The Bridge (Danish/Swedish TV series)
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''The Bridge'' ( da, Broen ; ) is a Nordic noir crime television series created and written by
Hans Rosenfeldt Hans Rosenfeldt (born Hans Petersson on 13 July 1964) is a Swedish screenwriter, radio presenter, novelist and actor. He co-created the Swedish series '' De drabbade'' (2003) and '' Oskyldigt dömd'' (2008–09), and created the Scandinavian serie ...
. A joint creative and financed production between Sweden's
Sveriges Television Sveriges Television AB ("Sweden's Television Stock Company"), shortened to SVT (), is the Sweden, Swedish national public broadcasting, public television broadcaster, funded by a public service tax on personal income set by the Riksdag (national ...
and Denmark's
Danmarks Radio DR (), officially the Danish Broadcasting Corporation in English, is a Danish public-service radio and television broadcasting company. Founded in 1925 as a public-service organization, it is Denmark's oldest and largest electronic media enter ...
, it has been shown in more than 100 countries. The first season begins with the discovery of a dead body exactly on the Denmark–Sweden border, the centre of the
Øresund Bridge The Öresund or Øresund Bridge ( da, Øresundsbroen ; sv, Öresundsbron ; hybrid name: ) is a combined railway and motorway bridge across the Øresund strait between Denmark and Sweden. It is the longest in Europe with both roadway and rai ...
, which links
Malmö Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal popul ...
with
Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan a ...
, necessitating a joint investigation.
Sofia Helin Sofia Margareta Götschenhjelm-Helin (born 25 April 1972) is a Swedish actress. She was nominated for a Guldbagge Award for her role in ''Dalecarlians'', and stars as Saga Norén in the Danish/Swedish co-produced TV series '' The Bridge'' (Danish ...
, as the Swedish police detective Saga Norén, stars in all four seasons. In the first and second, her Danish counterpart, Martin Rohde, is played by Kim Bodnia, and in the third and fourth Henrik Sabroe by
Thure Lindhardt Thure Frank Lindhardt (; born 24 December 1974) is a Danish actor, educated at the drama school at Odense Theatre in 1998. Life and career Lindhardt was born in Copenhagen, and grew up in Roskilde. At the age of 12, he got a part in Bille Aug ...
. The first season was broadcast on Swedish
SVT1 SVT1 (SVT Ett; commonly referred to as Ettan) is the primary television station of the Swedish public service broadcaster Sveriges Television in Sweden. History Television in Sweden officially launched on 4 September 1956 with the launch of '' ...
and Danish DR1 during the autumn of 2011, and on the United Kingdom's
BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002
the following spring. The second season aired in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland and Iceland during the autumn of 2013, and in the UK in early 2014. The third season was broadcast in Denmark, Sweden and Finland during the autumn of 2015 and in the UK in November 2015. The fourth season premiered on 1 January 2018 in the Nordic countries and was broadcast weekly on
BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream a ...
in the UK from 11 May 2018.


