''Bäckström'' is a Swedish television crime drama series, which was broadcast on
C More Film from 23 March 2020. It is based on
Leif G. W. Persson's book series about police inspector Evert Bäckström.
An American TV series, ''
Backstrom'' (2015), is based on the same character,
but transposed to
Portland, Oregon
Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...
. For the Swedish show Evert is depicted by
Kjell Bergqvist,
across three seasons of six episodes each. Season one's action is largely set in Stockholm and its surroundings,
filming began in
Gothenburg
Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...
in March 2019 with and directing three episodes each.
Sjöberg was also the main scriptwriter with .
Assisting in each season are Evert's colleagues Ankan (), Toivonen (
Pekka Strang), Kristian (
Filip Berg), Adam () and Peter ().
Evert mentors his upstairs neighbour Edvin ().
During the first season, which is based on Persson's ''Kan man dö två gånger?'' (English: ''Can You Die Twice?''), Evert's team investigate the death of Jaidee (
Sandra Yi Sencindiver), who supposedly died in
Thailand
Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
during the
2004 Asian tsunami.
However, Edvin found Jaidee's skull, with a bullet hole, on a Swedish island.
Evert has to contend with various suspects, including his celebrity TV rival, the lawyer Tomas (
Jens Hultén), scout leader Haqvin (
Johan Widerberg) and Jaidee's husband Daniel (
Linus Wahlgren
Linus Carl Henrik Wahlgren (born 10 September 1976) is a Swedish actor. He is the son of actors Christina Schollin and Hans Wahlgren and brother to actors and singers Pernilla Wahlgren, Pernilla and Niclas Wahlgren. He has also appeared in a few ...
). Season two, based on ''Den sanna historien om Pinocchios näsa'' (2013, English: ''The True Story of Pinocchio's Nose'') has Evert discovered at Tomas's murder scene.
Besides solving that crime, Evert searches for a unique child's toy and musical box, shaped as
Pinocchio
Pinocchio ( , ) is a fictional character and the protagonist of the children's novel, ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'' (1883) by Italian writer Carlo Collodi of Florence, Tuscany. Pinocchio was carved by a poor man named Geppetto in a Tuscan vil ...
, while obscuring its significance from his colleagues and evading his enemies.
The third season is based on Persson's characters with its action mostly set in
Palma de Mallorca
Palma (, ; ), also known as Palma de Mallorca (officially between 1983 and 1988, 2006–2008, and 2012–2016), is the capital and largest city of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of the Balearic Islands in Spain. It is ...
(Palma), Spain. Besides solving a local murder, Evert hopes to resolve the historical murder of his first love, Sally.
Premise
Season one:
In mid-2019 Edvin brings a human skull to Evert, which he found on Ofärds Island. Toivonen wants Evert to investigate an armoured car robbery but Evert refuses: he only does homicides. Ankan takes on the robbery case while also assisting Evert. When Evert brags on national TV to his rival, Tomas, that the robbery is simple, he annoys both Ankan and Toivonen. The latter appoints Hanna to supervise Evert. Toivonen also assigns injured policemen, Olsson and Olzzon, to assist Evert. With Peter's help Evert find's the rest of the skeleton inside an overgrown root cellar – it has been there for eight years. DNA analysis determines that the remains belong to Jaidee. However, Nadja has discovered that Jaidee died during the
2004 Asian tsunami, in Thailand. Jaidee's corpse was identified by her husband Daniel and her DNA checked by a Swedish police team led by Hanna's father.
Edvin suspects his scout leader Haqvin and finds photos: one shows Haqvin yachting with Jaidee, another links Daniel, Haqvin and Tomas. Evert starts a relationship with publicist Tina. After visiting Thailand, Evert believes that Jaidee and Daniel formed a threesome with bar girl Jada. When Jada died in the tsunami, Daniel and Jaidee used the opportunity for insurance fraud. Thereafter Jaidee posed as Jada. By mid-2011, Jaidee wanted to leave Daniel. Tomas advised Daniel to stop Jaidee as they would both face fraud convictions. Tina betrays Evert to her Russian mafia debt collectors, who want him to stop investigating their robbery. Although wounded, Evert survives the encounter. According to Evert, Daniel shot Jaidee, dumped her corpse on Ofärds and disposed of the rifle in a nearby sea trench.
