Harry Hole Netflix Jo Nesbo Tobias Santelmann

New Nordic TV Series for 2026

Looking for the next big Scandinavian thriller or Scandi-drama? Nordic Watchlist has curated the definitive guide to the new Nordic TV Series for 2026. Our 2026 lineup features highly anticipated releases already confirmed for production, alongside insider looks at what is currently in the pipeline.

From gritty Nordic Noir to compelling Swedish, Danish, and Norwegian dramas, this page serves as your live tracker. We update this list throughout the year as new titles are revealed and exact release dates are confirmed by streamers like Netflix, Viaplay, Channel 4’s Walter Presents, MHZ, and Disney+.

Note: Release dates and international availability for 2026 Nordic series are subject to change. Bookmark this page to stay updated on the latest Scandi-TV news. You can see our 2025 list HERE

NETFLIX | Global

Detective Hole | Norway | 26th March

Set against the stark, freezing backdrop of modern-day Oslo, Detective Hole reimagines Jo Nesbø’s legendary anti-hero for a global audience. The series follows Harry Hole (played by Tobias Santelmann), a brilliant but deeply self-destructive detective who operates on the fringes of the law.

While the police department struggles to maintain order, Hole is pulled into a high-stakes cat-and-mouse game with a familiar shadow from his past: the manipulative serial killer Tom Waaler (Joel Kinnaman).

Could this be Netflix’s biggest Nordic series ever? Not long to find out!

Byet | Sweden

Based on the bestselling novel by Stefan Ahnhem, Bytet is a tense, four-part limited series that explores the thin line between a fresh start and a total nightmare. When two couples decide to swap homes for the summer, they expect a romantic reset; instead, they find themselves trapped in a web of voyeurism, paranoia, and lethal secrets.

The series features an incredible cast with Emma Appleton, Fares Fares, Frida Gustavsson and Jakob Oftebro.

The Chase | Sweden

The series follows detective Thomas Berg (Jakob Oftebro) as he investigates a brutal string of murders targeting Stockholm’s police force. As the pressure mounts during an atmospheric, “endless Stockholm summer”, Berg is forced into an uneasy alliance with his estranged father, Alfred (Peter Andersson), a retired detective. This high-stakes thriller is described as being as much an emotional father-son drama as it is a gritty crime procedural, focusing on their fractured relationship as they race to identify the killer.

The project boasts an impressive creative pedigree, written by George Kay, the mastermind behind Netflix’s global sensation Lupin. Directing the five-part series is Kristoffer Nyholm, whose work on the original Danish version of The Killing (Forbrydelsen) helped define the modern Nordic Noir genre. With such a powerhouse team at the helm, The Case is set to be one of the most significant new Nordic TV series for 2026.

Walter Presents/Channel 4 (UK)

The Pushover | Denmark | January

Nora Sand is back! The tranquil peace of an affluent neighbourhood is shattered when a woman is discovered dead at the bottom of a luxury swimming pool. All eyes immediately turn to her boyfriend, Tom, a high-stakes con artist with a history of “Tinder-swindling” his way through the elite.

In a move that catches the authorities off guard, Tom turns himself in. He is more than happy to confess to his long list of financial frauds—but he remains adamant that the woman’s death was nothing more than a tragic accident.

Arctic Circle Season 4 | Finland | February

The chilling landscape of Finnish Lapland once again becomes the setting for a disturbing mystery in the fourth season of Arctic Circle. Detective Nina Kautsalo is back, racing against the clock and the unforgiving winter to solve a new string of crimes. As the investigation deepens, Kautsalo must confront dark, long-held secrets threatening to emerge from beneath the snow, proving that even in the frozen North, some cases are impossibly hot.

Oxen Season 2 | Denmark | March

In Oxen Season Two, decorated but deeply haunted former elite soldier Niels Oxen is desperately trying to escape his troubled past. However, he is inevitably dragged back into the murky world of high-level intrigue and military conspiracy. As he finds himself the target of powerful, shadowy forces, Oxen must fight for his life and use his specialised skills to unmask a terrifying conspiracy that reaches the highest echelons of Danish power.

Oxen Jacob Lohmann

Ammo | Norway | May

Ammo is a high-octane Norwegian thriller focused on a disgraced police officer. In a desperate bid for redemption and to protect his family, he is forced to go deep undercover within a brutal and dangerous arms-smuggling operation. Navigating a world where trust is lethal and betrayal is constant, he takes on missions where the stakes are incredibly high and every decision could tragically be his last.

