Heads up for Masterpiece Mystery lovers! We’ll be re-airing Series 1 of gritty crime drama Wallander in full tonight starting at 8pm, running all three episodes back-to-back-to-back.
If you’ve not seen this before, Wallander is based on a popular series of novels by Swedish author Henning Mankell. The series stars Kennth Branagh as titular inspector Kurt Wallander, who has been solving heinous crimes for his entire career while watching his personal life increasingly spiral out of control.
The series is a strange combination of dark, existential, complicated and gripping. Wallander is not exactly what I would call happy viewing, necessarily, but it’s certainly compelling and the mysteries that the Swedish detective must solve are all extremely well done and will keep you guessing through most of the episodes. That the show is a bit bleak is, in some ways, appealing – it’s very unlike most procedurals and mysteries currently on-air and that, in its way, is very refreshing. Plus, it’s a fantastic performance from Branagh in the lead role, and the supporting cast – including Sarah Smart, Tom Beard, Jeany Spark, Tom Hiddleston and more – is top-notch.
Click through for a preview and some details about tonight’s marathon. Enjoy!