This Dark Scandinavian Crime Drama Is Your Next International Netflix Obsession

With Borderliner, Netflix delves even further into the depths of crime mystery narratives. But this new drama sets itself apart from similar stories. The Scandinavian Borderliner focuses on a police officer who covers up a murder for the good of his own family, according to the official Netflix description, but things turn dicey after his partner becomes suspicious. It's definitely an intriguing premise, so will Borderliner return for Season 2 on Netflix?

Right now it seems like there's no official word from the original network, Norway's TV2, on whether this saga will continue — though Decider.com notes that the show is "only eight episodes," signaling that this could be a one-and-done deal. Regardless of whether it'll continue — and if Netflix will again carry it for international audiences — fans have definitely been eating up the show so far, if Twitter is to be believed. It could be seen as an especially good sign that Borderliner, which premiered on March 9, is well-received among American audiences. The Netflix original series is entirely in Norwegian, which could have potentially made it more difficult for Americans who aren't fans of subtitles to become sucked in.

The series hasn't only been heralded on social media as one of the more intriguing additions to the streaming service — it's also been hailed by critics. Newsweek's Andrew Whalen called Borderliner "the perfect introduction to Scandinavian noir," and says that this genre veers from what U.S. viewers may be used to in American 1950s noir classics in favor of a more "high-pressure police procedural."

Newsweek also noted that this genre hearkens back to the Girl With The Dragon Tattoo series, both in terms of setting and tone. Given how successful that series was among American audiences, it'd be no surprise if fans let Borderliner guide them even further into the genre. Other outlets have given the show similar praise after its release — Meghan O'Keefe of Decider.com called Borderline "elegantly beautiful and extremely tense" in the article linked above, and wrote that it "seeds important details so subtly that you’ll likely want to go back rewatch scenes to make sure you don’t miss clues." The A.V. Club also praised the series as its top pick out of Netflix's recent additions, so Borderliner is off to a good start as far as media attention. And that means that even more viewers might give it a shot even if it hasn't necessarily been on their radar ahead of its debut.

Another aspect of the show that viewers seem to appreciate is the fact that the protagonist, Nikolai (Tobias Santelmann), is a gay man. The fact that his sexuality is simply one aspect of his character, but not one that's necessarily a defining plot point, is something some viewers have said they appreciate. Twitter has been buzzing with praise not just for this point, but for the show overall. It's exciting to see viewers become so invested in something that is so off the beaten path for shows American audiences would typically marathon, and could open the door down the line for Netflix to invest even more in these compelling stories created around the world.

It seems that subscribers are always ready for more crime thrillers on Netflix, and the streaming service certainly has no shortage of the genre in its repertoire. Between originals like Ozark, Mindhunter, and Narcos, and other network shows that Netflix has carefully cultivated like Broadchurch, its Americanized Gracepoint, and countless others — Borderliner is in good company. Audiences just can't seem to get enough of the genuine anxiety and intensity these shows offer, and when you get wrapped up in a narrative as compelling as these, marathoning is really the only way to do it. Hopefully, more episodes of Borderliner will be available in good time.