Bedrag

After the murder mystery suspense of the Killing and the Bridge followed by the political intrigue of Borgen. Follow the money takes us into the corrupt world of high finance and insider dealing. Of course no Danish drama would be complete without the odd murder thrown in and each character has personal and less than satisfactory family lives to deal with. It is a little slower than than some of its predecessors but nevertheless Follow The Money is a more than adequate addition the Nordic Noir genre.

Energreen is a company that is tipped to be a leading player in the renewable energies market. Headed by a young, charismatic go getter in the shape of Alexander Sødergren. They are looking to expand even further and hopefully float the stock too for a great mound of cash. The thing is when a thing is too good to be true then it usually isn't.

So when things start to unravel they have alternative tactics to close things down. This can mean paying off the culprits or maybe not. We have the parallel story of the fraud squad, the cops and a mechanic who all get involved in the goings on at this ever so green company. It is a web of intrigue where no prisoners are ever going to be taken.

Now this is Danish so falls nicely into the Nordic Noir genre of which I am a big fan. This has all the usual things you would expect in terms of a high calibre production and excellent acting. Thomas Bo Larsen as Mads, the police lead, is simply superb as the driven man but with marital strife and other problems. The full cast though are all exceptional. I really enjoyed this, so much so that I put off watching the final episode for a torturous three days – finally saw it last night and it keeps the guessing going till the final scene – seriously recommended.

Another very watchable series, though not quite on par with Borgen. The characters are a bit lop-sided in terms of believability, but the acting is generally very good with a few excellent main characters.

The storyline sometimes gets sidetracked and a bit absurd, but this is fiction and enjoyable entertainment. It may not be the usual fast-paced show that is geared towards a juvenile mind, but it is well done and the dialogue is mature and believable on the whole.

Scandinavian drama is a great alternative and companion to the many excellent British police/investigative and serious dramas we love to watch.

Strong Danish drama 'Follow the Money' proves you don't have to centre a story on murder (not that there aren't some of those) to have a strong detective drama. The Scandinavian realist approach will be familiar to viewers of 'The Killing' or recent Icelandic drama 'Trapped'; but there's less emphasis on mood-building, and more direct focus on the story (in the manner of 'Borgen'). Ultimately, it's almost an impossible task to make a drama out of a fraud, and bits of the series seem a little too simplistic to make sense, in spite of the intricacy of the plotting; likewise, one sympathises vaguely with the characters without caring too deeply. But the pace is nicely judged, and it makes for addictive viewing.

This decade has brought along so many strong Scandinavian dramas that it is often difficult to keep track and make distinctions - partially also due to the limited number of performers filling out major/important roles... The same applies to Bedrag, where modern "coryphaeuses" like Nikolaj Lie Kaas as Alexander Sødergren and Thomas Bo Larsen as Mads take part, but many smaller roles are also performed by many otherwise having bigger roles in famous series. Still, the two mentioned are not dominating too much, every character has its significance, and all in all, a solid cast is formed, to be widely followed and noticed.

True, a good series emanates from the plot, and it is pleasantly versatile; focusing on e.g. financial crimes only would have made the plot more arid and specific, not for wider audience, but inclusion of a punisher and petty thieves has provided thrilling and even some amusing moments, enabling to "freshen up" from sophisticated economic relations and terms. The ending is also many-featured, probably not satisfactory per se, but evidently more realistic as not all wrongdoers are caught and/or sentenced in real world.

Although the Season 1 had its somewhat clear - but not full-scale - end, I have read that Season 2 will follow. Good news, I will definitely watch it as well.