Wallander (Swedish TV series)
Encyclopedia
Wallander is a Swedish television series adapted from Henning Mankell
's Kurt Wallander
novels and starring Krister Henriksson
in the title role. The 1st series of 13 films were produced in 2005 and 2006, with one taken directly from a novel and the remainder with new storylines suggested by Mankell. The 2nd series of 13 films was shown between 2009 and 2010.
The three films Before the Frost (#1), Mastermind (#6), and The Secret (#13) were premiered in cinemas, with the rest first released as direct-to-DVD movies. The first episode of the second series, Hämnden (The Revenge), was released in Swedish cinemas in January 2009; the rest of the series was made for television.
The BBC aired all 26 episodes of the Swedish television versions on BBC Four
television.
as Kurt Wallander, were produced. The first film is based on the Linda Wallander novel Before the Frost
and was released in cinemas. The rest of the films are original stories based on plots written by Mankell, with scriptwriting completed by others. Two more were theatrical releases, and the rest were released on DVD and shown on TV.
The first of these films, Hämnden (The Revenge), was a theatrical release on 9 January 2009, directed by award-winning Paris-based Franco-Swedish director Charlotte Brändström. The remaining 12 films went directly to DVD in Scandinavia during 2009 and 2010, and were broadcast there at a later date. In the beginning of 2010, both Canvas TV in Belgium and BBC Four
in the UK began airing the 13 episodes weekly, which meant that they both showed the two last episodes before these had been released in Scandinavia.
After filming completed on the 2009 series, Henriksson stated that he would not play Wallander again, having only signed the new contract because he thought the 2005 series could have been better. However, he has since suggested he would be interested in playing the role in an adaptation of the final Wallander novel, The Troubled Man
, because "it is the definite end".
television adaptation, Wallander
, BBC Four
began broadcasting the 2005 series to United Kingdom audiences. Before the Frost and Mastermind were shown in November 2008; broadcast of the others began weekly in July 2009. Reviewing The Village Idiot and The Brothers in the Financial Times
, John Lloyd wrote:
Writing in Örnsköldsviks Allehanda after the release of The Thief (2009), Peter Carlsson complained that only the first and last films of the successive series were any good, pointing out that these are the ones released to cinemas. Carlsson further criticised that the middle films "are often predictable, tentative and carelessly made", and that the arrest of the criminal is anticlimactic.
As a series, Wallander has been nominated for The International TV Dagger at the 2009 Crime Thriller Awards, an awards ceremony presented by British television channel ITV3
and the Crime Writers' Association
.
Series 2 won the International TV Dagger at the 2010 Crime Thriller Awards, an awards ceremony presented by British television channel ITV3
and the Crime Writers' Association
.
Henning Mankell
Henning Mankell is a Swedish crime writer, children's author, leftist activist and dramatist, best known for a series of mystery novels starring his most famous creation, Inspector Kurt Wallander.-Life and career:...
's Kurt Wallander
Kurt Wallander
Kurt Wallander is a fictional character created by Swedish crime writer Henning Mankell. The protagonist of several mystery novels, set in and around the town of Ystad, 60 km south-east of the city of Malmö, in the southern province of Skåne...
novels and starring Krister Henriksson
Krister Henriksson
Jan Krister Allan Henriksson is a Swedish actor. He is best known for playing Kurt Wallander in a series of television movies based on the novels by Henning Mankell.- Biography :...
in the title role. The 1st series of 13 films were produced in 2005 and 2006, with one taken directly from a novel and the remainder with new storylines suggested by Mankell. The 2nd series of 13 films was shown between 2009 and 2010.
The three films Before the Frost (#1), Mastermind (#6), and The Secret (#13) were premiered in cinemas, with the rest first released as direct-to-DVD movies. The first episode of the second series, Hämnden (The Revenge), was released in Swedish cinemas in January 2009; the rest of the series was made for television.
The BBC aired all 26 episodes of the Swedish television versions on BBC Four
BBC Four
BBC Four is a British television network operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation and available to digital television viewers on Freeview, IPTV, satellite and cable....
television.
2005-2006 series
From 2005 to 2006, the first 13 new stories, starring Krister HenrikssonKrister Henriksson
Jan Krister Allan Henriksson is a Swedish actor. He is best known for playing Kurt Wallander in a series of television movies based on the novels by Henning Mankell.- Biography :...
as Kurt Wallander, were produced. The first film is based on the Linda Wallander novel Before the Frost
Before the Frost
Before the Frost is a novel by Swedish crime-writer Henning Mankell.The main protagonist is Linda Wallander, daughter of Inspector Wallander...
and was released in cinemas. The rest of the films are original stories based on plots written by Mankell, with scriptwriting completed by others. Two more were theatrical releases, and the rest were released on DVD and shown on TV.