Cast

;Main *
Sofia Helin Sofia Margareta Götschenhjelm-Helin (born 25 April 1972) is a Swedish actress. She was nominated for a Guldbagge Award for her role in ''Dalecarlians'', and stars as Saga Norén in the Danish/Swedish co-produced TV series '' The Bridge'' (Danish ...
as Saga Norén, lead homicide detective in Malmö * Kim Bodnia as Martin Rohde, lead homicide detective in Copenhagen (series 1–2) *
Thure Lindhardt Thure Frank Lindhardt (; born 24 December 1974) is a Danish actor, educated at the drama school at Odense Theatre in 1998. Life and career Lindhardt was born in Copenhagen, and grew up in Roskilde. At the age of 12, he got a part in Bille Aug ...
as Henrik Sabroe, lead homicide detective in Copenhagen (series 3–4) * Dag Malmberg as Hans Petterson, the Police Commissioner in Malmö, later married to Lillian *Sarah Boberg as Lillian Larsen, the Police Commissioner in Copenhagen, later married to Petterson *Rafael Pettersson as John Lundqvist, IT expert for Malmö police *
Lars Simonsen Lars Simonsen (born 19 September 1963) is a Danish actor. He graduated from Aarhus Teater in 1990. In theatre roles, he has appeared at Odense Teater, , , Husets Teater and Betty Nansen Teatret, among others. Plays he has worked on include '' ...
as Jens Hansen/Sebastian Sandstrod (series 1–2) * Puk Scharbau as Mette Rohde, Martin Rohde's wife (series 1–2) *
Ann Petrén Ann Louise Maria Petrén (born 25 May 1954) is a Swedish actress, and daughter to Folke Petrén and Maud Jacobsson. She was educated at Malmö Theatre Academy and works at Stockholm City Theatre. In 2003, Petrén received a Guldbagge Award f ...
as Marie-Louise Norén, Saga's mother (series 3) *Gabriel Flores Jair as the Malmö police pathologist * Henrik Lundström as Rasmus Larsson, Swedish junior police detective (series 2–3) *
Mikael Birkkjær Mikael Birkkjær (born 14 September 1958) is a Danish actor. Raised in Copenhagen, Birkkjær trained at Skuespillerskolen at Odense Teater in 1985. He is best known internationally for his roles as Phillip Christensen in the Danish TV political ...
as Jonas Mandrup, lead homicide detective in Copenhagen (series 4) ;Recurring (Series 1) *Emil Birk Hartmann as August Rohde, Martin Rohde's eldest son *Christian Hillborg as Daniel Ferbé, journalist at Aftonposten in Malmö *
Dietrich Hollinderbäumer Dietrich Hollinderbäumer (born 16 August 1942) is a German-Swedish actor. He is known for his role in '' Downfall'' as Robert Ritter von Greim and for playing Adam in the German Netflix series ''Dark''. Early life Hollinderbäumer was born ...
as Göran Söringer, property developer *
Ellen Hillingsø Ellen Gunilla Hillingsø (born 9 March 1967) is a Danish actress who is known primarily for her work in films. She is also a voice actress, narrating audio books. Early life Ellen Gunilla Hillingsø was born on 9 March 1967 in Copenhagen to Kj ...
as Charlotte Söringer, Söringer's wife *
Magnus Krepper Rolf Magnus Krepper (born 10 January 1967 in Norrköping, Sweden) is a Swedish actor, dancer, singer, and magician. He is a member of ''Moderna Illusionisters Cirkel''. In 2006, Krepper received the Guldbagge Award for best male role in the 200 ...
as Stefan Lindberg, social worker in Malmö * Maria Sundbom as Sonja Lindberg, Stefan's sister *Kristian Lima de Faria as Åke, Daniel's colleague * Said Legue as Navid, Saga's colleague *Anette Lindbäck as Gry, Saga's colleague * Fanny Ketter as Anja Björk *Ole Boisen as Henning Tholstrup, Martin's colleague *Yaba Holst as Daniel's chef ;Recurring (Series 2) * Johan Hedenberg as Axel Mössberg *Vickie Bak Laursen as Pernille Lindegaard, Danish junior police detective * Tova Magnusson as Viktoria Nordgren, owner of the Medisonus pharmaceutical company *Sven Ahlström as Oliver Nordgren, Viktoria's brother *Camilla Bendix as Gertrud Kofoed, chief scientist at Medisonus, Oliver's wife *Fredrik Hiller as Marcus Stenberg, shipping owner *Julia Ragnarsson as Laura * Lotte Munk as Caroline Brandstrup-Julin, the Copenhagen EU environment summit meeting's head organiser, *Lotte Merete Andersen as Bodil Brandstrup, Caroline Brandstrup-Julin's sister *Peter Christoffersen as Julian Madsen, owner of Copenhagen IT Consulting *Julie Wright as Anna-Dea *Moritz Lützhøft as Alexander, Caroline's husband *Michael Moritzen as Niels *
Dar Salim Dar Salim (born 18 August 1977) is a Danish actor. He received a Bodil Award nomination in the category Best Actor for the film '' Go With Peace, Jamil'' in 2008. Early life Dar Salim was born in Baghdad, Iraq. He fled to Denmark as a six-year-o ...
as Peter Thaulow *Alexander Öhrstrand as Niklas *
Claes Bang Claes Kasper Bang (; born 28 April 1967) is a Danish actor and musician. He is best known for playing the leading role of Christian in Ruben Östlund's 2017 film '' The Square'', which won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, and for the ...
as Claudio (Claus Damgaard) *Stephanie Leon as Mathilde *
Jakob Oftebro Jakob Hoff Oftebro (born 12 January 1986) is a Norwegian actor. He has appeared in more than twenty films since 2004 including Hamilton and ''Kon-Tiki'', which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 85th Academy ...
as Mads *Ronja Svedmark as Kattis ;Recurring (Series 3) *
Kirsten Olesen Kirsten Olesen (born 1949) is a Danish actress who since 1979 has been with Copenhagen's Royal Danish Theatre. In Denmark, she is known above all for taking the part of Agnes, a housemaid, in the popular television series ''Matador'' (1978–19 ...
as Hanne Thomsen, lead homicide detective in Copenhagen * Maria Kulle as Linn Björkman, the Police Commissioner in Malmö *Katrine Greis-Rosenthal as Alice Sabroe, Henrik Sabroe's wife * Olaf Johannessen as Lars Andersen, Lise Andersen's husband, Copenhagen businessman *
Sonja Richter Sonja Richter (born 4 January 1974) is a Danish actress. She is best known for her performance in the 2002 film ''Open Hearts'' by Susanne Bier, for which she was nominated for both the Bodil Award and the Robert Award. In a career which has so f ...
as Lise Friis Andersen, politically active
vlogger A video blog or video log, sometimes shortened to vlog (), is a form of blog for which the medium is video. Vlog entries often combine embedded video (or a video link) with supporting text, images, and other metadata. Entries can be recorded i ...
* Nicolas Bro as Freddie Holst, Copenhagen businessman and art collector *
Reuben Sallmander Reuben Robert Joakim Sallmander (born 11 February 1966) is a Swedish actor and singer of Jewish heritage. Early life and education Sallmander was born in Högalid, Stockholm, and attended the Jewish school. He spent two years at a kibbutz i ...
as Claes Sandberg, self-help guru, Freddie Holst's former business partner * Louise Peterhoff as Annika Melander, undertaker * Adam Pålsson as Emil Larsson, art gallery guide *
Sarah-Sofie Boussnina Sarah-Sofie Boussnina (born 28 December 1990) is a Danish actress, best known to international audiences for the TV series '' The Bridge'' and ''1864'' (2014). Career In 2018, Boussnina appeared as Martha in Helen Edmundson's film '' Mary Magda ...
as Jeanette, a young pregnant woman *
Anna Björk Anna Cecilia Björk (born 12 March 1970 in Trollhättan) is a Swedish actress. Now she works at the Royal Dramatic Theatre. Selected filmography *1989 - '' Flickan vid stenbänken'' (TV) *1993 - '' Chefen fru Ingeborg'' (TV) *1996 - '' Rusar i h ...
as Åsa, Freddie's wife *
Ann Petrén Ann Louise Maria Petrén (born 25 May 1954) is a Swedish actress, and daughter to Folke Petrén and Maud Jacobsson. She was educated at Malmö Theatre Academy and works at Stockholm City Theatre. In 2003, Petrén received a Guldbagge Award f ...
as Marie-Louise Norén, Saga's mother ;Recurring (Series 4) *
Mikael Birkkjær Mikael Birkkjær (born 14 September 1958) is a Danish actor. Raised in Copenhagen, Birkkjær trained at Skuespillerskolen at Odense Teater in 1985. He is best known internationally for his roles as Phillip Christensen in the Danish TV political ...
as Jonas * Julie Carlsen as Barbara * Anders Mossling as Frank * Fanny Leander Bornedal as Julia * Iris Mealor Olsen as Ida * Pontus T. Pagler as Richard & Patrik * Erik Lönngren as Christoffer * Alexander Behrang Keshtkar as Taariq Shirazi * Lisa Linnertorp as Sofie *
Lars Ranthe Lars Kristian Ranthe (born 26 August 1969) is a Danish film and television actor. Selected filmography Selected television work }), , Daniel (psychiatrist) , , television series , - , 2021, , '' The Chestnut Man , , Nylander , , televi ...
as Dan Brolund * Leonard Terfelt as William * Selma Modéer Wiking as Astrid * Michalis Koutsogiannakis as Theo * Thomas W. Gabrielsson as Niels * Jesper Hyldegaard as Silas Tuxen * Sandra Sencindiver as Susanne Winter * Elliott Crosset Hove as Kevin * Lena Strömdahl as Harriet * Michael Asmussen as Klaus * Patricia Schumann as Nicole *
Johannes Bah Kuhnke Kjell Dietrich Johannes Bah Kuhnke, (''né'' Kuhnke; born 17 April 1972) is a Swedish actor and singer. He has acted in several films and received international attention in 2014 for his role in the film ''Force Majeure''. In 2010, he participat ...
as Morgan Sonning * Ina-Maria Rosenbaum as Solveig


