jacobsen and Jannik Tai Mosholt. The Danish-language series stars Alba August and Lucas Lynggaard Tønnesen and was positioned as one of Netflix's early Scandinavian originals.

The series did not secure major international awards, though it did get attention within Scandinavian television coverage and among critics for its production values. Viewers and reviewers often highlighted the performances, especially from the younger cast, even if it wasn't a big awards contender on the global stage.

As an early Netflix offering from the region, The Rain helped bring Nordic post-apocalyptic storytelling to a broader audience, encouraging online fan communities and theory crafting around its central mystery. Its rain-as-threat visual motif and bleak northern settings became discussion points among genre fans and helped signal Netflix's interest in local-language genre series.

Critical reception was mixed-to-positive, reflected in an average user score around 7.23 out of 10. Reviewers tended to praise the atmosphere, character focus, and the series' willingness to combine sci-fi elements with family drama, while some noted uneven pacing and plot stretches across episodes. Major themes include trust, responsibility, the ethics of scientific control, and how young people cope with the collapse of established social order.