10 Finnish & Icelandic TV series to watch
According to the ninth World Happiness Report, published in March 2021, Finland is once again on the top of the happiness rankings (for a fourth year running). It is closely followed by another Nordic country, Iceland. To gain a deeper understanding of the Finnish and Icelandic psyche respectively, I have been reading books and watching films and TV series from both these countries. Today, I discuss some of the Finnish and Icelandic TV series I’ve recently watched.
5 Finnish TV series to watch
All The Sins
‘All The Sins’ (‘Kaikki synnit’) is a crime series set in a rural community in Northern Finland. There are two seasons, with six 45-minute-long episodes each. Both seasons are currently available on Channel 4.
Bordertown
‘Bordertown’ (‘Sorjonen’) is a crime series set in Lappeenranta, a Finnish town 30 km from the Russian border, not far from St Petersburg. In Finnish, the TV series is named after the fictional Detective Inspector Kari Sorjonen, who solves a case usually every other episode. There are three seasons, each consisting of 10 or 11 hour-long episodes, and they’re all available on Netflix.
Bullets
‘Bullets’ is a Finnish crime series set in Helsinki. It consists of ten 45-minute-long episodes and is available on Channel 4.
Deadwind
‘Deadwind’ (‘Karppi’) is another crime series set in the Finnish capital. There are two seasons, consisting of a total of twenty 45-minute-long episodes (12 in the first season, 8 in the second season). Both seasons are available on Netflix.
Man In Room 301
‘Man In Room 301’ (‘Huone 301’) takes all the way from Finland to the Greek island of Kos. This crime series consists of six 45-minute-long episodes, currently available on BBC i-player.
5 Icelandic TV series to watch
The Court
‘The Court’ (‘Réttur’) is an Icelandic legal drama series taking place in Reykjavik. There are two seasons, with six 45-minute-long episodes each. Each episode features several different legal cases. Both seasons are currently available on Channel 4.
The Valhalla Murders
‘The Valhalla Murders’ (‘Brot’) is an Icelandic crime series consisting of eight 45-minute-long episodes. It is available on Netflix.
Trapped
‘Trapped’ (‘Ófærð’) is a crime series set in Siglufjörður, the northernmost town in Iceland, which is also the setting of Ragnar Jónasson’s detective series “Dark Iceland”. There are currently two complete seasons, with 10 episodes each. Both are available on Amazon Prime. The third season is due to be aired this year.
Case
‘Case’ is a spin-off of ‘The Court’ and features two of the actors from the latter in the same roles (as lawyers). Unlike ‘The Court’ though, here the lawyers deal with one single case in all 9 episodes of the ‘Case’. Unfortunately, ‘Case’ is no longer available on Channel 4.
Cover Story
‘Cover Story’ (‘Pressa’) is a 12-episode crime series also set in the Icelandic capital. The series begins with a young woman found dead, and a journalist on the verge of bankruptcy starting to investigate. Unfortunately, ’Cover Story’ is no longer available on Channel 4.
Further reading
If you also enjoy watching foreign TV series, check out my posts:
6 French and Italian crime series to watch
12 Norwegian TV series to watch
If you’d like to learn more about the Finnish and Icelandic psyche, I would recommend the book ‘The Almost Nearly Perfect People: Behind the Myth of the Scandinavian Utopia‘ by Michael Booth.
If you’d like to read books from Finland and Iceland, I would recommend the ‘The Witch Hunter‘ by Finnish author Max Seeck,
as well as the books by the Icelandic authors Arnaldur Indriðason, Yrsa Sigurðardóttir and Ragnar Jónasson.
Alex
(the soon-to-be-Traveling-again-Psychiatrist)