Plot


Season 1

When a body, apparently cut in half at the waist, is discovered in the middle of the
Øresund Bridge The Öresund or Øresund Bridge ( da, Øresundsbroen ; sv, Öresundsbron ; hybrid name: ) is a combined railway and motorway bridge across the Øresund strait between Denmark and Sweden. It is the longest in Europe with both roadway and rai ...
, which connects Copenhagen with Malmö, placed precisely on the border between the two countries, the investigation falls under the jurisdiction of both the Danish and Swedish police agencies. It is not one corpse but two halves of two separate women: the upper half being that of a female Swedish politician, the lower half being that of a Danish prostitute. Saga Norén from Sweden and Martin Rohde from Denmark lead the murder investigations. Martin has had a vasectomy. August, the nineteen-year-old son from his first marriage is now living with Martin and Mette, his current wife, with whom Martin has three children. Mette discovers that she is expecting another set of twins. Saga lives alone and rather than have serious relationships, she prefers to pick up men in bars for casual sex. Her poor social skills, her difficulty in empathizing and her inability to channel her emotions make her appear cold, insensitive and blunt but she is completely honest and forthright in all aspects. In the course of the investigation, Martin and Saga develop a close working relationship. The investigation quickly escalates as a journalist, Daniel Ferbé, whose SUV was used in the crime, found rigged with a bomb timer getting attention, begins receiving phone calls. The caller, who becomes known as the "Truth Terrorist", claims to be committing crimes in order to draw attention to various social problems. A social worker, Stefan Lindberg is an early suspect; his estranged sister Sonja is a poisoning victim. Working together, the Danish and Swedish police conclude that the killer must have a connection with them. After the killer has murdered several people, his true motivation begins to seem personal. They discover that he has been planning his campaign for a period of several years. In the midst of the investigation, Martin has an affair with one of the victims of the Truth Terrorist during a home visit. This affair reaches Mette, who ousts Martin from the Rohde residence. The ties between all the Truth Terrorist's targets are pinpointed to Jens Nielsen, an ex-Danish police officer who had supposedly killed himself. Jens is still alive, masquerading as Mette's colleague under false pretences and plastic surgery. Several years earlier, his wife cheated on him having an affair with Martin. Jens has meticulously crafted a plan of revenge for Martin, using his disguise and subsequent crimes to get closer to his family. The death of Jens's wife and children on the bridge in an accident leads Jens to believe that Martin is to blame, after a supposed affair between Jens's wife and Martin. Jens kidnaps Mette and Martin's children (sans August), forcing Martin to try to save them. In Denmark, Saga uncovers that the real target is August, who Jens
catfishes Catfish (or catfishes; order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the three largest species alive, ...
to gain access to information about the case and his location. Jens kidnaps August and traps him in a coffin. A standoff occurs between Martin and Jens on the bridge. Saga arrives. Martin asks her to tell him that August is alive, but August has been killed. Upon hearing this, Martin is prevented from killing Jens when Saga shoots both of them. Jens is finally arrested, with Martin left grieving in hospital. With the case closed, Saga drives to Sweden.


