The Bridge (2011 TV series)


The Bridge is a Nordic noir crime television series created and written by Hans Rosenfeldt. A joint production between Sweden's SVT and Denmark's DR, it has been shown in more than 100 countries.
The first season begins with the discovery of a dead body at the centre of the Øresund Bridge, which links the Swedish city of Malmö with the Danish capital Copenhagen, necessitating a joint investigation. Sofia Helin, as the Swedish police detective Saga Norén, stars in all four seasons. In the first and second seasons her Danish counterpart, Martin Rohde, is played by Kim Bodnia; in the third and fourth, the Danish police officer is Henrik Sabroe, played by Thure Lindhardt.
The first season was broadcast on SVT1 and DR1 during the autumn of 2011, and on the United Kingdom's BBC Four the following spring. The second season was aired in the Nordic countries during the autumn of 2013, and in the UK in early 2014. The third season was broadcast in Denmark, Sweden and Finland during the autumn of 2015 and in the UK in November 2015. The fourth season premiered on 1 January 2018 in the Nordic countries, and was broadcast weekly on BBC Two in the UK from 11 May 2018.

Cast

Main

  • Sofia Helin as Saga Norén, lead homicide detective in Malmö
  • Kim Bodnia as Martin Rohde, lead homicide detective in Copenhagen
  • Thure Lindhardt as Henrik Sabroe, lead homicide detective in Copenhagen
  • Dag Malmberg as Hans Petterson, the Police Commissioner in Malmö, later married to Lillian
  • Sarah Boberg as Lillian Larsen, the Police Commissioner in Copenhagen, later married to Hans
  • Rafael Pettersson as John Lundqvist, IT expert for Malmö police
  • Lars Simonsen as Jens Hansen/Sebastian Sandstrod
  • Puk Scharbau as Mette Rohde, Martin Rohde's wife
  • Ann Petrén as Marie-Louise Norén, Saga's mother
  • Gabriel Flores Jair as the Malmö police pathologist
  • Henrik Lundström as Rasmus Larsson, Swedish junior police detective
  • Mikael Birkkjær as Jonas Mandrup, lead homicide detective in Copenhagen

    Recurring

Season 1

  • Emil Birk Hartmann as August Rohde, Martin Rohde's eldest son
  • Christian Hillborg as Daniel Ferbé, journalist at Aftonposten in Malmö
  • Dietrich Hollinderbäumer as Göran Söringer, property developer
  • Ellen Hillingsø as Charlotte Söringer, Söringer's wife
  • Magnus Krepper as Stefan Lindberg, social worker in Malmö
  • Maria Sundbom as Sonja Lindberg, Stefan's sister
  • Kristian Lima de Faria as Åke, Daniel's colleague
  • Said Legue as Navid, Saga's colleague
  • Anette Lindbäck as Gry, Saga's colleague
  • Fanny Ketter as Anja Björk
  • Ole Boisen as Henning Tholstrup, Martin's colleague
  • Yaba Holst as Daniel's chef

    Season 2

  • Johan Hedenberg as Axel Mössberg
  • Julia Ragnarsson as Laura Mössberg, Axel's daughter
  • Vickie Bak Laursen as Pernille Lindegaard, Danish junior police detective
  • Tova Magnusson as Viktoria Nordgren, owner of the Medisonus pharmaceutical company
  • Sven Ahlström as Oliver Nordgren, Viktoria's brother
  • Camilla Bendix as Gertrud Kofoed, chief scientist at Medisonus, Oliver's wife
  • Fredrik Hiller as Marcus Stenberg, shipping owner
  • Lotte Munk as Caroline Brandstrup-Julin, the Copenhagen EU environment summit meeting's head organiser,
  • Lotte Merete Andersen as Bodil Brandstrup, Caroline Brandstrup-Julin's sister
  • Peter Christoffersen as Julian Madsen, owner of Copenhagen IT Consulting
  • Julie Wright as Anna-Dea
  • Moritz Lützhøft as Alexander, Caroline's husband
  • Michael Moritzen as Niels
  • Dar Salim as Peter Thaulow
  • Alexander Öhrstrand as Niklas
  • Claes Bang as Claudio
  • Stephanie Leon as Mathilde
  • Jakob Oftebro as Mads
  • Ronja Svedmark as Kattis

