Outlier

I loved this because it's a departure from the predictable series out there.

The central character is not likeable throughout, which is what I believe explains some of the poor reviews on this list. (Lots mention bad acting and directing, but I disagree. Both were very well done.)

Genuine disagreeableness on the part of the central character was like a breath of fresh air for me. I prefer characters to be flawed and intriguing rather than statically heroic. Just be prepared to pay close attention as you're watching. This isn't the sort of series you can have on in the background while you're making supper.

The series is also slow-paced, but not boring. The psychological theories expressed by the central character, Maja, were technical but also interesting and kept the tension taut. The subtext that budget restrains were hampering proper policing seemed very true to life and added a layer of complexity that is often left out of more action driven series.

Don't understand the 'bad acting' comments. I've seen many Nordic/Scandi shows and I need the subtitles. Perhaps it's hard to judge properly but the voices have all the right tones and pitch for the lines I'm reading and the on screen events at the time.

If it's bad acting then all of those shows would be full of bad acting.

I did think that when the lead character was speaking English it didn't sound quite right, but that could just be because it was a second - or third - language.

This is an area of few people, few resources, old fashioned attitudes and so on. I think people are mistaking the characters and their attitudes for bad acting.

I caught this on HBO Nordic as I dig nordic noir (this isn't noir really tho). I enjoy northern scenery and have visited north Norway a few times so why not.

The story is about a small Norwegian town, missing/dead girls and a woman who has moved aboard to study serial killer profiling and now returning to her home town to help the local police and apparently facing her own demons of the past while at it. While the town itself is small we are talking about vast spaces panning hundreds of kilometres and three countries, which makes up a subplot of local police resources on what to really investigate and put resources on.

The script is mostly strong and interesting. I was gripped and I think it's pretty convincing with details and broad strokes. It's also pretty dark story even tho it mostly happens in summer when it doesn't get dark at all. The script is not perfect either tho, but it's interesting. I did sense a bit of a feminist attitude in the script, but it's mostly just a line here and there, not pasted over whole production.

Despite the strong story, it's sad to say that the production, direction, editing and acting are strangely amateurish most of the time. The overall look of the series is very neutral, even boring and the acting is mostly quite bad in a strangely neutral and realistic way. I'm leaning to think that it's just unintentionally amateurish.

There's a low budget feel all over the production, actors use same clothes throughout the whole series, looks like everyone uses the same laptop, one scene caught my eye where a characters mouth was moving while the audio had other person speaking. And so on..

I didn't mind the slowness others have mentioned. I did mind the production values and some script decisions, but overall this was a winner because I really wanted to watch it episode after episode and finished all in four days. There's been many series with better production values which haven't held my interest even nearly as well.

The setting in northern Norway with the midnight sun is very interesting, the shots are cinematic, young Elle is portrayed well but... Vvveeeeerrrryyyyy slow paced, Main character Maja is annoying - partly because the script lets her down but I suspect that it's simply poor acting. In addition the head of the local police (Johan) is frustrating to watch and listen to. Plot holes. Constructive criticism: new lead character and reduce number of episodes from 8 to a maximum of two.

I really don't understand how everytime I read reviews on here people are just trashing everything. If you don't like it, don't watch it.

This series is really good and well acted as most Norwegian shows are. I sometimes wonder if these people even watch the shows or just decide to write fake bad reviews! Just say you didn't like it that is enough.