Season 2

Season two starts 13 months later. A coaster veers off course and hits the
Øresund Bridge The Öresund or Øresund Bridge ( da, Øresundsbroen ; sv, Öresundsbron ; hybrid name: ) is a combined railway and motorway bridge across the Øresund strait between Denmark and Sweden. It is the longest in Europe with both roadway and rai ...
. When Saga arrives, there is no crew- just three Swedes and two Danes below deck, chained and in poor condition. Although Martin has gone through a nervous breakdown following his son's death, she arranges for him to be assigned to the case. Two new officers join the investigation, Rasmus and Pernille from Sweden and Denmark, respectively. After the victims on the coaster die from
pneumonic plague Pneumonic plague is a severe lung infection caused by the bacterium ''Yersinia pestis''. Symptoms include fever, headache, shortness of breath, chest pain, and coughing. They typically start about three to seven days after exposure. It is one ...
, a viral video appears in which four disguised
eco-terrorist Eco-terrorism is an act of violence which is committed in support of environmental causes, against people or property. The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) defines eco-terrorism as "...the use or threatened use of violen ...
s claim responsibility for the incident. They embark on further attacks, including blowing up a petrol tanker and distributing poisoned food. As the police close in on the group, they are all found dead in a shipping container, thus raising the question of whether there are other terrorist cells or a larger group. When Rasmus is found to have obstructed the investigation under false pretences after a visit to the eco-terrorist hideout, Hans ousts him from the investigation. The keynote speaker of an upcoming EU climate conference in Copenhagen is one of those killed by poisoning. Caroline Brandstrup-Julin, the head of the conference, appoints Viktoria Nordgren, head of the Medisonus pharmaceutical company, as his replacement. While arranging the congress, Caroline's sister Bodil is asked by Oliver Nordgren, Viktoria's brother and a shareholder of Medisonus, whether she would be willing to write Viktoria's biography; Viktoria has been diagnosed with cancer and has about six months to live. During the retrieval of a sunken boat, seven corpses are found inside. The owner of the boat is Marcus Stenberg. The investigation discovers the identities of the dead and finds that some of them had previously been volunteers in medical studies undertaken by Medisonus, but who had gone missing. The company's security chief tells them that a possible industrial spy gained access to their headquarters. Bodil and Viktoria meet to discuss the content of the biography. Oliver, who lives in the house opposite to his sister's and has secretly installed cameras in her house, watches them make love. When Viktoria asks Oliver to keep out of her life, he confesses that he is responsible for the eco-terrorist acts. When he tries to kill her, Oliver's wife Gertrud arrives to save Viktoria and kills Oliver. The police assume that Oliver acted alone as the ringleader of the plot, but Saga then turns up further evidence that there must be at least one more accomplice. The police pathologist shows that two of the dead bodies found earlier contain a deadly virus, which causes internal bleeding and becomes airborne once the victim's blood escapes the body; Saga and Martin guess that Gertrud has developed the virus and infected Viktoria with the intent of spreading it at the EU conference. They manage to alert Caroline and command her to evacuate the building and turn off the ventilation. Eventually, the police arrive at the conference and begin searching for the dying Viktoria. She is eventually discovered in a bathroom by Pernille, who handcuffs her to a pipe to help contain her. Before she can leave, however, Viktoria starts coughing blood, infecting Pernille with the virus. As the area is contained, Martin and Saga communicate with Pernille over the radio, and as Viktoria dies painfully, Pernille decides not to go the same way and commits suicide with her gun. Meanwhile, Gertrud drives to a secluded warehouse where she shoots a video and is executed by an unidentified man who arrives and castigates her for the failure of her plot. Martin, in an attempt to get over the death of August, begins visiting Jens in prison, to try to get through to him. He is satisfied when he sees that his visits have made an impression, and Jens begins to feel remorse for his crime. When Martin moves back in with his estranged wife Mette, ready to start again, she admits that she no longer loves him. A distraught Martin blames Jens and begins to suffer renewed symptoms of paranoia. Saga hears that Jens has died in prison, apparently a suicide, and suspects Martin of having poisoned him, using the poison he stole from Oliver. The season ends as Martin is arrested, apparently as a result of her intervention, whilst Saga looks on longingly as the friendship between them disappears before her eyes.


