Burning Bush (Czech Republic)
HBO’s first European drama (pictured) tells the story of Jan Palach, a student who self-immolated in protest of the Soviet occupation at the end of the Prague Spring , and the lawyer who takes up a court battle against the government that tried to smear his name. Sombre and elegantly shot, it rivals some of HBO’s best US output, and has been picked up by Channel 4’s Walter Presents strand.
NSU German History X (Germany)
In the early 00s, a spate of racially motivated killings rocked Germany. The culprits were thought to be three members of the far-right National Socialist Underground, and the trial of one of them, Beate Zschäpe, has been the most high-profile the country has seen since the second world war. This trilogy of TV films about the murders and their aftermath states that it’s a work of fiction, but it feels horribly naturalistic, offering up hard truths about the institutional forces that can incubate extremism. Each film shows a different perspective of the killings, their build-up and their aftermath, first from the perspective of the killers, then the victims and finally those investigating the crimes. It has not been picked up by a UK broadcaster, but it’s surely only a matter of time.
Baron Noir (France)
It’s been labelled the French Borgen, but you’ll do well to find anyone as principled as Birgitte Nyborg in Baron Noir. Instead, this is a tale of internecine squabbling and gross corruption, as Dunkirk mayor Philippe Rickwaert looks to gain revenge after his political mentor throws him to the wolves. While it’s not afraid to burrow down into the complex world of local government, at its heart Baron Noir is a big, brash political saga that boasts a host of morally compromised and utterly watchable characters. The series will be available on Amazon later this June.
The Out-Laws (Belgium)
Belgium has a growing reputation as a home for moody detective dramas, with series such as La Trêve (True Detective meets The Returned) and Enemi Public (a less plausible Silence Of The Lambs). For something completely different, there’s this deeply odd black comedy (pictured) in which four sisters grow tired of their brother-in-law’s monstrous behaviour and decide to do him in. Part Desperate Housewives, part Lars von Trier, it’s coming to Walter Presents this summer.
Modus (Sweden)
While it might seem as if Nordic noir has reached saturation point, this drama suggests there could be juice left in the Scandicrime sponge. Modus stars Melinda Kinnaman (half-sister to Hollywood actor Joel) as an ex-FBI agent who comes out of retirement when her autistic daughter witnesses one of a spate of serial killings, but crucially can’t articulate the identity of the culprit. It’s due to air later on BBC4 later this year.
