Screen Rant is proud to present an exclusive clip from the new Finnish series Helsinki Syndrome, streaming exclusively on Topic beginning on February 16. The 8-episode thriller follows entrepreneur and family man Elias Karo, whose vendetta against the government causes him to take four journalists hostage in order to uncover a decades-long deceit that ruined his family and along with far too many others. When a bank manager and a district court judge made off with his family’s possessions in the '90s, an event that was sanctioned by the Finnish government, hundreds of others were affected and cannot escape the cycle of poverty to this day. who find themselves ineligible for any COVID assistance, bankrupting their businesses. Elias hopes that by holding the journalists captive, he can expose the corruption and conspiracy to keep Finland’s working poor from getting ahead.

Helsinki Syndrome is directed by Juuso Syrjä (who worked on the acclaimed series Bordertown), Marko Mäkilaakso, and Lenka Hellstedt (Me and Morrison). The series is written by Mike Oikkonen (also part of the Bordertown team), Olli Suitiala, Thomas Hakola, and Olli Koivula. Kseniya Peter Franzén, perhaps best known for the series Vikings, plays Elias and is joined by a stellar cast that includes Bordertown's Oona Airola as well as Taneli Mäkelä (Arctic Circle).

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More About Helsinki Syndrome

helsinki syndrome synopsis

Screen Rant's exclusive clip from Helsinki Syndrome begins with what appears to be an ordinary day at the office, as a group of journalists gets down to business by cracking open a box of newspaper clippings and court documents. While they go over bankruptcy notices, one of the members notices the supposed handyman working on the door and connects his activities to the phone lines and internet malfunctioning. He goes about his work without seeming to pay attention at first, but then admits he has planted a device to "guard the door" and gathers the team in the back of the room with zip ties to restrain them. They resist at first, but his gun convinces them to follow instructions.

Though the man does not explain himself in the Helsinki Syndrome clip above, it is obvious that he is Elias Karo, and he has a very large grudge to resolve against the government corruption that destroyed his family for decades. Though he treats his hostages roughly in the moment, they are also the key to solving his case and hopefully bringing him some justice. The very title of the series, which is often a misnomer for Stockholm Syndrome, suggests that the journalists will in time bond with their captor and sympathize with his side of the story — something that will be very useful once the Finnish police get involved.

The Topic streaming service has quickly built itself up as the first stop for European true crime dramas and thrillers. It not only carries its own Topic originals but also carries exclusive distribution rights to some of the continent's most sought-after crime series, such as The Killing, the original Danish series about Detective Inspector Sarah Lund and the murder cases she investigates. Finnish spy thriller Bullets joined the streamer last year, along with the comedy-drama Agatha Christie's Hjerson.

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Helsinki Syndrome begins streaming on February 16 on Topic.