The Breakthrough
The past decade has see a proliferation of Nordic noir serial on cyclosis platforms , with Swedish on-key crime limited seriesThe Breakthroughonly the latest to blow up worldwide . This four - installment story about a pair of cold - case murders being lick via an ingenious reapplication of DNA grounds make the top 10 of Netflix ’s global streaming chart in January , with Peter Eggers ’ functioning as its detective admirer soak up millions of viewers . The Breakthrough ’s secret plan is base on a real - life-time double murder commit in Linköping , Sweden , in 2004 , that became one of the biggest crime case in the country ’s chronicle .
Now thatthe dramatisation of this true tarradiddle has catch international streaming audiences , newcomer to Nordic noir shows may be wondering what else is out there they can learn . They ’re in luck , as Netflix in particular has a whole catalogue of criminal offence dramas similar toThe Breakthroughand its mold of detectives and murder suspects , presently uncommitted for streaming . It ’s not just Netflix , though , as Apple TV+ has its own just share of Nordic noir series , including the grandfather of them all , Henning Mankell’sWallander .
1Wallander (Swedish Version)
2005-2013
Wallanderwas the show that call on the remainder of the world onto Scandinavian law-breaking dramas , with its fabled titulary character becoming one of the TV ’s most iconic detectives . The Swedish series version ofWallander , which lead off in 2005 with Krister Henriksson in the title role , is n’t the original screen looping of Henning Mankell ’s detective novels , but it ’s arguably the good . Kenneth Branagh ’s English - languageWallandermight be more far-famed and celebrated , along with itsNetflix spinoff seriesYoung Wallander , but it ’s Henriksson ’s police force inspector who sense closest to the character Mankell create .
To startle from the beginning with Nordic noir , Wallanderhas to be at the top of the list .
Each one of the murders that Kurt Wallander investigates throughout the show is a grisly act that uncovers a dissimilar dark side to humanity , in the manner of a succession of unrelated classic noir movies that share the same overarching themes . Every execution dupe in the show seems like an unlikely target on the fount of it , until Kurt starts digging deeper . To lead off from the first with Nordic noir , Wallanderhas to be at the top of the tilt .
2The Killing
2007-2012
Cast
In 2007 , Danish TV created its own piece of Nordic noir history by releasing police - adjective dramaThe Killingto the world . The show promptly became one of the most watched and popular series in Europe , let in in the United Kingdom , which is notoriously resistant to strange - language productions . Afour - time of year English adaptation ofThe Killingsoon followed , which simply does n’t remain firm up against the original translation .
The first three season ofThe Killing ’s American version were broadcast on AMC between 2011 and 2013 , whereas the last one was made for Netflix and released on the platform in 2014 .
More into the nuts and bolt of slaying probe thanWallander , The Killinginspired many aspects ofThe Breakthrough . Like the central hero of Netflix ’s new true offence dramatic event , The Killing ’s protagonist , Detective Inspector Sarah Lund , assume the track of a season to clear a individual execution , tracking down various jumper cable before eventually cracking the example . Each clip it ’s deserving the time lag , though , as a binge through each ofThe Killing ’s three time of year on Apple TV+ will reassert .
3Deadwind
2018-2022
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The Finnish crime dramaDeadwindwas Netflix ’s first major raid into Nordic noir , and the series did n’t disappoint . Its female protagonists , police force detectives Sofia Karppi and Sakari Nurmi , unite perfectly to make solve each of the show ’s gruesome killing an incisive mathematical process . At the same time , we see Sofia and Sakari deal with legion perilous danger and numerous personal obstacles in their hunting for each killer .
Netflix ’s crime thriller , The Breakthrough , features an investigation of one of Sweden ’s biggest murder and conclude with the culprit being catch .
Deadwindis not for the light - hearted , but it ’s addictive viewing for anyone in search of thebest cop showson streaming program right now . Its time of year - recollective plots are n’t so much execution secret , as elongated execution chases , punctuated with gripping legal action sequences and marked by an immersive tier of technical detail .
4The Valhalla Murders
2019-2020
LikeThe Breakthrough , The Valhalla Murdersis broadly based on a true story . It delves into the sordid events at a state - go children ’s home in a remote part of Iceland , which lead to the murder of three teacher who worked there . Its protagonist , Reykjavík police detective Kata Gunnarsdóttir , is tasked with unveil the truth , despite many possible suspect and witnesses having already died or been locked away .
The show is very much inspire by one of the darkest mystery in the story of Iceland ’s state tending institutions .
This oftenoverlooked but undeniably bingeworthy Netflix crime dramaisn’t just about slaying . It ’s about a sinister web of crimes palisade the fancied Valhalla tyke ’s home . Although the characters and setting are fictional , however , the show is very much enliven by one of the glum secret in the history of Iceland ’s country care institution .
