TV News: Young Wallander

It's recently been announced that Netflix has ordered a UK-Swedish production of a "Young Wallander" series, a six-parter featuring a 20-something Wallander and his first case. Details via Variety:

The adventures of “Young Wallander” are coming to Netflix. The streaming giant has ordered a U.K.-Swedish series based on the early life of Henning Mankell’s popular police inspector, who has already been already depicted on the small screen in the BBC “Wallander” series with Kenneth Branagh and a Swedish version with Krister Henriksson.

“Young Wallander” will see the titular detective tackling his first-ever case. Netflix’s VP of international originals, Erik Barmack, announced the project Wednesday at C21’s Content London event.

“We’re looking at Wallander when he was in his early 20s, before he became so jaded,” he said, noting that Mankell’s books had sold 50 million copies around the world in multiple languages. “When we talked to Berna [Levin] at Yellow Bird and saw the opportunity to work on a project like this, we got really excited.”

Production starts on the serialized six-parter, which will be in English, in 2019.

Levin, creative director at Banijay-owned Yellow Bird U.K., said that “getting to meet Wallander as a young man and explore how the times and his new experiences will shape him to eventually become the man we already know and love is a thrilling opportunity. We are confident he will captivate new audiences and delight longstanding fans once again with his sharp intelligence, youthful enthusiasm and unmistakable humanity.”

Review: An Event in Autumn by Henning Mankell tr. Laurie Thompson

An Event in Autumn by Henning Mankell, tr Laurie Thompson (September 2015, Vintage, ISBN: 1784700843)

There was no sign of other bones. Just that hand sticking up out of the ground. He bent down again and poked cautiously into the earth. Was there a whole skeleton under there, or was it just the hand? He was unable to decide for sure.

I was writing this piece about the “Wallander” novella AN EVENT IN AUTUMN when the news broke that it's author, Swedish writer and playwright Henning Mankell, had died. Mankell was my first introduction to Scandinavian crime fiction and for me he was its yardstick. As such, the quote that starts this review is not just an example of good writing but could well stand for the essence of good crime fiction. The irony is that Mankell never set out to be a crime writer. He had returned to Sweden from a long stay in Africa in the early 1990s and was struck by the increase in racism in Swedish society. He decided he wanted to write about it and he also decided that a crime story was the perfect vehicle for writing about the subject and that he would need “a policeman” to carry out the investigation. Thus Kurt Wallander, a character intrinsic to Scandinavian crime fiction, was born.

AN EVENT IN AUTUMN started as a novella for the Dutch market. Some of its plot points were later taken as foundation for an episode in the third season of Kenneth Branagh's BBC television's Wallander series. The novella itself was translated into English by veteran Mankell translator Laurie Thompson (who, sadly, also died earlier this year) and published in the UK for the first time in 2014. It is beautifully written and equally beautifully translated.

Ystad, Sweden. October, 2002.
Wallander has worked until the early hours. He is tired. He reviews his feelings about being a policeman, now, at this time, then leaves the office for his flat which he currently shares with his daughter Linda. It's Linda who wakes him next morning with news of a phone call, much to Wallander's annoyance. It is his day off, he shouts. But Martinson isn't calling about a case, he is calling about a house. It belongs to a relative of Martinson's wife. The relative has had to go into a home and now they want to sell the house. Is Wallander interested in looking at it? That dream of a house in the country and the companionship of a dog? Wallander walks to the police station where Martinson gives him a bunch of keys and tells him that the house is not far from where Wallander's father used to live. Wallander isn't too sure about that but takes the keys, collects his car and drives out into the countryside – to what turns out to be an old farmhouse standing in a neglected garden of fruit trees and currant bushes. He enters the house and walks around the rooms. It would need work. It's been neglected. Then he rings Martinson and after some cautious, reluctant haggling he says that he will take it but that he wants to discuss it first with his daughter. He walks around the house again, taking note of things to be done, trying to imagine living there. Once more he goes out into the garden, tasting the water from the pump, imagining a bowl of water set out for a dog. Back in his car he hesitates. He had seen something when he had tripped in the garden. A small rake? A root?….

