In this exclusive behind the scenes interview feature, the cast and creative team of Sweden’s longest-running crime series talk about Beck’s 20-year legacy – and the emphasis on character in the new episodes.

One of the things that’s notable about post-“Buried Alive” Beck is the emphasis on character – not just Martin, but the entire investigative team. Whereas in the past, station regulars like Season 1’s John Banck (played by the late, great Mikael Nyqvist) or Season 2’s dynamic duo of Nick and Robban – or, indeed, even Oskar in Season 3 – were given little or no background or development, the creative team of post-2010 Beck took the decision to expand the personal lives of all (well, most of) the team members. Now, in the new episodes, we have a plethora of non-work subplots – Steinar’s home life, Oskar’s divorce and dating missteps, Jenny’s mom and Alex’s sibling troubles. Some of that is played for (awkward) laughs, but there’s also plenty of heartfelt drama in there, which only serves to make us empathize with these characters more. Suddenly, Martin seems to have the most uneventful and “normal” personal life of the entire group! (The Neighbor, normal? Never!) Also, we’re still waiting for a juicy Ayda story arc. Maybe next season? And I think it’s safe to say that we’re all okay with not seeing how Klas Fredén spends his off-duty hours – right?