Beck (Swedish TV series)

Beck
Beck
Genre	Crime drama
Based on	Martin Beck – The Story of a Crime by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö
Developed by	Rolf Börjlind
Written by	Rolf Börjlind; Cilla Börjlind;
Starring	Peter Haber; Mikael Persbrandt; Malin Birgerson; Ingvar Hirdwall; Rebecka Hemse; Måns Nathanaelson; Peter Hüttner; Stina Rautelin; Marie Göranzon; Anna Asp; Elmira Arikan; Jonas Karlsson; Åsa Karlin; Bo Höglund; Kristofer Hivju; Jennie Silfverhjelm; Martin Wallström;
Composer	Adam Nordén
Country of origin	Sweden
Original language	Swedish
No. of seasons	8
No. of episodes	42 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer	Lars Blomgren
Producer	Tomas Michaelsson
Cinematography	Olof Johnson
Editor	Tomas Täng
Running time	90 minutes (approx.)
Production company	Filmlance International AB
Distributor	MHZ Networks
Release
Original network	Egmont Film
Picture format	16:9 (1080i)
Audio format	Stereo
Original release	27 June 1997 –; present

Beck is a Swedish crime drama movie series, based on characters featured in the novels of Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö, starring Peter Haber as the titular character. The first four series were released direct-to-video, with a small number of episodes also concurrently released theatrically. To date, forty-two episodes have been filmed, with all episodes from the fifth series onwards broadcast on C More.^[1]^[2]

The first series was written entirely by Rolf Börjlind, while several episodes in series two, three and four were co-written by Rolf and Cilla Börjlind. Notably, the character of Kollberg is entirely omitted from the series. Mikael Persbrandt announced in 2015 that he would be leaving the series to focus on other projects, although he did return to film Gunvald, the first episode of series six. In 2015, the series was acquired by the BBC as part of their international crime drama slate; broadcast commenced on BBC Four with Buried Alive, the second episode of the fourth series.^[3]

Cast[]

Peter Haber as Martin Beck
Mikael Persbrandt as Gunvald Larsson (Series 1–6)
Malin Birgerson as Alice Levander (Series 2)
Kristofer Hivju as Steinar Hovland (Series 6–)
Jennie Silfverhjelm as Alexandra 'Alex' Beijer (Series 7–)
Rebecka Hemse as Inger Beck
Ingvar Hirdwall as Valdemar, Martin Beck's neighbour
Peter Hüttner as Oljelund (Series 2–4)
Bo Höglund as the waiter (Series 1–4)
Stina Rautelin as Lena Klingström (Series 1, 3–4)
Marie Göranzon as Margareta Oberg (Series 2–3)
Måns Nathanaelson as Oskar Bergman (Series 3–)
Anna Asp as Jenny Bodén (Series 5–)
Elmira Arikan as Ayda Çetin (Series 5–)
Jonas Karlsson as Klas Fredén (Series 5–)
Åsa Karlin as Andrea Bergström (Series 5–)
Martin Wallström as Josef Eriksson (Series 8–)
Fredrik Ohlsson as Fredrik Ohlsson (Series 2)
Joakim Nätterqvist as Peter (Series 9)

Episodes[]

Series 1 (1997–1998)[]

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
1	1	"Beck – Lockpojken" "The Decoy Boy"	Pelle Seth	Rolf Börjlind	27 June 1997 (1997-06-27)
2	2	"Beck – Mannen med ikonerna" "The Man with the Icons"	Pelle Seth	Rolf Börjlind	17 December 1997 (1997-12-17)
3	3	"Beck – Vita nätter" "White Nights"	Kjell Sundvall	Rolf Börjlind	27 February 1998 (1998-02-27)
4	4	"Beck – Öga för öga" "Eye for an Eye"	Kjell Sundvall	Rolf Börjlind	27 March 1998 (1998-03-27)
5	5	"Beck – Pensionat Pärlan" "The Pearl Hotel"	Kjell Sundvall	Rolf Börjlind	8 April 1998 (1998-04-08)
6	6	"Beck – Monstret" "The Monster"	Harald Hamrell	Rolf Börjlind	20 May 1998 (1998-05-20)
7	7	"Beck – The Money Man" "The Money Man"	Harald Hamrell	Rolf Börjlind	3 June 1998 (1998-06-03)
8	8	"Beck – Spår i mörker" "Trails in Darkness"	Morten Arnfred	Rolf Börjlind	31 October 1998 (1998-10-31)
Beck is on his way to a vacation with colleague and girlfriend Lena Klingström when several gruesome murders in the Stockholm Metro force him to return. Without any kind of motivation, he is forced to lead the investigation. There are four things connecting the murders: they are all in the underground, they are all decapitations, and a sign has been left by the murderer.

