The Investigation: How Danish TV Redefined True Crime Ethics
A six-part series on the Kim Wall murder investigation becomes a masterclass in responsible storytelling
In September 2020, Danish broadcaster TV2 premiered *Efterforskningen* (*The Investigation*), a six-part miniseries that would redefine how true crime narratives approach real tragedy. Directed by Tobias Lindholm, the series examines the police investigation into the death of Kim Wall, a 30-year-old Swedish journalist whose 2017 disappearance shocked Scandinavia.
Unlike conventional true crime storytelling, *The Investigation* makes a deliberate choice: it never shows the victim's body, never depicts the murder, and never dramatizes the perpetrator. Instead, it follows Chief Inspector Jens Møller Jansen, portrayed by Søren Malling, as he leads the investigation alongside Police Investigator Maibritt Porse (Laura Christensen) and Special Prosecutor Jakob Buch-Jepsen (Pilou Asbæk). The series grounds itself in procedural detail—forensic analysis, sonar navigation, environmental factors—while maintaining a respect for the human cost of violent crime.
This approach struck a chord internationally. When the BBC broadcast the series in January 2021, *The Independent* called it "a masterclass in respectful true crime storytelling." HBO and HBO Max made it available to US and international audiences starting February 1, 2021. The series went on to win Denmark's Robert Prize for best TV series in 2021, recognition that extended beyond Scandinavia to reflect growing appetite for ethically grounded crime narratives.
What distinguishes *The Investigation* is its narrative architecture. Rather than sensationalizing the case, the series emphasizes police sincerity and procedural integrity—values deeply embedded in Danish institutional culture. There is no corruption, no bureaucratic villainy; instead, there are detectives working within systematic frameworks, pursuing truth through forensic evidence and methodical investigation. The series gives substantive voice to Kim Wall's parents, Joachim and Ingrid Wall (played by Rolf Lassgård and Pernilla August), who supported their daughter's journalism career and later founded a trust to support female journalists. Their presence in the narrative shifts the emotional center away from the crime itself toward the lives disrupted by loss.
