Wisting (TV series)

Wisting is a Norwegian police procedural television series starring Sven Nordin as widower William Wisting, a senior police detective, and in the first five episodes, co-starring Carrie-Anne Moss as FBI Special Agent Maggie Griffin.[1]

Wisting
Genre	Scandinavian noir police procedural thriller
Created by	Trygve Allister Diesen Kathrine Valen Zeiner
Based on	The Caveman The Hunting Dogs by Jørn Lier Horst
Screenplay by	Vegard Steiro Amundsen Anne Elvedal Kjersti Ugelstad Trygve Allister Diesen Kathrine Valen Zeiner
Directed by	Trygve Allister Diesen Katarina Launing
Starring	Sven Nordin Carrie-Anne Moss Mads Ousdal Thea Green Lundberg
Composers	Ole Bo Jacob Groth Sören Möller
Country of origin	Norway
Original languages	English Norwegian
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	10
Production
Executive producers	Julia Angelin Alexander Eik Silje Hopland Eik Anni Faurbye Fernandez Jørn Lier Horst Fredrik Ljungberg Nanna Mailand-Mercado Jakob Mejlhede Matilde Nørgaard
Producer	Terez Hollo-Klausen
Cinematography	Linus Eklund Jørgen Johansson Ian N. Tomkins Håvar Karlsen
Editor	Sofia Lindgren
Running time	45 minutes
Production companies	Cinenord Good Company
Budget	€12 million
Release
Original network	Viaplay TV3 (Viasat)
Original release	April 11, 2019

Wisting is the most expensive television drama series produced in Norway. This ten episodes thriller is based on two Jørn Lier Horst novels, The Caveman (2012) and The Hunting Dogs (2013). In episodes 1–5, Wisting heads a murder investigation with FBI collaboration since the suspect is a serial killer hunted in the US. In episodes 6-10, Wisting has to defend himself against accusations of tampering with evidence in a previous murder case.[2]

Plot

A man's body is found, hidden in the snow, under a tree on a Christmas tree farm near Larvik, Norway. This is investigated by William Wisting and his team of detectives. Fingerprints link the death to Robert Godwin, an American serial killer who has been on the run for more than 20 years. He is believed to have fled to Larvik, "hiding in plain sight", having assumed the identity of a local resident. In response the FBI sends Special Agents Maggie Griffin and John Bantham to assist the Norwegian investigation. But they must keep their presence secret to avoid alerting the killer, who they fear will flee again. Wisting's daughter, Line, is a journalist writing a story about their next-door neighbour, who had died alone in his house. Unwittingly, her investigating opens up connections with the police murder investigation and she becomes a target. Line's liaison with Bantham, allowing her to discover his identity, compromises his cover. Meanwhile, the police discover the killer's principal dumpsite, the body count sharply rises and the hunt moves over the border into Sweden before Wisting and Griffin corner the killer in a dramatic climax.

Wisting appears on a national television show to discuss the Robert Godwin case. Instead he is ambushed by Philip Henden, a lawyer representing Vidar Haglund, who was jailed for 17 years in a different murder case. Now released, Haglund has always maintained his innocence. The crucial DNA evidence, placing him at the crime scene, is shown to have been tampered with, so Wisting is suspended while the investigation is carried out. Line Wisting is outraged that her father is being hounded by the newspaper for which she works and resolves to clear his name, but a murder case she is working on starts to become connected to everything else.

Cast

• Sven Nordin as William Wisting, police detective
• Carrie-Anne Moss as Maggie Griffin, FBI Special Agent
• Thea Green Lundberg as Line, Wisting's daughter, journalist
• Jonas Strand Gravli as Thomas, Wisting's son
• Kjersti Sandal as Torunn Borg, Wisting's deputy
• Mads Ousdal as Nils Hammer, police detective
• Mariann Hole as Sissel
• Lars Berge as Benjamin Fjeld, police detective
• Richie Campbell as John Bantham, FBI Special Agent
• Ulrikke Hansen Døvigen as Christine Thiis, police prosecutor
• Irina Eidsvold Tøien as Andrea Vetti, police chief
• Gard B. Eidsvold as Frank Robekk, retired police detective
• Fridtjov Såheim as Philip Henden, lawyer
• Christoffer Staib as Vidar Haglund, hunted murderer
• Lasse Vermeli as Erik, press photographer
• Jon Øigarden as Terje Nordbo, Chief Inspector, Independent Office for Police Conduct

