Art & Culture

Isn’t it about time you start watching some Scandinavian TV shows? Scandinavia is where all the cool kids live, with their social welfare, incredible economies, and ability to produce high-quality budget-priced clothing. If you’re partial to your Noirs, crime procedurals, teen dramas, or dark comedies and haven’t yet explored the Scandinavian offshoot of this genre, then here’s a rundown of some great Scandinavian crime series that should definitely be on your watch list. Follow the Money A police drama series starring Nikolaj Lie Kaas and Thomas Bo Larsen as two detectives trying to solve a mysterious case in the Danish countryside, “Follow the Money” is one of the most popular Scandinavian crime dramas airing right now. The show follows Mads and Alex on their separate journeys to track down a gang of nationwide bank robbers while dealing with their own personal issues. Mads, who’s somewhat of a loner, has to work through his feelings for his ex-wife, whose new husband just happens to be Alex’s partner. Meanwhile, Alex deals with his dwindling motivation for being a detective after he gets shot by one of the bank robbers during an ambush. Though “Follow the Money” is no doubt compelling on its own merits thanks to its writing and memorable characters, what really sets it apart from other Scandinavian crime dramas are its true-crime elements; references are made to real-life cases from countries like Denmark and Sweden throughout the show. The show’s creative team consulted with experts in police procedure when coming up with storylines and characters, which makes it all seem very realistic despite being fictionalized. The use of documentary footage gives viewers an even closer look into how law enforcement operates in Scandinavia—and makes us wonder if any hidden cameras were placed when our friends visited Denmark (or Sweden) last summer! Maria Kallio Netflix’s latest Scandinavian crime drama is a captivating and respectful take on the genre. It centers around Maria Kallio, a young police detective growing up in the 1980s who, despite it being a time of intense social change, takes pride in her work as a female officer, and resolves to live life with integrity. Dealing with both sinister killers and modern-day sexism, Maria Kallio is the most realistic depiction of the fin-noir genre I’ve seen so far. It’s an engaging watch that doesn’t shy away from any potentially controversial topics surrounding feminism or criminal behavior. As such, it’s fairly dark tonally. Perhaps a bit too much for those looking for escapism. But that’s exactly where its strength lies: in treating real-life issues as just that. Without turning them into sensationalized plot devices. Instead, we see nuanced characters trying to navigate their way through believable conflicts that are easy to empathize with. That makes the show, not just entertaining but also more impactful than your average crime drama—and Scandinavian noir at its best! The Valhalla Murders If you like Scandinavian crime novels, television series, and films, you might want to check out The Valhalla Murders. Set in Iceland, this cross-national production between Iceland, Norway, and Denmark is based on the award-winning novel of the same name by Yrsa Sigurðardóttir. It revolves around three girls who are vacationing in an old abandoned hotel. They accidentally kill Sigyn Ellisdottir’s husband—who is their English teacher—and then try to cover it up. The show was created by Hrafn Gunnlaugsson (of the Nordic noir film Trapped). It uses Sigurðardóttir’s story as a starting point for its own original plotline. The show premiered on Netflix in February 2019. However, it has garnered mixed reviews since then due to its slow pace. Some critics argue it is deliberately meant to mirror that of a typical Scandinavian crime novel or television show. It seems that while they were successful at capturing many of the tropes one would come to expect from a Scandinavian TV series or movie, there was still something lacking overall. Regardless of these criticisms though, if you’re looking for an original take on the genre with international appeal behind it, The Valhalla Murders could be worth checking out. Bordertown If you’re looking for an interesting Scandinavian crime drama, you can’t go wrong with Bordertown. Set in a small town on the Finnish-Russian border, it follows Detective Kari Sorjonen as he tries to solve murders he’s been called in to investigate. The show does a great job of developing its main character and showing his personal life. If I were writing this review without having seen the rest of the series, I’d still say this is worth watching just for Sorjonen himself. He’s an empathetic protagonist whose backstory includes his daughter suffering from leukemia and being divorced due to his wife getting a brain tumor. This gives him plenty of emotional weight that really comes through in his scenes with other characters. A great insight into Nordic culture throughout the seasons makes this even more worth your time. Especially if you’re interested in moving there someday—or at least eating all their delicious food (which is a fair substitute). Wallander Wallander is a Swedish police drama, which is based on the novels by Henning Mankell. It got the Best Crime Drama award in 2005 by the International Emmy Awards. It’s set in Ystad, a small town in southern Sweden. Detective Kurt Wallander is a middle-aged man with an estranged relationship with his father and an on-again, off-again romance with his ex-wife (who he still lives across the hall from). He’s a crusty, flawed character whose personal life is as much of a mess as his crime scenes are. Being slow and methodical, compared to American TV dramas, the show has received some criticism. However, this allows you to become absorbed into Wallander’s world and discover who he is beyond just an investigator. Krister Henriksson won the Best Actor award at the 2007 Guldbagge Awards for his role in Wallander. He was also nominated for an Emmy. All the Sins, Elisa Viihde  The Scandinavian version of this show focuses on the small village Vadstena and