Season 3

Season three starts 13 months later. When a female body is found on a construction site in Malmö, Swedenposed in a tableau representing a traditional familySaga is assigned to the case together with a Copenhagen police officer Hanne Thomsen, who is hostile towards Saga due to her role in the incarceration of Martin Rohde. The victim is identified as Helle Anker, a resident of Copenhagen. Anker, a lesbian married to a Swedish woman, was the pioneer of Denmark's first gender-neutral preschool. Her work had been the target of numerous threats, including vlog posts by right-wing lawyer Lise Frise Andersen, whose husband owns the facility where Anker's body was discovered. While attempting to question Anker's son Morten, a mentally unstable veteran of the war in Afghanistan, Thomsen is wounded by a booby trap. Saga is then assigned a new Danish partner, Henrik Sabroe. The relationship between Saga and Henrik builds quickly, starting a 'friends with benefits' relationship between them. Things complicate even more so for Saga when her mother returns into her life after 20 years, greatly unnerving her. Another murder is linked to Andersen's blog. Hans Petterson is abducted and found in critical condition, Linn Björkman takes over as his replacement. The murders are described on the news, leading Emil Larsson, an art gallery employee, to come forward and show that they may have been staged to look like artworks from a collection owned by multi-millionaire Freddie Holst. The police suspect Holst's former business partner, Claes Sandberg. Holst had legally gained control of his company and art collection after Claes was admitted to rehab. Marie-Louise challenges the assumption that Jennifer was the victim of Munchausen syndrome by proxy, suggesting that it was Saga's inability to connect with her sister emotionally that drove her to suicide. Marie-Louise claims that Saga has been to her home and threatened her. At first, when Marie-Louise is found dead, the assumption is suicide but later it is considered it could be murder. Saga is interviewed by Internal Affairs. The pressure of her mother's investigation and her grief when Hans dies causes Saga to make a serious error during a hostage situation at the Malmö headquarters - injuring a child. This forces Linn to temporarily suspend Saga and replace her with Rasmus, previously shunned by Hans for obstruction of justice in the eco-terrorist case. A woman named Jeanette carrying Freddie's baby is kidnapped and a woman named Annika is discovered. Freddie outfoxes his security detail, goes to the secluded location that the killer has instructed and finds himself with Emil Larsson who explains that he has been enacting justice on those who wronged him during his childhood as a foster child. Freddie was the sperm donor used to conceive him. He takes Freddie and the baby to Saltholm where he has prepared the final artwork. Saga and Henrik are following up on a lead and arrive in time to save the lives of all three. However, Emil commits suicide in custody shortly afterwards by slitting his wrist with a paperclip. Throughout the season, Henrik is haunted by the mysterious disappearance of his family, consuming narcotics to cope and seeing hallucinations of them in his abode. Six years after she disappeared, the body of Henrik's wife, Alice, is discovered, but no trace of their two daughters; causing him to spiral into depression and overdose on drugs. Saga goes to his house in time to rescue him. Shortly after, Saga is informed that a preliminary hearing is being scheduled on her case and, despite Linn's belief that it will not proceed further than this, she worries that she will lose everything as a result. Henrik, wanting to find his two missing daughters himself, resigns from his job and goes to find Saga, intending to ask her to join him. He eventually finds her at the train tracks where her sister killed herself, looking visibly distressed. Realising she is considering taking her own life on the tracks as the lights of an approaching train appear, Henrik desperately tries to talk her out of it, insisting he needs her expertise to help find his girls. When he attempts to cross the track to her, Saga draws a gun on him and orders him to stay back, before seemingly stepping into the path of an oncoming train. When it passes, however, Henrik sees that she has not gone through with it but has fallen to her knees a short distance away, and goes to comfort her as she begins sobbing. The season ends with Henrik and Saga studying the case information about the disappearance of Henrik's daughters.


