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Young Wallander is a new Netflix series which returns to the classic Swedish drama, with the character this time played by Adam Pålsson, looking at what the Swedish detective’s life could’ve been like when he was much younger than he was today, and like modern policing, his first task is to shut down a noisy party that’s been going on too long, and the man causing a kerfuffle is coked off his bonce.
That one is a brief affair, but his next stop comes as he chances across a fire on his housing estate, or was it just a distraction in relation to a young man called Hugo Lundgren, who’s been tied up in what turns into a gruesome situation, as we’ve come to expect from the likes of Nordic Noir dramas such as The Bridge?
Also running a parallel with the modern day is that the police have to attend one of those marches being held by supposedly ‘peaceful’ protestors – this one in relation to young Hugo, and you can imagine how it’s going to go.
Soon after we meet Kurt, he seems a bit perturbed that no-one in his huge block knew he was a cop until that moment, even though since he works in the local area, someone would’ve spotted him. Plus, given that he’s trying to solve the crime that’s just happened regarding this young man, they should be applauding him!
If you saw The Wire, and can imagine that the estate is similar to the one in Baltimore, then the lad who runs thing, Bash (Charles Mnene), is a poundshop-style Omar, but still go with it.
Along the way, Kurt’s partner, Reza (Yasen Atour), has a promotion to the Major Crimes Unit; Kurt wants to turn his one-night stands with friend-with-benefits Helena (Therica Wilson-Read) into a full-time relationship; and as an aside, there is a daft moment where Kurt witnesses some mobile phone footage on his laptop, trying to identify a certain individual, but as he zooms in the footage – which is in a vertical mobile phone aspect ratio – the footage zooms in, but the mobile phone frame never changes… erm… the entire thing would zoom in on his laptop!
There’s also cliches of Kurt talking to relatives of alleged criminals with spurious information, when in reality, that would get him struck off the case, if not the force.
But back to the day job, and Kurt will find himself working with Frida Rask (Leanne Best – ITV’s Isolation Stories), and her gruff boss, Superintendent Hemberg (Richard Dillane – Mother’s Day).
Overall, the first episode is an engaging watch – nothing too in-depth, and not knee-deep in local Swedish language as everyone speaks in English – so it’s very accessible to all. I will certainly watch more, as the first episode leads into the second, and so on, as the case continues.
Young Wallander is not available to pre-order on Blu-ray or DVD, but is on Netflix from Thursday September 3rd.
Episode 1 Score: 7/10
Episode 2 Score: 6/10
Director: Ole Endresen
Producer: Berna Levin
Creator: Ben Harris
Writer: Ben Schiffer
Kurt Wallander: Adam Pålsson
Superintendent Hemberg: Richard Dillane
Frida Rask: Leanne Best
Mona: Ellise Chappell
Reza: Yasen Atour
Bash: Charles Mnene
Karl-Axel Munck: Jacob Collins-Levy
Gustav Munck: Alan Emrys
Mariam: Kiza Deen
Jasmin Al-Rahman: Sara Seyed
Mariam: Kiza Deen
Richard Lundgren: Richard Clother
Ibra Yusuf Amir: Jordan Adene
Becker: Clare Perkins
Zemar: Elham Ehsas
Fredrik: Bart Edward
Birgitte Lundgren: Lucy Akhurst
Markus: Jack Bandeira
Tarek: Emmanuel Akinbami
Daniel: Joshua Blissett
Helena: Therica Wilson-Read
Shabana: Astrid Fox-Sahan
Hugo Lundgren: Arnoldas Tarvydas
Ibra’s lawyer: Rimane Valiukaite
Desk Sergeant: Simonas Mozura
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.