Dicte: Crime Reporter (TV2 2013, Iben Hjejle, Lærke Winther)

In crime drama series Dicte, after she is divorced, crime reporter Dicte Svendsen decides to return with her teenage daughter to Aarhus, the town she grew up in. She very quickly finds that she can’t help getting a little too involved in the crimes she is reporting – in fact more often than not she is first on the scene! Dicte usually runs up against lead police investigator John Wagner (always just Wagner) and his partner Linda Bendtsen. Initially Wagner finds Dicte somewhat infuriating but by the second season there is a grudging respect there.

Dicte has a much lighter feel than many Nordic Noir series and is closer in tone to Midsomer Murders than The Killing for example. A big part of the charm of the series is the dynamic between the players. Besides the crime angle there is a strong emphasis on the personal. Dicte is a former Jehovah’s Witness who was forced to give up her baby son (which is why she left Aarhus in the first place) and the fall out from that plays across much of the first season. Ex husband Torsten is still very much on the scene but he ends up falling for Dicte’s best friend Anne. Meanwhile Dicte hereself begins a relationship with photographer Bo who also works on the paper.

In Denmark the stories are shown as two parters but elsewhere they are usually feature length.

cast
Iben Hjejle as Dicte Svendsen
Lærke Winther as Anne Skov Larsen
Dar Salim as Bo Skytte
Lars Ranthe as Torsten Svendsen
Emilie Kruse as Rose Svendsen
Lars Brygmann as John Wagner
Ditte Ylva Olsen as Linda Bendtsen
Peter Schrøder as Otto Kaiser
Ulrik Jeppesen as Christian Willadsen
Andrea Vagn Jensen as Louise Holm

crew details
Books: Elsebeth Egholm

production details
Country: Denmark
Network and Production Company: TV2 Denmark – Miso
Duration: 30×45 minutes
Aired From: 7 January 2013 – 24 October 2016