Ode to Nordic: favourite TV shows from Borgen to Bron
Talk about post-midsummer celebrations! We have a deep love for anything Nordic in our household, since my husband lived in Aarhus, Denmark a few years ago. He has thoroughly influenced me by his experiences there through the years. That is why, in 2017, we went on a Scandinavian tour to Denmark, Sweden and Norway and in 2019, we went to Finland and Estonia. I have to write guides for each of those countries very soon, as I fell in love with each and every city we visited.
Jess
We both love Nordic books, movies and tv shows. I particularly like their intensity, their particular humour, their style of life focused in nature and the outdoors. No wonder their photography is always superior, as those countries are just stunning ones in their essence and they make the most of it either in real life or on our screens.
It doesn't make it less eerie though, as they have a fond love for the darkest thrillers. It is also impressive how you see a revolving door of actors from country to country, as these lands know that together they have stronger chances in the world's fast moving cultural spheres.
Here are a few shows we have watched through the years if you want to escape the sempiternal American-British content and want to dive into something Nordic-new...
Bron/Broen/The Bridge (2011-2018) 🇩🇰🇸🇪
Considered one of the main nordic TV shows for how much it has influenced shows locally and internationally. I had already watched the first season of the American remake The Bridge, which is set on the border between the United States and Mexico.
Bron or Broen - the original - takes place on the incredible bridge that connects Copenhagen (Denmark) and Malmö (Sweden), which is why it is a joint Sweden-Denmark production, with actors from both sides of the pond.
On the first season, we meet lead Swedish detective Saga Nóren (played by Sofia Helin) from Malmö and lead Danish detective Martin Rohde (played by Kim Bodnia) from Copenhagen.
I watched the first season with my heart in my throat (there are many similarities to the American version, but it also has unique elements), gasping. I love the actors, the pacing, the music, the absence of heavy special effects, and the way the series is written during the four seasons it ran.
It keeps you on the edge of your seat as the crimes unfold, but it also makes you reflect on today’s society, such as the impact of globalization at the expense of local, close-knit action and connection. Highly recommended!
Jess
Borgen (2010-2013, 2022) 🇩🇰
Where to watch: Netflix
Borgen is the name given to Christiansborg Palace, where the Danish Parliament is located. In Borgen, the TV Show, we follow the main character, Birgitte Nyborg (played by Sidse Babett Knudsen), as she becomes Prime Minister, the political dance it took to get her there, and whether or not she manages to stay in power.
As someone who likes politics about as much as I like mustard (a little whiff is fine, but a whole spoonful will make me push the plate away), I was more than intrigued by the entire process. Both in terms of Denmark’s own complexities and in comparing it to other countries I’ve lived in.
Is it bad to admit that a TV series made me want to learn more about politics? Would it sound better if I said it was thanks to a book? I don’t know, but that’s the truth. I wholeheartedly recommend watching it.
Forbrydelsen/The Killing (2007-2012) 🇩🇰
The series begins with the murder of a young woman on detective Sarah Lund’s last day of work in Denmark. The detective, played by Sofie Gråbøl, is about to move to Sweden with her boyfriend and son. This 2007 series is considered the mother of modern Danish television, as it catapulted into European success and even got an American adaptation, because Americans don’t like appreciate subtitled series enough. It made me think a lot about of Bron/Broen.
Rita (2012-2020) 🇩🇰
Where to watch: Netflix
I started watching it and then stopped. But I picked it back up after abandoning it near the end of the third season. It’s a fun show—unlike most others, it doesn’t revolve around a murder—but it was never a priority to watch. It’s about an unconventional teacher who speaks her mind and handles her personal life and her students’ issues in a very unique way. It’s in the fourth season that we get to understand this character even better, as we travel back in time and see what Rita was like as a student herself. I found the juxtaposition of the two timelines to be a tribute to the birth of a feminist. I really liked it.
