About Pørni
Pørni is a warm-hearted Norwegian comedy-drama created by, written by, and starring Henriette Steenstrup as Pernille "Pørni" Middelthon, a perpetually frazzled single mother and child-welfare social worker in Oslo. By day she advocates for vulnerable children and families; by night she comes home to her own full, chaotic household. The series finds its humor and its heart in the gap between the calm, capable professional Pørni tries to be at work and the harried, improvising parent she actually is at home.
Pørni's life is upended by the death of her sister, which leaves her grieving while also taking in her late sister's son, Leo, alongside her own daughters. She juggles a recently out, charming, and occasionally exasperating father, a complicated relationship with her former brother-in-law, and the relentless small emergencies of family life. The show treats grief, blended families, and everyday parenting with honesty rather than melodrama, letting tenderness and comedy sit side by side.
First launched on Viaplay in 2021, Pørni became the streamer's most-watched Norwegian original series and was later picked up by Netflix for international audiences, running for five seasons through 2025. Steenstrup won Norway's Gullruten awards for both her writing and her lead performance. Gentle, humane, and quietly funny, it stands among the most beloved recent Nordic family dramedies.
