The long-running Swedish television favorite På Spåret has been broadcast since 1987 and it is still chugging along at the same pace, gathering something like two million viewers on Friday nights. The new season brings us two thirds of KAJ from Finland as one of the competing pairs. We caught up with Jakob and Axel, as well as host Kristian Luuk and one half of last year’s winners, Hanna Lublin.
På Spåret is a rather polite quiz show, where two teams sit in their train cars and try to guess where they are headed before the destination becomes embarrassingly obvious. The ten point clue may be a cryptic aerial shot and some very trivial piece of information about the place. And it goes down to two points where the clue should make it obvious to just about anybody. A very large part of the entire nation is spending their Friday evenings in front of the TV shouting their own desperate guesses at the screen.
Kristian Luuk has fronted the show since 2009, with linguist-comedian Fredrik Lindström by his side as the judge. This double act runs on their dry asides and their shared understanding that it really isn’t important who wins.
The cultural weight is hard to overstate to a non-Swede, as it really is a national pastime. And it is not limited to only Sweden, as we found out when talking with Jakob Norrgård and Axel Åhman of KAJ, who are joining in as competitors.
The obvious question to ask was whether these Swedish-speaking Finns have followed På Spåret over the years as much as they have Melodifestivalen?
– Yes, actually, especially Jakob. He has been a very slavish viewer for a long time, Axel laughs.
– Yes, from when I was very young until I was around 25, when my girlfriend said that now we have to live life too. We can’t just sit and watch På Spåret every Friday. So then I had a little break for a few years, but now I’m back, Jakob elaborates.
So it must feel great to be participating now?
– Yes, it feels like such an honour to be asked and it will be great fun to be a part of it. It really is the best quiz show there is. We are very excited, says Jakob.
The host Kristian Luuk is also very much looking forward to the new season.
– It is the 18th year for me and Fredrik Lindström, so we have pretty much found our feet. So it is really great to get some fresh new faces from Finland to join us, Kristian says.
As music is a very important part of the show, I had to ask about the musical acts of the season. At that point in time Kristian was not allowed to reveal the acts, but he did say one of his favorite bands would be joining. We now know the house bands will be Europe, Yttling Jazz, Miriam Bryant with her band, Cleo & Ayla with their band, and The Soundtrack of our Lives. If I were to venture a guess, I would say TSOOL is that favorite band of his, and they also get to play in the final rounds.
– The music is a big part of the programme for me actually, and always has been, Kristian says.
He then turns the attention to Hanna Lublin Niklasson, who is one half ot the reigning champions with Kirsty Armstrong.
– It feels great to be back, it will be great fun. But the competition is really tough. Defending the title will be very difficult, Hanna says.
She goes on to say the participation and the win have also been great for her career, as it is easier to sell tickets to her stand-up shows and she has gained listeners to her podcasts.
As a final question for the KAJ duo, I had to ask what they are most looking forward to as they step into their train car?
– I look most forward to getting the answers correct, that’s what one would want, Jakob says.
– A really difficult clue, where we will know the answer with absolute certainty at ten points, Axel goes on to say.
– That’s what we are dreaming about! Or like chancing a guess that just happens to be correct, Jakob adds.
– Both Axel and myself are extremely competitive, so I just really look forward to feeling the nerves in that train car. Sitting there and feeling fully committed, Jakob says.
Tune in to På Spåret on Fridays at 8pm on SVT, or check out when you want afterwards on SVT Play.
Photos unless otherwise indicated: Jytte Lindberg