Hjem til Hjul/Home for Christmas (2019-2020) 🇳🇴
Where to watch: Netflix
This Norwegian series is only two seasons long with 12 episodes total. I wish it was longer, as I enjoyed it very much. I think it was the first time I ever watched something from Norway.
I loved the pacing, the characters, and the diversity! It follows Johanne (played by Ida Elise Broch), a single nurse who’s under intense pressure from her family and friends to find a boyfriend.
Until she does, she’s relegated to the role of the single friend who gets seated at the kids’ table during dinner—as if she weren’t an adult (been there, sister!).
The series was filmed in the UNESCO World Heritage town of Røros, known for its fairytale winter landscape and traditional wooden houses. The Christmas vibes aren’t just good set design, as the town is actually famous for its cozy, snow-covered streets and hosts a beloved Christmas market every year.
Jess
Brot/The Valhalla Murders (2019) 🇮🇸
Where to watch: Netflix
Ah! We’re back to murders! But this time in a new setting: we’re in Iceland, and I think this was also the first time I watched something from this country, which I find quite intriguing.
In Brot we’re not just investigating a single murder but a series of them that unfold over the course of eight episodes, as we gradually uncover the connection between all the characters. It’s very dark, and I know it’ll be a treat for fans of the genre.
In the end, I felt there was one missing link in the story, but even so, it’s a good watch, if only to see what happens when a police officer uses a service weapon in a system that’s so different from other parts of the world!
Although fictionalized, The Valhalla Murders is loosely based on a real series of abuse cases that took place at a government-run boys’ home in Iceland in the 1940s and 1950s. The show’s dark atmosphere and unsettling themes draw from this hidden part of Icelandic history—giving the drama an extra layer of realism.
Forhøret/Face to Face (2019-2023) 🇩🇰
Where to watch: Denmark TV3
Another series from Copenhagen, another eerie murder case!
In Forhøret, we follow Bjørn Rasmussen (played by Ulrich Thomsen), a detective looking for his estranged daughter Christina (played by Alma Ekehed Thomsen, Ulrich's real life daughter). It introduces Trine Dyrholm as Christina's psychologist mother Susanne, Lars Mikkelsen as entrepreneur Holger, Christina's mentor and Søren Malling as police chief Richard.
Face to Face is so different from anything we’ve seen before. The filming style, the way each episode stands apart (the title Face to Face makes perfect sense as each episode is set in a single location and focused on a single actor interaction with the main character), a deep dive that allows us to get inside the main character’s head at each discovery.
It’s absolutely incredible. I bet the Americans will rush to adapt this one!
Jess
Bonusfamiljen/Bonus Family (2017-2021) 🇸🇪
Where to watch: Netflix
That classic “yours, mine, and ours” formula always works well on TV, doesn’t it? That’s what we get in this Swedish series with 4 seasons, where a young couple (Lisa, played by Vera Vitali and Patrik, played by Erik Johansson) in their thirties, recently separated, are trying to blend their families together.
And we see it all, from more or less peaceful relationships with their exes, to differences in parenting styles and the personalities of kids the same age, and how these new dynamics affect everyone involved. I really like it. And even though it deals with serious topics, it stays light-hearted. No one gets killed here… except maybe someone’s sanity.
Efterforskningen/The Investigation (2020) 🇩🇰
This show reunites two of the main actors in Borgen: Søren Malling and Pilou Asbæk. In this six-part miniseries, we follow the case of Swedish journalist Kim Wall’s disappearance just hours after boarding a submarine with an eccentric inventor, who had invited her to sail around Copenhagen while she interviewed him.
Although fictionalized, this story is based on true facts. However, The Investigation takes a very different approach from what we’re used to.
Efterforskningen focuses on the victim without exploiting her, on the suffering and quest for justice from the victims' parents (played by Swedish actors Pernilla August and the tremendous Rolf Lassgård) treating the case with a level of respect and attention to detail that’s completely different from the pacing of a typical American crime series.