Season 4

Two years later, having spent more than a year in prison, Saga Norén is released following a retrial which found that there was
reasonable doubt Beyond a reasonable doubt is a legal standard of proof required to validate a criminal conviction in most adversarial legal systems. It is a higher standard of proof than the balance of probabilities standard commonly used in civil cases, bec ...
about her murdering her mother. Henrik Sabroe investigates the murder of the director general of the Immigration Service, Margarethe Thormond, who has been stoned to death. At first, Henrik is joined by Danish PC Jonas Mandrup, who is seemingly intolerant towards the victims and is cold towards Saga, noting her track record of Danish partners. With her apartment lost upon her arrest and assignment to help Henrik solve the murder case, Saga moves in with him. However, her untreated trauma regarding Hans's death, Emil's sudden suicide and Marie-Louise's investigation against her culminates in a panic attack while driving across the bridge, leading her to start therapy. In the meantime, Henrik attends meetings for addicts. There, he is befriended by a man named Kevin, who became paralysed after jumping off a balcony in a drugged stupor and is a wheelchair user. Two more victims are discovered and Saga realizes that each victim is killed using one method of executing prisoners sentenced to death - suggesting a total of seven victims, leaving four to come. She also notes that the victims are selected not because of their actions but because of something their loved ones have done. As more people are murdered, Henrik realizes that the common link between the victims is people associated with Tommy - a gangster and a police informer that Henrik used to know 4 years prior. Tommy had told Henrik when and where his gang would be raiding another gang but the prosecutor refused to follow up on the tip. The raid led to bloodshed and a number of deaths, resulting in the execution of Tommy as a police informer, a fact inadvertently revealed by a journalist whose brother was one of the victims. Henrik and Lilian's involvement in that case makes their loved ones potential victims of future murders because they are considered to have betrayed Tommy. Lillian is distraught when she receives Hans's decapitated head in a bouquet of flowers, causing her to relinquish her power to Jonas. Kevin is revealed as Tommy's son, whose real name is Brian. Meanwhile, Saga has become pregnant and she considers having an abortion, which upsets Henrik. She agrees to proceed with the pregnancy provided he keeps the baby and raises it on his own. Later, Saga realizes that she is in love with Henrik, so she aborts her pregnancy to remove a possible obstacle to her relationship with him. When she tells Henrik, he is furious and throws her out of the house. Acting on discussions with her therapist, Saga decides to make amends and redoubles her efforts to find Henrik's daughters. A chance encounter with Christoffer, whose father was a minor figure in the investigation, enables her to track down one of Henrik's daughters, Astrid, who is living as the daughter of another man, Frank Wahlberg, in a closed community. Reunited with Henrik, Astrid tells him his other daughter, Anna, died of untreated appendicitis. Alice had initially left Henrik when their relationship broke down, taking the girls in with Frank. She had later died of a "fall", when she wanted to leave Frank, with Frank telling the daughters that both their parents had died. Saga discovers that the murderer is Tommy's former lover, Susanne Winter, personal assistant to the Thormonds. Winter is arrested and provides details about the murders. With the help of her therapist, Saga lets go of her guilt for her sister's suicide. Her therapist suggests that Saga is a police officer to make amends for her sister's suicide. The pathologist, who admires Saga, helps confirm that her mother suffered from a psychological problem and probably caused her sister's death. With her guilt resolved, Saga discovers she can explore life outside of the police. However, when summoned to talk to a former fellow prisoner, Saga learns that Susanne Winter was not acting alone. Jonas is ousted from the investigation when it is discovered that he has leaked information to the press. In the meantime, Henrik is trying to rebuild his relationship with Astrid, who faces difficulty in reentering her previous life as his daughter. Brian unexpectedly comes to visit them one evening to celebrate. When Henrik turns around, Brian stands up from his wheelchair and attacks him. He ties up Henrik and Astrid and asks Henrik to watch as he aims to execute Astrid, in revenge for Tommy's death. Henrik refuses, so Brian shoots her in the leg and says he will continue to maim her until Henrik opens his eyes. A gunshot is heard and Henrik sees that Brian has been shot dead by Saga. Saga visits Henrik and tells him she is leaving to explore doing the things she wants to do but promises to stay in touch, sharing a kiss before Saga leaves. Returning to Malmö, she stops at the halfway point to throw her police badge into the sea. Her phone rings, and she answers just with her name, omitting her former job title. The show ends with her driving back to Sweden in the distance.


Production

Season two started shooting in October 2012, and began to air in Denmark and Sweden on Sunday 22 September 2013 (20.00 in Denmark and 21.00 in Sweden). In January 2014, Hans Rosenfeldt was writing the third season and retaining most of the main characters. In June 2014 it was announced that Kim Bodnia, who plays Martin Rohde, would not appear in the third season. Helin and Bodnia suggested that season three would include Saga coping without her only friend, and suggested that Bodnia's character might return sometime in the future. Hans Rosenfeldt confirmed that Bodnia had left the show because Bodnia was not happy about the way that his on-screen character was evolving. He also voiced concerns in an interview about working in Malmö, due to the city's problems with antisemitism, which had made his decision to leave the series easier. Filming started during September 2014. The Scandinavian launch of the third season was on 27 September 2015. Sofia Helin is credited alone in the first episode's opening titles, with
Thure Lindhardt Thure Frank Lindhardt (; born 24 December 1974) is a Danish actor, educated at the drama school at Odense Theatre in 1998. Life and career Lindhardt was born in Copenhagen, and grew up in Roskilde. At the age of 12, he got a part in Bille Aug ...
listed alongside her thereafter. The names, along with the Swedish and Danish titles, were separated by three lines, indicating the third season; they had been separated by one line in the first, and two in the second season. When the fourth season started broadcasting on 1 January 2018 in the Nordic countries, Rosenfeld confirmed that this was to be the final; it was written so as to bring the previous story-lines to a satisfactory conclusion.


Music

The opening and closing theme is a cut of the song " Hollow Talk" by Copenhagen-based Danish chamber pop band Choir of Young Believers.