Series 2 (2001–2002)[]

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
9	1	"Beck – Hämndens pris" "The Revenge"	Kjell Sundvall	Rolf Börjlind & Cilla Börjlind	27 June 2001 (2001-06-27)
A police car pulls over near a van with a flat tire on a desolate highway, where two young men are changing the tire. Two officers step out of the car and offer their help. Suddenly, a third person gets out of the van. One of the officers reacts instantly when he recognises the man is a well known criminal. Having just robbed a military camp ten minutes ago, the van is loaded with explosives and assault rifles. Hours later, the two police officers are found shot dead in an execution style manner. Beck is assigned to the case and is offered all resources he needs to solve the case. The hunt is complicated by the fact Larsson was a close friend of one of the officers murdered, and he makes it clear he is ready to use any methods necessary to find the killer.
10	2	"Beck – Mannen utan ansikte" "The Man With no Face"	Harald Hamrell	Rolf Börjlind & Cilla Börjlind	7 November 2001 (2001-11-07)
Two nocturnal dog walkers find the dead body of a third in the woods. His face has been cut off. Could the dead man's job as a burglar alarm salesman have had anything to do with his gruesome death?
11	3	"Beck – Kartellen" "The Cartel"	Kjell Sundvall	Rolf Börjlind & Cilla Börjlind	12 December 2001 (2001-12-12)
12	4	"Beck – Enslingen" "The Recluse"	Kjell Sundvall	Rolf Börjlind & Cilla Börjlind	16 January 2002 (2002-01-16)
13	5	"Beck – Okänd avsändare" "Sender Unknown"	Harald Hamrell	Rolf Börjlind & Cilla Börjlind	13 February 2002 (2002-02-13)
14	6	"Beck – Annonsmannen" "The Ad Man"	Daniel Lind Lagerlöf	Rolf Börjlind & Cilla Börjlind	20 March 2002 (2002-03-20)
15	7	"Beck – Pojken i glaskulan" "The Boy in the Glass Bowl"	Daniel Lind Lagerlöf	Rolf Börjlind & Cilla Börjlind	10 April 2002 (2002-04-10)
16	8	"Beck – Sista vittnet" "Blind Profit"	Harald Hamrell	Rolf Börjlind & Cilla Börjlind	4 January 2002 (2002-01-04)
In short order, the bodies of three Latvian prostitutes are found, all with their faces burned off with acid. Beck learns he has serious heart disease and meets an attractive woman in a restaurant to whom he is strongly attracted.

Series 3 (2006–2007)[]