What Wallander has found is a hand – the bones of a hand which lead to a search for the rest of the skeleton and an investigation into the past of the house and of its successive owners, their putative crimes and real crimes. This short novella, a crime story about a buried victim and a buried crime, successfully carries us from beginning to end in contemplative, smooth-flowing and psychologically observant narrative. For many reasons this is a book you cannot miss. Ending with an essay by Henning Mankell on the genesis of the Wallander novels and the relationship between the writer and his character “Kurt Wallander” (as seminal a character in crime fiction as Maigret, Marlow or Poirot) it also gives those who found THE TROUBLED MAN to be a difficult farewell to the character and series – a gentler, more autumnal remembrance of Wallander and his creator.

Lynn Harvey, England
October 2015

(Read an earlier Euro Crime review of AN EVENT IN AUTUMN.)

Review: An Event in Autumn by Henning Mankell tr. Laurie Thompson

An Event in Autumn by Henning Mankell, tr Laurie Thompson (September 2014, Harvill Secker, ISBN: 1846558077)

This Wallander novella, AN EVENT IN AUTUMN was written in 2004 as a freebie for Dutch crime readers and has been televised in the Kenneth Branagh Wallander series and is now available in English.

It is set before the final Wallander book, THE TROUBLED MAN, and Wallander is house hunting. His colleague Martinson suggests a house owned by a cousin of his wife's, out in the country. When Wallander visits however, he discovers a skeletal hand in the back garden.

The story is a straightforward investigation into the identity of the skeleton, which has been there many years, and into the history of the house's previous owners.

It features a typically grumpy and reflective Wallander and is entertaining enough for fans wanting a final glimpse of this iconic character.

Of even more interest is the ten or so pages at the back: 'Mankell on Wallander' which covers "how it started, how it finished and what happened in between". Mankell didn't want to just write Wallanders books because they were popular with readers but wanted to use them to say something and AN EVENT IN AUTUMN is a hint of what could have happened if Mankell hadn't been so principled. Granted it is fairly short but it feels quite sparse, lacking the social commentary that the Wallander books and Swedish crime fiction in general is associated with. Unfortunately this is it now for the series as Mankell concludes his afterword with "There are no more stories about Kurt Wallander".

AN EVENT IN AUTUMN is one for existing fans definitely, but readers new to the series might be better off starting with book one, FACELESS KILLERS, instead.

TV News: Wallander's final series on BBC Four

The third and final series of the Swedish Wallander starring Krister Henriksson begins on BBC Four on 17 May at 9pm.

The first of the six ninety-minute episodes is based on Henning Mankell's final Wallander novel, The Troubled Man, with Linda Wallander being played by Charlotta Jonsson:

Attending a family meal at the home of his daughter Linda, Kurt Wallander is intrigued when Hakan von Enke, his son-in-law's father and a retired naval commander, is called away by an urgent phone call. It soon becomes clear that the call is related to the recovery of a body from the waters of the Stockholm archipelago - the same waters where, at the height of the Cold War, depth charges were exploded in an attempt to raise a submarine which had strayed into Swedish territorial waters. When Hakan goes missing, Wallander's investigations uncover a complicated international espionage.

Wallander on BBC4 (Pyramid)

The BBC4 Wallander series featuring Rolf Lassgard continues with Pyramid next Saturday at 9pm.

Detective Wallander is haunted by the spectre of a murder he was unable to prevent as a young policeman. Years after the event the daughter of the murder victim, now a heroin addict, dies of an overdose.

A distressed Wallander is assigned to investigate the crash of a light airplane and a detonated armour piercing shell is found in the wreckage. A few days later, two elderly sisters are killed in an explosion in a sewing supplies shop. Traces of an advanced explosive are found in the burnt-out shop and evidence soon mounts to indicate that both events are tied to a showdown between two rival narcotics gangs.

