So, after three weeks of a fixture per day we finally came to the end of the road in the Euro 2016 Of Crime Drama yesterday. The final saw Sweden’s The Bridge take on Denmark’s The Killing, those titans of Scandinavian crime drama, and, as predicted, the two locked horns in an epic contest. Click over the jump to see who was victorious.
Before we get to the winner, I’d like to say a few words about the competition itself.
It started out as a bit of a laugh; content to fill the blog up during a traditionally quiet period of the year. In that sense it did its job, but there was another element that became apparent as the tournament wore on – it gave everyone a real indicator as to what is truly popular out there and what isn’t. I expected Hinterland to do well (there has been an increase in traffic whenever the show is mentioned on the site), but it lost out to Shetland. I expected Trapped to do slightly better – and it did do well – but it couldn’t find a way past Happy Valley.
It’s all valuable and interesting information.
Anyway, without much more ado, here’s the final result:
The Bridge 56%
The Killing 44%
A very, very tight contest, which saw The Bridge take an early lead, only to be pegged back by Sarah Lund and co until a final spurt saw them seal the deal. In some ways you could view it as the apprentice beats the master, because there would surely be no Bridge if there hadn’t been a Killing.
In the end, Sweden’s The Bridge won by a Brexit-style margin.
Congratulations to Saga and her team for coming out on top, and thanks to all you readers who voted every day, some days or just in the final.
Now we can get back to the real business of watching and reviewing and talking about crime drama.
The Killing Times 
I enjoyed the voting, and seeing what’s popular with the other viewers. I rooted for my favorites and was disappointed when my favorites lost. I think there are a lot of great shows out there, and we might see this Euro competition as ” the best of the best”. Well done!
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Thanks for the kind words Patricia – glad you enjoyed it! What was your favourite?
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Well I’m going against the grain of a fair number of viewers, but I’m partial to the “home teams”. I would have chosen Hinterland or Happy Valley as my favorite. For international favorite, I would have gone with Trapped. As you can see, it’s hard for me to pick one!
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Sometimes it really was painful to choose between two favourites. Anyway, how did I miss this winner’s listing? A good winner, but like with Portugal in Euro 2016, not necessarily the best one out there.
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Oooh, who would have been your winner?
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Come to think of it, I totally agree with you MarinaSofia. I also would have picked Happy Valley from the British crime series and Trapped from the Scaninavian ones as they both have added something new to to the genres. The Bridge and The Killing are undoubtedly both excellent shows, but as they have already had their turn and have become established in their own right, so to speak, it’s time for new and innovating stories to be told!
Unfortunately, I could not pick a new innovative show from among the European crime drama shows as we don’t get to see many of them in my country for some reason or another. I suspect it is because of the dominion of American detective shows, which tv companies probably get to buy cheeper by the dozen.
p.s. Paul, thank you a lot for administrating this superb netpage where news and information about crime shows originating from different countries is easily attainable!
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Ooops, my mistake. It was Patricia Cox and not MarinaSofia who would have picked HV and Trapped as her favourite crime shows. Sorry, Patricia and MarinaSofia :)!
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Thanks Seija! I appreciate the kind words. Keep chipping in with the comments and letting me know what you think of things – it’s debate we want here! Where are you based?
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Actually, Seija, after my comments, MariaSofia also chose Happy Valley and Trapped. It looks like the three of us are in agreement!
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Actually, it’s probably very true that I too would have picked Trapped and Happy Valley as my 2 favourites!
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Paul, I live in Finland, Scandinavia.
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Ah, I love Finland. I’ve been there a three or four times. I miss salmiakkikossu!
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You surely have explored some cultural aspects of the 90s in Finland, then. I suppose the habit of using “salmari” for recreational purposes is still alive and kicking here, although I myself have passed the typical age of consuming it :). Here’s some background info for those unacquainted https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salmiakki_Koskenkorva
p.s. Paul, it is easy enough to make salmiakkikossu – you just need a bottle of vodka, a bag of Turkish Pepper brand salty liquorice, a plastic bag, a hammer, and a funnel ;). Enjoy!
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