What do people think of when they hear the words “Nordic Noir?” The crisp, cool air. The red rooftops. The brooding sun that sets seemingly forever. The dark forests. The endless daylight in summer. Beautiful landscapes and idyllic cities to explore. These are some things that come to mind when I think about Nordic Noir novels. There is an atmosphere of dread hanging over the somber stories of these amazing Scandinavian thrillers. It even translates well implicitly with movies and TV shows made after them as adaptations… Police procedurals, psychological thrillers, and murder mysteries dominated both the small and big screens in recent years. It is hard to know where to start when looking for the right Nordic Noir series or book. This list aims to bring together the best Nordic Noir series available today. The Chestnut Man The Chestnut Man is a collection of short stories by Swedish author Henning Mankell. He is best known for his long-running series of novels featuring detective Kurt Wallender. Throughout this series, Mankell has often incorporated crime into socially conscious political thrillers that explore the moral and social fabric of Sweden. The Chestnut Man continues in this vein, following each story with a brief essay about its background or cultural context. In “The Isdal Woman,” for example, two journalists go on a quest to discover the life and death of a woman whose body was found at Isdalen. This is an infamous location in Norway popular with suicides. Pursuing leads to her identity takes them outside their comfort zone and exposes deep frustrations about what it means to be Scandinavian in an increasingly global world. Throughout this book and others like it, Mankell’s greatest skill is creating characters who feel like real people. He is also embodying larger truths about how humans work. Some are vulnerable while others are callous. They all wrestle with their morality as they navigate tricky situations that could have lasting consequences. Entrapped Entrapped is a TV series based on the eponymous novel by Jón Kalman Stefánsson. The TV series itself was inspired by a true story. The plot revolves around a corrupt politician and a young woman named Sara who is blackmailing him. In the context of our media landscape, you’d be forgiven for writing this off as just another American political drama, but that would be doing it an injustice. It’s set in the Faroe Islands and inspired by an actual case from 2004 (the island chain used to be under Danish rule). When people think of Nordic Noir, what usually comes to mind are Scandinavian countries like Sweden or Norway. But the Faroes are an autonomous territory of Denmark, meaning they’re within the region too! This series is all about truth and justice and how corrupt power structures work to subvert them both. You’ll find yourself gripped by the events happening before your eyes. Making moral judgments with every episode forces you to reevaluate where you stand on those issues. It doesn’t require much commitment beyond binge. Watching the whole thing will take no more than a day depending on your Internet connection speed! Trapped If you’re a fan of the TV crime drama Nordic Noir genre, chances are you’ve heard of Trapped. The show follows a detective named Saga and her colleagues as they investigate murders in an isolated town called Thorshavn on the Faroe Islands. It’s a classic whodunnit that keeps viewers guessing until the very end, and it also happens to be one of the most visually stunning shows on television. Trapped is based on a series of novels by Icelandic author Arnaldur Indriðason. He is also responsible for creating some other great Nordic Noir stories like Silence of the Grave and Jar City, among others. The books follow Detective Erlendur through his crime-solving experiences in Iceland while wearing his signature awful sweaters. Trapped has already aired three seasons, with a fourth premiering this spring on Netflix in America (Season 2 is currently on Netflix). The show has been met with critical acclaim for its writing and plot twists as well as its depiction of life in this isolated area of Europe. In 2017 it was nominated for an Emmy award for Best Foreign Language Series. Midnight Sun In stark contrast to the social tumult of postwar America, the Nordic noir follows a familiar narrative arc. A small town is in upheaval as dark secrets unfold. Norwegian writer Jo Nesbø popularized this style with his 2001 novel The Bat. The Bat was awarded the Glass Key Award at the Euro Crime Fiction short story competition. It is praised by critics as one of the best crime novels ever written. Since then, countless other writers have followed suit with their renditions of noir fiction in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Iceland. Throughout these books, an atmosphere of suspense permeates like a dense fog over still water that you can’t see through until its existence is revealed. Murder or other violent act serves as a catalyst for discovering deeper truths about human nature. What makes us afraid of being alone when we are. How vulnerable we are to long-forgotten patterns from our past that resurface violently when triggered. How much we fear loss and how easily it affects our lives. Finally, how far we are willing to go to protect those close to us to ensure their safety—even if they’re bad people who do hurt others. Occupied Occupied, a Norwegian TV series made available on Netflix is a thrilling political thriller with an intriguing premise. Norway has been invaded by Russia because of the country’s oil reserves. The occupation is brutal, and resistance from its citizens foments as the show progresses. What makes the story compelling is that it feels entirely plausible. The characters are never unbelievable; their motivations are human and understandable. As for the storytelling itself, Occupied doesn’t rely too heavily on plot twists, although there are some. What keeps viewers invested in the plot is its natural escalation of tension as