Hem till byn

"Hem till byn" (English: "Home to the village"), written by Bengt Bratt (b. 1937), is Sweden's longest going TV series. It is a realistic drama about people in a village in the country and their daily life and romances and fights but also the consequenses of agricultural policy and other changes in the society.

The series first aired in 1971 and has since then been shown in seasons (each season comprises between six and eight episodes) with three to five years between them, except a 14 year long interruption between 1976 and 1990. The 2006 season was likely the last.

All characters (even minor roles) were played by the same actors throughout the years, and aged naturally with the actors. A number of the actors became old and eventually died during the years, and when so happened the characters that they played were also deceased in the series at the start of the following season.

The seven seasons between 1971 and 2002 were directed by Jackie Söderman (b. 1927) and the eighth season of 2006 by Gun Jönsson (b. 1929), who was also one of the main actors in the series.

"Hem till byn" is one of Sweden's most popular TV-shows after "Rederiet".