Broadcast


Season 1

Season one consists of 10 episodes. Each episode is 60 minutes in length. They were first broadcast on Wednesday nights at 8pm in Denmark and 9pm in Sweden. The first airing of the series was screened on Sweden's SVT1 weekly from Wednesday 21 September 2011 at 21.00. Denmark's DR1 followed a week later in their 20.00 slot every Wednesday. By screening the final episode immediately after episode 9, DR1 managed to screen episode 10 simultaneously with SVT1. On several occasions, ''The Bridge'' failed to have sufficient viewers to be placed in SVT1's weekly Top 10 programmes. This was mainly due to competition from commercial broadcaster TV4 with its offering gaining over a million viewers. In Sweden, ''The Bridge'' won its time slot for the first five episodes against weak competition from '' Hawaii Five-0'' on TV4. From episode 6, it aired against the popular reality show , which would beat ''The Bridge'' until the final episode, when they virtually tied.
Sveriges Television Sveriges Television AB ("Sweden's Television Stock Company"), shortened to SVT (), is the Sweden, Swedish national public broadcasting, public television broadcaster, funded by a public service tax on personal income set by the Riksdag (national ...
reported that up to November 2013, the first season had been purchased for broadcasting in 134 countries worldwide and the
Daily Telegraph Daily or The Daily may refer to: Journalism * Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks * ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times'' * ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...
reported in February 2014 that ''The Bridge'' was on screen in 174 countries. In the UK, the series was shown in weekly two-episode blocks on
BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002
and BBC HD from 21 April 2012. In Germany, it was shown by broadcaster ZDF from 18 March 2012. In
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...
is broadcast on
AXN AXN is a pay television channel owned by Sony Pictures Television, which was first launched in September 1997 in Asia. Local versions have since been launched in several parts of the world, including Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Funded th ...
it is broadcast on Wednesdays from 8 January 2014 until present waiting for the third season. In Poland, the series was broadcast in double episodes from 2 May to 30 May 2012 on
Ale Kino+ Ale Kino+ is a Polish language, Polish television channel owned and operated by Groupe Canal+, Canal+. It is available on the networks of cable television and the digital platform Cyfra+ (now Platforma Canal+, nc+) since 16 April 1999. It broa ...
. In Brazil, the series premiered on +Globosat channel on 13 August 2012 at 22h. The series premiered in Australia on Wednesday, 5 September 2012 on SBS Two, where the first episode had overnight ratings of 101,000 viewers. It was also screened in
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
on September 30 on HOT VoD. On January 9, 2014 it also started screening on
yes Yes or YES may refer to: * An affirmative particle in the English language; see yes and no Education * YES Prep Public Schools, Houston, Texas, US * YES (Your Extraordinary Saturday), a learning program from the Minnesota Institute for Talent ...
VoD with both series 1 and 2 available. Co-producers
NRK NRK, an abbreviation of the Norwegian ''Norsk Rikskringkasting AS'', generally expressed in English as the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, is the Norwegian government-owned radio and television public broadcasting company, and the largest ...
screened the series in Norway with audiences in excess of 600,000 viewers. NRK were also keen to participate in the production of the second series. In
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...
, the show aired on TG4 in autumn 2014.


Season 2

Season two consists of 10 episodes. Each episode is 60 minutes in length. Episodes were aired close to the Danish/Swedish premiere in the other Nordic countries. Finland's YLE TV1 aired new episodes on the same day with SVT1. Norway's NRK1 and Iceland's
RÚV Ríkisútvarpið (RÚV) (pronounced or ) ( en, 'The Icelandic National Broadcasting Service') is Iceland's national public-service broadcasting organization. Operating from studios in the country's capital, Reykjavík, as well as regional ce ...
air episodes the following day, with the first episode airing there on 23 September. It was shown in the United Kingdom on BBC Four and BBC Four HD on 4 January 2014, as with the first season, in two episode blocks at 21:00 and 22:00.


Season 3

Season three consists of 10 episodes. Each episode is 60 minutes in length.


Season 4

Season four consists of eight episodes. Each episode is 60 minutes in length. Broadcast started on 1 January 2018 in the Nordic countries, and on 1 March 2018 in Australia on SBS, with the third and fourth season made available on the SBS On Demand service in February 2018. The season was screened weekly on
BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream a ...
in the UK from 11 May 2018.


Awards

In 2014, ''The Bridge'' won two
Golden Nymph Award The Golden Nymph Award(s) are the prizes awarded to the winners of the Official Competition of the Monte-Carlo Television Festival. History Prince Rainier III of Monaco created the Festival de Télévision de Monte-Carlo in 1961 to "encourage ...
s: for Best European Drama Series, and Best Actor in a Drama Series for Kim Bodnia.


Subsequent foreign versions


United KingdomFrance

In January 2013, Kudos and Shine France announced a joint
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
production called ''The Tunnel'' starring
Clémence Poésy Clémence Guichard (born 30 October 1982), known professionally as Clémence Poésy (), is a French actress and fashion model. After starting on the stage as a child, Poésy studied drama and has been active in both film and television since 19 ...
, beginning with the discovery of the body of a French politician at the half-way point of the
Channel Tunnel The Channel Tunnel (french: Tunnel sous la Manche), also known as the Chunnel, is a railway tunnel that connects Folkestone (Kent, England, UK) with Coquelles ( Hauts-de-France, France) beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover ...
. Broadcast began in October 2013 on
Sky Atlantic Sky Atlantic is a British pay television channel owned by Sky Group Limited broadcast in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The channel is primarily dedicated to imported programmes from the United States, and holds the domestic rights to HB ...
in the UK and
Canal+ Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flo ...
in France. An eight-episode second season was broadcast in 2016 and a six-episode third season was broadcast in 2017.


