ON TROUBLED WATERS: 'THE BRIDGE'

Converging murder: Saga Norén (Sofia Helin) and Martin Rohde (Kim Bodnia) join forces in the new Euro drama THE BRIDGE. Image: DR TV.

There's always been a kind of friendly antagonism between Sweden and Denmark over the years, but now this relationship looks set to be tested to its limits when an unusual body is discovered on the borders of Malmo and Copenhagen, in the tense and atmospheric new ten-part Danish/Swedish thriller co-production, BROEN (aka UK title THE BRIDGE), created by Hans Rosenfeld, starting on BBC4 next Saturday.

Any dead corpse that's discovered is never going to be a pleasant experience, but when that body comprises the top half of a Swedish politician and the bottom half a Danish prostitute, then the situation becomes even more dark and disturbing in its implications, as a joint Danish/Swedish taskforce soon assembles- comprising the fascinating and compelling team-up performances of female Swedish detective Saga Norén (Sofia Helin, attracting the press for her character's wearing of leathers-the next evolutionary stage on from Sara Lund's jumpers!) and male Danish detective Martin Rohde (Kim Bodnia, who appeared in the original first series of the Danish THE KILLING), in an often tense and friction-packed pairing of resources and intuition (intriguingly adding to the drama, the character of Norén also has Asperger syndrome)- tackling an adversary who, with a long-term plan now initiated, seemingly manages to stay one of ahead of his/her pursuers, within a case that spirals into even more dark and sinister territory than first thought...

A dark road ahead for Saga and Martin.

Atmospheric title sequence: Bron | Broen Intro - YouTube

BROEN looks set to continue the fine trend of stylish and addictive Swedish/Danish dramas over the last few years that have just completely knocked their US/UK counter-parts, and now rivals, out of the water with regards to continuing and inventive storylines and great characters.