Wallander on BBC4

I mentioned recently that BBC4 will be showing some of the Swedish Wallander episodes starring Rolf Lassgard. Well the first one, The Man Who Smiled, is now scheduled for 11 December at 9.30pm:

Thriller based on Henning Mankell's novel. Detective Superintendent Kurt Wallander receives a plea for help from an old friend, who suspects that the death of his father might have involved foul play. But Wallander doesn't believe him until it's too late.

BBC4 does it again (Wallander & Montalbano)

One of this blog's regular readers has tipped me off about a letter in the Radio Times revealing that this Christmas will be something to look forward to at least for BBC4 viewers:

BBC4 will be showing four Wallander films starring Rolf Lassgård over the Christmas period: 'The Man Who Smiled', 'One Step Behind', 'Firewall' and 'The Pyramid'. Plus there will be an unspecified number of Montalbano episodes. The second series of Wallander with Krister Henriksson will be repeated next year

Joy, joy, joy...

Swedish Wallander returns to BBC4

Good news for fans of Krister Henriksson's Wallander as the second series starts next Saturday on BBC4 at 9pm (thanks to Alison for the heads-up). There have been some changes to the cast and Lena Endre (who can be glimpsed as Erika Berger in the film of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo) joins as Katarina Ahlsell.

The English title for Hämnden is The Revenge. The synopsis according to HenningMankell.com is:

Kurt Wallander has made the dream of his life come true. He has bought a house by the sea. He takes long walks with his faithful companion, the Labrador Jussi. Kurt feels more content and in harmony with his life than ever. All of a sudden the calm in idyllic Ystad is broken by a powerful explosion which makes the entire town go black. What has been blown up is the only transformer station in Ystad.

The explosion is followed by several other deeds. Military is called in and a state of emergency is proclaimed. Ystad starts to look like a war zone. But is it sabotage or an act of terrorism? There is chaos and chased by media, Wallander fumbles in the dark, looking for terrorists or perpetrators.

Here's the subtitle-free trailer for Hämnden :

TV & Radio news (and it's all good!)

I had an email from, David B a blog visitor, about the Swedish Wallander series. He has been in touch with Yellow Bird and they have the following news:

I would like to let you know that BBC4 has acquired the second season of the Swedish Wallander series (i.e. film 14-26).

No news of when BBC4 will show them but great news nonetheless (I hope they repeat the first series again as I'm missing part of an episode...). So thank you so much to David for passing the news on.

We've had several recent announcements of casting news over the past few months:

Stephen Tompkinson as Inspector Banks

David Morrissey is Tom Thorne

and now Rufus Sewell is to play Aurelio Zen:

From Digital Spy:

Rufus Sewell has signed up to star as Aurelio Zen in a new BBC drama.

The Eleventh Hour actor will play the fictional detective across three feature-length dramas which will transmit on BBC One.

Set in and around Rome, and based on the best-selling series of novels by the late Michael Dibdin, Zen will start shooting in Italy in Spring 2010.

And though not euro crime in anyway, the tv drama Castle, starring Nathan Fillion is coming to the Alibi Channel soon.

Here's the lowdown from Alibi:

Castle is the hit new US crime drama coming soon exclusively to Alibi. Nathan Fillion plays Richard Castle, a best-selling crime novelist who, despite fame and acclaim, has become bored with his own success. All that changes, however, when a real-life copycat murderer starts staging scenes from Castle's novels. Castle is first suspected of the crimes and then asked to team up with NYC homicide Detective Kate Beckett to help her solve the case.

Together, the pair make a formidable combination. Beckett is a first-class investigator with a rare ability to empathise with victims, having joined the force after the murder of a loved one was never solved. Castle has spent years researching crime and brings that unique knowledge, together with a creative flair and touch of irreverence, to homicide cases. Their contrasting approaches, however, often cause sparks to fly...

Finally a bit of radio news:

Sir Ian McKellen is to play the title role in a BBC Radio 4 adaptation of Ian Fleming's Goldfinger.

