Wallander (2008 UK series): Trailer, certificate and where to watch
Drama series starring Kenneth Branagh as a Swedish detective
Year: 2008-2016
Certificate: 15
Based on the novels by Henning Mankell, this is bleak and its central character has obvious depressive tendencies. But it's also sophisticated, atmospheric, gripping and a million miles from any crime drama you've seen before.
Kurt Wallander (a nicely understated Kenneth Branagh) is a detective in Sweden who solves crime in between furrowing his brows and drinking too much. Though heavily stylised, with the cop shop resembling something from a 1970s-inspired furniture catalogue, Wallander refuses to insult our intelligence with Swedish accents, or newspapers with English headlines.
And the landscape! Sweeping beaches, golden fields, bleached forests and grey-green grasses, peppered with clapboard houses adorned with the sort of stylish porch lights we'd pay a small fortune for. A feast for the mind and the eye. (12 episodes)
