''Stella Blómkvist'' is an Icelandic crime television series which was first broadcast in 2017. It is produced by the Icelandic company

Sagafilm Sagafilm is an Icelandic production company for TV, commercials and feature films. It was founded in 1978 and is the oldest film production company in Iceland. Documentaries *Out of Thin Air (2017) *Raise the bar (2021) Films *Fish out of water ...

. The show is loosely based on books of the same title by an anonymous Icelandic writer. The series was written by Jóhann Ævar Grímsson, Nanna Kristín Magnúsdóttir and Andri Óttarsson, and directed by Óskar Thór Axelsson. After the success in Iceland the show became available in 2018 on

Viaplay Viaplay is a streaming service owned by Viaplay Group which is based in Stockholm. History Originally owned by Modern Times Group, it was launched in May 2007 as Viasat On Demand. It was rebranded as Viaplay in 2011. Viaplay released its first ...

in the

Nordic countries The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; literal translation, lit. 'the North') are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe and the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It includes the sovereign states of Denmar ...

, in 2019 on Sundance Now in the United States and in 2020

SBS Australia The Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) is an Australian hybrid-funded public service broadcaster. About 80 percent of funding for the company is derived from the Australian Government. SBS operates six TV channels ( SBS, SBS Viceland, SBS World ...

acquired the rights for broadcasting in Australia. After four years, a second season of the show premiered in Iceland on 30 September 2021 and became globally available in the months afterwards.

Synopsis

The show follows lawyer Stella Blómkvist who is called to defend a client suspected of murdering Halla, a young woman who works as an assistant for Sverrir, the Icelandic Prime Minister. Initially, the case seems pretty clear-cut, but Stella soon finds out that someone is trying to frame her client for the murder and higher powers are eager to close the case as soon as possible, to cover up their own involvement. When she receives an anonymous tip which suggests that the Prime Minister himself might have committed the murder she starts her own investigation, which leads her to uncover a web of corruption, involving Icelandic politicians and high ranking Chinese officials. In season two Sverrir has been removed from power and Dagbjört, the woman with whom Stella had an affair in season one, has taken his place as the new Prime Minister of Iceland. She has imposed strict anti-abortion laws and has transformed the country into a semi-authoritarian state. Against this grim backdrop we see Stella struggle with her break-up with Dagbjört, while continuing to solve cases for her clients as a lawyer. She tries hard to forget Dagbjört, but this appears near impossible as the political turmoil in the country forces them to work together once more.

Cast and characters

Main

Heida Reed Heiða Rún Sigurðardóttir known by her stage name Heida Reed (; born 22 May 1988), is an Icelandic actress and model. She is known for playing parts in '' One Day'', '' Jo'' (2013), '' Silent Witness'' (2014) and the BBC drama ''Poldark''. She ...

as Stella Blómkvist * Sara Dögg Ásgeirsdóttir as Dagbjört *

Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson (born 26 February 1980) is an Icelandic actor known for his roles in the TV series ''Game of Thrones'' and '' The Innocents'' and in the films ''Atomic Blonde'' and ''Alpha Alpha (uppercase , lowercase ; grc, ...

as Sverrir *

Kristín Þóra Haraldsdóttir Kristín Þóra Haraldsdóttir ( translit. Kristin Thora Haraldsdottir; born 25 February 1982) is an Icelandic actress and musician. She graduated from the drama department of the Iceland Academy of the Arts in the spring of 2007. History Afte ...

as Gunna * Þorsteinn Guðmundsson as Raggi * Steinunn Ólína Þorsteinsdóttir as Edda

Recurring

* Bjarni Snæbjörnsson as Alexander * David Yu as Guo Dai *

Sveinn Ólafur Gunnarsson Sveinn Ólafur Gunnarsson is an Icelandic stage and film actor who starred in and co-wrote 2011's ''Either Way'', Ragnar Bragason's '' Metalhead'' and Baltasar Kormákur's '' The Deep''. Career Gunnarsson stars in the film Rams which premiered ...

as Valdi * Hannes Óli Ágústsson as Haukur * Kristín Lea as Halla (s1) * Jóhann Kristófer Stefánsson as Sæmi * Hilmar Guðjónsson police agent Steini * Bing as Xi Feng *

Hanako Footman Hanako Footman (born 27 April 1994) is a British-Japanese actress and writer. She starred in the BBC Two sitcom ''Defending the Guilty'' (2018–2019). Early life Footman was born to a Japanese mother and an English-Irish father and grew up in ...

as Alba Noel (s2) * Saga Garðarsdóttir as Myrra (s2) *

Adi Ezroni Adi Ezroni ( he, עדי עזרוני; born November 16, 1978) is an Israeli actress, model, producer, and TV host. Media career She was born in Israel to a Jewish family. She served as a soldier in the Israel Defense Forces. Subsequently, Ezroni ...

as Mossad Agent (s2) * Ahd Tamimi as Nadim (s2)

Episodes

References

{{Reflist 2017 television series debuts 2010s Icelandic television series 2010s crime television series 2020s crime television series Bisexuality-related television series LGBT-related drama television series