Der junge Wallander

I never read the books so I didn't really know what to expect from Young Wallander but I ended up liking it quite a bit. It's a gritty, edgy police detective show that will keep you entertained throughout the series!

I was hoping that this series would be set in the past like Endeavor/Morse but sadly, this is not going to tell us the moody, brooding backstory of Kurt Wallander. It is a little too modern for my taste, but we watched it anyway.

The action seems to move along at a decent pace and tells the story well. Kurt makes some judgment errors yet seems to be a competent (though learning his way) as a new detective. The series isn't a typical gloomy Scandi Noir nor a fast-paced UK cop show, but this one stands on its own.

(This is a British production, NOT American. The British series was set in Sweden and performed by British actors, as is this one. The Swedish series was set in Sweden and has Swedish dialogue.) Swedes are NOT Swiss.

This is coming from having seen both the Swedish Wallander (Krister Henriksson) series (which is the best) and the UK Wallander (Kenneth Brannagh) series (which is also very good), and watched only one of the Swedish movies with Rolf Lassgård (as the others are hard to come by).

First, Young Wallander is set in current day, which is the first thing which already is a problem. Going into it expecting a real prequel set at the end of the 60's or early 70's and seeing a brand spanking new volvo already gave me a WTF, then seeing a mobile phone made me really think WTF is this.... Ok, then I just adjusted my expectations, but it surely was not what I expect from a 'Young Wallander'. I think they did it to keep the costs down, as a period piece is much more expensive, and with in mind if it's successful they can still go on for many years and still keeping the costs down.

Second, even though the actor looks great, his voice is really annoying, as he sounds like he has an astma problem or out of breath every single time he opens his mouth. Krister, Kenneth and even Rolf never sounded so hoarse. And the other problem is what's point three...

Third, English. Even though Kenneth Brannagh's version was completely in english, it wasn't really a problem, but in this version it's clear Adam Pålsson is not a native english speaker and it shows, it's the second thing about this actor which makes it not so great to watch him play, he has a very thick accent while the rest of the cast hasn't.. They should have just cast an english actor or done the whole series in original swedish (latter would have been my preference). Now it really annoyes the hell with the actor AND speaking hoarse AND having a bad accent.

I think it might be based on the book in which it has 5 stories about his youth, but if it is, it just wasn't really translated well by the creators of this series.. It is clear Henning Mankell wasn't involved himself in this series like he was in the previous incarnations. For a 6 parter I think it just dragged on too much, this story could have fit much better as a 1 hour and 30 minutes episode like the Henriksson and Brannagh series had done. I'm still gonna watch any new season as I'm just a sucker for detectives, but I still think it's a shame they botched this a bit by the miscast of this actor (pure based on his voice/accent, not his acting itself).

I am a Brit but disappointed that this could not be made in Swedish and with a Swedish cast.

A young Wallander begins his career in criminal detection.

I found it a little slow to begin with, but once it gets going, it's a very good series, the stories are very good, it's well produced, and very, very well acted, Adam Pålssonis really great in the title role.

I must address one issue, Young Wallander, the title, makes me think of an origin story, it implies Wallander in his youth, be it The Swedish or English adaptation, instead it's set in present day, with very much present day themes. Is he Wallander in name only? After this first series I'll be honest, that's how I see it, maybe if a further run is made my opinion may well change. The name Wallander will of course attract viewers. How cool would it have been if it were set in the 90's.

It is definitely worth watching, I really would recommend it, if you like me are worried that your favourite Detective shows are ended, or are coming to an end, such as Endeavour and Vera, this offers new life, and a fresh look at one of the best, Wallander.

It's an English made series, set in Sweden, filmed in Lithuania, I can imagine our friends in Sweden are a little surprised.

Thoroughly enjoyed it, 8/10.