Bruce Springsteen on Steven Van Zandt’s Netflix series ‘Lilyhammer’
“Fargo” meets “Sopranos” meets…well, Norway. Netflix unveiled its first crack at original programming tonight in New York City.
The new series is called “Lilyhammer” and it stars former “Sopranos” star and current E Street Band member Steven Van Zandt. He plays a mobster from New York who chooses, of all places, a very snowy Norway for witness protection because he liked watching the Olympics on TV there and because he wants to avoid Florida because melanoma is for the old mob guys.
His new name is Giovanni Hendriksen and he’s 100 percent wise guy. But instead of burying Adriana, he’s on snowshoes with a pistol chasing a killer wolf. He’s wearing reindeer sweaters too, and he’s endearing himself to his new countrymen. In fact, one refers to him as “the classiest immigrant I’ve ever met.”
The premiere party tonight featured “Sopranos” cast members, plus Tony Bennett, Harvey Weinstein, Lorraine Bracco and many other stars. Van Zandt joked that the show had a budget equal to that of the catering budget for “Boardwalk Empire.”Oh, and did we mention The Boss, Bruce Springsteen was there? Speakeasy caught up with him after the screening and asked him what he thought. “I loved it, it was fun. It was fun to see my buddy,” Springsteen said. At the after party Van Zandt told us Netflix came to him with the idea for the show. "Lilyhammer” premiered in Norway in late January and will be available here on Netflix on February 6, 2012.