Season two
Evert suspects Tomas of working with Tina and the Russian mafia. In a drunken state, Evert barges into Tomas's home waving his gun but he discovers Tomas is dead. He goes to the drinks cabinet, where he finds
Pinocchio
Pinocchio ( , ) is a fictional character and the protagonist of the children's novel, ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'' (1883) by Italian writer Carlo Collodi of Florence, Tuscany. Pinocchio was carved by a poor man named Geppetto in a Tuscan vil ...
hidden in a wine box. He puts it back and returns to the lounge. Evert notices bullet holes and, with a cloth, picks up another gun. Adam and Kristian enter. He orders them to call in Ankan and Peter. The team analyse the crime scene, shots were fired but Tomas was beaten and strangled. Toivonen removes Evert from this investigation as he had threatened his rival earlier. Ankan appointed to lead. Evert consults Gurra about Pinocchio, which is a unique
Fabergé-designed children's musical box owned by
Nicholas II and said to be cursed. Its estimated worth is
SEK 300 million. Evert decides to hide information about Pinocchio, while tracking down its previous owners. Evert's first suspect, Hans, who was assaulted by Tomas, dies when he falls from his upper storey onto Evert's taxi. Hans's phone shows he was being threatened.
Personal trainer Martin helped transfer Russian icons and Pinocchio for Tomas. He asks Ankan for help but she is sidetracked by girlfriend Carla throwing a surprise birthday party. Martin is attacked and hospitalised. Gurra tells Evert that a Finnish noble family were previous owners of Pinocchio. Evert and Toivonen fly to
Helsinki
Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...
to meet Sigge and his bodyguard Aapo. Evert deduces they confronted Tomas in his home. Tomas shot at them. Aapo and Tomas fought, Tomas was left injured and the Finns departed without the musical box. Ankan suspects Evert is lying about Pinocchio. Russian henchman Boris sends threatening messages to Evert. Ankan and Evert investigate art dealer "Dubrovnik", who accepted offer from Tomas to buy the artefact. Evert misdirects Ankan and Carla. He approaches the seller who drives off. Adam and Kristian discover a stolen bike, which leads to Tomas's recently acknowledged child, Nike. Evert and Ankan determine that Tomas's domestic partner killed him and stole Pinocchio. Ankan recovers it but hands it to Evert. Evert delivers it to Boris's boss Ivan. Boris is about to shoot Evert, but he is saved when Tina kills Boris.
Cast and characters
*
Kjell Bergqvist as Evert Bäckström: homicide detective inspector, TV celebrity show ''Spanning'' (English: ''Reconnaissance'') panellist, has unsurpassed success in solving cases, disparages superiors, colleagues and rivals
* as Annika ”Ankan” Carlsson: Evert's former protégé, serious crimes unit detective, Evert's second-in-charge
*
Pekka Strang as Pentti Toivonen: Finnish-ancestry, raised in
Södertälje
Södertälje ( , ) is a Urban areas in Sweden, city in Stockholm County, Sweden and seat of Södertälje Municipality. It is also a part of Stockholm urban area, Greater Stockholm Metropolitan Area. As of 2020, it has 73,872 inhabitants. Södert� ...
, Stockholm Police Chief, Evert's and Ankan's boss
*
Filip Berg as Kristian Olsson: uniformed police transferred to Evert's unit, attempts to woo Ankan
* as Adam "Olzzon" Oleszkiewicz: uniformed police transferred to Evert's unit
*
Małgorzata Pieczyńska as Nadja Högberg: Russian-born forensic pathologist
* as Peter Niemi: crime scene investigator, forensic scientist. Separates from wife
* as Edvin Kostić: Slobodan's son, Evert's neighbour and protégé, amateur sleuth,
sea scout. Attempts to reconcile Evert and Tina. Holidays with Evert in Palma
* as Clara Nord: police detective, Ankan's love interest, Nationella operativa avdelningen (English:
National Operations Department) (NOA) agent, separated from Ankan, jailed as murder suspect
*
Jens Hultén as Tomas Eriksson: high society lawyer, ''Spanning'' panellist, Evert's rival. Killed in season 2 (seasons 1–2)
*
Helena Bergström as Teresia "Tussan" Carlsson: Ankan's mother, Eugene's love interest. Returns to Palma, Miguel's lover, becomes Evert's lover (seasons 2–3)
*
Helen Sjöholm
Marie Helen Sjöholm (; born 10 July 1970) is a Swedish singer, actress and musical theatre performer who lives in Gamla Enskede in Stockholm. She grew up in Sundsvall and started to sing in choirs at an early age, working, among others, with Sw ...
as Tina Bonde: celebrity
manager
Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...