5The Unlikely Murderer
2021
The Unlikely Murdereris perhaps the most electrifying true crime play in Swedish chronicle , give that it brilliantly builds a case for the real bravo of Sweden ’s Prime Minister Olof Palme , who was murdered in Stockholm in 1986 . The show ’s agonist is n’t a police investigator , but a dramatized variant of the man now considered the prime suspect in Palme ’s assassination .
Olof Palme was assassinated on February 28 , 1986 . Christer Pettersson was ab initio convicted of execution after Palme ’s married woman pick him out of a police card , but he was by and by conduct after an prayer . There is now consensus around the identity of Palme ’s actual killer , in part thanks to Thomas Petterson ’s non - fiction book about the character assassination .
Thomas Pettersson , the writer of the true criminal offence account book that originate the show ’s hypothesis of how Palme was assassinate , and by whom , helped conform his own book of account for Netflix . The answer is an riveting drama that provides insight into the characters and motives behind one of the most horrifying moments in Swedish politics .
6Trapped
2021-
Trapped , orÓfærðin the original Icelandic , is actually the umbrella name for three unlike but interconnect criminal offence series , the third of which is now on Netflix under the English titleEntrapped . Each series isa gritty police dramatic event that follow the efforts of Detective Andri Ólafssonto resolve a different murder .
Netflix ’s newest miniseries , The Breakthrough is base on a Swedish script that covers a real double murder offense that occurred in Linköping , Sweden .
InEntrapped , Ólafsson has resettle in the Icelandic majuscule Reykjavík , having move from the more remote setting of Siglufjörður on the other side of the island , in the 2d serial publication . Nevertheless , in all three display case , the Icelandic countryside bring home the bacon a spectacular , forbidding and now and again haunting backdrop to the investigator ’s hunting for the manslayer in his case .
7Equinox
2020
The miniseriesEquinoxmoves beyond the mealy pragmatism of Nordic noir ’s seminal works , incorporate elements of the surreal and supernatural . LikeThe Breakthrough , its champion , Astrid , deal with the case of someone who apparently died under cryptical circumstances many age before , that is n’t what it seems . However , the six - installment closed book also partake in thing in common with David Lynch ’s murder mystery classicTwin top , as well as the German sci - fi seriesDark .
For those expect for a Nordic noir show that ’s more cerebral than procedural , this hidden Netflix gem is the way to go .
looker should fix to get seriously creeped out byEquinox , as the serial publication bit by bit unfurls the mind - boggling verity behind the disappearance of Astrid ’s sis . For those looking for a Nordic noir show that ’s more cerebral than procedural , this hidden Netflix gem is the way to go .
8The Chestnut Man
The Chestnut Manis perhapsthe most notable of all Scandinavian criminal offense drama , and luckily it ’s fully accessible on Netflix . Its frightful conceit accept it outside the basic reach of a noir detective story , and into something even darker . The valet de chambre in the title is really a motive through which grisly slaying clew are break by those investigating the murders motor its patch .
Netflix is a source of lots of awesome true criminal offense subject matter , and there are some enthralling shows that focus on serial killer , both real and fictitious .
Although the series was initially intended as a special six - installment thriller , The Chestnut Manhas now been reincarnate for a second time of year . It stay to be seen how its title will be contain into a new murder secret storyline , but those who have n’t seen the first time of year will have to look on it to detect out why .
9A Nearly Normal Family
2023
Based on a novel by M.T. Edvardsson , this Swedish murder - theme miniseries is as creepy as crime dramas total . The show jumps backward and forwards in time across , help to build suspense and sow in mental confusion around the murder of enterpriser Chris Olsen , on which its storey sharpen .
Netflix ’s modish thriller A closely Normal Family is based on a book of the same name . Here are all the major changes that the serial made .
Thecharacters that make upA near Normal Familyare like a modern - Clarence Day game of Clue , none of whom should have anything to do with a slaying , in hypothesis . The series uses its homicidal conceit as a agency of explore a darker meaning within what family means to those in it .
10The Åre Murders
2025
The Åre Murdersis the other major Nordic noir streaming success account on Netflix so far in 2025 , alongsideThe Breakthrough . Set in a remote , snow - covered arena of Northern Sweden well - known for its ski recourse , thecrime drama ’s plot feels spookily like a true crimeadaptation of something that might really have go on , despite being base on works of fiction by novelist Viveca Sten .
Netflix ’s unexampled series The Are Murders has impressed looker shortly after its passing , but the banner has even more great law-breaking indicate to see next .
Across its five episodes , The Åre Murderscovers all the stem a Scandinavian crime dramatic play should , with its wild , hazardous backdrop , its stern , unflinching portrayal of humanity ’s dark side , and a police Ishmael forced by her moral scruples and obsessive effort to uncover the trueness . Fans ofThe Breakthroughand any of its forerunner list above should line up this miniseries a absorbing vigil , that attest just how far Nordic noir has number in the preceding two decades .
