Maria Wern, Kripo Gotland

Maria Wern is a policewoman who deals with the unusual high amount of murders on the Swedish Island of Gotland.

The early seasons does not work well as a series and more as self-standing movies with huge plot holes and inconsistent writing. Things that has happened in earlier episodes seems to not matter in the next.* But the last season's has gotten better with Warner Bros. Taking an interest and making the story better. But still, this is not a masterpiece and you need to have a little suspension of disbelief when watching these kind of shows. But overall, it really has improved and I hope that season 9 will be much better.

*Especially in season 3 where lots of murders take place and has almost no impact on the characters.

This Scandinavian series is set in Gotland, which is the only saving grace for it. The writing is terrible, the editing much, much worse. The stories make no sense and the ridiculous manner in which they are edited offers little in the way of a continuous narrative. The scenes are often randomly sequenced without any regard for logic. It's as if the story is made up on the fly without using a story board to tell it. The actors are drawn from the usual small, recycled pool of Swedish actors, many of whom have been seen in other Swedish productions year after year. Many of the scenes have tremendous bloopers, which make them quite laughable. It's really a very poor level of production.

This is one of our top favorites with its excellent acting, cinamatography, character development, and screenwriting.(I think the person who wrote such a terrible review has underlying motives. I wouldn't feature this review). We watched some episodes again and we love Eva Rose for her beauty, gorgeous long hair, athletic skills, and acting talents. Everyone works hard to make this production a success. The Scandinavian views are gorgeous and so appealing. And we also get a sense of the apparent civility there. With so many episodes everyone is in for a treat. Just settle into a comfortable spot, perhaps with the fire going and a favorite drink and you'll be all set.

Years ago I belonged to MHz Choice and watch many Scandie Noir series. Maria Wern was one of my favorites., in part because of the amazing Eva Rose (who plays Maria). Also because of the very good mysteries.

Recently I've found that the series has kept on going and it just keeps getting better and better.

The action takes place in Gotland, Sweden.. So we've got another small place that has an inordinate number of murders!

Maria is a police detective and works with a dedicate team.

Somewhere along the way a partner named "Sebastian" shows up and the sparks fly. The two characters (Maria and Sebastian) AND the two actors. (Eva and Erik) have a wonderful chemistry that to the writers' and actors' credit does not overwhelm a la "Moonlighting".

It is good and if you have a chance, worth watching it.

Maria Wern is a widowed Swedish police inspector who takes her two young children from Stockholm to the east coast island of Gotland to start a new life.

Gotland is a beautiful island, but any hopes Maria may have had of pursuing the perpetrators of minor traffic breaches is soon dashed as a number of gruesome murders take place in this Scandanavian paradise and Maria at times needs to ensure the security of her kids. I think Norse mythology and the occult permeate the Scandanavian culture and identity and if you watch Swedish crime as often as I do then you'll expect the occasional plot line to have its genesis in some bizarre ritualistic obsession. Having said that, the stories in the Maria Wern series are fascinating and well scripted and the supporting actors are all first class. But Eva Rose is a genuinely accomplished actress and her screen presence throughout the series makes viewing each episode an enjoyable experience. And although an old flame of Maria's appears in a couple of episodes, the producers have opted for a series without distracting romantic entanglements.

As far as I am aware the seven movie-length episodes contained in the Maria Wern DVD complete the series. I hope for a second set to be produced but that seems unlikely. If you like this series you'll enjoy the comparable Irene Huss series, which is located in Gotenburg on the west coast of Sweden and offers a similarly talented actress in Angela Kovacs. 8/10