If you liked The Killing and Modus, tune in to More4 at 9pm BST on 17 February and see what you think of The Team. With Lars Mikkelsen, who played the heart throb Troels Hartmann in The Killing, leading the cast as detective Harald Bjorn, The Team comes from the writing team that brought us Modus. What’s more, the programme is three for the price of one when it comes to crime settings, with the story spread across Copenhagen, Berlin and Antwerp.
Bjorn is one of investigators called upon by Europol following the murders of three prostitutes – one in each of the cities listed above. They’ve all been shot in the left eye, and had a finger severed. One leaves behind a five-year-old daughter. A mysterious man with a gold tooth is seen near each crime scene and becomes the chief suspect as Alicia Verbeeck (Veerle Baetens) joins the effort on behalf of the Belgian police, and Jackie Muller (Jasmin Gerat) represents the Germans.
With three settings, the cinematographers have plenty to play with visually, not to mention the fact that Bjorn is on holiday in the Alps when the story begins. Mikkelsen brings a sensitivity to his detective role and there’s clearly something going on between his character, Harald Bjorn, and the German detective Jackie Muller. Alicia Verbeeck, meanwhile, seems tense and full of anger as things unfold in Antwerp. Soon, the dead women are identified, as is the suspect, who turns out to be a Belgian crime novelist.
However, there’s more to the case than meets the eye, and no sooner has the manhunt been launched than the plot twists. This is about much more than three murders, with organised crime, sex trafficking and even slavery becoming themes in later episodes. What’s interesting watching it is the switching between languages – Danish, German and Flemish. However, when the Team communicate with one another they do so in English, which feels a bit stilted at times compared to the subtitled foreign language dialogue. See what you think.
All six episodes will air on More4 at 9pm on Fridays, and subsequently be available to stream on the All4 app or on the website. Lars Mikkelsen is the older brother of Mads Mikkelsen who appeared in Casino Royale, The Hunt, Rogue One and the TV series Hannibal.
Check out the trailer below, and discover our favourite crime shows of 2016 here.