# The Killing (2011)

> A Seattle homicide detective and her new partner spend a season chasing a single murder while the city's politics and a grieving family's pain close in around them.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/31678

## Facts

- Seasons: 4
- Episodes: 44
- Episode runtime: 46 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: crime, drama, mystery
- Created by: Veena Sud
- Network: AMC, Netflix
- Cast: Brendan Sexton III, Mireille Enos, Annie Corley, Joel Kinnaman, Gregg Henry, Joan Allen, Kristin Lehman, Sterling Beaumon
- TMDB rating: 8.3/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1637727/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: moderate
- Tone: melancholic, bleak, brooding, contemplative, intense

## What critics say

Viewers broadly rate The Killing as an acclaimed, character-driven crime drama, praised for its slow-burn investigations and lead performances, though its audience ratings held steady rather than climbing across seasons.

## Synopsis

The Killing (2011-2014) is an American crime drama series created by Veena Sud for AMC, later streamed on Netflix, and adapted from the Danish series Forbrydelsen. Across four seasons and forty-four episodes, it follows homicide detective Sarah Linden (Mireille Enos), who is preparing to leave the force, and her new partner Stephen Holder (Joel Kinnaman), a restless investigator with a troubled past. Each season is built around one murder case, most famously a teenage girl's death, which keeps the two detectives chasing leads through the wet streets of Seattle while grieving families and suspicious officials stand in their way. Annie Corley and Brendan Sexton III round out the principal cast as figures tied to the investigations. The series is a serialized, case-driven slow burn, with a patient, melancholic pace that lingers on interrogations, dead ends and the emotional toll on the people left behind. Its atmosphere is bleak and rain soaked, a grey palette of overcast streets and tense interiors. Fans of Broadchurch, The Wire and Forbrydelsen will find resonance in its moody, character driven approach to a single long investigation.

## Shows like The Killing

- [100 Code (2015)](https://ember.film/tv/55319)
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- [Eric (2024)](https://ember.film/tv/137773)
- [The Fall (2013)](https://ember.film/tv/43993)
- [Wisting (2019)](https://ember.film/tv/75013)
- [The Outsider (2020)](https://ember.film/tv/72074)
- [Those Who Kill (2014)](https://ember.film/tv/55419)
- [Dept. Q (2025)](https://ember.film/tv/161456)
- [The Bridge (2011)](https://ember.film/tv/40896)
- [American Rust (2021)](https://ember.film/tv/77708)

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