Beck Series 8, Four Strangers (Uspjeh) and Nordic Murders Series 3

 On the 17th May 2021 I published a long post about a number of TV foreign detective programmes. Among them were earlier series of Beck and Nordic Murders that feature below, along with a brand new Croatian thriller called Uspjeh. One of the main reasons I watch these subtitled dramas is the locations, we get to see all sorts of different places in Europe.

Beck    Series 8 

I cannot remember how many episodes I have seen. All I know is that Beck should have been retired long ago. But there he is, hovering in the background. Although he did come to help in the best episode of this series, a hostage drama in a TV studio. 

The Nordic Murders    Series 3

There is an article in the Radio Times by Jane Rackam: 

"The strange thing about the Baltic island of Usedom — well, apart from the fact it has a crime rate to rival Midsomer Murders — is that former district attorney Karin Lossow (Katrin Sass) is always right in the middle of any investigation. How it must irritate detective Ellen Noorgard (Rikke Lylloff) to have her constantly solving crimes like a German Miss Marple. This time it’s the death of a 16-year-old schoolboy who was locked in a sauna at a drug-fuelled party hosted by — what do you know? — Karin’s nephew Ben. The teenagers are a frustratingly unhelpful bunch so as this German drama unfolds, there’s all the twisted bleakness you’d expect in a Scandi-noir."

The detective Ellen Norgaard played by Rikke Lylloff  appeared in the previous series but is upstaged by Lossow as described above. The scenery is great, Usedom is an island just off the north coast, divided by Germany (where the series is set) and Poland so that is interesting. Occasionally we go over the border.

Four Strangers

Four Strangers is a Croatian thriller that is quite brilliant. Who would have thought. The four (Haris, Blanka, Vinka and Kiki) are all involved, one way or another, in the killing of a gangster's dreadfully violent son. So not only are the police after the killer, but gangsters and corrupt business men are also involved. episode 3 is an absolute classic. It's all about the car. The four, the gangsters, the police are all trying to find it first. I was not always sure who was who because of the Croatian names, but I got there in the end. The story was original with cliff-hangers at the end of each of the six episodes. Superb.