ssuede

It touches upon some very hot issues about gang criminality in Sweden, hence the hype. But the plot is so-so and the series fails to steer clear of both stereotypical plot motives (frustrated police station chief who complains about political directives from above, check, and check again) and characters. After the first series, not one character is very well developed. We get a teenager drawn into crime who says very little (makes it easier, I guess, both for him and the director) and a policewoman who says more but not always quite convincingly; most of the other characters are most aptly described as cartoonish. It's seldom outright bad, but falls far short of the best in the genre such as Top Boy.

The plot and the acting is descent, but not quite good enough for the chamber play format with just a handful of central characters whose interplay I suppose was meant to take center stage. Add to that that the producers have added a mostly just annoying soundtrack to augment the atmosphere and sentiments (and I guess to make for catchy trailers).