Bordertown Filming Locations Tour

First broadcasted by Finnish Broadcasting Company YLE in 2016, Bordertown was explicitly written with Lappeenranta in mind. Its first season was filmed in the city in the summer of 2015, the second season in the summer of 2017 and the third in the winter of 2019. Internationally recognized Bordertown’s second season was broadcast on YLE in the autumn of 2018 and the third season in December 2019. All the seasons of Bordertown that has been sold to more than 180 countries are now distributed internationally. Note that the tour is walked in a hilly area.

“A TOWN OF NICE CRIME”

Two worlds meet in the Lappeenranta border region: the fictional crime series Bordertown and the real summer destination. First broadcast by Finnish Broadcasting Company YLE in 2016 and sold to more than 180 countries, Bordertown was specifically written with Lappeenranta in mind and its first and second seasons were shot in town in the late summer of 2015 and 2017 respectively. According to Miikko Oikkonen, the Lappeenranta-born creator of the series, the town is depicted in Sorjonen as if it were one of the main characters.
The crime series tells the story of top National Bureau of Investigation investigator Kari Sorjonen, whose wife Pauliina is recovering from a serious illness.

The family decides to move to Pauliina’s childhood landscape, a small border town in Eastern Finland in Lappeenranta. Sorjonen accepts a position in the Serious Crime Unit to enable his family to spend more time together, and to give himself less serious crimes to solve. However, the crimes committed in the idyllic border region have a greater personal impact than anything he has encountered before. Threats soon turn up on Kari's doorstep. The nightmare continues in the 2nd season where the past haunts the characters.

In the second and third season of Bordertown, both Russia and the eastern border are more clearly present than during the first season. As Lena Jaakkola says, “The crimes are the same on both sides of the border, it’s just the scale that’s different.”

The main roles are played by Ville Virtanen, Anu Sinisalo, Matleena Kuusniemi, Ilkka Villi, Kristiina Halttu, Mikko Leppilampi, Janne Virtanen and Laura Malmivaara. The series is produced by Matti Halonen of Fisher King.

Sorjonen is an internationally acclaimed Nordic noir series and the most internationally successful Finnish drama series. It won the Golden Venla award for the best drama series in 2016 and MipTV’s Drama Screening award in Cannes. Over one million Finns have watched its every episode.

Sorjonen or Bordertown has been available through Netflix in Great Britain, United States, Canada and Scandinavia since April 2017. It has also premiered in France, Germany and Spain to name a few. Federation Entertainment who markets the production tells that the series has been sold to 180 countries to this date.

New York Times lists Bordertown as one of the 11 Most Interesting Foreign Crime Series and The Daily Dot considers Sorjonen as one of last year’s best 15 drama series. Also BBC America includes it as one the greatest 10 crime series that cross borders.

“Bordertown is a sleek, stylish crime drama that contrasts the macabre with the intimate. Visually sumptuous, you won’t forget the Finnish landscape that cuts the usual crime drama shadows and arcing flashlight beams.” —David Wharton/The Daily Dot (US)

"We’ve been waiting for a powerful, intense foreign TV series to arrive this year. There have been several good ones, but nothing has really made us sit up and take notice, driven us to binge…until now. The Bordertown TV series is a beautifully filmed thriller, clean and modern, with unsettling cases involving abduction, murder, and more. Nordic noir fans will be hooked instantly." - NetflixTVShowsReview (US)

"Finland has produced a crime show that can stand alongside Borgen or The Bridge" –EP/The Telegraph (UK)