Episodes
| Film # | |Original release date | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Episode | Originally aired UK | Official ratings | Repeat UK airdate | Official ratings |
| 1 | Saturday 6 December 2008 22.00 | N/A | Saturday 24 July 2010 21.00 | 386,000 |
| 2 | Monday 13 July 2009 21.00 | 274,000 | Saturday 31 July 2010 21.00 | 376,000 |
| 3 | Monday 20 July 2009 21.00 | 221,000 | Saturday 7 August 2010 21.00 | 359,000 |
| 4 | Monday 27 July 2009 21.00 | 267,000 | Saturday 14 August 2010 21.00 | 397,000 |
| 5 | Monday 3 August 2009 21.00 | 248,000 | Saturday 21 August 2010 21.00 | 392,000 |
| 6 | Monday 8 December 2008 22.00 | N/A | Saturday 28 August 2010 21.00 | 406,000 |
| 7 | Monday 10 August 2009 21.00 | 368,000 | Saturday 4 September 2009 21.00 | 310,000 |
| 8 | Monday 17 August 2009 21.00 | 310,000 | Saturday 11 September 2010 21.00 | 341,000 |
| 9 | Monday 24 August 2009 21.00 | 426,000 | Saturday 25 September 2009 21.00 | 396,000 |
| 10 | Monday 31 August 2009 21.00 | 282,000 | Saturday 2 October 2010 21.00 | 354,000 |
| 11 | Saturday 12 December 2009 21.35 | 301,000 | Saturday 16 October 2010 21.00 | 445,000 |
| 12 | Saturday 19 December 2009 21.30 | N/A | Saturday 23 October 2010 21.00 | 439,000 |
| 13 | Saturday 26 December 2009 21.00 | 288,000 | Saturday 30 October 2010 21.00 | 438,000 |
2009-2010 series
In 2008, a further 13 films were commissioned. Filming began in August 2008, and continued during 2009. The 13 episodes were released during 2009 and 2010.The first of these films, Hämnden (The Revenge), was a theatrical release on 9 January 2009, directed by award-winning Paris-based Franco-Swedish director Charlotte Brändström. The remaining 12 films went directly to DVD in Scandinavia during 2009 and 2010, and were broadcast there at a later date. In the beginning of 2010, both Canvas TV in Belgium and BBC Four
BBC Four
BBC Four is a British television network operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation and available to digital television viewers on Freeview, IPTV, satellite and cable....
in the UK began airing the 13 episodes weekly, which meant that they both showed the two last episodes before these had been released in Scandinavia.
Episodes
The episodes in the second series are:| Film # | |Original release date |
|---|
After filming completed on the 2009 series, Henriksson stated that he would not play Wallander again, having only signed the new contract because he thought the 2005 series could have been better. However, he has since suggested he would be interested in playing the role in an adaptation of the final Wallander novel, The Troubled Man
The Troubled Man
The Troubled Man is a crime fiction novel by Swedish author Henning Mankell, featuring police inspector Kurt Wallander. Mankell has announced that it is the final Wallander novel.- Synopsis :...
, because "it is the definite end".
Series UK airdates and ratings
| Episode | Originally aired UK | Official ratings | Repeat UK airdate | Official ratings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | Saturday 27 March 2010 21.00 | 486,000 | Saturday 21 May 2011 21.00 | 454,000 |
| 15 | Saturday 3 April 2010 21.15 | 404,000 | Saturday 28 May 2011 21.00 | N/A |
| 16 | Saturday 10 April 2010 21.00 | 387,000 | Saturday 4 June 2011 21.00 | 357,000 |
| 17 | Saturday 17 April 2010 21.00 | 389,000 | Saturday 11 June 2011 21.00 | 391,000 |
| 18 | Saturday 24 April 2010 21.00 | 502,000 | Saturday 18 June 2011 21.00 | 416,000 |
| 19 | Saturday 1 May 2010 21.00 | 527,000 | Saturday 25 June 2011 21.00 | 494,000 |
| 20 | Saturday 8 May 2010 21.00 | 519,000 | Saturday 2 July 2011 21.00 | 535,000 |
| 21 | Saturday 15 May 2010 21.00 | 494,000 | Saturday 9 July 2011 21.00 | 521,000 |
| 22 | Saturday 22 May 2010 21.00 | 395,000 | Saturday 16 July 2011 21.00 | 497,000 |
| 23 | Saturday 29 May 2010 21.00 | 417,000 | Saturday 23 July 2011 21.00 | 645,000 |
| 24 | Saturday 5 June 2010 21.00 | 472,000 | Saturday 30 July 2011 21.00 | 585,000 |
| 25 | Saturday 12 June 2010 21.00 | 391,000 | Saturday 6 August 2011 21.00 | 526,000 |
| 26 | Saturday 19 June 2010 21.00 | 543,000 | Saturday 13 August 2011 21.00 | 522,000 |
Series 1
- Krister HenrikssonKrister HenrikssonJan Krister Allan Henriksson is a Swedish actor. He is best known for playing Kurt Wallander in a series of television movies based on the novels by Henning Mankell.- Biography :...
