Nicolas Winding Refn’s ‘Copenhagen Cowboy’ Neo-Noir Series Lands at Netflix

Samantha Bergeson
·3 min read
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Nicolas Winding Refn is diving into the neon-tinted underbelly of Copenhagen in his latest neo-noir series.

The “Drive” and “Neon Demon” director is set to write and direct “Copenhagen Cowboy” for Netflix, the streamer confirmed. The “poetic neo-noir” six-episode series follows a young heroine, Miu (Angela Bundalovic), who travels through Copenhagen’s criminal underworld.

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The drama is filmed in Denmark and production has wrapped as of July 2022. “Copenhagen Cowboy” will premiere globally on Netflix later this year.

“With ‘Copenhagen Cowboy,’ I am returning to my past to shape my future by creating a series, an expansion of my constantly evolving alter-egos, now in the form of my young heroine, Miu,” Refn said in a press release statement.

The “Only God Forgives” writer-director said it has “been an absolutely wonderful experience on all levels” working with Netflix.

“I not only perceive them as my partners with many future adventures to come, but also as my friends,” Refn added. “The new term has been born: Netflix Winding Refn.”

Netflix Nordic Original Series director Jenny Stjernströmer Björk called Refn “one of Denmark’s most acclaimed filmmakers” ranging from the “Pusher” films to the “Too Old to Die Young” 2019 miniseries.

“Copenhagen Cowboy” now is “bringing [Refn] back to Denmark to produce a local Danish show after more than 15 years abroad,” Björk explained. “Nicolas is a creative force and is such a fascinating and unpredictable filmmaker. We can’t wait to bring Copenhagen Cowboy to the world.”

The series stars Angela Bundalovic, Lola Corfixen and Zlatko Buric. Additional cast includes Andreas Lykke Jørgensen, Jason Hendil-Forssell, Li Ii Zhang, Dragana Milutinovic, Mikael Bertelsen and Mads Brügger among others.

In addition to “Copenhagen Cowboy,” Refn is wrangling upcoming film “Maniac Cop” about a cocaine-addicted LAPD officer who begins destroying his own city. Refn is also in development on TV series “Les Italiens” about an Italian-French police squad in Paris.

Refn previously explained during the 2019 Cannes Film Festival that Miles Teller-led series “Too Old to Die Young” was a “13-hour movie” for Amazon Prime Video.

“This is the future, which is streaming,” Refn stated. “Streaming is an ocean of possibilities. It’s so interesting to just come to work every day and just paint, until I ran out of money. I think the studios are ultimately getting ready for streaming, that’s common knowledge. The difference between streaming and more traditional theatrical is that streaming is an energy flow around us that runs 24 hours a day and seven days a week, and we can tap into and consume it whenever we want. That is a whole new ideology for how to exist.”

Refn continued to call traditional TV as “dead as a doornail” with streaming offering a “whole new opportunity” for filmmakers.

“It’s a different concept, in a way, because it’s uncontrollable. You just log on [and] log off. It’s a coexistence now,” Refn concluded. “Episodic television was designed when television was once a week on an analog channel. Why do we still retain the same narrative and constructions from a time that doesn’t even exist?”

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