Shetland Star Douglas Henshall Leads Gripping Six-Part Nordic Noir Thriller The Darkness
Fans of atmospheric crime dramas have another dark mystery to add to their watchlist, with Shetland star Douglas Henshall taking on a very different role in the gripping six-part Nordic noir thriller The Darkness.
The 2024 series moves Henshall far away from the character that made him familiar to BBC crime drama viewers. Instead of playing Shetland detective Jimmy Pérez, the Scottish actor portrays Petur, a widowed neighbour whose own life has been marked by devastating loss.
At the centre of the story is veteran Reykjavik detective Hulda Hermannsdóttir, played by Lena Olin, who is approaching what is expected to be the final investigation of her career.
Her retirement plans are dramatically interrupted when the frozen body of a young Russian asylum seeker is discovered inside a glacier.
Rather than quietly stepping away from the force, Hulda becomes determined to uncover the truth behind the woman’s death.
Hulda’s final investigation becomes deeply personal
Based on Ragnar Jónasson’s bestselling thriller series, The Darkness follows Hulda as she investigates a case that quickly proves far more complicated than it first appears.
She is joined by her new partner Lukas, played by Endeavour star Jack Bannon, as the pair begin following a trail that takes them into increasingly disturbing territory.
Their investigation eventually uncovers links to a human trafficking operation exploiting refugees, giving the case a much wider and more sinister dimension.
But Hulda is also battling painful events in her own life.
The death of her daughter continues to haunt the detective, adding another layer of grief as the investigation becomes increasingly dangerous.
The six-episode English-language production was directed by Lasse Hallström and filmed in Iceland, giving the series an unmistakable Nordic noir atmosphere.
Its remote locations and bleak landscapes become almost as important to the mood as the investigation itself, surrounding Hulda with an environment that feels as isolated as the case she is trying to solve.
Douglas Henshall steps into an understated role
For viewers accustomed to seeing Henshall as the determined DI Pérez, his role in The Darkness offers a striking change of pace.
Petur is Hulda’s neighbour and a member of her walking group. Like Hulda, he has experienced profound loss, having been widowed and left to rebuild his life.
Rather than placing Henshall at the heart of the police investigation, the role gives him a quieter presence within Hulda’s increasingly troubled world.
The cast also features Björn Hlynur Haraldsson, Þorsteinn Bachmann and a number of Icelandic performers.
A slow-burning mystery with a bleak atmosphere
One of the biggest draws for viewers is the series’ setting.
The stark Icelandic scenery provides a suitably chilling backdrop to the investigation, with vast wintry landscapes reinforcing the sense of isolation surrounding the characters.
The drama also takes its time developing Hulda and the people around her, allowing the central mystery to gradually become more complicated.
Viewers have praised the performances, particularly the gritty and believable portrayals that give the characters greater depth as the story unfolds.
The slow-building tension has also been highlighted, with the investigation continuing to gather momentum while Hulda’s personal struggles become increasingly difficult to separate from her professional life.
That combination of an intricate mystery, troubled characters and an unforgiving landscape gives The Darkness the distinctive atmosphere associated with Nordic noir.
Six episodes make it an easy weekend binge
With only six episodes, The Darkness offers a relatively compact mystery for viewers looking for something they can work through over a weekend.
The series follows Hulda from the discovery of the body through the increasingly complicated investigation. The first episode is titled The Mountain of Pigs, while the final instalment is So Eden Sank to Grief.
For fans of Henshall, the series provides an additional reason to tune in. Petur is markedly different from Jimmy Pérez, allowing the actor to explore a much more understated character shaped by grief and loss.
The series stars Lena Olin as Detective Inspector Hulda Hermannsdóttir, Jack Bannon as Lukas and Douglas Henshall as Petur. It was directed by Lasse Hallström and adapted from Ragnar Jónasson’s The Darkness.
Watch The Darkness for free
The Darkness is currently available to stream for free on All4, giving crime drama fans an opportunity to discover the six-part thriller without committing to a lengthy series.
For anyone drawn to Nordic noir, the ingredients are difficult to miss: a troubled detective, a frozen body, a mystery that grows darker with every revelation and the haunting Icelandic landscape surrounding it all.
And for Shetland viewers, seeing Douglas Henshall step away from Jimmy Pérez and into the quieter role of Petur offers a particularly compelling reason to give this atmospheric thriller a watch.