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
17	1	"Beck – Skarpt läge" "The Scorpion"	Harald Hamrell	Rolf Börjlind & Cilla Börjlind	28 June 2006 (2006-06-28)
An abused woman is feverishly sought by police in the murder of her ex-husband but is being hidden by abused woman-advocates. At the same time, Gunvald Larsson discovers a police report that his long-estranged sister has been abused. He confronts her with his knowledge but she denies it.
18	2	"Beck – Flickan i jordkällaren" "The Unclaimed Girl"	Harald Hamrell	Rolf Börjlind & Cilla Börjlind	6 December 2006 (2006-12-06)
The body of a little girl is discovered neatly tucked into a makeshift bed in a root cellar deep in the woods. With a plate of food beside her, she has starved to death. Shortly thereafter a reclusive farmer is found hanged, with a suicide note confessing to the crime. Lena Klingström reappears looking for a job.
19	3	"Beck – Gamen" "The Vulture"	Kjell Sundvall	Rolf Börjlind & Cilla Börjlind	17 January 2007 (2007-01-17)
Former sports minister John Vedén disappears and it quickly becomes apparent this his disappearance is connected to his gambling addiction.
20	4	"Beck – Advokaten" "The Lawyer"	Kjell Sundvall	Rolf Börjlind & Cilla Börjlind	21 February 2007 (2007-02-21)
Known lawyer Patrik Hansson is found brutally murdered in his home. The murder initially looks like an open and shut case - Hansson had been involved in a case where a company has been indicted for lying about the circumstances surrounding a serious environmental crime. When Beck and Klingström go through Hansson's office, they find evidence that gives new light to the investigation - but who pulled the strings, and why? To find the solution, they have to dig further into Hansson's past and find a picture that is even more complicated than they initially thought.
21	5	"Beck – Den japanska shungamålningen" "The Japanese Shunga Painting"	Kjell Sundvall	Rolf Börjlind & Cilla Börjlind	5 June 2007 (2007-06-05)
Martin Beck and Hans Sperling, a German detective and Beck's friend visiting Stockholm for an art auction, discover in Sperling's hotel the dead body of an art agent who outbid Sperling for a Japanese shunga erotic print. She had been murdered and the crime scene arranged to resemble Chagall's painting The Woman and the Roses. Two Chagall prints and the shunga print are missing from her room. Soon three more bodies are found arranged to resemble the shunga print. Who is constructing these gruesome reproductions? And why?
22	6	"Beck – Den svaga länken" "The Weak Link"	Harald Hamrell	Rolf Börjlind & Cilla Börjlind	23 March 2007 (2007-03-23)
Beck investigates a series of rapes and murders that occur at night in a public park.
23	7	"Beck – Det tysta skriket" "The Silent Scream"	Harald Hamrell	Rolf Börjlind & Cilla Börjlind	19 September 2007 (2007-09-19)
Two young girls are killed by a train. Evidence at the scene suggests they were dragged onto the tracks by a third person.
24	8	"Beck – I Guds namn" "In the Name of God"	Kjell Sundvall	Rolf Börjlind & Cilla Börjlind	10 October 2007 (2007-10-10)
A paparazzo is beaten to death. While the homicide team goes through his photographs, Police Chief Margareta Oberg conceals two photos from the rest of the team. She is then assassinated in her home. What was in the photographs that could have led to her death?

Series 4 (2009–2010)[]

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
25	1	"Beck – I stormens öga" "The Eye of the Storm"	Harald Hamrell	Rolf Börjlind & Cilla Börjlind	26 August 2009 (2009-08-26)
Beck and his colleagues link the discovery of a burned female body to the hunt for a group of environmentalists engaged in terrorism across borders. Larsson knew the woman believed to have been murdered and is suspected by SÄPO (Swedish Security Services) of involvement. While the terrorists plan an attack that could have dire consequences, Larsson is taken off the case.
26	2	"Beck – Levande begravd" "Buried Alive"	Harald Hamrell	Rolf Börjlind & Cilla Börjlind	22 June 2010 (2010-06-22)
In a playground in the centre of the urban idyll, the police find a buried wooden box containing a famous and well-respected prosecutor. Beck and his team initially suspect a highly criminal MC-leader of the attack, but Beck pretty soon has to re-evaluate the case once the MC-leader is also found murdered in a similar wooden box. Soon, more wooden boxes are found and the police realise that they are part of a cat and mouse game with a crazy serial killer. The investigation soon shows that there is a vague connection between the victims in the shape of a nine-year-old event, but what Beck does not suspect is that his own life too is at stake, as the murderer has chosen him as the next victim.

Series 5 (2015)[]

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
27	1	"" "Room 302"	Mårten Klingberg	Mikael Syrén	1 January 2015 (2015-01-01)
28	2	"" "The Family"	Mårten Klingberg	Mårten Klingberg	10 January 2015 (2015-01-10)
29	3	"" "Invasion"	Stephan Apelgren	Daniel Karlsson	21 March 2015 (2015-03-21)
30	4	"" "The Hospital Murders"	Stephan Apelgren	Antonia Pyk	28 March 2015 (2015-03-28)

Series 6 (2016)[]

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
31	1	"" "Gunvald"	Mårten Klingberg	Mikael Syrén	1 January 2016 (2016-01-01)
32	2	"" "Steinar"	Mårten Klingberg	Josefin Johansson	6 February 2016 (2016-02-06)
33	3	"" "End of the Road"	Jörgen Bergmark	Stefan Thunberg	5 March 2016 (2016-03-05)
34	4	"" "The Last Day"	Jörgen Bergmark	Antonia Pyk	2 April 2016 (2016-04-02)
Two traffic officers attempt to stop a car that is driving too fast. When the car stops, the driver gets out and shoots one of the officers dead. There is not much to go on at the beginning, but with the help of CCTV cameras, the car soon is identified. Beck and the team storm into the apartment of the car owner, where they unexpectedly find him also shot dead. As Beck begins the hunt for the murderer anew, murderer takes steps towards carrying out his next deadly plan of revenge.

