Netflix’s new Swedish thriller is a binge-worthy Nordic noir gem that reminds me of The Killing

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Netflix‘s new Swedish thriller The breakthrough has shot up the streamer’s most viewed chart since arriving earlier this week, and it has strong echoes of the ultimate Nordic Noir series, The murder.

The breakthrough sums it up

Summary of the breakthrough episode 1
Summary of The Breakthrough episode 2
Summary of the breakthrough episode 3
The breakthrough ending explained

The four-part mystery is fictional, but is inspired by a real-life double murder case in Sweden, which was solved after 16 years using cutting-edge genetic genealogy techniques.

Our brooding leading man is Officer John Sundin (Peter Eggers), a former Olympic athlete who becomes obsessed with finding the killer. Watching the opening episode really reminds you The murderthe Danish series that made Sofie Gråbøl a star, who played detective Sarah Lund. What both The breakthrough and The murder does so well compared to so many other crime dramas in showing the pain of the victims.

IN The breakthrougha young boy and a woman who tried to save him are mindlessly stabbed to death. We clearly see the impact it has on both families, and thus we can see why catching the killer means so much to John. Like The murder, The breakthrough gives a real sense of what it is actually like when someone is murdered. This means that the first episode is quite gloomy, but it becomes poignant in the second episode, when 16 years later John discovers a man named Per Skogkvist (Mattias Nordkvist), who pioneers a method of tracking people through a combination of genealogy and DNA. Think of the TV show Who do you think you are? with DNA thrown in.

John is excited because a serial killer in America, known as the Golden State Killer, has been caught after decades using this method. Using DNA from the bloody knife used by the killer, Per bravely tells John that he can solve the case.

Per is a fantastic character and The breakthrough will be lifted when he arrives. He’s awkward, won’t be pushed around and also completely brilliant. But it’s a race against time because John’s bosses say he only has two weeks left before they take him off the case. Additionally, to add further complication, a journalist claims that what they are doing using public records to find a killer is illegal and she threatens to go public.

It’s fascinating to watch Per work as he delves into the past, and at only four episodes, the drama never loses pace. And thanks to the careful work in the opening section, you really care and want them to succeed.

The breakthrough is on Netflix now.