Another year has passed and it is hard to imagine that at one point we were worried about how many Nordic series would be available to us in the UK, how wrong we were, and how spoilt we got! Here is our annual pick of Best Nordic TV Series in 2024.
10. Oxen – Walter Presents
An absolutely incredible cast, a huge kill count per episode, and overall just a hell of a lot of fun to just settle in and have a bit of a no-brainer. We really enjoyed Oxen – being fans of Jacob Lohmann it was exciting to see him back on the screen and pairing him with Josephine Park was great to see. Throw everyone else in here including Ellen Hillingsø being super conniving and then a bow and arrow wielding Birgitte Hjort Sørensen – what is there not to like!
The good news is that we have been informed a second season is already being shot – we can’t wait to get more of this!
9. La Palma – Netflix
A very late entry to the Top 10 but an incredibly strong one is Kasper Barfoed‘s (The Nurse, The Chestnut Man) La Palma. A disaster series that is set on the Canary Islands and follows a Norwegian family as they get caught up in utter chaos when the volcano on the island erupts.
Where the script might feel a bit weak it is all made up for in the stress-inducing moments of action not to mention how gorgeous the whole series looks aswell. Throw in a stacked cast of famous Nordic faces such as Anders Baasmo (Arctic Convoy), Ingrid Bolsø Berdal (Westworld), Thea Sofie Loch Næss (The Lost Kingdom), Thorbjørn Harr (Vikings) and the people’s favourite Ólafur Darri Ólafsson (Trapped)) and you have a perfect binge-worthy series that isn’t like you average Nordic series!
8. Taeglia | Sweden | Viaplay USA & UK
Viaplay’s six-part drama thriller focused on a Swedish tower block community tackling criminality and identity. What does it mean to be “other”? Where is the future in that?
Sara Shirpey gives an excellent performance as Sibel, who has moved back to Södertälje to be part of the local police force. She is not Swedish enough for her job and seen as a traitor by those in the immigrant community. This division is one that permeates the entire series.
Taelgia isn’t a fast-paced of flashy series – and there is certainly no romanticizing of any criminality here – but rather a slow-burn drama that is very much focused on the human consequences of life in the tower block.
7. Young Royals Season 3 – Netflix
Having to end this incredibly popular series was a huge task set for but as Lisa Ambjorn said in an interview with Nordic Watchlist: ‘It was so much fun and inspiring to be so involved – the vibe on set was just amazing. I honestly had the best time working on Young Royals and the previous seasons – but this one really was my favourite to work on‘ – which pretty much sums it up!
6. Prisoner | Denmark | BBC iPlayer
It feels like a lifetime ago that this was released but it still remains one of the most prominent series which felt like fresh take and break from the standard Nordic stories and series we get. Seeing Sofie Grabol on the small screen was a joy and the cast around her were absolutely fantastic including newcomer Youssef Wayne Hvidtfeldt.
Add in two directors at the top of their game and you are belted in for one intense ride! Now to pray to the TV gods that we might get to see a second season.
5. All and Eva | Sweden | Viaplay UK and USA
Touted as Fleabag-esque, All and Eva is no mere imitation. This six-part series centres around the titular Eva and her family and friends as she navigates a late-in-life pregnancy and a new romance.
What this series does so well is it allows you to get to know all of the lead characters, delving into their lives in segments within each episode. We truly get to understand their frustrations and losses, in a way that ensemble pieces rarely allow us to.
The comedy elements are laugh out loud funny, but there are also more serious points about choice and isolation. This is a fantastic binge watch.
4. Evil | Sweden | Channel 4’s Walter Presents
Misogny, classism, generational trauma and violence are just some of the issues at the heart of Evil. It’s a series that could leave you feeling every bit as bruised as its cast.
Isac Calmroth gives a phenomenal lead performance, with Christian Fandango Sundgren and Gustaf Skarsgård playing despicable villains that will leave you chilled. The danger and tension radiating through every scene is palpable – it’s a real anxiety watch.
Evil is a harrowing and compelling series that sets clear lines between good choices and bad; right and wrong. It is thoroughly well-acted and well-written; it isn’t afraid to tackle hard subjects.
3. Secrets | Denmark | Viaplay UK and USA
Secrets caught us by surprise and in particular was Pilou Asbæk’s performance. In an interview with Nordic Watchlist he described working on the series as ‘coming home’ and those that follow his work with his Danish films and series will know that he has far more to offer than being just a villain in Hollywood with a host of stunning performances. Here, he plays the drug addicted Mads who is a hell bent on destroying everything good he has in life, including his close relationship with his sister Eva (Iben Hjejle).
This really was heart-breaking and hard to watch – especially for those that know of or have suffered addiction themselves.
2.Bullshit | Denmark | Viaplay UK
Once you have seen episode 5 of this series you will understand why we have rated the series so highly. Milad Alami takes us on a one shot take with a hand held camera – as we follow various characters we have grown to know over the course of the season. It leads to a bloody and brutal bar fight which will leave your jaw on the ground – it is outstanding television and rarely has something like this been seen when it comes to Nordic series.
On top of that is the acting, especially in its leads Marco Ilsø and Alba August, the look and feel of the series which gives this grungey aesthetic which ironically makes these feel fresh and different. This is a series not to be slept on so go and seek it out!
1. The Helicopter Heist – Netflix
Based on a real heist that took place in Sweden in the early 2000s, The Helicopter Heist is an exhilarating, frustrating and anxiety inducing watch. And you won’t be able to stop yourself from saying “just one more episode”.
Mahmut Suvakci and Ardalan Esmaili give fantastically contrasting performances as Rami and Michel, two men who find themselves attempting one of the most audacious thefts in their country’s history. But it’s not a simple “bad guys doing bad things” kind of story. We get to understand their motivations and, in some cases, desperation to dream up such a feat.
This is a series rippling with paranoia and fear; it is visceral in a way that is both entertaining and chaotic. You will not be sorry you started to watch.
Special Mentions:
Jana Marked for Life arrived onto the BBC and we had great fun catching up and chatting to the series lead Madeleine Martin about her role in this thrilling drama. Also on the BBC we had End of Summer which kept us absolutely hooked from start to finish as the story slowly begun to unravel – this series is also now available on Viaplay.
Call Me Dad had Alex Hogh Andersen doing some comedy and it was a lot of fun if not a little bit too far-fetched!
Adding to the fun factor was Netflix’s Billionaire Island and Midsummer Night – exploring some different stories.
Elsewhere on Netflix was Anna Zackrinsson’s Deliver Me which was a powerful and poignant series exposing the affects of gang culture on young adults.
There are, of course, plenty more series that we have seen and others we haven’t had time to catch which is, in a way, a good sign as we continue to see more and more series from the Nordic region become accessible to us.
What have we missed? Do you have any favourites which should get a mention or do you agree with our Top 10? Comment below – we’d love to hear from you.
