There’s something undeniably gripping about Nordic Noir: from the moody landscapes and morally complex detectives, to crimes that cut deeper than just whodunit, these series stand on prestige. From early standouts like The Killing and The Bridge, which helped define the genre’s bleak tone and emotional depth, to more recent titles like Fatal Crossing, Trom, and The Lost, these series continue to captivate global audiences with their atmospheric storytelling and slow-burn suspense.
Whether you’re new to the genre or looking to expand your watchlist, explore the essential Nordic Noir shows that exemplify why Scandinavian crime dramas remain in a class of their own.
DRAMA | SWEDEN | SWEDISH AND DANISH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | TV-MA
One of the most seminal crime shows in TV history – at least in the Nordic Noir genre. The Bridge starts with a dead body in the middle of Øresund Bridge, which spans between Sweden and Denmark. Detective Saga Norén (Sofia Helin) from Sweden and Martin Rohde from Denmark must work together to solve the case, and if you haven’t watched the series yet you are about to meet two detectives who are in their own class of original and compelling characters.
First broadcast in Sweden and Denmark in 2011,The Bridge arguably launched Nordic Noir as a genre. After becoming a megahit, it spawned five remakes. All four seasons are available to stream now on MHz Choice in both its original version (Swedish and Danish with English subtitles) and dubbed in English.
DRAMA – CRIME | DENMARK | DANISH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | TV-MA
Arguably the most iconic example of Nordic Noir, The Killing embodies the mood and tone of what people love about Scandinavian crime series. Inspector Sarah Lund, played by the amazing Sofie Gråbøl, puts her retirement plans on hold when a teenage girl’s body is found in a car with ties to a mayoral candidate. Each season follows a different murder case, with each episode covering 24 gripping hours of investigation.
For fans of Nordic Noir genre this is essential viewing. All three seasons are available to stream now on MHz Choice in both its original version (Danish with English subtitles) and dubbed in English.
MYSTERY | SWEDEN | SCANDINAVIAN CRIME FICTION | SWEDISH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | TV-14
Beck, a long-running Swedish crime and mystery series centers on Peter Haber’s titular character. Haber’s character isn’t sensational in any way, which is exactly the point of the series. Beck is a relatable middle-aged working man with exactly one special skill: catching criminals. Based on the immensely popular Martin Beck detective novels penned by Per Wahlöö and Maj Sjöwall, this Swedish noir has been running for decades.
The show first debuted in Sweden back in 1997, reappeared several times in recent years and has triumphantly returned to much fanfare. As the show has gone on, new and familiar faces have been added as recurring and guest stars, including Game of Thrones’ Kristofer Hivju and Mr. Robot’s Martin Wallström.
Follow Beck, a lonely divorcee, through crime mysteries, and you’ll be thoroughly engaged by his intelligence, creativity and irreverence for convention. Beck is accompanied by a partner named Gunvald, a much more jovial and polished crime fighter best described as a loose cannon that balances out Beck’s modesty. Give Beck a try and you’ll see why critics rank it with the best of Swedish TV shows. All 8 seasons subtitled in English are streaming now on MHz Choice.
CRIME DRAMA | SWEDEN | SWEDISH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | TV-MA
Ten years after The Bridge, actress Sofia Helin returned to the Nordic Noir genre in the Swedish series Fallen.
After a personal tragedy, police inspector Iris Broman (Helin) relocates from Stockholm to lead the cold case unit in the southern coastal city of Malmö. There, she lives and tries to reconnect with her estranged half-sister in nearby Ystad. The same day Iris starts her new job, a skull is found in a nearby forest. A distraught father contacts her, certain that they’ve found the remains of his son Benjamin, who has been missing for 18 years. Iris recognizes the desperation of the father and promises to look into the case. But is the skull in the forest really Benjamin?
