BBC4 acquires Swedish crime drama, Modus, starring Krister Henriksson and based on Anne Holt novels

Even though there are now loads of outlets for foreign-language crime drama (hi there Walter Presents, Channel 4 and ITV Encore), many people stll think of BBC4 whenever anyone mentions the words ‘Scandinavian’ and ‘drama’. This is because the channel has built a strong association with, particularly, crime dramas like The Killing, The Bridge and Wallander. And, with Icelandic drama Trapped starting tomorrow night, the channel has announced it has acquired another drama from the region, this time from Sweden.

We were alerted to this piece of news by our friends over at scanoir.co.uk, and it sounds like a terrific addition to BBC4’s canon.

Eight-part series Modus has some serious pedigree in front of and behind the camera. It stars Melinda Kinnaman (Anna in series three of The Bridge) as Inger Johanne Vik; Henrik Norlén (Arne Dahl) as Ingvar Nyman; Marek Oravec and the venerable Krister Henriksson (best-known to us as Kurt Wallander).

Modus is written by the three-time Emmy Award winning screenwriting duo, Mai Brostrøm and Peter Thorsboe (The Eagle, The Protectors, Unit 1, The Team), and – get this – is loosely based Anne Holt’s best-selling novels featuring Inger Johanne Vik.

The series is directed by award-winning The Bridge director Lisa Siwe, and Arne Dahl director Mani Maserrat, and produced by Sandra Harms, Miso Film Sweden.

So what’s it about?

Criminal psychologist and ex-FBI profiler Inger Johanne Vik returns to Sweden and the world of academia in order to spend more time with her two daughters, the eldest of whom, Stina, has autism. However, Stina becomes witness to a murder and due to her condition cannot express what she saw or how it affects her. As the number of mysterious murders starts to increase, Vik, together with detective Ingvar Nyman, takes up the hunt for what appears to be a cold-blooded serial killer on a mission.

Sounds intriguing. There’s no wonder on when Modus will appear, but we’re hoping some time this year.