Wilhelm Beck (Valter Skarsgård) continues to have issues with authority, following police procedure and working as part of a team in the two feature length episodes of the long-running Swedish crime series, Beck, now available on the iPlayer. Also airing on 5 and 12 September 2026 on BBC Four, in each 90-minute programme we see a cop who is clever, competent, physically powerful but also headstrong, impetuous and sometimes outright angry.
Which is interesting, because his grandfather, Martin Beck (Peter Haber), who originated in the famous novels by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö and from whence the series gets its name, is remains a steady, considered, understated investigator who plays the long game and never rushes in half-cocked the way Wilhelm does. Perhaps the programme makers are making a subtle comment on society today. It’s not that we don’t understand where Wilhelm is coming from, it’s just that he’s so committed to his values that sometimes he doesn’t see other explanations for what’s happening.
Whatever social commentary might be going on, the programme certainly proves that its makers still know what they’re doing. The production values remain as high as the finest American and British crime shows, the acting is first class, the stories well written and the little motifs and character quirks we enjoy are present to raise a smile. For example, although you’ll miss Beck’s eccentric neighbour, Grannen (Ingvar Hirdwall) , in between the action he now crosses paths with an unusual woman called Mariel (Gunnel Fred), who provides her opinion on things whether Back wants to hear it or not – though sometimes she gives him ideas that might help him progress a case.
It’s a testament to the original stories that Beck continues to impress audiences across generations, especially when you consider that the books began in 1965, and the television series in 1997. Let’s have a look at the two latest shows which, by our reckoning, formed the second half of season 11 of the show – although different sites have different ways of tallying them, due to how the series has been carved up for consumption outside Sweden.
Beck: Ashes to Ashes
One of the things that has kept Beck fresh in recent years is the way the lead character can rotate from episode to episode. In The Burning Man, Alex Beijer (Jennie Silfverhjelm), head of the serious crime unit, comes to the fore. The pastor of an evangelical Christian church is burned alive in the rectory not long after having a heated argument with one of his congregation, who becomes the chief suspect.
However, there is a conflict of interest for Alex because the church’s second pastor is a woman she’s known since childhood – Ellen Bengtsdotter Dal, played by Frida Hallgren, who you may recognise from the excellent Arne Dahl series years back. Ellen and Alex have a strange connection, which makes Alex second-guess everything about the case. By going over things again, Alex annoys both her superior, Ebba Ståhl (Nina Zanjani) who is only interested in the optics, and Wilhelm Beck, who is convinced that the obvious answer is the correct one.
Testing her theories, re-interviewing suspects and taking nothing at face value, Alex is proven right and sees through not one but two cover-ups as further deaths occur. All the while, the head of the Swedish intelligence unit she used to work for is trying to lure her away with a Head of Operations position in back in the Middle East. Her evasiveness drives fellow detective Josef Eriksson (Martin Wallström) mad, because we all know he has a huge crush on his boss. Once the loose cannon on the team, that role has now passed to Wilhelm and we see Josef setting him straight.
There’s a point late in the episode where the plot seems to skate forward a little too quickly and smoothly. This occurs so that another twist can be added to the intrigue, which is too heavily flagged by the lack of detail that precedes it. Otherwise, there’s no better way to spend 90 minutes if you’re a crime fiction lover.
Beck: In the Shadows
In this episode, Wilhelm Beck comes to the fore, and Martin has more of a role to play too. Now a chief inspector overseeing several departments, he dips into the case to lend his insights and even helps on a stake out.
The murder of a young woman in one of the rougher areas of Stockholm signals a gang war between an outfit run by the vicious Ahmad ‘Madi’ Ahmad and the Yara family. However, a vigilante is intervening by capturing hitmen and leaving them for the police to arrest, along with various other things that threaten Madi’s operation.
Wilhelm identifies with the vigilante because of his strong sense of justice, and because by operating outside the law he can achieve more than the police. So against Alex’s instructions he starts his own investigation into who the vigilante is.
Meanwhile, the case of a woman found dead in a car at a site frequented by prostitutes and their customers is keeping Martin Beck and Oskar Bergman (Måns Nathanaelson) busy. Because the dead woman is Madi’s sister, this is connected to the gang war investigation but the one witness they can identify has gone to ground. In some lighter scenes, Oskar must channel his inner vice cop to get one of the Johns talking while Beck comes up with an ingenious canine-related way of finding the sex worker.
What unfolds between the two gangs and the vigilante turns this episode into a tragedy marked by rage, betrayal and vengeance. By breaking protocol, Wilhelm does contribute to the case – but neither Alex nor Josef can trust him and sharing information sooner might have saved lives. Help does come from some unlikely sources.