as Kurt WallanderKurt WallanderKurt Wallander is a fictional character created by Swedish crime writer Henning Mankell. The protagonist of several mystery novels, set in and around the town of Ystad, 60 km south-east of the city of Malmö, in the southern province of Skåne... - Johanna SällströmJohanna SällströmJohanna Maria Ellinor Berglund-Sällström was a Swedish actress...
as Linda Wallander - Ola RapaceOla RapaceOla Rapace is a Swedish actor. He is best known in Sweden for roles in the popular TV series Tusenbröder and the first season of the Swedish TV series Wallander which is based on Henning Mankell's Kurt Wallander books...
as Stefan Lindman - Mats BergmanMats BergmanMats Bergman, is a Swedish actor.He is the son of director Ingmar Bergman and Ellen Bergman, twin brother of actress Anna Bergman, and a half-brother of Swedish-Norwegian author Linn Ullmann.-Biography:...
as NybergNybergNyberg is a surname. People with this surname include:* Julia Nyberg , Swedish poet* Carl Richard Nyberg , Swedish industrialist* Herman Nyberg , Swedish sailor* Henrik Samuel Nyberg , Swedish orientalist... - Angela KovácsAngela KovácsAngela Anna Margareta Kovács, is a Swedish actress of partial Hungarian descent. She studied at the Gothenburg Theatre Academy from 1987 until 1990. She then began her career as a stage actress, working at the Gothenburg City Theatre, the Helsingborg City Theater, and the Royal Dramatic Theatre...
as Ann-Britt Höglund - Fredrik GunnarssonFredrik GunnarssonFredrik Gunnarsson is a Swedish actor. He is best known for playing the character Svartman in a series of television films based on the Kurt Wallander novels by Henning Mankell...
as Johan Svartman - Douglas Johansson as Jan Martinsson
- Stina EkbladStina EkbladStina Ekblad ) is a Swedish-speaking Finnish actress. She received a Guldbagge Award for Best Actress in 1987 for her performances in Amorosa and Ormens väg på hälleberget and was nominated again in 1996 for her performance in Pensionat Oskar.Ekblad was born in the Ostrobothnian village of Solf in...
as Karin Linder, the coroner - Marianne Mörck as EbbaEbbaEbba is a feminine given name, the feminine version of Ebbe, which is a diminutive form of the Germanic name Eberhard or Everhard, meaning "wild boar." Alternately, it may be a form of an Old English name Æbbe, of unknown derivation, which was the name of several early saints...
- Göran Aronsson as Grönkvist
Series 2
- Krister HenrikssonKrister HenrikssonJan Krister Allan Henriksson is a Swedish actor. He is best known for playing Kurt Wallander in a series of television movies based on the novels by Henning Mankell.- Biography :...
as Kurt WallanderKurt WallanderKurt Wallander is a fictional character created by Swedish crime writer Henning Mankell. The protagonist of several mystery novels, set in and around the town of Ystad, 60 km south-east of the city of Malmö, in the southern province of Skåne... - Mats BergmanMats BergmanMats Bergman, is a Swedish actor.He is the son of director Ingmar Bergman and Ellen Bergman, twin brother of actress Anna Bergman, and a half-brother of Swedish-Norwegian author Linn Ullmann.-Biography:...
as NybergNybergNyberg is a surname. People with this surname include:* Julia Nyberg , Swedish poet* Carl Richard Nyberg , Swedish industrialist* Herman Nyberg , Swedish sailor* Henrik Samuel Nyberg , Swedish orientalist... - Fredrik GunnarssonFredrik GunnarssonFredrik Gunnarsson is a Swedish actor. He is best known for playing the character Svartman in a series of television films based on the Kurt Wallander novels by Henning Mankell...
as Johan Svartman - Douglas Johansson as Jan Martinsson
- Lena EndreLena EndreLena Endre is a Swedish actress. She was born in Lidingö, Stockholm County, and grew up in Härnösand, Ångermanland and Trollbäcken, Tyresö. She had her breakthrough in the Swedish TV-series Varuhuset and Lorry in the 1980s. Since then she has acted in a number of TV-series and movies, both in...
as Katarina Ahlsell, prosecutor - Nina ZanjaniNina ZanjaniNina Nasr Zanjani is a Swedish actress of Persian origin. She played one of the two lead roles in Helena Bergström's directorial debut Mind the Gap as the daughter Yasmin...
as Isabelle Melin - Sverrir GudnasonSverrir GudnasonSverrir Gudnason, born September 12 1978, is a Swedish actor of Icelandic origin. He starred in the 2007 television series Up to struggle.Gudnason moved with his family to Tyresö, Sweden in 1990 when his father found work as a professor at KTH....
as Pontus Höijer - Marianne Mörck as EbbaEbbaEbba is a feminine given name, the feminine version of Ebbe, which is a diminutive form of the Germanic name Eberhard or Everhard, meaning "wild boar." Alternately, it may be a form of an Old English name Æbbe, of unknown derivation, which was the name of several early saints...