The Sommerdahl Murders Season 4 | Denmark | June 

Returning for its fourth season, The Sommerdahl Murders continues to blend intense personal drama with compelling cases set against the picturesque Danish coastline. Detective Chief Inspector Dan Sommerdahl and his dedicated team investigate complex and unsettling murders that disrupt the tranquility of the seaside town. As they work to solve these deadly cases, they must also navigate their own complicated relationships and personal challenges.

Viaplay | USA and UK

Stayer | Norway | January

In the powerful Norwegian drama Stayer, Aksel Hennie stars as Even Elstad, a fading rock musician whose life of excess and self-preservation is shattered by a sudden tragedy. After the mother of his child dies in a freak accident, Even is forced to return to his hometown of Eidsvoll—a place he fled years ago to pursue fame. There, he must confront the daughter he abandoned, sixteen-year-old Annie, who is left navigating her own immense grief while dealing with a father who is essentially a stranger.

Read our full review of the series HERE

Stayer Viaplay Askel Hennie

Scenes of a Marriage | Sweden | January

Centred on the turbulent aftermath of a breakup, Scenes After a Marriage follows Lovis and Kian as they navigate the messy, emotionally raw reality of their recent separation. The former couple have established a ritual of meeting every Friday at a roadside restaurant near the bridge connecting Sweden and Denmark to exchange custody of their children. While the location is meant to be neutral ground, these brief, high-stakes encounters become a crucible for their lingering feelings, uncovering the bitterness, sexual tension, and profound grief that remain even after a life together has supposedly ended.

Read our full review of the series HERE

Viaplay tend not to share much at this early stage, but one thing we can reveal is that there have been negotiations of them taking on former HBO MAX series. It might be likely that these are screened in the USA whislt in the UK these might end up on the streamer or potentially on another. Watch this space – either way, we really hope these series make it to a wider audience as they truly deserve to be shared.

Beartown | Sweden

Based on the international best-selling novel, Beartown delves into the dark side of a small, isolated Swedish town obsessed with ice hockey. The future of the entire community rests on the shoulders of its junior team, who have a chance at winning the national semi-finals. However, when a terrible act of violence occurs after a victory party, the town is forced to choose sides. The series is a powerful, emotional drama that explores themes of hope, loyalty, community pressure, and the courage required to tell the truth.

Welcome To Utmark | Norway

Set in the remote and desolate northern reaches of Norway, Welcome To Utmark is a darkly comic and quirky drama about a small town where nothing works, and nobody is normal. The story centres on a cynical new teacher arriving in Utmark, who quickly discovers that the inhabitants—a shepherd with a drinking problem, his wife who is trying to leave him, and a local drug dealer—are far stranger than he could have ever imagined. It’s a hilarious yet melancholic exploration of small-town life and human folly.

Kamikaze | Denmark

Kamikaze follows the life of Mia, a privileged and restless 18-year-old Danish girl who seemingly has it all—until she loses her entire family in a plane crash. Alone and adrift, the series chronicles her intense and often self-destructive journey from Denmark across the globe in a desperate attempt to deal with her grief. It’s a raw, compelling, and emotional series that tackles loss, identity, and the search for meaning in a world that has suddenly lost its anchor.

Beforeigners | Norway

This Norwegian sci-fi crime drama introduces a bizarre new reality: flashes of light suddenly begin occurring in Oslo, bringing people from the Stone Age, the Viking Age, and the late 19th Century to the present day. These “Beforeigners” struggle to integrate into modern society. The series centres on a police detective, Lars Haaland, who teams up with Alfhildr Enginnsdottir, a Viking-age shield-maiden who is the first person with a multi-temporal background to join the police force. Together, they investigate the murder of a Stone Age woman, uncovering a conspiracy that spans millennia.

MHz | USA

Blackwater | Sweden | January

Based on Kerstin Ekman’s celebrated novel, Blackwater is a masterful, multi-generational crime drama that shifts between two distinct timelines in Northern Sweden. The story begins on a Midsummer’s Eve in 1973, when a young mother, Annie Raft, and her daughter Mia stumble across the grisly remains of two murdered tourists in a tent near the remote village of Svartvattnet. This traumatic event sends shockwaves through the isolated community, intertwining the lives of the locals, a nearby hippy commune, and the investigating authorities in a mystery that the police ultimately fail to solve.

Reykjavik Fusion | Iceland

Starring the formidable Ólafur Darri Ólafsson (Trapped, The Tourist), Reykjavík Fusion follows Jónas, a talented chef struggling to rebuild his life after a stint in prison. Shunned by society and desperate to win back the trust of his ex-fiancée and their children, Jónas dreams of opening a high-end restaurant in the heart of the Icelandic capital. However, when legal financial avenues are closed to him, he is forced into a devil’s bargain, accepting illicit funding from a ruthless crime boss he met behind bars.

More to follow!

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