Jo Nesbø's Detective Hole

Norwegian television series From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jo Nesbø's Detective Hole (titled Jo Nesbø's Harry Hole in Scandinavia) is a Norwegian crime drama television series, an adaptation of Jo Nesbø's Harry Hole novels, specifically the fifth instalment The Devil's Star.

Genre
Written byJo Nesbø
Directed by
  • Øystein Karlsen
  • Anna Zackrisson
Quick facts Genre, Based on ...
Jo Nesbø's Detective Hole
Genre
Based onThe Devil's Star by Jo Nesbø
Written byJo Nesbø
Directed by
  • Øystein Karlsen
  • Anna Zackrisson
Starring
Composers
Countries of origin
  • Norway
  • United Kingdom
Original languages
  • Norwegian
  • Swedish
  • Danish
  • English
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes9
Production
Executive producers
  • Tim Bevan
  • Eric Fellner
  • Amelia Granger
  • Katy Rozelle
  • Jo Nesbø
  • Niclas Salomonsson
  • René Ezra
  • Martin Solibakke
  • Øystein Karlsen
ProducerPer Henry Borch
Running time43–62 minutes
Production companies
Original release
NetworkNetflix
Release26 March 2026 (2026-03-26)
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Premise

Harry Hole, a troubled Oslo police detective, must contend with both a horrific serial killer and his corrupt colleague Tom Waaler.

Cast

Episodes

More information No., Title ...
No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release date
1"36 Seconds"Øystein KarlsenJo Nesbø26 March 2026 (2026-03-26)
In Oslo, a young woman and her associates working in a bank are taunted with an impossible challenge of opening a bank vault within 30 seconds, as means of mental torment by a masked bank robber. When this fails, the masked man whispers in her ear a sentence which causes her to panic, before shooting her with a double-barreled shotgun. Detective Harry Hole is intrigued by the case, but his inability to solve it drives him to alcoholism, eventually killing his partner in a drunk driving accident during a car chase.
2"Ghosts"Øystein KarlsenJo Nesbø26 March 2026 (2026-03-26)
3"To Silence the Voices"Anna ZackrissonJo Nesbø26 March 2026 (2026-03-26)
4"After They Are Dead, Before They Are Cold"Anna ZackrissonJo Nesbø26 March 2026 (2026-03-26)
5"The Devil's Star"Øystein KarlsenJo Nesbø26 March 2026 (2026-03-26)
6"Five"Anna ZackrissonJo Nesbø26 March 2026 (2026-03-26)
7"Joseph's Blessing"Øystein KarlsenJo Nesbø26 March 2026 (2026-03-26)
8"The Woman in the Water"Øystein KarlsenJo Nesbø26 March 2026 (2026-03-26)
9"Duke Ellington's Piano"Øystein KarlsenJo Nesbø26 March 2026 (2026-03-26)

Hole infilrates Barli's apartment after discovering that the latter is The Courier. Barli explains how he murdered his wife in order to enact revenge for her infidelity, then killed several more people whilst leaving satanic imagery to cause police to believe a psychopathic satanist cult was the killer(s), whilst Barli's red herring allowed him to live in comfort.

Barli reveals he has kept his wife's body in a waterbed as a form of control, and that he intends to enact his own "happy ending", whilst holding Hole at gunpoint. Hole closes his eyes and expects to be shot, but Barli retreats to the balcony and commits suicide by jumping, impaling himself on a metal washing line pole, mirroring the death of Nero.

With The Courier dead, Hole tracks down Waaler to rescue Rakel's son and Aminov. Waaler states how he intends to kill them and cover it up as Hole being the guilty party, but Hole, Aminov and Oleg flee into an elevator. Waaler reaches into the moving elevator, but Hole grabs his arm and pulls him into the space between the platform, cutting off his arm. Waaler attempts to follow them, but bleeds to death.

With the case closed, Hole returns Oleg to Rakel, before declaring that they are not safe due to his line of work. He drives away, intending on destroying the black market Waaler was a pawn in and solves the masked bank robber murder from episode 1.
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Production

The series was revealed by Netflix as part of their "Next on Nordic presentation" at Stockholm in March 2024, to spotlight the company's forthcoming Scandinavian productions. It was announced that Nesbø would be adapting his own novel, reuniting with So Long, Marianne collaborator Øystein Karlsen, who signed on as director and executive producer.[1] In August, Anna Zackrisson joined the directing team.[2]

Working Title is producing the series for Netflix, with Øystein Karlsen and Anna Zackrisson as directors. Tor Arne Øvrebø is producing while executive producers are Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Katy Rozelle, Rene Ezra, Øystein Karlsen, Jo Nesbø and Niclas Salomonsson.[3][4]

Principal photography began on May 23 in Oslo.[5] Nesbø is showrunner on the series.[6] Filming began in May, and concluded in December.[7][8]

Australian musicians Nick Cave and Warren Ellis composed the series' score.[9]

Casting

In May 2024, the lead actors were revealed to be Tobias Santelmann as the titular Harry Hole, Joel Kinnaman as dirty cop Tom Waaler and Pia Tjelta as Rakel Fauke, Harry's partner.[10][11] The three stars were unveiled at a press event at Oslo's Restaurant Schrøder, a prominent location in the Harry Hole novels.[12] In August 2024, Peter Stormare, Anders Baasmo Christiansen, Ellen Helinder, Simon J. Berger, Ingrid Bolsø Berdal and Kelly Gale were amongst a number of casting additions which also included Kåre Conradi, Fridtjov Såheim and Eili Harboe.[4][13]

Release

The series was released on Netflix on 26 March 2026.[14]

Reception

Metacritic review
breakdown (unweighted)

Positive
5 (50%)
Mixed
5 (50%)
Negative
0 (0%)

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the first season holds a 91% approval rating based on 22 critic reviews. The website's critical consensus states, "Twisty, stylish, and at times gloriously grim, Jo Nesbø's Detective Hole packs enough thrills and unexpected twists to keep you hooked."[15] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 67 out of 100 based on 10 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[16]

References

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