Atlantic Crossing (2021) 🇳🇴
Where to watch: Norway's DRK
A Norwegian miniseries that caught me completely off guard, in the best way, as I am very fond of anything related to royal families.
Atlantic Crossing is based on the true story of Crown Princess Märtha of Norway (played by Sofia Helin)'s exile to the United States and her unexpected political influence during World War II, particularly her relationship with U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt (played by Kyle MacLachlan).
Sounds like something pulled straight from a history book? It kind of is but it’s done with the drama and elegance of a proper period piece.
What I liked most is that it gives us a different kind of heroine—one who’s not wielding a weapon or solving a murder, but navigating diplomacy, motherhood, exile, and power in the middle of a global crisis. Sofia Helin brings a quiet strength to Märtha that makes you root for her every time she enters a room.
It’s beautifully filmed, filled with tension (even when you sort of know what happens), and made me want to immediately Google every single real-life figure in the cast. For those who like Netflix's The Crown or enjoy seeing women move behind the scenes of history, this is a must-watch.
Jess
Kastanjemanden/The Chestnut Man (2021) 🇩🇰
Where to watch: Netflix
Back to Denmark, and back to murders, because apparently I can’t stay away from a good crime drama. The Chestnut Man had been sitting on my list for a while until I finally gave in. It starts with a brutal murder and a small figure made of chestnuts left at the scene. Creepy, right? From there, we follow two investigators, Naia Thulin (played by Danica Curcic) and Mark Hess (played by Mikkel Boe Følsgaard) with very different styles who slowly uncover a twisted and deeply political case that links back to a missing child from years ago.
The atmosphere is exactly what you’d expect from a Nordic noir: grey skies, slow reveals, emotional repression, and tension you can cut with a knife. But what I found especially striking was how well it all tied together. This miniseries visually polished, tightly written, and with just the right level of dread. There's a sense of grief that lingers, even when the action picks up.
Kastanjemanden is not light and it isn’t one of those “watch while folding laundry” shows. But if you're into the dark stuff, The Chestnut Man delivers. And I promise, you’ll never look at a kid’s craft project the same way again.
Young Wallander (2020-2022) 🇬🇧🇸🇪
Where to watch: Netflix
Last but not least (as I hope to add more shows here in the future) is Young Wallander, a hybrid Swedish and British production. A modern-day reboot of a classic Swedish series called Wallander around the iconic detective Kurt Wallander, played in 9 Swedish movies by Rolf LassgĂĄrd. Here he is played by Adam PĂĄlsson.
The two-season show plays with the usual Nordic noir tropes (bleak setting, troubled cop, moral grey zones), but adds a contemporary edge, touching on immigration, youth crime, and politics in Sweden today. It’s not as slow-burn as the traditional series, which might annoy some purists, but I liked the mix of gritty realism with a more stylized pace.
Karppi/Deadwind (2018-2022)
My husband and I just started watching this Finnish thriller, that ran for 3 seasons.
The show follows Sofia Karppi (played by Pihla Viitala), a detective of the Finnish police who is recently widowed with a young son and teenage stepdaughter who lives with her, in very precarious conditions. She returns to police work in Helsinki to team up with a newbie from the financial crime department, Sakari Nurmi (played by Lauri Tilkanen). Her first case is the murder of Anna Bergdahl, a social affairs consultant.
We are just at the beginning, but this show demands a bigger focus as I am not accostumed with the Finnish language. Not a show to "watch" on your phone, if you know what I mean.
Jess
Which TV Shows do I want to watch next?
- Lilyhammer (Norway)
- Okkupert/Occupied (Norway)
- Ófærð/Trapped (Iceland)
- Den Osannolika Mördaren/The unlikely Murderer (Sweden)
- Fenris (Norway)
- Huset/Prisoner (Denmark)
- En helt vanlig Familj (Sweden)
- Graverne (Denmark)
Have you watched any of these? Let me know your Nordic favourites in the comments and what do you recommend I watch next.
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