# Backstrom (2015)

> A brilliant but insufferable Portland detective returns from disgrace to lead a special crime unit while battling his own self-destructive streak.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/45680

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 13
- Episode runtime: 60 min
- Status: Canceled
- Genres: crime, drama
- Created by: Hart Hanson
- Network: FOX
- Cast: Rainn Wilson, Beatrice Rosen, Dennis Haysbert, Genevieve Angelson, Kristoffer Polaha, Page Kennedy, Thomas Dekker, Ever Carradine
- TMDB rating: 7.4/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2099034/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: moderate
- Complexity: accessible
- Violence: moderate
- Tone: cynical, abrasive, wry, bleak, darkly comic

## What critics say

Audience reception is modestly positive, with the lead's abrasive charm praised while the series' rating sits in the middle range.

## Synopsis

Backstrom (2015) is an American crime drama series created by Hart Hanson for FOX, adapted from the books of Swedish criminologist Leif G.W. Persson. Rainn Wilson stars as Detective Lieutenant Everett Backstrom, a brilliant, profane and deeply abrasive cop who returns from a five-year exile in the traffic division to lead Portland's newly formed Special Crime Unit. His engine is a double struggle: he must solve each grim case while failing, again and again, to rein in his own self-destructive behavior and his contempt for nearly everyone around him. Beatrice Rosen plays Detective Nadia Paquet, and Dennis Haysbert plays Detective Sergeant Almond, the colleagues who must work alongside him. Across thirteen one-hour episodes in a single season, the show tracks the unit's most sensitive and serious investigations, with each case offering a fresh puzzle and a fresh opportunity for Backstrom to alienate the people he needs. Set in present-day Portland, Oregon, the series has a rain-soaked, wry and cynical tone, mixing bleak crime material with dark humor and a grudging sense of professional loyalty. Fans of Monk, Sherlock and the Nordic-inspired Wallander will find resonance in its prickly genius and procedural rigor. The show was canceled after its single season.

## Shows like Backstrom

- [Fallet (2017)](https://ember.film/tv/62526)
- [Dept. Q (2025)](https://ember.film/tv/161456)
- [Huss (2021)](https://ember.film/tv/100609)
- [Terriers (2010)](https://ember.film/tv/30735)
- [Life (2007)](https://ember.film/tv/3612)
- [The Hunters (2018)](https://ember.film/tv/71605)
- [Stumptown (2019)](https://ember.film/tv/75872)
- [100 Code (2015)](https://ember.film/tv/55319)
- [Alex (2017)](https://ember.film/tv/63174)
- [Motive (2013)](https://ember.film/tv/41986)

---

Site overview: https://ember.film/llms.txt