Before Swedish slow TV hit The Great Moose Migration began airing yesterday, Swedes began stocking up on coffee and preparing meals so they wouldn’t miss a second of the 24-hour-a-day, 20-day event. The show began airing in 2019, with nearly a million people watching. From now until May 4, the livestream’s remote cameras will capture dozens of moose as they swim across the Angerman River, some 187 miles northwest of Stockholm, in the annual spring migration toward summer grazing pastures. Not much happens for hours at a time, and fans say that’s the beauty of it. Viewers say they feel relaxed, but at the same time excited when they happen to see a moose. The Great Moose Migration is part of a trend that began in 2009 with Norwegian public broadcaster NRK’s minute-by-minute airing of a 7-hour train trip across the southern part of the country. The slow TV style of programming has spread, with roots in reality television but lacking the staging and scripting, making it feel more authentic for viewers. The productions allow the audience to relax and watch the journey unfold.
