How is democracy really doing? According to new surveys, our 349 members of parliament cannot keep up with their tasks. The invisible entourage around our politicians is growing. Non-elected “experts” such as speechwriters, press secretaries, and various communicators are gaining more and more power. Our politicians are becoming increasingly alike and are increasingly controlling interviews with predetermined topics of discussion. What happens to the perception of democracy when polarization in society is rapidly increasing? And what happens when our relatively equal and fair Sweden, in an international perspective, suddenly fails to live up to its idyllic image?

In the documentary format, “Long Live Democracy,” Jan Scherman met with Swedish power holders, politicians, business leaders, journalists, and even Nazis. Through a series of interviews with researchers and media houses in both New York and Washington, we delved deep into the threats against democracy and found many similarities with the situations observed in England, France, and Hungary. We also discovered that Sweden, as a former pioneer, is facing the same international crisis of democracy.

Our work resulted in a three-part documentary series, where we turned democracy inside out to demonstrate what it means, big and small, for the entire world.

Alongside gaining international attention, the documentary also generated significant interest in Sweden. The average number of viewers reached nearly half a million per episode. We reached an impressive 21% of the Swedish population and 12.35% of the total TV audience. Furthermore, the documentary resulted in 127 newspaper articles and over 120 online articles.

We also produced an international one-hour version of the documentary, which has been sold to two countries and aired in Norway. It was viewed by 315,000 viewers.

Approximately half a million viewers per episode. Reached 21% of the Swedish population. 12.35% of the total TV audience. Featured in 127 newspaper articles and over 120 online articles. Viewed by 315,000 people in Norway.