Series 7 (2018)[]

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
35	1	"Beck – Ditt eget blod" "Flesh and Blood"	Mårten Klingberg	Mårten Klingberg	1 January 2018 (2018-01-01)
Beck, now retired, returns to help SÄPO track down a Syrian immigrant who has defected to ISIS. Meanwhile, Steinar and the team investigate the disappearance of a sixteen-year-old girl from Stockholm city centre, but the two cases collide when the girl's boyfriend turns out to be the brother of the man Beck is trying to track down.
36	2	"Beck – Den tunna isen" "Thin Ice"	Mårten Klingberg	Katarina Ewers	3 February 2018 (2018-02-03)
The murder of an ice hockey coach, which appears initially to be an open-and-shut case, is complicated by a targeted campaign of attacks against a group of refugees living at a nearby hostel. Meanwhile, Steinar is devastated to learn that he has been passed over for the position of permanent team leader in favour of Alex.
37	3	"Beck – Utan uppsåt" "Without Intent"	Jörgen Bergmark	Wilhelm Behrman	3 March 2018 (2018-03-03)
A young girl arrives home from school to find her mother lying at the bottom of the stairs, having seemingly fallen to her death - but signs of a struggle in the family home suggest that her death may in fact be murder. Meanwhile, Alex arrives for her first day as team leader, and Steinar struggles to cope with the shift of power.
38	4	"Beck – Djävulens advokat" "The Devil's Advocate"	Jörgen Bergmark	Johan Bogaeus	7 April 2018 (2018-04-07)
The murder of a restaurant owner who is gunned down in front of a diner full of customers has unexpected repercussions for Alex, whose brother, Paul, represented two men expected of involvement in the killing. Meanwhile, Steinar, amidst tension with Alex and the breakdown of his marriage, accepts the offer of a transfer from Klas.

Series 8 (2020–2021)[]

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
39	1	"Beck – Undercover" "Undercover"	Pontus Klänge	Johan Bogaeus	6 November 2020 (2020-11-06)
A young boy has been found murdered, and the Beck group's investigation leads them to a narcotics network.
40	2	"Beck – Utom rimligt tvivel" "Beyond Reasonable Doubt"	Pontus Klänge	Veronica Zacco	4 December 2020 (2020-12-04)
During a spontaneous intervention, a macabre find is made in the trunk of a car. It will be Alex's task to lead the investigation of a cruel murder mystery, all the while the Beck group is put under severe pressure both internally and externally.
41	3	"Beck – Döden i Samarra" "Death in Samarra"	Lisa Ohlin	Fredrik Agetoft	1 January 2021 (2021-01-01)
42	4	"Beck – Den förlorade sonen" "The Lost Son"	Lisa Ohlin	Stefan Thunberg	5 February 2021 (2021-02-05)

References[]

^ "Unik urpremiär på C More för åtta nya Beck-filmer med Peter Haber" [Unique premiere at C More for eight new Beck movies with Peter Haber]. C More Entertainment (in Swedish). 7 November 2014. Archived from the original on 10 November 2014. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
^ "Beck: Världspremiär för 4 nya filmer" [Beck: World premiere for 4 new films]. C More Entertainment (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 18 December 2015.
^ Ferguson, Euan (13 September 2015). "The week in TV: Doctor Foster; Beck; Ballers; Hunted; The Queen's Longest Reign: Elizabeth and Victoria". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 September 2015.

External links[]

Beck at IMDb

[1] "Unik urpremiär på C More för åtta nya Beck-filmer med Peter Haber" [Unique premiere at C More for eight new Beck movies with Peter Haber]. C More Entertainment (in Swedish). 7 November 2014. Archived from the original on 10 November 2014. Retrieved 8 January 2015.

[2] "Beck: Världspremiär för 4 nya filmer" [Beck: World premiere for 4 new films]. C More Entertainment (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 18 December 2015.

[3] Ferguson, Euan (13 September 2015). "The week in TV: Doctor Foster; Beck; Ballers; Hunted; The Queen's Longest Reign: Elizabeth and Victoria". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 September 2015.

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