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Netflix reveals brand new Nordic crime thriller - and it looks like a hit

And it's based on the same series of novels as a rather divisive movie...

By Danielle de Wolfe

19 March 2024

If dark and twisting sounds like your bag where Netflix series are concerned, then this brand new Nordic crime drama will be right up your street.

Based on Norwegian author Jo Nesbø's dark and disturbing novel series, the newly commissioned show is an adaptation of his bestselling Harry Hole books that have sold more than ten million copies worldwide.

The upcoming Nordic noir show will focus on the fifth novel in the series, centred around a talented yet highly obsessive homicide detective.

The Devil’s Star is the fifth instalment in the series and will see Nesbø take the helm this time around, leading the writing team as part of the English language adaptation.

If the book series rings a bell, it's probably because the seventh novel spawned 2017 film release The Snowman that divided audiences.

Gaining an impressive 7% critics approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a mere 18% audience rating, the decidedly awkward English-language adaptation starred Michael Fassbender as a maverick cop on the trail of a serial killer.

With critics describing Fassbender's character as looking truly "lost", NME went as far as to suggest the film had become "a slushy old mess".

Given the lacklustre performance of previous adaptations, it's safe to say the forthcoming series will be serving up redemption.

The series will be based on Nesbø’s novel The Devil’s Star, with the small-screen adaptation scheduled for release under the series' working title Harry Hole.

Set in Oslo over the course of a summer, the book follows police detective Harry Hole who’s recently been left by his girlfriend.

Prepare for corrupt cops aplenty (and recovering heartbreak) as Hole sets about investigating the murder of a local woman.

The series is set to be directed by Øystein Karlsen, with Nesbø's name ringing a few bells courtesy of his other hit novel, Occupied.

It's part of a new flurry of Scandi series set to land on the streaming service, with New an adaptation of Amanda Romare’s novel Diary of a Ditched Girl also announced on Monday by Netflix.

Centred around a 30-something desperate to find love, the series will be joined by a show called The New Force, a show set in the 1950s depicting the first female graduates passing through Sweden’s police academy.

Needless to say, we can't wait to learn more where this thriller is concerned.