    Season 3

  • Kirsten Olesen as Hanne Thomsen, lead homicide detective in Copenhagen
  • Maria Kulle as Linn Björkman, the Police Commissioner in Malmö
  • Katrine Greis-Rosenthal as Alice Sabroe, Henrik Sabroe's wife
  • Olaf Johannessen as Lars Andersen, Lise Andersen's husband, Copenhagen businessman
  • Sonja Richter as Lise Friis Andersen, politically active vlogger
  • Nicolas Bro as Freddie Holst, Copenhagen businessman and art collector
  • Reuben Sallmander as Claes Sandberg, self-help guru, Freddie Holst's former business partner
  • Louise Peterhoff as Annika Melander, undertaker
  • Adam Pålsson as Emil Larsson, art gallery guide
  • Sarah-Sofie Boussnina as Jeanette, a young pregnant woman
  • Anna Björk as Åsa, Freddie's wife
  • Ann Petrén as Marie-Louise Norén, Saga's mother

    Season 4

  • Mikael Birkkjær as Jonas
  • Julie Carlsen as Barbara
  • Anders Mossling as Frank
  • Fanny Bornedal as Julia
  • Iris Mealor Olsen as Ida
  • Pontus T. Pagler as Richard & Patrik
  • Erik Lönngren as Christoffer
  • Alexander Behrang Keshtkar as Taariq Shirazi
  • Lisa Linnertorp as Sofie
  • Lars Ranthe as Dan Brolund
  • Leonard Terfelt as William
  • Selma Modéer Wiking as Astrid
  • Michalis Koutsogiannakis as Theo
  • Thomas W. Gabrielsson as Niels
  • Jesper Hyldegaard as Silas Tuxen
  • Sandra Yi Sencindiver as Susanne Winter
  • Elliott Crosset Hove as Kevin
  • Lena Strömdahl as Harriet
  • Michael Asmussen as Klaus
  • Patricia Schumann as Nicole
  • Johannes Bah Kuhnke as Morgan Sonning
  • Ina-Maria Rosenbaum as Solveig

    Plot

Season 1

When a body, apparently cut in half at the waist, is discovered in the middle of the Øresund Bridge, which connects Copenhagen with Malmö, placed precisely on the border between Denmark and Sweden, the investigation falls under the jurisdiction of both the Danish and Swedish police agencies. It is not one corpse but two halves of two separate women: the upper half being that of a female Swedish politician, the lower half being that of a Danish prostitute. The socially awkward Saga Norén from the Malmö police homicide department and Martin Rohde from the Copenhagen police homicide department lead the murder investigations.
Martin has had a vasectomy. August, the nineteen-year-old son from his first marriage is now living with Martin and Mette, his current wife, with whom Martin has three children. Mette discovers that she is expecting another set of twins. Saga lives alone and rather than have serious relationships, she prefers to pick up men in bars for casual sex. Her poor social skills, her difficulty in empathizing and her inability to channel her emotions make her appear cold, insensitive and blunt but she is completely honest and forthright in all aspects. In the course of the investigation, Martin and Saga develop a close working relationship.
The investigation quickly escalates as a journalist, Daniel Ferbé, whose SUV was used in the crime, found rigged with a bomb timer getting attention, begins receiving phone calls.
The caller, who becomes known as the "Truth Terrorist", claims to be committing crimes in order to draw attention to various social problems. A social worker, Stefan Lindberg is an early suspect; his estranged sister Sonja is a poisoning victim. Working together, the Danish and Swedish police conclude that the killer must have a connection with them. After the killer has murdered several people, his true motivation begins to seem personal. They discover that he has been planning his campaign for a period of several years. In the midst of the investigation, Martin has an affair with one of the victims of the Truth Terrorist during a home visit. This affair reaches Mette, who ousts Martin from the Rohde residence.
The ties between all the Truth Terrorist's targets are pinpointed to Jens Nielsen, an ex-Danish police officer who had supposedly killed himself. Jens is still alive, masquerading as Mette's colleague under false pretences and plastic surgery. Several years earlier, his wife cheated on him having an affair with Martin. Jens has meticulously crafted a plan of revenge for Martin, using his disguise and subsequent crimes to get closer to his family. The death of Jens's wife and children on the bridge in an accident leads Jens to believe that Martin is to blame. Jens kidnaps Mette and Martin's children, forcing Martin to try to save them. In Denmark, Saga uncovers that the real target is August, who Jens catfishes to gain access to information about the case and his location. Jens kidnaps August and traps him in a coffin. A standoff occurs between Martin and Jens on the bridge. Saga arrives. Martin asks her to tell him that August is alive, but August has been killed. Upon hearing this, Martin is prevented from killing Jens when Saga shoots both of them. Jens is finally arrested, with Martin left grieving in hospital. With the case closed, Saga drives to Sweden.

