Danish murder mystery ‘Sommerdahl Murders’ kills it

The archetypical Danish murder thriller series — bleak, with a side buy of gloom — is turned upside-down in “The Sommerdahl Murders.”

Established in the sunny, picturesque seaside city of Elsinore, the eight-episode drama is based on Danish creator Anna Grue’s bestselling criminal offense series and streams on Acorn Tv (in Danish, with English subtitles). It stars Peter Mygind and Laura Drasbaek as conflicted husband-and-wife cops Dan and Marianne Sommerdahl and delivers up a tasty menu of purple herrings, intriguing, twisty plots and even a enjoy triangle. Every single self-contained thriller unfolds about two episodes — so the whodunit method hardly ever grows stale and will allow the guide people to evolve as their own interactions intensify about whilst the series plows forward.

In the opener we satisfy Dan and Marianne, both of whom get the job done for the Elsinore law enforcement division (he’s a detective, she’s in forensics). They are dad and mom to 19-calendar year-outdated daughter Laura and are celebrating their twenty fifth marriage anniversary. But underneath their smiles and mutual devotion lurks an ongoing difficulty: Dan’s workaholic character has has taken its toll on Marianne, who resents his devotion to the career and its constant intrusions into their own life. When Dan announces at a major get together that he’s using Marianne to Bali for their silver anniversary, she smiles wanly, figuring out his once-a-year assure to her will be damaged once get the job done inevitably gets in the way.

The to start with two-episode “Sommerdahl Murders” thriller sets the template for what is to follow, with a labyrinthian arc involving the murder of a younger Russian unlawful immigrant whose lifeless body is identified washed up on the beach front. There is minimal to go on, nevertheless an autopsy reveals that she not too long ago gave birth — and, with no little one in sight, Dan and his ideal close friend/partner, DS Flemming Torp (Andre Babikian), kick into high gear searching for the toddler with the clock ticking on its survival. Their investigation, aided by Marianne, qualified prospects them to, among the other plot details, a sketchy murder suspect, a shady Elsinore cleaning assistance and a health care provider who will help unlawful woman immigrants integrate into the nearby populace.

In the meantime, Dan and Marianne’s relationship is tested to the max and we understand, slyly, that Torp is hiding some dishy secrets of his possess, which are sure to affect his working marriage with Dan. All is not what it seems and that, in essence, is the overriding arc of “The Sommerdahl Murders,” but this isn’t your run-of-the-mill “gotcha!” series — considering that its multi-dimensional people, intelligent composing and, sure, even the city of Elisnore itself will pull you along in the wake of its quite a few surprises.

All eight episodes of “The Sommerdahl Murders” are offered on Acorn Tv.