CRIME DRAMA | FINLAND | FINNISH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | TV-14
Detective Kari Sorgonen (Ville Virtanen) is a highly-respected officer at Finland’s National Bureau of Investigation. But after being on the scene of yet another horrific crime and witnessing his wife barely survive brain cancer, Sorgonen seeks a more peaceful existence. He moves his family from Helsinki to Lappeenranta, a remote town on the border with Russia. But dreams of a quieter life quickly become out of reach as murder and a kidnapping brings crime closer to Kari’s family than he would have ever expected in a small town.
With its troubled detective, bleak landscape, and chilling crimes, Bordertown is quintessential Nordic noir – even writer Stephen King is a fan!
DRAMA – CRIME | FINLAND | FINNISH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | TV-MA
The atmosphere of Arctic Circle is extra chilly. The stunning backdrop of Finnish Lapland, an ethereal and rarely seen part of the world, combined with the multilayered, suspenseful storyline makes this series one of a kind.
In the first season, Arctic Circle has an unusual twist when a criminal investigation widens to include a deadly contagious virus. Officer Nina Kautsalo finds a dying woman in a small Finnish village only to find out she’s infected with a lethal virus. The case becomes a race-against-time thriller, as Nina partners with virologist Thomas Lorenz to stop a killer while tracking a virus before it becomes a full-blown pandemic. Each of the next two seasons tackle a different gripping case set against the clock.
MYSTERY | SWEDEN | SWEDISH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | TV-14
Spring Tide is a classic Scandi Noir thriller from the producers of The Bridge and the writers of Beck.
In 1990, a brutal murder occurs on Nordkoster Island: a pregnant young woman is buried in the sand, left to slowly drown by the rising tide. 25 years later, police trainee Olivia Rönning is assigned the unsolved Nordkoster murder as a cold case exercise – and becomes obsessed when she realizes her late father worked on the case. The original investigation was led by Detective Tom Stilton, and when Olivia goes to track him down she discovers he’s disappeared without a trace.
THRILLER | FINLAND | FINNISH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | TV-14
Freezing Embrace is based on Christian Rönnbacka’s Antti Hautalehto detective novels. The first season is a psychological thriller located in peaceful and snowy Porvoo, where the idyllic river of the same name flows through the town.
In the first season, Chief Inspector Hautalehto has hired a young policeman, whose father has worked with him for more than 20 years. Hautalehto finds himself between a rock and hard place, when it turns out that the new policeman has serious mental problems, which he has managed to hide in all previous tests. At the same time, mysterious murders start to take place. Almost every week, a young man is found drowned in the river.
DRAMA – CRIME | DENMARK | DANISH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | TV-14
Fatal Crossing gives us everything we want from a classic Nordic Noir: slow-burn mystery, wicked suspense, mournful characters and stunning, snow-swept scenery. Following an illicit affair, journalist Nora Sand (Marie Sandø Jondal, Follow the Money) is suspended from her newspaper in London. She travels home to Denmark to stay with her father (Bue Wandahl, Unit One), with plans to lie low until the scandal has cooled off. But when she receives an anonymous tip about an old missing persons case from the 1980s, she jumps back into action and, teaming up with a local policeman (Jesper Hagelskær Paasch, Rita), is soon on the trail of a serial killer…
Season 1 is based on the first book in the ‘Nora Sand’ series by Danish journalist and author Lone Theils.
DRAMA – CRIME | DENMARK | DANISH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | TV-14
Trom is a gripping slice of Nordic Noir that takes us to the heart of the North Atlantic Ocean to the Faroe Islands, where two unprecedented crimes introduce a shocking new reality to the local community, and where every old friend has suddenly become a possible new suspect.
THRILLER | SWEDEN | SWEDISH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | TV-14
In the nerve-wracking Swedish slice of Nordic Noir, The Lost, Peter Viitanen (Triggermen, Welcome to Sweden) stars as Erwin, a truck driver caught in a moral dilemma after a fatal mistake turns his life upside down.
To say much more might give too much away; the series touches on topical issues of the day as it ratchets up the suspense in this story of an ordinary man making a series of increasingly poor decisions in a desperate search for a way out of a tragedy of his own making – and all the while, the police are closing in on him…
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