Production

Wisting is based on two books by Jørn Lier Horst namely The Caveman (2012) and The Hunting Dogs (2013).[3] Horst is a best-selling author in Norway and has been translated into over 30 languages. Filming started in January 2018 on a 150-day schedule.[4] The adaptation was written by Trygve Allister Diesen and Kathrine Valen Zeiner. Diesen also directed episodes along with Katarina Launing.[5]

Wisting had a budget of NOK 110 million (€11.4 million). This sum incorporated a €1 million grant from Creative Europe as well as a grant of NOK 26.05 million (€2.7 million) from the Norwegian Film Institute.[4] This makes the show the most expensive drama ever produced in Norway.[6]

Release

The Norway and Sweden broadcast commenced in April 2019.[7] In the US, the series was launched on December 18, 2019 via the Sundance Now streaming service.[8] In the United Kingdom, the series was acquired by BBC Four from Banijay Rights and commenced broadcast on 28 December 2019, with two episodes being shown back-to-back for five weeks.[9][10]

Reception

The Nordic press viewed the series favourably. Stavanger Aftenblad commented that it was "intricate and riveting", Jyllands-Posten called it “a sure winner” and Aftenposten praised its “nonstop momentum”.[11]

Writing in The Wall Street Journal, Dorothy Rabinowitz found the series "seamlessly woven" and "superbly layered".[2]

Writing in UK's The Guardian, Euan Ferguson described the series as "... the best Nord-noir ever. Since the last one. What did Scandinavian film-makers think they were ever doing, 80 years of existential angst and Death playing nihilist chess, before remembering: we have crime. Coal. Snow. Blood. Fire. Cheekbones. Let’s do that."[12]

References

1. Ago, 11 Hours (2019-04-10). "Scripted Hot Pick: Wisting". TBI Vision. Archived from the original on 2019-04-10. Retrieved 2019-04-10.
2. Rabinowitz, Dorothy (12 December 2019). "'Wisting' Review: A Detective at Work". WSJ. Archived from the original on 22 December 2019. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
3. "Wisting: from book to screen". Dead Good. 2018-09-04. Archived from the original on 2019-04-10. Retrieved 2019-04-10.
4. Nikel, David (12 June 2018). "Wisting: The Next Nordic Noir Hit?". Life in Norway. Archived from the original on 22 December 2019. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
5. Keslassy, Elsa (31 January 2018). "Banijay Rights Acquires Nordic Crime Drama 'Wisting' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on 22 December 2019. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
6. Furn, Daniel (9 December 2019). "When is Wisting on TV? What's it about?". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 22 December 2019. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
7. Horst, Jørn Lier (4 September 2018). "Wisting: from book to screen". Dead Good. Archived from the original on 22 December 2019. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
8. Kanter, Jake (2019-11-06). "Sundance Now Snaps Up Carrie-Anne Moss' Norwegian Detective Series 'Wisting' In Drama Deal With Banijay". Deadline. Retrieved 2020-10-03.
9. "BBC - BBC Four acquires Norwegian drama Wisting - Media Centre". www.bbc.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2019-10-15. Retrieved 2019-10-15.
10. https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2019/bbc-four-wisting Archived 2019-10-15 at the Wayback Machine
11. "Sundance Now Announces Jan 2020 Slate". Broadcasting & Cable. Archived from the original on 22 December 2019. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
12. Ferguson, Euan (January 5, 2020). "The week in TV: Dracula, Doctor Who, The Trial of Christine Keeler and more". Archived from the original on January 7, 2020. Retrieved January 7, 2020 – via www.theguardian.com.

External links

• Wisting at BBC Programmes
• Wisting at IMDb