The hottest drama on screens right now doesn’t involve dating, fighting, or dramatic confessions. It involves moose. Very big moose. Walking. Slowly.
Sweden’s The Great Moose Migration—a 24/7 livestream of Arctic moose heading to their summer grazing grounds—is pulling in millions of viewers from around the world. Launched in 2019 on SVT, the national broadcaster, the stream has evolved into an annual phenomenon. Last year, over 9 million people tuned in. This year, some fans prepped like they were about to binge-watch a thriller.
Millions Are Addicted to Watching Moose Walk Very Slowly Through the Arctic
“Sleep? Forget it. I don’t sleep,” said 62-year-old Ulla Malmgren, who stocked up on coffee and premade meals before the 20-day event started.
The show captures dozens of moose swimming across the Ångerman River in Sweden’s north, where the animals have migrated for thousands of years. It’s as slow as it sounds—but that’s kind of the point.
“I feel relaxed, but at the same time I’m like, ‘Oh, there’s a moose. Oh, what if there’s a moose? I can’t go to the toilet!’” said William Garp Liljefors, a 20-year-old fan who’s collected over 150 moose plush toys since 2020.
The production is surprisingly elaborate. A small crew runs 26 remote cameras and nearly 12 miles of cables from a control room in Umeå. There are night cams, drones, and even an app that sends push notifications when a moose appears—“Första älgarna i bild!” (“First moose on camera!”).
“There is about a million people saying the same thing: ‘Go on! Yes, you can do it!’” said Malmgren.
The show is part of a broader “slow TV” trend that first took off in Norway with a seven-hour train ride on Netflix and has since included livestreamed knitting sessions, log fires, and even a Dutch “fish doorbell.” But the moose migration hits differently.
“You can watch them and be a part of their natural habitat in a way that you could never be otherwise,” said longtime viewer Hanna Sandberg.
Media professor Annette Hill says the appeal lies in its authenticity. “Nothing catastrophic is happening, nothing spectacular is happening,” she said. “But something very beautiful is happening in that minute-by-minute moment.”
Even the crew says their stress levels drop while working on it. Which makes sense. There’s something soothing—almost meditative—about waiting for a thousand-pound animal to casually stroll across a river while your cat watches from the couch.
This might be the first reality show where no one gets eliminated…except maybe your sense of time.
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