SALATUT ELÄMÄT
DRAMA
FINLAND
1999-now
SALATUT ELÄMÄT (Int. Title: Secret Lives) is a Finnish soap opera produced by FremantleMedia Finland Oy and presented by the MTV3 channel. The first part of the series aired on the channel on Monday January 25, 1999. SALATUT ELÄMÄT consists of 4599 episodes of 21 minutes.
STORY: Most of the events in the series take place on the imaginary Pihlajakatu, which is located in Ullanlinna, Helsinki. Most of the characters in the series live in an apartment building at Pihlajakatu 23 B. The residents' hidden lives are characterized by the Helsinki landscapes presented between scenes and the still image (the cliffhanger) that turns blue at the end of the period. (yellow in the period 2001-2003).
GAY COUPLE STORYLINE: Elias (Petteri Paavola) was born to Sebastian Vuorela (Jarkko Nyman) and Ritva "Cindy" Rintala (Mia Ehrnrooth), but Cindy can't raise the boy alone because Sebastian is in prison. Cindy decides that Elias is being adopted, so Meri Vikstedt (Ella Pyhältö) becomes his guardian. Teenage Elias returns to Finland to escape his mother's homophobic boyfriend. When Lari (Ronny Roslöf) kisses him, Elias realizes that Lari is gay too. Elias soon develops feelings for Lari. Eventually Elias and Lari end up in bed. Although Lari is upset at first and avoids Elias, it soon becomes clear that the two cannot be separated.
Elias Vikstedt (Petteri Paavola) & Lari Väänänen (Ronny Roslöf)
PETTERI PAAVOLA (2011-2017) June 19, 1992, Järvenpää, Finland
RONNY ROSLÖF (2011-2019) August 6, 1989, Helsinki, Finland
SPECIAL: The series has covered a wider range of topics, including abortion, substance abuse, alcoholism, homosexuality, incest, animal rights, rape, religious fanaticism, gambling addiction, teenage pregnancy, domestic violence, cancer, eating disorder, school bullying, narcissistic personality disorder and its consequences of that for the family, the search for biological parents, stealing and racism; many episodes with these themes have sparked public debate.
AWARDS: ‘SALATUT ELÄMÄT' 2 wins & 2 nominations
3.8 IMDB
