NEW YORK (AP) – Seated at a dinner table surrounded by his girlfriend’s relatives on his first day in Sweden, Greg Poehler couldn’t help thinking that his experience in culture shock might make a good television show or movie someday.
Flash-forward 14 years and that instinct proved true. The couple married, moved to Stockholm six years after that initial visit and have three children. Amy Poehler’s younger brother, 39, is now the writer, producer and star of NBC’s summer comedy “Welcome to Sweden,” premiering Thursday (9 p.m. EDT).
The understated romantic comedy changes some details: Greg was a lawyer and his character, Bruce, manages money for stars like Amy Poehler and Will Ferrell; Bruce’s in-laws are nuts and Greg’s are normal. But many of the details, like the struggle with a language barrier, are straight from Poehler’s life.
“When I was writing the show, I realized that my own life was a little bit too well-adjusted and happy for us to do a true story,” he said. “No one wants to watch a show where a guy moves somewhere and everything goes great, the family is very supportive. It’s good for your life. It’s not good for a sitcom.”
His goal was a show with equal appeal for both markets, one that would feel like an American show to Swedes and like a quirky Swedish show to Americans.