USAMexico

In July 2012, US network FX ordered a pilot episode to be made for the American audience: El Paso, US Juárez, Mexico; the bridge being the Bridge of the Americas. The series starred
Diane Kruger Diane Kruger ( Heidkrüger; ; born 15 July 1976) is a German and American actress. Early in her career, Kruger gained worldwide recognition and received the Trophée Chopard from the Cannes Film Festival. Kruger became known for her roles in ...
as U.S. Detective Sonya Cross and
Demián Bichir Demián Bichir Nájera (; born 1 August 1963) is a Mexican actor. After starring in telenovelas, he began to appear in Hollywood films. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in ''A Better Life''. Personal life Bichi ...
as Mexican Detective Marco Ruiz. ''
Deadline Hollywood ''Deadline Hollywood'', commonly known as ''Deadline'' and also referred to as ''Deadline.com'', is an online news site founded as the news blog ''Deadline Hollywood Daily'' by Nikki Finke in 2006. The site is updated several times a day, wi ...
'' announced in February 2013 that FX had picked up the drama series for a 13-episode order and filming began in April. The 13-episode series aired between 10 July 2013 and 2 October. FX ordered a second series in September 2013, which aired in 2014. FX cancelled further seasons of ''The Bridge''.


EstoniaRussia

The Russian series is set between
Narva Narva, russian: Нарва is a municipality and city in Estonia. It is located in Ida-Viru county, at the eastern extreme point of Estonia, on the west bank of the Narva river which forms the Estonia–Russia international border. With 5 ...
and
Ivangorod Ivangorod ( rus, Иванго́род, p=ɪvɐnˈɡorət; et, Jaanilinn; vot, Jaanilidna) is a town in Kingiseppsky District of Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the east bank of the Narva river which flows along the Estonia–Russia int ...
; the bridge being the road crossing at Narva.
Ingeborga Dapkūnaitė Ingeborga Dapkūnaitė (russian: Ингеборга Дапкунайте; born 20 January 1963) is а Lithuanian theatre and cinema actress, who appears mostly in Russian films. She is a winner of the Nika Award in 1994 for Best Actress. Early ...
plays the
Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, an ...
n detective Inga Vermaa. The NTV network had picked up the drama series for a two-season order and filming began in January 2016.


MalaysiaSingapore

The series features Bront Palarae (
Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...
) and
Rebecca Lim Rebecca Lim (; born 26 September 1986) is a Singaporean actress who won Best Actress in a leading role at the Asian Television Awards and two Best Actress in a Leading Role awards, a Best Supporting Actress award and 10 consecutive Top 10 Most ...
(
Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
). It was first broadcast on 26 November 2018 on
HBO Asia HBO Asia is the Asian division of HBO, based out of Singapore. It was originally launched on 1 May 1992 as MovieVision, later rebranding on 1 June 1995 to its current name after being purchased by Home Box Office, Inc. The Singapore-based broad ...
outside Malaysia territory, alongside a simulcast on the same day on Malaysia's NTV7. The series is also streamed exclusively on Viu. In August 2019, HBO renewed the series for a second season.


GermanyAustria

The German/Austrian series '' Der Pass'' (2019) features
Julia Jentsch Julia Jentsch (born 20 February 1978) is a German actress. She has received awards including the Silver Bear, European Film Award, and Lola. She is best known for ''Sophie Scholl – The Final Days'', '' The Edukators'' and '' I Served the King ...
and Nicholas Ofczarek. The plot, with a body discovered on a
mountain pass A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since many of the world's mountain ranges have presented formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both human and animal migr ...
between the two countries, was discussed by Lars Blomgren, ''The Bridge'' executive producer, at a panel discussion at the 2018
Gothenburg Film Festival Göteborg Film Festival (GFF), formerly Göteborg International Film Festival (GIFF), known in English as the Gothenburg Film Festival, formerly Gothenburg International Film Festival, is an annual film festival in Gothenburg, Sweden and the larg ...
. The 8-episode season premiered on 17 January 2019 on Sky Deutschland.


GreeceTurkey

The Greek/Turkish series ''I Gefyra'' (English: The Bridge) (2022) features Mando Giannikou and Burak Hakkı. The plot begins with the discovery of a body on a bridge between Greece and Turkey, placed exactly on the border between the two countries. The first episode was premiered on the streaming platform Antenna+ on 27 May 2022


See also

*
Danish television drama Danish television dramas have come to represent an important and popular aspect of Television in Denmark, TV broadcasting in Denmark, especially since the 1970s. One of the most successful Danish drama series in the 70s was ''Matador (Danish TV se ...
* Scandinavian noir


References


External links

*
''Broen''
at DR
''Bron''
at SVT * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bridge, The (2011 TV series) 2011 Danish television series debuts 2011 Swedish television series debuts 2018 television series endings 2018 Swedish television series endings 2010s Danish television series 2010s Swedish television series Danish drama television series Danish crime television series Swedish-language television shows Swedish crime television series Swedish drama television series The Bridge (TV series) Øresund Bridge Television shows set in Denmark Television shows set in Sweden Bioterrorism in fiction