- Stina EkbladStina EkbladStina Ekblad ) is a Swedish-speaking Finnish actress. She received a Guldbagge Award for Best Actress in 1987 for her performances in Amorosa and Ormens väg på hälleberget and was nominated again in 1996 for her performance in Pensionat Oskar.Ekblad was born in the Ostrobothnian village of Solf in...
as Karin Linder, coroner
Production
The following are some other personnel involved:- Executive producers: Åsa Sjöberg, Jenny Gilbertsson, Peter Bose, Lars Björkman, Morten Fisker, Anni Faurbye Fernandez, Mikael Wallen, Niva Westlin, Vibeke Windeløv.
- Producers: Malte Forsell, Ole Søndberg, Lars Björkman, Lasse Bjørkmann.
- Editors: Håkan Karlsson, Tomas Beije, Mattias MorhedenMattias MorhedenMattias Morheden is a Swedish film and television editor. He has edited productions such as Wallander , The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest .-Editor:...
, Hélène Berlin, Margareta Lagerqvist, Kristofer Nordin, Dino Jonsäter, Gustav Öström.
Reception
To coincide with the BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
television adaptation, Wallander
Wallander (TV series)
Wallander is a British television series adapted from the Swedish novelist Henning Mankell's Kurt Wallander novels and starring Kenneth Branagh as the eponymous police inspector. The first three-episode series, produced by Yellow Bird, Left Bank Pictures and TKBC for BBC Scotland, were broadcast on...
, BBC Four
BBC Four
BBC Four is a British television network operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation and available to digital television viewers on Freeview, IPTV, satellite and cable....
began broadcasting the 2005 series to United Kingdom audiences. Before the Frost and Mastermind were shown in November 2008; broadcast of the others began weekly in July 2009. Reviewing The Village Idiot and The Brothers in the Financial Times
Financial Times
The Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City....
, John Lloyd wrote:
More evident is the philosophical underpinning that the books' author, Henning Mankell, brings, focusing down on the forensic work of a provincial detective the global sins of the western world. This coming week’s episode, The Brothers, is a murder mystery emerging from a terrible crime perpetrated by a group of drunken men on colonised people; last week's, The Village Idiot, had at its core the moral obloquy of a private surgeon greedy for profit.
Wallander and his comrades seek what remedies they can to the consequences of the sins of oppression and greed. At one point, Wallander tells his daughter, Linda, who is applying to become a detective, that she should reflect—otherwise she, like him, will emerge from a tunnel 30 years later, wondering what had happened to life. What had happened for Wallander is a melancholy immersion in human degradation, a provincial Inferno without a Virgil to guide him.
Writing in Örnsköldsviks Allehanda after the release of The Thief (2009), Peter Carlsson complained that only the first and last films of the successive series were any good, pointing out that these are the ones released to cinemas. Carlsson further criticised that the middle films "are often predictable, tentative and carelessly made", and that the arrest of the criminal is anticlimactic.
As a series, Wallander has been nominated for The International TV Dagger at the 2009 Crime Thriller Awards, an awards ceremony presented by British television channel ITV3
ITV3
ITV3 is an entertainment television channel in the United Kingdom that is owned by ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc. The channel was launched on 1 November 2004. ITV3 is the second largest UK multi-channel, second only to ITV2.-History:...
and the Crime Writers' Association
Crime Writers' Association
The Crime Writers Association is a writers' association in the United Kingdom. Founded by John Creasey in 1953, it is currently chaired by Peter James and claims 450+ members....
.
Series 2 won the International TV Dagger at the 2010 Crime Thriller Awards, an awards ceremony presented by British television channel ITV3
ITV3
ITV3 is an entertainment television channel in the United Kingdom that is owned by ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc. The channel was launched on 1 November 2004. ITV3 is the second largest UK multi-channel, second only to ITV2.-History:...
and the Crime Writers' Association
Crime Writers' Association
The Crime Writers Association is a writers' association in the United Kingdom. Founded by John Creasey in 1953, it is currently chaired by Peter James and claims 450+ members....
.
Further reading
- Macnab, Geoffrey (31 July 2009). "Wallander: Swede dreams are made of this". The Independent (Independent News & Media).
- —A comparison between the Branagh's and Henriksson's Wallander