Nordic film and TV blockbusters to watch out for in 2026

By Anders Lorenzen

Even though there is still one month left of 2025, it is fair to conclude that the year was rich in Nordic Film and TV content. We are dedicating the last column of 2025 to looking ahead and exploring the releases to anticipate in 2026.

Swedish crime drama, The Case

Hopping across the border but staying with Netflix, The Case is a new Swedish crime series. The plot is based around the highly regarded Lead Investigator Thomas Berg, who is on the hunt for a serial killer. In the wake of a series of brutal murderers targeting his police colleagues, Berg takes on a desperate gamble, turning to a once well-regarded but now out of favour, misanthropic ex-detective for help: his estranged father. Now, they must work together and put aside their personal differences if they are to stand any chance of protecting their fellow police officers and catching one of the worst serial killers in Swedish history.

Sara Khorami heads up the cast in new Norwegian medical drama

First up, Netflix has announced what it says is its first-ever Nordic medical drama. It is early in the production stage as casting is still underway; hence, there is no title yet. What we do know is that Norwegian Sara Khorami leads the main cast, and Netflix expects it will land on its platform in the autumn of 2026.

The storyline in the show centres around the surgeon Sofia (Khorami), who is sent into an emergency ward to save her own career; the chaotic environment is the last place she wants to be. There, she encounters disorder, resistance, and something she never expected: warmth, community…and love. Suddenly, she faces a choice: continue alone on her path to the top or become part of something greater.

Netflix, Emergency Room. Photo: Einar Aslaksen

The Chestnut Man returns for anticipated series two

The wait for season two of the harrowing Danish drama series The Chestnut Man (Kastanjemanden) is almost over, as it is slated for release in February 2026. Even though it was renewed for a second season all the way back in 2024.

Firstly, it is worth noting that season 2 is a standalone season and not related to the storyline in season 1. In The Chestnut Man, series one, which was released in 2021, we witness the discovery of the murder of an entire family on an isolated farm in 1987. More than 30 years later, in present-day Copenhagen, a young woman is found murdered in a playground, her left eye cut out and one of her hands missing. The detectives investigate whether there could be a link between these two cases. Even though we are only months away from the release, Netflix has not released any information on the storyline, but we do know that The Killing star Sofie Gråbøl is a confirmed member of the cast.

Back to Norway – Jo Nesbø’s iconic detective Harry Hole is coming to Netflix in 2026. The series is based on The Devil’s Star, the fifth instalment in Nesbø’s bestselling crime series, where the troubled Oslo detective faces a gruesome serial killer while also confronting his corrupt colleague, Tom Waaler. The nine-episode drama will premiere on Netflix in 2026, though an exact release date has yet to be announced.

Disney+ releases its first Nordic features on the back of the Nordisk Film partnership

A partnership deal struck earlier this year between Disney’s streaming platform Disney+ and Nordisk Film will see a total of 90 Danish, Norwegian, Swedish and Finnish new feature films added to the platform, with the first arriving as soon as the autumn of 2026. It includes titles such as the Danish comedy Klassefesten 4, the Swedish comedy Grannfejden, and the Norwegian drama The Murder of Benjamin (Drapet på Benjamin Hermansen).