The famous Swedish detective has been re-booted by Netflix. Historically played as an ageing, grumpy police officer, Young Wallander takes Kurt back to his youth and early days on the force.
However, instead of actually going back in time Young Wallander is set in the modern-day.
What Is Young Wallander About?
Essentially the story goes that Kurt Wallander is a beat cop in Malmo. He lives in a pretty dodgy apartment building that is home to gangs and drug dealers.
One evening, a young Swedish boy is found tied to a railing with a bomb in his mouth. The bomb goes off. The boy dies.
Because he is already embroiled in the situation Young Wallander is promoted to detective instantly, and now he must help solve the case.
Things get even more complicated when Wallander finds himself up against right-wing, anti-immigration protestors and a possible plot involving Malmo's richest family.
And all while trying to find the whereabouts of a bomb that has come into Malmo.
So will Kurt Wallander get to the bottom of what looks like a hate crime? Watch to find out.
Young Wallander Official Trailer
Is Young Wallander Worth Watching?
Over the six episodes of season 1, we see a Swedish crime drama set in Sweden, with a Swedish actor who has a Swedish accent all played out in English.
It even comes complete with a largely English cast, all of which begs the question – why isn't it in Swedish?
I don't know the answer to that, but it was definitely enough to frustrate me throughout the show.
Throw in a lead actor (Adam Palsson) who speaks endlessly in breathless whispers and the problems keep racking up.
I get that the creators of Young Wallander wanted to hark back to a time when a young Kurt was naive and optimistic.
They needed a case that would alter who he was to give us a reason for why, as an older detective, he was so difficult. Unfortunately, this was not it.
Personally, I couldn't get past the fact that Adam Palsson is the spitting image of Jonathan Groff (Mindhunter). I know that's not his fault, but somebody really does need to do a DNA test on the two of them!
Young Wallander should be in Swedish and that would give the show more credibility. If it's nordic noir you're after, this isn't it.
Check out Bordertown or Deadwind for better shows in the genre.
Young Wallander Season 2
On the back of a successful first season, in November 2020, Netflix renewed it for a second season.
That premiered on 17 February 2022, subtitled as Killer's Shadow.
We rejoin Kurt when he is seriously considering leaving law enforcement but is then given the job of identifying the victim in a hit-and-run case.
With a tricky case and another bizarre murder, the pressure is on as Kurt realizes that crimes committed years apart are linked.
Is There A Season 3 Of Young Wallander?
Based on the detective found in Henning Mankell's novels, Young Wallander did well with season 1. However, season 2 didn't fare so well, at least not with the global audience.
Throw in a relatively low view count on the trailer for season two compared with the first (94K vs 743K), and the interest in the show was on a downward trend.
It probably doesn't help that critics slammed it though Netflix tends to care more about viewing hours but Young Wallander barely made it into the top ten in some countries.
So all things considered, even though Netflix hasn't confirmed it yet, it's highly unlikely that Young Wallander will be back for a third season.
Young Wallander TV Series Cast
Adam Pålsson as young Kurt Wallander
Richard Dillane as Superintendent Josef Hemberg
Leanne Best as Frida Rask
Ellise Chappell as Mona
Yasen Atour as Reza Al-Rahman
Charles Mnene as Bashir “Bash”
Jacob Collins-Levy as Karl-Axel Munck
Alan Emrys as Gustav Munck
Kiza Deen as Mariam
Joanna Preston as Female Anchor (Season 2)