, including Gurra, Tomas and Evert; becomes Evert's love interest until she betrays him. Saves Evert's life by killing Boris, jailed. (seasons 1–2)
* as G Gurra (Gustav G:son Henning): high society collectables broker, Evert's associate, star of TV show ''Antique Dealers'' (seasons 1–2)
* Arbi Alviati as Boris Borovskij: Russian mafia, "Tsar" Ivan's henchman. Killed by Tina (seasons 1–2)
* Lisa Lindgren as Programledare ''Spanning'' (English: ''Reconnaissance'' presenter) / Lisa Kvarnström: host of celebrity TV show, ''Spanning'' (seasons 1–2)
* as Sven "Nudeln" Severin (English: "Noodle" Severin): Lost property officer, demoted for accusing Evert of theft. Dubbed "Noodle" by Evert after he seduced Sven's wife. Seeks revenge against Evert (seasons 1–2)
* as Unge Evert (English: Young Evert): nine-year-old boy, Sally's neighbour and best friend; finds her corpse (seasons 2–3)
Season one only
*
Livia Millhagen as Hanna Hwass: former Financial Crimes Unit, Deputy Chief Prosecutor appointed to lead Evert's investigation, Erik's daughter
*
Linus Wahlgren
Linus Carl Henrik Wahlgren (born 10 September 1976) is a Swedish actor. He is the son of actors Christina Schollin and Hans Wahlgren and brother to actors and singers Pernilla Wahlgren, Pernilla and Niclas Wahlgren. He has also appeared in a few ...
as Daniel Johnson: Foreign Affairs diplomat, aspirant ambassador, Jaidee's husband, Tomas and Haqvin's friend
*
Sandra Yi Sencindiver as Jaidee Kunchai/Jada Jing:
Thai-born, Swedish resident, Daniel's wife. Declared dead from December
2004 Asian tsunami in Thailand. Actually killed in mid-2011. Assumed "Jada Jing" identity after tsunami until her death
*
Johan Widerberg as Haqvin Furuhjelm: inherited fortune from his arms dealer father, completed law degree, sailor, Edvin's scout leader, Daniel and Tomas's former friend
* Johan Kylén as Gerhard Rönndahl: MiMi's husband, restaurateur
* Vee Vimolmal as Naphaporn: restaurant chef, Gerhard's love interest
* Victor Gadderus as Slobodan Kostić: Edvin's father
* Staffan Göthe as Erik Hwass: Hanna's father, former head of
National Criminal Police, which supervised identification of Swedish tsunami victims
* Sahajak Boonthanakit as Akkarat Bunyasarn:
Bangkok
Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...
police Chief Inspector, assists Evert
* Hanna Ullerstam as Anna: Daniel and Jaidee's accountant
* Lars Andersson as Roland "Stålis" Stålhammar: former policeman, Evert's contact
Season two only
* as Jannicke Svenzon: news reporter
* as Martin Hansen: personal trainer, Sanna's foster brother and accomplice
*
Malin Crépin as Sanna Svärd: lawyer, Martin's foster sister, Tomas's colleague and domestic partner
* as "Dubrovnik": art dealer, offers to buy Pinocchio
* as Ronny "Eugene": aspiring writer-poet; Tussan's love interest
*
Michael Segerström as Cornelius: lawyer, Tomas's colleague
* Sergej Merkusjev as "Tsar" Ivan: Stockholm Russia mafia boss, pursues Pinocchio
*
Peder Falk as Baron Hans Ulrik von Comer: art dealer, king's former friend, Tomas's associate, rival for Pinocchio
* Vega Distner as Sally: eleven-year-old girl, Evert's childhood friend, murdered
* as Lucy Nyström: Nike's mother, electric bike owner
* Adja Krook as Nike Nyström: Lucy and Tomas's daughter, connects with Tomas in his last months
* Jaqueline Ignacio as Ms Anoo: Tomas's major creditor
* as Hannes Nyström: Lucy's husband ''Note: Robin is the father of Elvis Stegmar who portrays Edvin''.
