The Sommerdahl Murders is a softer kind of Nordic crime drama. Not the noir kind of drama and I do not mean that as an insult.
Not every Nordic series has to look like it was filmed inside a rain cloud. Sometimes the murder happens by the sea, in a pretty Danish town, with light, boats, cafés, houses and a community that looks almost too pleasant to be dangerous.
I will confess though that I binged the series, all the season within a two week period. The more I watched the more I thought that this was a fantastic opportunity for a little holiday spot advertising in Denmark. It felt like everyday it was summer. Dan was constantly in a pastel t-shirt and an open shirt as if he was always on surfing time. Marianne in a permanent tan and her signature overalls felt like this little port has never seen a storm.
Set around Helsingør, The Sommerdahl Murders has a more accessible, almost cosy-crime surface. But of course, this is still Nordic drama, so the prettiness does not protect anyone. People still lie. Relationships still collapse. Bodies still appear. Secrets still behave badly.
The centre of the series is not only the crime, but the personal triangle between Dan Sommerdahl, his wife Marianne, and his best friend and colleague Flemming. That gives the show a different rhythm. The investigations matter, but so do the awkward silences, the jealousy, the emotional mess, and the fact that people are expected to solve murders while their private lives are completely falling apart.
I like that, because it makes the series more human. Not all crime drama has to be ice-cold to work. Sometimes you need a seaside town with a charming face and a complicated heart.
There is also something very Danish about the balance of everyday life and murder. The crimes do not feel like they belong to a fantasy world. They happen among ordinary people, ordinary streets, ordinary relationships.
The Sommerdahl Murders may not be the darkest Nordic noir, but it still understands the basic rule: beautiful places can hide ugly things.
And honestly, that is often where crime drama becomes most interesting
WATCH THE TRAILER BELOW
The hit Danish crime drama The Sommerdahl Murders (simply known as Sommerdahl) is fully available to stream for free in the UK on Channel 4 Streaming. [1]