The James Bond drama will also star Rosamund Pike as Pussy Galore and Toby Stephens as Bond.

Impressionist and actor Alistair McGowan will play the canny caddie, Hawker, during the famous golf scene.

Martin Jarvis, who is also directing the play, is the voice of Fleming, while John Standing appears as M, the head of MI6.

The radio dramatisation will be faithful to the novel rather than the Goldfinger film.

The plot revolves around Bond's pursuit of Auric Goldfinger, an international criminal, who is masterminding a plan to rob Fort Knox.

The play will air on Radio 4 on 3 April.

Read the whole article at the BBC website.

The Fifth Woman

The final (for now) Kenneth Branagh Wallander is on tomorrow at 9pm on BBC1 : The Fifth Woman

An elderly bird-watcher falls to his death in a meticulously-planned and brutal murder. In an apparently unconnected case, a local man disappears and Wallander gets too close to one of the suspects. Wallander believes he is on the trail of a serial killer bent on revenge.

My review of the audio book is here.

Kurt's Back (New Wallander on BBC4)

The eleventh episode of the Swedish Wallander series will be shown on BBC4 on Saturday 12 December at 21.35 and repeated on Wednesday 16 December at 22.55:

Blood Line

Following an argument with her lover on her boat, a woman is found dead. Wallander and the Ystad police investigate - their enquiries lead them to a farm commune and to an old friend of Linda's.

Wallander Repeats on BBC4

The run of Swedish Wallander episodes was curtailed earlier this year with the remaining three episodes to appear around Christmas time. Presumably they will appear at the end of the upcoming series of repeats which begins on Wednesday 7 October at 11pm on BBC4. The first episode to be shown is Before The Frost


New policewoman Linda Wallander is waiting for her first big case at Ystad police station and her father, Inspector Kurt Wallander, is getting on her nerves. When her childhood friend Anna mysteriously disappears she is thrown in at the deep end and soon needs her father's help on a fascinating and very dangerous investigation.

Wallander on Radio 7

A re-run of the ten episodes of Faceless Killers by Henning Mankell starts today on Radio 7. Each 15 minute episode is on at 1.30pm and 8.30pm and 01.30am. Faceless Killers is the first in the Wallander series:

Swedish inspector Kurt Wallander investigates an attack on an elderly couple.

David Warner narrates and he also plays Wallander's father in the BBC tv show Wallander.

The BBC Radio 7 page is here.

Where's Wallander (BBC4)?

It seems enough people have been wondering where the remaining episodes of Wallander have got to. Well here's the official response:

Ten episodes of Wallander were recently broadcast on BBC Four. The remaining three episodes will be shown over the Christmas period.

Exact transmission dates/times will be available from mid-December 2009, and we'll publish the information here when confirmed.

Next Wallander on BBC4

Episode 5 of the Swedish Wallander series will be on Monday 27th at 9pm and next Thursday (30th) at 10.45pm on BBC4:

The Overdose

When an abandoned baby is found in a car, Kurt Wallander oversees a large operation to find the missing father. Meanwhile, Linda is visiting a school all week to educate the pupils about the dangers of drugs. When a girl at the school has an overdose, the team begin to see connections between the two cases.

Episode 4, The Brothers, can be watched via iplayer for a few more days.

NB. The first two episodes, which were shown last year, Before the Frost and Mastermind are episodes 1 and 2 in the UK order but 1 and 6 in the Swedish order (according to Wikipedia) or 1 and 7 (according to Inspector-Wallander.org).

NB2. I'm informed that Rolf Lassgård who starred in an earlier series, which was based on the nine Wallander books, is the face of Wallander to most Swedes.

Publishing Deal - Henning Mankell

No surprises here - Harvill Secker will be publishing the new Wallander novel:

...The Troubled Man from Anneli Hoier at the Leonhardt & Hoier literary agency and will publish it in hardback in February 2011.

