By Lacy Baugher for Drama on May 3rd, 2016

The Final Season of ‘Wallander’ Airs on PBS Stations This May

One last time: Kenneth Branagh as Kurt Wallander. (Photo: : Courtesy of Steffan Hill/Left Bank Pictures (Television) Limited/Yellow Bird 2015)

 

Sir Kenneth Branagh returns to PBS stations nationwide in his Emmy-nominated role as Inspector Kurt Wallander for a final run of the beloved mystery series Wallander beginning on Sunday, May 8.

Based on the novels of the late Henning Mankell, the series’ fourth and final season will be comprised of three feature-length episodes – The White Lioness, A Lesson in Love and The Troubled Man – as Wallander is forced to face toughest battle yet as he starts to lose his memory. His greatest fear is that he is succumbing to the same disease that felled his father: Alzheimer’s.

Despite his concerns, Wallander keeps burning his candle at both ends, dodging knives, bullets, vicious dogs, homicidal motorcyclists, and a sense that he is losing his focus. Will mishap, medical leave, suspension, or a well-earned retirement be his final exit from this punishing profession? 

Get a sneak peek at the new season and watch Branagh discuss the show in this new clip:

Returning with Branagh for Wallander’s final season are longtime ensemble members Jeany Spark (Da Vinci’s Demons) as Wallander’s daughter, Linda, and Richard McCabe (Indian Summers) as the gloomy but good-hearted forensic pathologist, Sven Nyberg. Introduced last season and back for this is Ingeborga Dapkunaite (Prime Suspect) as Baiba Liepa, a beautiful Latvian musician and police widow, who teamed up with Wallander in Riga to escape a death squad run by one of her late husband’s colleagues. And Downton Abbey fans will recognize new cast member, Harry Hadden-Paton (Bertie Pelham), who plays Linda’s workaholic husband, Hans.

The third season of Wallander aired in the US way back in the Fall of 2012, so it’s been quite a wait for fans desperate for more of their favorite Swedish sleuth.  As an eagle-eyed reader informed me in the comments to this post - the final season of the series hasn't even aired in the UK yet (which I'd incorrectly assumed it had - thank you!), which is kind of exciting in and of itself, since we almost never get to see any sort of British mystery series before our friends across the pond do. 

Are you looking forward to seeing how Wallander wraps things up? Share your thoughts and predictions with us! 

By Lacy Baugher for Drama on May 3rd, 2016
Lacy Baugher

Lacy's love of British TV is embarrassingly extensive, but primarily centers around evangelizing all things Doctor Who, and watching as many period dramas as possible.

Digital media type by day, she also has a fairly useless degree in British medieval literature, and dearly loves to talk about dream poetry, liminality, and the medieval religious vision. (Sadly, that opportunity presents itself very infrequently.) York apologist, Ninth Doctor enthusiast, and unabashed Ravenclaw. Say hi on Threads or Blue Sky at @LacyMB. 

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