Official poster for The Killing

Scripted series · DR1

The Killing

8.0IMDb290 votesWorth your time
Community0/20 ratingsYour ratingRateSign in to rate
2007 – 20123 seasons · 40 episodes~60 min per episodeTV-MAEnded
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The Nutevio profile

TV DNA

How The Killing actually feels to watch, measured on the traits our editors track across every series.

Signature profile

The Killing reads strongest on Character Depth, Tension and Cliffhanger Intensity.

Character DepthDefining9.4

How fully written and psychologically layered the ensemble is.

TensionDefining9.0

The sustained pressure the series keeps you under.

Cliffhanger IntensityVery strong8.0

How often an episode ends on a hook you can't ignore.

BingeabilityVery strong7.3

How hard it is to stop after one episode.

Emotional WeightVery strong7.0

How much the series is designed to affect you.

SerializedVery strong7.0

How much each hour depends on the one before it.

SpectacleLight3.5

Visual ambition — scale, craft and set-piece filmmaking.

World BuildingLight3.5

The scale, internal logic and texture of the world.

HumourLight2.5

How often the series is genuinely funny, by design.

The story

What it's about

The Killing is a Danish police procedural set in the Copenhagen main police department and revolves around Detective Inspector Sarah Lund and her team, with each season series following a different murder case day-by-day and a one-hour episode covering twenty-four hours of the investigation. The series is noted for its plot twists, season-long storylines, dark tone and for giving equal emphasis to the story of the murdered victim's family alongside the police investigation. It has also been singled out for the photography of its Danish setting, and for the acting ability of its cast.

The run

Seasons

3 seasons · 40 episodes.

  • Official poster for Season 1

    Season 1 · Complete

    Season 1

    200720 episodes

    7.9IMDb

    Detective Chief Inspector Sarah Lund is looking forward to her last day with the Copenhagen police force, planning to move to Sweden with her fiancé and transfer to the Swedish police. However, everything changes when a 19-year old woman, Nanna Birk Larsen, disappears only to be found raped and brutally murdered. Along with her colleague, Detective Inspector Jan Meyer, Sarah is forced to head the investigation as it soon becomes clear that she and Meyer are chasing a very intelligent and dangerous murderer. Meanwhile, local politician Troels Hartmann is in the middle of a hard-fought mayoral campaign when evidence links him to the murder, adding a political thread and further intrigue to the storyline. At the same time, the girl's family and friends struggle to cope with their loss. Over a span of 20 days, suspect upon suspect is sought out as violence and political pressures cast their shadows over the hunt for the killer.

    Best episode · S01E03 Episode 3

  • Official poster for Season 2

    Season 2 · Complete

    Season 2

    200910 episodes

    6.7IMDb

    After the resolution of the Larsen case, Lund is demoted and works as a passport officer in the southern town of Gedser. Ulrik Strange, a detective from Copenhagen, visits Lund on behalf of her former boss, Lennart Brix, and asks for her help in solving the murder of military legal adviser Anne Dragsholm. Dragsholm was found murdered at the memorial for executed members of the Danish resistance in Ryvangen Memorial Park, tied to a replica of an execution post used by the firing squads of the German occupying power. Despite initial uninterest, Lund joins the investigation and comes to suspect that the murder is not as straightforward as it seems, despite the forced confession of Dragsholm's husband. Meanwhile, Thomas Buch, the newly appointed Minister of Justice, suspects that his predecessor was involved in the cover-up of a massacre of Afghan civilians by Danish soldiers, and that this incident is connected with Dragsholm's murder.

    Best episode · S02E01 Episode 1

  • Official poster for Season 3

    Season 3 · Complete

    Season 3

    201210 episodes

    7.7IMDb

    This final series of Forbrydelsen explores the global financial crisis as the ostensibly random murder of a sailor leads Sarah Lund through the financial community. Lund has ambitions for promotion and a new lifestyle, but at the same time is struggling to maintain a relationship with her son Mark. Through the investigation she finds herself thrown together with a former lover, Mathias Borch, who now works for Special Branch.

    Best episode · S03E10 Episode 10

Where the series peaks

Best Episodes

The hours that define the show, ranked by audience response and editorial signal.

Still from Episode 10

S03E10

Episode 10

8.2IMDb5 votes

It's election day and the Prime Minister has everything to gain, as long as Emilie's fate remains uncertain. Kamper is still haunted by personal demons, and issues of loyalty from within his own ranks rear their ugly heads once again. Meanwhile, as Lund and Borch start to look ahead, police are led to an undisclosed location in a last ditch attempt to find Emilie before it's too late. They are followed by a now dangerously tense Robert Zeuthen. Will the operation succeed in bringing the girl to safety?

25 Nov 201260 min
Still from Episode 20

S01E20

Episode 20

8.0IMDb5 votes

Lund is determined to catch Nanna's killer despite being taken off the case, and Hartmann is on a downward spiral - until he receives crucial information. Meanwhile, Pernille and Theis invite friends and family to Anton's birthday party - but there is a sinister twist to the evening in store.

25 Nov 200759 min
Still from Episode 1

S01E01

Episode 1

7.9IMDb9 votes

Monday, November 3. Police detective Sarah Lund is about to leave her job in Copenhagen to move to Sweden. Troels Hartmann is gaining ground in his efforts to lead his party to power at city hall. Theis and Pernille Birk Larsen are the happy parents of three children. The discovery of the blood-stained belongings of a young girl prompts a police investigation that will change the lives of all involved.

7 Jan 200755 min
Still from Episode 1

S03E01

Episode 1

7.7IMDb6 votes

Denmark is the midst of a fiercely contested election race, set against the backdrop of the financial crisis. With ten days to go to the election, Detective Chief Inspector Sarah Lund prepares to celebrate her 25th year in the police force and looks forward to the prospect of a new job in the force. But her relative peace is shattered when body parts are found at Copenhagen dock only hours before a scheduled visit by the prime minister.

23 Sept 201258 min
Still from Episode 1

S02E01

Episode 1

6.9IMDb8 votes

Ten days after lawyer Anne Dragsholm was found dead at a WWII memorial, the police have her husband in custody for her murder. But the chief of investigation calls on Sarah Lund, who has transferred away from the crime squad, to return to Copenhagen to look over the case. Meanwhile, a young politician is made minister of justice after his predecessor is incapacitated, and a convict seeks parole from a detention facility to be with his wife and child

27 Sept 200960 min
Still from Episode 7

S02E07

Episode 7

6.8IMDb6 votes

After finding the chaplain assaulted in his church Sarah Lund chases the offender, but ends up battered in an alley. She is brought back in charge of the investigation. Monberg has taken his own life shortly after his confrontation with Buch. Buch comes about a previously unknown medical report and decides to challenge his colleague the minister of defense over his secrecy. Raben continues his rogue investigation and tracks down a former soldier who he believes to be responsible for the Afghanistan incident.

8 Nov 200962 min

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Behind the series

Created by

Showrunners, creators, executive producers and the writers who set the voice of the series.

The craft

Key Crew

Directing, writing, production, camera, music and editing.

Created by

Executive production

Where to watch

Streaming

Availability verified against regional listings.

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