Bedrag

I really enjoyed this series. You want some of the baddies to get away and others to be caught by your favourite cops

This is a one-of-a-kind masterpiece of a storyline, with never ending surprises. Each season changes plot, but as the story develops, the mystery unfolds and the characters intertwine in a brilliant fashion. This is class A nordic television that stands in stark contrast to anything provided by Hollywood. It is dark, subtle, humorous, thrilling, creative and yet realistic portrait of how big money operates in the most deceptive manner, including institutional fraud as well and drug trafficking. This is one of those few series that is near-impossible to stop watching, and O cannot applaud the directors and actors enough for this absolute masterpiece. Wow!

This decade has brought along so many strong Scandinavian dramas that it is often difficult to keep track and make distinctions - partially also due to the limited number of performers filling out major/important roles... The same applies to Bedrag, where modern "coryphaeuses" like Nikolaj Lie Kaas as Alexander Sødergren and Thomas Bo Larsen as Mads take part, but many smaller roles are also performed by many otherwise having bigger roles in famous series. Still, the two mentioned are not dominating too much, every character has its significance, and all in all, a solid cast is formed, to be widely followed and noticed.

True, a good series emanates from the plot, and it is pleasantly versatile; focusing on e.g. financial crimes only would have made the plot more arid and specific, not for wider audience, but inclusion of a punisher and petty thieves has provided thrilling and even some amusing moments, enabling to "freshen up" from sophisticated economic relations and terms. The ending is also many-featured, probably not satisfactory per se, but evidently more realistic as not all wrongdoers are caught and/or sentenced in real world.

Although the Season 1 had its somewhat clear - but not full-scale - end, I have read that Season 2 will follow. Good news, I will definitely watch it as well.

Energreen is a company that is tipped to be a leading player in the renewable energies market. Headed by a young, charismatic go getter in the shape of Alexander Sødergren. They are looking to expand even further and hopefully float the stock too for a great mound of cash. The thing is when a thing is too good to be true then it usually isn't.

So when things start to unravel they have alternative tactics to close things down. This can mean paying off the culprits or maybe not. We have the parallel story of the fraud squad, the cops and a mechanic who all get involved in the goings on at this ever so green company. It is a web of intrigue where no prisoners are ever going to be taken.

Now this is Danish so falls nicely into the Nordic Noir genre of which I am a big fan. This has all the usual things you would expect in terms of a high calibre production and excellent acting. Thomas Bo Larsen as Mads, the police lead, is simply superb as the driven man but with marital strife and other problems. The full cast though are all exceptional. I really enjoyed this, so much so that I put off watching the final episode for a torturous three days – finally saw it last night and it keeps the guessing going till the final scene – seriously recommended.

Strong Danish drama 'Follow the Money' proves you don't have to centre a story on murder (not that there aren't some of those) to have a strong detective drama. The Scandinavian realist approach will be familiar to viewers of 'The Killing' or recent Icelandic drama 'Trapped'; but there's less emphasis on mood-building, and more direct focus on the story (in the manner of 'Borgen'). Ultimately, it's almost an impossible task to make a drama out of a fraud, and bits of the series seem a little too simplistic to make sense, in spite of the intricacy of the plotting; likewise, one sympathises vaguely with the characters without caring too deeply. But the pace is nicely judged, and it makes for addictive viewing.