# The Investigation (2020)

> A Copenhagen homicide unit grinds through a slow, methodical hunt for the killer of a Swedish journalist.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/92079

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 6
- Episode runtime: 42 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: crime, drama
- Created by: Tobias Lindholm
- Network: TV 2
- Cast: Søren Malling, Pilou Asbæk, Pernilla August, Rolf Lassgård, Laura Christensen, Dulfi Al-Jabouri, Hans Henrik Clemensen, Henrik Birch
- TMDB rating: 7.5/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9112152/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: slow
- Intensity: moderate
- Complexity: accessible
- Violence: mild
- Tone: restrained, melancholic, grounded, patient, understated

## What critics say

Viewers find the Danish true-crime miniseries restrained and realistic, praising its quiet lead and procedural authenticity while finding it slow and frustrating for some.

## Synopsis

The Investigation (2020) is a Danish national-television crime miniseries created by Tobias Lindholm for TV 2. Across six 42-minute episodes, Copenhagen Police's Homicide unit, led by detective Jens Møller (Søren Malling), works the murder of Swedish journalist Kim Wall, a real case that was still fresh in the news when the show aired. Jakob Buch-Jepsen (Pilou Asbæk) and Maibritt Porse (Laura Christensen) help carry the investigation, while Pernilla August and Rolf Lassgård play the victim's grieving parents, Ingrid and Joachim Wall. The engine of the story is procedural: warrants, computer searches, court appearances, and the slow accumulation of witness statements, with each episode built from the frustrating small steps that real detective work demands. The show is a limited series, a single season of six episodes. Its tone is restrained, grounded and melancholic, with a quiet atmosphere rather than shouting or manufactured tension. Set in present-day Copenhagen and the surrounding Danish landscape, it sits within the Nordic crime tradition. Fans of The Killing, The Bridge and Mindhunter will find resonance in its patient, realistic approach to a true-crime investigation.

## Shows like The Investigation

- [Those Who Kill (2011)](https://ember.film/tv/39407)
- [The Nurse (2023)](https://ember.film/tv/141144)
- [Dicte (2013)](https://ember.film/tv/46416)
- [Blood Sacrifice (2026)](https://ember.film/tv/1104896)
- [Unit One (2000)](https://ember.film/tv/11107)
- [DNA (2019)](https://ember.film/tv/78914)
- [Death of a Pilgrim (2013)](https://ember.film/tv/46709)
- [The Eagle: A Crime Odyssey (2004)](https://ember.film/tv/2729)
- [Darkness: Those Who Kill (2019)](https://ember.film/tv/74334)
- [When the Dust Settles (2020)](https://ember.film/tv/83174)

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