Season 2

Season two starts 13 months later.
A coaster veers off course and hits the Øresund Bridge. When Saga arrives, there is no crew- just three Swedes and two Danes below deck, chained and in poor condition. Although Martin has gone through a nervous breakdown following his son's death, she arranges for him to be assigned to the case. Two new officers join the investigation, Rasmus and Pernille from Sweden and Denmark, respectively. After the victims on the coaster die from pneumonic plague, a viral video appears in which four disguised eco-terrorists claim responsibility for the incident. They embark on further attacks, including blowing up a petrol tanker and distributing poisoned food. As the police close in on the group, they are all found dead in a shipping container, thus raising the question of whether there are other terrorist cells or a larger group. When Rasmus is found to have obstructed the investigation under false pretences after a visit to the eco-terrorist hideout, Hans ousts him from the investigation.
The keynote speaker of an upcoming EU climate conference in Copenhagen is one of those killed by poisoning. Caroline Brandstrup-Julin, the head of the conference, appoints Viktoria Nordgren, head of the Medisonus pharmaceutical company, as his replacement. While arranging the congress, Caroline's sister Bodil is asked by Oliver Nordgren, Viktoria's brother and a shareholder of Medisonus, whether she would be willing to write Viktoria's biography; Viktoria has been diagnosed with cancer and has about six months to live.
During the retrieval of a sunken boat, seven corpses are found inside. The owner of the boat is Marcus Stenberg. The investigation discovers the identities of the dead and finds that some of them had previously been volunteers in medical studies undertaken by Medisonus, but who had gone missing. The company's security chief tells them that a possible industrial spy gained access to their headquarters.
Bodil and Viktoria meet to discuss the content of the biography. Oliver, who lives in the house opposite to his sister's and has secretly installed cameras in her house, watches them make love. When Viktoria asks Oliver to keep out of her life, he confesses that he is responsible for the eco-terrorist acts. When he tries to kill her, Oliver's wife Gertrud arrives to save Viktoria and kills Oliver. The police assume that Oliver acted alone as the ringleader of the plot, but Saga then turns up further evidence that there must be at least one more accomplice.
The police pathologist shows that two of the dead bodies found earlier contain a deadly virus, which causes internal bleeding and becomes airborne once the victim's blood escapes the body; Saga and Martin guess that Gertrud has developed the virus and infected Viktoria with the intent of spreading it at the EU conference. They manage to alert Caroline and command her to evacuate the building and turn off the ventilation. Eventually, the police arrive at the conference and begin searching for the dying Viktoria. She is eventually discovered in a bathroom by Pernille, who handcuffs her to a pipe to help contain her. Before she can leave, however, Viktoria starts coughing blood, infecting Pernille with the virus. As the area is contained, Martin and Saga communicate with Pernille over the radio, and as Viktoria dies painfully, Pernille decides not to go the same way and commits suicide with her gun. Meanwhile, Gertrud drives to a secluded warehouse where she shoots a video and is chastised by an unidentified man who then executes her for the failure of her plot.
Martin, in an attempt to get over the death of August, begins visiting Jens in prison, to try to get through to him. He is satisfied when he sees that his visits have made an impression, and Jens begins to feel remorse for his crime. When Martin moves back in with his estranged wife Mette, ready to start again, she admits that she no longer loves him. A distraught Martin blames Jens and begins to suffer renewed symptoms of paranoia. Saga hears that Jens has died in prison, apparently a suicide, and suspects Martin of having poisoned him, using the poison he stole from Oliver. The season ends as Martin is arrested, apparently as a result of her intervention, whilst Saga looks on longingly as the friendship between them disappears before her eyes.