The Troubled Man tells the story of a retired naval officer who disappears during his daily walk in a forest near Stockholm. It is described as a "deeply personal" case for Wallander, because the missing man is the father-in-law of Wallander's daughter Linda. Clues point back to the Cold War, and to right-wing extremist groups, said the publisher.

Mankell said: "I really thought that I had written my last novel about Wallander, but then I had this distinct feeling that there was one more story to be told."

Read the whole article at The Bookseller.

Next Wallander on BBC4

Episode 4 of the Swedish Wallander series will be on Monday 20th at 9pm and next Thursday (23rd) at 10.35pm on BBC4:

The Brothers

The army are in Ystad all week for a training exercise, and Wallander is called to the site of a grim and premeditated double murder, with emotional resonance for Kurt. As the murders continue, Wallander and his team investigate deeper and are forced to concede there may be a link with the troops.

Episode 3, The Village Idiot, can be watched via iplayer for a few more days.

Wallander on BBC4

BBC4 has just repeated the two episodes of the Swedish version of Wallander that were previously shown last December. These can still be watched via iplayer for a few more days: Before the Frost and Mastermind.

A new episode, The Village Idiot, is to be shown next Monday (13th July) at 9pm:

When a harmless former asylum resident holds up a bank for money and then blows himself up, Wallander, Linda and the Ystad team are forced to dig for leads to find reasons. Who could have persuaded him to do it, and why? Was the explosion an accident? The answers are unexpected.

This is listed as episode 3 of 13 so fingers crossed that the rest of the series will be shown. The Village Idiot is repeated on Thursday 16th July at 10.30pm.

Before the Frost is available on DVD with English subtitles, but not cheaply:

More Wallander for Branagh...

The Guardian is reporting today that three more episodes of Wallander have been commissioned:

Three further novels, Faceless Killers, The Fifth Woman and The Man Who Smiled, will be filmed, with the drama shot on location in the Swedish town of Ystad once again.

BBC1's new Wallander adaptations, which will see Branagh reprise his role as the moody detective Kurt Wallander, created by Swedish novelist Henning Mankell, will be filmed this summer.

Read the whole article, here.

The first series of Wallander won a BAFTA for "best drama series" and is available on DVD (episodes are: Sidetracked, Firewall and One Step Behind).

The order of filming seems to take the same random approach as the translation to English did. The books were written in the order:

Faceless Killers
The Dogs of Riga
The White Lioness
The Man Who Smiled
Sidetracked
The Fifth Woman
One Step Behind
Firewall

Euro-Sleuths on BBC4 (including a Swedish version of "Wallander")

My dvd recorder's going to be flat out over the next few weeks as the continuity announcer before the beginning of last night's Maigret said that this was the first of three weeks of euro-sleuths on BBC4. Tonight we also have Wallander on BBC1, and tomorrow the second Maigret is on BBC4.

Next Saturday on BBC4 at 9pm, John Harvey presents a programme called Who is Kurt Wallander?:

John Harvey presents a documentary about writer Henning Mankell, Sweden's most popular author internationally and the creator of the Kurt Wallander detective series.

By examining Mankell's anti-hero Wallander, it reveals the hidden angst affecting present-day Sweden, a country with an excellent welfare system yet one which has suffered two shocking recent political assassinations. The film tries to grasp what Mankell's characters say about Sweden and how his books inform the rest of the world about Scandinavia's largest country.

(The programme is to be repeated several times over the weekend.)

Which is to be followed by the first part of Before the Frost starring Krister Henriksson as Wallander and the late Johanna Sallstrom as his daughter Linda:

New policewoman Linda Wallander is waiting for her first big case at Ystad police station and her father, Inspector Kurt Wallander, is getting on her nerves. When her childhood friend Anna mysteriously disappears she is thrown in at the deep end and soon needs her father's help on a fascinating and very dangerous investigation.

(Details of repeats and part 2 are not yet shown on the on-line schedule.)

UPDATE: Part 2 of Before the Frost is on BBC4 - Monday 8th Dec at 10pm.