A Nearly Normal Family is one of those series that gets stuck in your psyche. After watching the first couple of episodes you’ll find yourself discussing, at length, the theories you might have.

As with any crime series, this is part of the fun of it – but what makes this one impressive is that sometimes it reacts to what you might be thinking, and then does a u-turn to the other idea you might having, leaving you completely engaged and determined to figure out how it might all end.

The series boasts an impressive cast, but it is the debut performance of the show’s main protagonist that really shone through for us. Nordic Watchlist got to speak to the talented actress Alex Karlsson Tyrefors, who plays Stella.

The biggest problem we have here is that we can’t really talk too much about this series because we don’t want to spoil anything, but I wondered how it might feel for Alex to be appearing in an original Netflix series, especially as her debut?

Alex Karlsson Tyrefors: “It’s overwhelming but I’m grateful to have been given the opportunity to work on such an important project!”

I can imagine it must be overwhelming being in a series on Netflix, in front of a worldwide audience, as your first acting role. But as the actress points out, it is work at the end of the day, and she is extremely grateful for the opportunity.

Alex began the casting process for the series back in 2022, and they started filming that autumn. It felt like only yesterday when we had read about the series being made and yet here we are with its release in November 2023, which is a fantastic turnaround. Perhaps it plays out as our final Nordic TV Series release of the year, certainly here in the UK.

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The series boasts a strong cast around Alexandra, including the likes of Björn Bengtsson (Thicker Than Water) playing her father, Lo Kauppi (Modus) who plays her mother, and Christian Fandango Sundgren who plays her boyfriend – who we last saw showing a party trick with a candle in the brilliant Barracuda Queens. Christian plays plays a key part in the series and in particular with Alex’s character:

“Christian, who plays Stella’s love interest, was fantastic to work with and he has taught me
so much. We spent so much time together on set and some days were brutal. We had to rely
on each other for support throughout the project”, the actress explains. “But then also Lo and Björn, who plays Stellas parents, became somewhat like parental figures for me on set.”

When Stella’s parents find out about their daughter being accused of murder you’d think that their reaction would be a certain way given one is a priest and the other a high flying lawyer – but instead they both go down some different paths, adding to the chaos and complexity of the series and how the story might end.

“I feel it is important to mention that this series doesn’t label anyone as a protagonist, there is no real indication of who the victim is and you as an audience have to figure that out – this is something I admire about the script.”

Alex isn’t wrong; the twists and turns are smart, sometimes signposted and at other times out of the blue which is what makes the series so much fun. Those Nordic Noir-loving sleuths out there will enjoy being kept on their toes!

“It is a complex story – when I was watching it back I was getting nervous and anxious with how the story was going to unfold – even though I already knew!”

If that isn’t a good sign then I don’t know what is!

Stella’s character is an interesting one, her cards are close to her chest which make her a complex individual which made me wonder what it was like actually playing her? 

“I feel as if there was no specific reason for why it was difficult playing the role. However,
existing in a dark headspace for such a long time was difficult. This was so new to me and I
didn’t have the experience or tools required for letting Stella go at the end of each day.
Carrying her inner conflicts and her trauma was exhausting.”

The actress explains how difficult it was to be able snap out of the character, which made me think about Josefin Asplund and her comment about the time she read the script for her role in Snow Angels and how she started to really struggle with whether she could even go ahead with the role because she disagreed so vehemently with her characters actions.

We see so much on screen, we think and talk about people’s performances but very often do we start reflecting on what it might have been like playing that character in the actor’s shoes.

“What helped me a lot in my character development was imagining Stella as a younger sister
to me; I care about her and empathize with her. This helped me justify her decisions and
behaviours. She resembles who I was when I was younger, such as the way she navigates
her social circle, her self-confidence, and how it is all controlled by a façade.”

Before we let Alex go, we turned our attention to some of the series she has been enjoying recently (a great diversion to avoid any more potential spoilers).

“Tore, I really enjoyed this series. I watched the first two episodes at the premier and immediately when it was released I binge watched the rest of the series. This was such a great example of a show that highlights how one copes with trauma – you laugh at the same time as you cry and it was just so beautiful to watch.

“Another series worth mentioning is called Gaslight, directed by Therese Lundberg. It’s quite
new over here so not sure if it has been released in the UK. The cast put in such an incredible performance. It was awful to watch but so engaging – you really got to understand how someone could end up in such a horrible situation. Knowing how difficult it was to be in such a dark place with my role in A Nearly Normal Family, I really sympathised with the actors in this series”.

We will certainly keep our eye out for that series – but first A Nearly Normal Family is out on the 24th November on Netflix – and we certainly recommend keeping an eye out for whatever Alex gets up to next, as she is certainly a talent to look out for in the future.

A Nearly Normal Family is out worldwide on Netflix from the Friday 24th November.