Matador(1978)

Matador is a Danish television series that aired from 1978 to 1982, set in the fictional town of Korsbæk between 1929 and 1947. The drama follows competing businessmen: established banker Hans Christian Varnæs and ambitious newcomer Mads Skjern, whose arrival sparks a fierce rivalry that ripples across the town's social classes. Named after the Danish edition of Monopoly, the series uses "matador"—a term for business tycoons—to capture Skjern's cunning entrepreneurial rise. Directed by Erik Balling and created by Lise Nørgaard, Matador blends melodrama with warm Danish humour while charting a turbulent era: the Great Depression through Nazi occupation in World War II. Featuring Denmark's most celebrated actors of the period, the series became a cornerstone of Danish cultural identity, celebrated for its nuanced character work and unflinching historical backdrop.