Anyone who regularly watches Scandinavian crime shows or even many Nordic noir series likely fully understands the appeal of these gripping thrillers, such as the latest from Netflix, The Åre Murders.
Releasing on Feb. 6, The Åre Murders quickly became a hit for the streaming service, entering the Top 10 chart and remaining there throughout the weekend and into the week. With just five episodes, The Åre Murders still manages to introduce us to personable detectives and compelling murder cases to keep us hooked and wanting more.
While we wait to see if Netflix plans to renew The Åre Murders, here are a few more engrossing Scandinavian crime series to watch on the streaming service.
The Breakthrough
- Cast: Peter Eggers, Mattias Nordkvist, Jessica Liedberg, Jonatan Rodriguez, Karin de Frumerie, Annika Hallin, Julia Sporre, & Malin Güettler
- Episodes: 4
- Stream on Netflix
If you're looking for a crime show that dramatizes a true story, then The Breakthrough is excellent. Even better, it just came out in January of this year, so it's still new, and there's a good chance many Netflix subscribers missed it!
The series takes place in the early 2000s when Sweden was rocked by one of its largest investigations of all time as two people, an 8-year-old and a 56-year-old, were stabbed to death in broad daylight. What eventually became a cold case would later be reopened when the police met with a studied genealogist. It's based on the book by Anna Bodin and Peter Sjölund.
The Chestnut Man
- Cast: Danica Curcic, Mikkel Boe Følsgaard, David Dencik, Esben Dalsgaard Andersen, Iben Dorner, & Lars Ranthe
- Episodes: 6
- Stream on Netflix
A Danish crime thriller series based on the novel by Søren Sveistrup, The Chestnut Man is ideal for fans of serial killer thrillers, particularly those that move at a fast clip and feature multiple twists. In 1987, an investigator stumbles onto the horrific aftermath of a family homicide that leaves only a young son and daughter alive, surrounded by strange figurines made of chestnuts.
Skipping ahead 30 years, a pair of detectives in Copenhagen are called to investigate the murder of a woman. They find another one of those mysterious figurines at the crime scene, suggesting that whatever happened in '87 might be happening again. A second season is in the works.
Young Wallander
- Cast: Adam Pålsson, Richard Dillane, Leanne Best, Yasen Atour, Ellise Chappell, Tomiwa Edun, Sara Seyed, Lisa Hammond, & Josef Davies
- Seasons: 2
- Stream on Netflix
Including Young Wallander here is a little bit of a cheat because the actual television show is an English production, something that garnered some controversy when the prequel series started since it revolves around the famous Swedish inspector from Henning Mankell's novels.
But if it helps, lead actor Adam Pålsson is Swedish, and Young Wallander is still a great crime thriller series. It centers on the iconic detective when he was starting and attempting to solve one of his earliest cases.
Entrapped
- Cast: Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, Ilmur Kristjándóttir, Björn Hlynur Haraldsson, Thomas Bo Larsen, Egill Ólafsson, Margrét Vilhjálmsdóttir, Haraldur Ari Stefánsson, & Friorik Róbertsson
- Episodes: 6
- Stream on Netflix
Netflix advertises Entrapped as a standalone series—and it basically is—but it's also a follow-up to the Icelandic crime series Trapped. Several characters from the previous series are back for the sequel, but you don't have to watch Trapped to jump into Entrapped since it follows a new case.
This time, Hinrika and Andri are tasked with investigating a woman's brutal murder, which is suspected of being tied to a local religious cult affiliated with pagan practices. There's also a whole Sons of Anarchy vibe going on with a Nordic biker gang becoming wrapped up in the investigation, adding some interesting storytelling layers and complex characters.