PBS Passport’s British Version of 'Before We Die' is an Overwrought Remake

At first, it appears that the British version of Before We Die, a sometimes grim police procedural, is aiming to be a shot-for-shot remake of the original Swedish version of the same name. But instead of being a copy or even an homage, the two-season series ends up as a clumsily paced echo of a much better show.

For a police procedural, it is still a refreshing turn for the story to focus on one main investigation for the whole series, the way Unforgotten does, rather than visit a new case in each episode (see Grantchester, Endeavour, Van der Valk). What starts as an investigation into police officer Sean’s (Bill Ward) kidnapping leads to a complex web of drug cartels and police corruption. However, the way the lead character Hannah (Lesley Sharp), a police detective, learns information in the British version gives her a much more passive role than in the original. In the Swedish version, Hannah (played by Marie Richardson) is much more tenacious, driven, and clever. Sharp's Hannah is not as much a driver of the action, which diminishes our engagement with her and gives her less agency overall.

The characters don’t elicit enough pathos to carry the British version, so the plot must take up those reins. Here Before We Die lucks out because it has an engrossing story with twists that keep you tuning in despite the sometimes poorly developed characters. It turns out that Sean was kidnapped by the Mimicas, a crime family running a restaurant as a front for a drug operation. Things get more complicated when we learn that Hannah’s son Christian (Patrick Gibson) is newly employed there as a dishwasher and being drawn into their dealings.