Season three only
* as Xenia Wall: NOA boss, supervises
Palma undercover operation
* Thea Sannert as Sally: Evert's friend, murdered (Note: second actress to portray same character)
* Srdjan Nedzipovski as Miguel Romero: Palma-born, undercover policeman, Tussan's clandestine lover
* Mira Lydahl Bodell as Alice: Peter's daughter, befriends Edvin, Spanish-speaking
*
Léonie Vincent as Jennifer "Eliza": Xenia's undercover agent in Albert's gang as Iris's driver, Lisa's clandestine lover
*
Görel Crona as Iris Gripensköld: Sally's cousin, reclusive Palma resident, works with nephew Albert
* Mattias Silvell as Karl Mellerud: Swedish celebrity chef, money launderer, drug dealer, works with Albert
*
Lia Boysen as Beatrice: Tussan's Swedish-born friend, funds Tussan's golf club project
* Kjell Wilhelmsen as Lasse K: money launderer, works for Beatrice
* Panos Koronis as Detective Morales: Palma's police, investigates Miguel's murder
* Yannis Kokiasmenos as Padre Buñuel: local priest, Miguel's confidate
* Nikos Poursanidis as Ricardo Costa: Miguel's cousin, runs nightclub as front for money laundering and drug dealing
* as Conny Stångberg ( Radić): Former gangster, Stockholm lawyer, restaurant owner, buys restaurants soon after they were blown up
* Christoffer Aigevi as Albert Örn ( Orel (Czech); Eagle (English)): Swedish-born drug lord, based in Palma, works with his aunt Iris
* Carita Ivanova as Elizabeth "Lisa" Radić: Södertälje-born to
Czech
Czech may refer to:
* Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe
** Czech language
** Czechs, the people of the area
** Czech culture
** Czech cuisine
* One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus
*Czech (surnam ...
parents, Conny's sister, shot in back by Orel (English: Eagle), Jennifer's clandestine lover
* Maria Nefeli Douka as Ana Costa: Ricardo's wife
Production
''Bäckström'' was produced by
Yellow Bird Productions for
C More and
TV4 in co-production with
Film i Väst and
ARD Degeto.
Banijay Rights distributed the series internationally. The first season's directors are Jonathan Sjöberg and Amanda Adolfsson. Sjöberg is also the main scriptwriter while Dennis Magnusson has co-written two of episodes. Georgie Mathew is the producer. It consists of six episodes, based on
Leif G. W. Persson's books ''Kan man dö två gånger?'' (2016) (English: ''Can You Die Twice?'') and parts of '' Den som dödar draken'' (2008) (English: ''The One Who Kills the Dragon''). It was filmed in Gothenburg and Bangkok.
Second season of six episodes was directed by Andreas Öhman and Manuel Concha with three each.
Filming began in early 2021 in Gothenburg and Stockholm.
It is based on Persson's book, ''Den sanna historien om Pinocchios näsa'' (2013) (English: ''The True Story of Pinocchio's Nose'').
Scripts were co-written by Magnusson and Sjöberg.
Reception
Joel Keller of ''Decider'' reviewed ''Bäckström'' season one and praised Bergqvist's portrayal of the titular character, "
otas a crank or a grump but as a guy who is fascinated with murder, thinks finding out who killed a person is one of the most important things to do, and seems to have an overall lust for life."
Keller also considered Stegmar's role of Edvin, "a bit of a precocious snot-nose, but the kid is the only character besides Bäckström that has any sort of personality."
''What She Said Talk''s Anne Brodie also considered it, "a nifty, new detective series" and observed that Bergqvist's character's "hidden talent, believe it or not, is empathy... He 'feels' situations that sometimes lead him to clues."
Episodes
Season one
Season two
Season three
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Backstrom, 2020 TV series
2020 Swedish television series debuts
2020s crime drama television series
Swedish drama television series
Swedish-language television shows
Television shows set in the Balearic Islands
Television shows set in Bangkok
Television shows set in Stockholm
TV4 (Sweden) original programming