Lines across genres in Danish tv-series

Since Forbrydelsen (2007-12, English title: The Killing) was aired in the UK on BBC4 in 2011, Danish TV drama has been enjoying unprecedented success with the British audience (Bauer et al. 2013; Stougaard-Nielsen 2016). Further, following up on the TV-series, a wide selection of books on Denmark and Danish national culture have been published in the UK (Kingsley 2012; Booth 2014; Russell 2015; Higgins 2016). There is no doubt that the British reception paved the way for a broader international attention to Danish TV series (Esser 2017; Hansen & Waade 2017, 208) – to Danish culture, and further to Nordic productions and culture. But how are such constructions of Danish national culture interwoven with the Danish TV-series? That is what this article sets out to answer, prompted by the recent great interest in both categories in the UK.