Maria Wern

Well, first, how there could be that many murders in Gotland, but never mind. What confuses me is what exactly was made. According to IMDb, we got a four part series in 2008, and four separate episodes in 2010 (plus the feature movie in 2012). I have four English subtitle files for the 2008 series, but not the vids, and I've watched six episodes from 2010, not four (five of the English sub files needed to be re-synched). I have the movie vid, but there are no English subs (yet).

As far as the show goes, well, nothing special. The Maria Wern character is a pretty ordinary cop, she seems to have no special gifts, no unusual personality quirks. Aside from the actress being pleasant to watch, I don't really get why this needed to be made. I enjoyed it well enough, but am I jonesing over the 2008 and 2012 material I haven't seen? Not really.

Maria is Sebstian's supervisor. They are lovers and live together. They are always at crime scenes together even when it is unnecessary. They are put in situations when one is responsible for the well-being, safety, and security of the other. Situations when one makes decisions that otherwise would not be made if they weren't lovers. Ridiculous. No police department in the world would allow such a situation to continue. For me, it detracts from generally interesting stories, beautiful scenery, and acting and dialogue that has improved with time. Although at times the two lovers act like teenagers.

This was an excellent series! I really got invested in the characters and the storylines just got more intense and suspenseful ! The characters were very endearing with a touch of humor making them more human. Very good writing and acting overall.

I'm bummed however that we are only able to watch two seasons out of nine.

I hesitate to keep my Masterpiece subscription if this happens again. Get the entire series or nothing at all! Please do better as your paying customers expect to enjoy entire series.

For now I recommend the show but only if you don't care it's only two out of nine seasons.

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

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.