Wisting ★★★1⁄2 “Welcome to the second-happiest country in the world,” police detective Nils Hammer (Mads Ousdal) remarks as a new corpse is discovered in an episode of the thriller Wisting . Like much of the show itself, the tone of his remark is unembellished, understated and matter of fact. Sven Nordin as the no-nonsense police detective William Wisting.
Credit: SBS Not every crime show in the so-called Golden Age of Television needs to announce itself as a new chapter in the genre. How many quirky, unconventional detective inspectors does the world need? Is a surreal, gory and inventive slaying ( Midnight Sun , anyone?) required to get the viewer to sit up and take notice of the story that’s about to unfold? Not that long ago, crime shows went about their business with brisk efficiency; hold the fireworks, the quirky character tics, the chunky knitwear and retro sports car. Wisting , which takes its name from the eponymous chief detective in the coastal town Larvik (best known as the birthplace of explorer Thor Heyerdahl, fun fact), has largely passed under the radar.
This is despite being the most expensive show produced in Norway, owing its origins to an expansive collection of bestselling books (by Jorn Lier Horst, himself a former police investigator), most of which have been translated into English, and the overall popularity of Scandi-noir TV. As played by Sven Nordin, perhaps the most notable thing about Wisting is his lack of affectation and vanity. H.
