TV News: Young Wallander

It's recently been announced that Netflix has ordered a UK-Swedish production of a "Young Wallander" series, a six-parter featuring a 20-something Wallander and his first case. Details via Variety:

The adventures of “Young Wallander” are coming to Netflix. The streaming giant has ordered a U.K.-Swedish series based on the early life of Henning Mankell’s popular police inspector, who has already been already depicted on the small screen in the BBC “Wallander” series with Kenneth Branagh and a Swedish version with Krister Henriksson.

“Young Wallander” will see the titular detective tackling his first-ever case. Netflix’s VP of international originals, Erik Barmack, announced the project Wednesday at C21’s Content London event.

“We’re looking at Wallander when he was in his early 20s, before he became so jaded,” he said, noting that Mankell’s books had sold 50 million copies around the world in multiple languages. “When we talked to Berna [Levin] at Yellow Bird and saw the opportunity to work on a project like this, we got really excited.”

Production starts on the serialized six-parter, which will be in English, in 2019.

Levin, creative director at Banijay-owned Yellow Bird U.K., said that “getting to meet Wallander as a young man and explore how the times and his new experiences will shape him to eventually become the man we already know and love is a thrilling opportunity. We are confident he will captivate new audiences and delight longstanding fans once again with his sharp intelligence, youthful enthusiasm and unmistakable humanity.”

As one Wallander closes, another one opens...

The brilliant Swedish series of Wallander has just finished on BBC4 with The Secret, but Kenneth Branagh's version returns on Sunday at 9pm on BBC1 with Faceless Killers (the first book in the series and fourth to be televised). The BBC press release is here.

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And like buses, not only is there one but two crime programmes on on Sunday. Which to watch and which to record? Scheduled against Wallander is Poirot: Three Act Tragedy (on ITV1 8-10pm) and the guest stars include Martin Shaw and Art Malik.

The full ITV press release is here but here are a few paras from David Suchet concerning Martin Shaw and also the filming locations:

"Three Act Tragedy is to do with this great star, played by Martin Shaw, who swans around and we see his world, his theatrical world if you like, of how he lives, his loves and his tragedies. In it we see crime, we see murder.

"The way the adaptation of Three Act Tragedy works is terrific. Ashley Pearce, who has directed other Poirot’s and therefore knows Poirot very well, has been wonderfully creative and done a sort of theatrical presentation of it.

"It was particularly wonderful for me to be reunited with Martin Shaw. Martin and I go right the way back. It was the first time we worked together since The Professionals, so the best part of 40 years ago. Martin is a really great actor and it was really good to be working with him again.

The main locations we used for Poirot: Three Act Tragedy were Knebworth House and Eltham Palace. Speaking about these David says, “On Poirot we have the great privilege on this series of going to some of the finest locations in England. To go to Knebworth is like going back into another era.

“Although the exterior of Crow’s Nest was filmed in the South West of England we looked for an interior location that we could make look as though it fitted the outside, and we found this at Eltham Palace.

“It was a great joy for me to film at Eltham Palace. It is the most extraordinary location and place to visit. It is very 1930s and very art-deco as well.

“I have two great soft spots for Eltham Palace, one because I do the audio guide there – so if you ever go to Eltham Palace you will hear my voice saying, ‘And on your right is...’ And my other is that it was where we filmed when I played Robert Maxwell, for which I received an Emmy. Going back there was very special to me.”

Euro-Sleuths on BBC4 (including a Swedish version of "Wallander")

My dvd recorder's going to be flat out over the next few weeks as the continuity announcer before the beginning of last night's Maigret said that this was the first of three weeks of euro-sleuths on BBC4. Tonight we also have Wallander on BBC1, and tomorrow the second Maigret is on BBC4.

Next Saturday on BBC4 at 9pm, John Harvey presents a programme called Who is Kurt Wallander?:

John Harvey presents a documentary about writer Henning Mankell, Sweden's most popular author internationally and the creator of the Kurt Wallander detective series.

By examining Mankell's anti-hero Wallander, it reveals the hidden angst affecting present-day Sweden, a country with an excellent welfare system yet one which has suffered two shocking recent political assassinations. The film tries to grasp what Mankell's characters say about Sweden and how his books inform the rest of the world about Scandinavia's largest country.

(The programme is to be repeated several times over the weekend.)

Which is to be followed by the first part of Before the Frost starring Krister Henriksson as Wallander and the late Johanna Sallstrom as his daughter Linda:

New policewoman Linda Wallander is waiting for her first big case at Ystad police station and her father, Inspector Kurt Wallander, is getting on her nerves. When her childhood friend Anna mysteriously disappears she is thrown in at the deep end and soon needs her father's help on a fascinating and very dangerous investigation.

(Details of repeats and part 2 are not yet shown on the on-line schedule.)

UPDATE: Part 2 of Before the Frost is on BBC4 - Monday 8th Dec at 10pm.

Ken's going to be busy...

Not only was it recently announced that Kenneth Branagh is to play C J Sansom's Shardlake then news comes via Digital Spy that he's also taking on the role of Kurt Wallander:

Kenneth Branagh has landed the role of a Swedish detective in a new BBC drama series.

The actor-director will play Kurt Wallander in the £6m production, based on the novels of Swedish writer Henning Mankell.

The 47-year-old will film three 90-minute episodes of Wallander, which is set in the town of Ystad in the Scandinavian country.

He told Broadcast magazine: "Wallander is a wonderfully complex and compelling character and I am excited to be playing this fascinatingly flawed but deeply human detective."

Producer Andy Harries said: "This is more than just a detective series. It's fantastic drama, great stories and an absolutely beautiful setting. Visually these films are going to be very strong. Ken Branagh is perfect for the title role."

The books depict Wallander as a detective in his fifties who is beset by problems including a failed marriage, excessive alcohol consumption and diabetes. He was sued for brutality during his early career and has been known to break the rules when he feels the situation demands it.

and from The Stage:

Each 90-minute episode is an adaptation of a different book from the Kurt Wallander Mysteries. The three chosen for the BBC series are One Step Behind, Firewall and Sidetracked.