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The Investigation: Ethics and Depth in True Crime Storytelling

The Investigation: How Danish TV Redefined True Crime Ethics

A six-part series on the Kim Wall murder investigation becomes a masterclass in responsible storytelling

By
Susanne Sperling
May 26, 2025 at 10:00 PM★ IMDb 6,4

In September 2020, Danish broadcaster TV2 premiered *Efterforskningen* (*The Investigation*), a six-part miniseries that would redefine how true crime narratives approach real tragedy. Directed by Tobias Lindholm, the series examines the police investigation into the death of Kim Wall, a 30-year-old Swedish journalist whose 2017 disappearance shocked Scandinavia.

Unlike conventional true crime storytelling, *The Investigation* makes a deliberate choice: it never shows the victim's body, never depicts the murder, and never dramatizes the perpetrator. Instead, it follows Chief Inspector Jens Møller Jansen, portrayed by Søren Malling, as he leads the investigation alongside Police Investigator Maibritt Porse (Laura Christensen) and Special Prosecutor Jakob Buch-Jepsen (Pilou Asbæk). The series grounds itself in procedural detail—forensic analysis, sonar navigation, environmental factors—while maintaining a respect for the human cost of violent crime.

This approach struck a chord internationally. When the BBC broadcast the series in January 2021, *The Independent* called it "a masterclass in respectful true crime storytelling." HBO and HBO Max made it available to US and international audiences starting February 1, 2021. The series went on to win Denmark's Robert Prize for best TV series in 2021, recognition that extended beyond Scandinavia to reflect growing appetite for ethically grounded crime narratives.

What distinguishes *The Investigation* is its narrative architecture. Rather than sensationalizing the case, the series emphasizes police sincerity and procedural integrity—values deeply embedded in Danish institutional culture. There is no corruption, no bureaucratic villainy; instead, there are detectives working within systematic frameworks, pursuing truth through forensic evidence and methodical investigation. The series gives substantive voice to Kim Wall's parents, Joachim and Ingrid Wall (played by Rolf Lassgård and Pernilla August), who supported their daughter's journalism career and later founded a trust to support female journalists. Their presence in the narrative shifts the emotional center away from the crime itself toward the lives disrupted by loss.

The investigation itself involved sophisticated forensic work and environmental analysis. Body parts recovered from the Øresund strait required coroner's reports and scientific interpretation of how water conditions affected decomposition. Rather than exploiting these details for shock value, the series uses them as evidence—the language of how detectives actually solve cases. This commitment to factual accuracy, grounded in verified investigation records, ensures the series remains close to what happened rather than what makes compelling television.

The real perpetrator, Peter Madsen, an inventor, confessed to the crime. Prosecutors built their case methodically, seeking maximum sentencing by establishing motive and elevating the charge beyond simple homicide. The series, however, refers to him only as "the accused," refusing to grant the kind of notoriety that often accompanies true crime coverage. This restraint may seem unusual in a cultural moment when crime narratives frequently center perpetrators, but it reflects a philosophical stance: that victims and investigators deserve the narrative focus, not those who commit violence.

*The Investigation* arrives at a moment when international audiences and critics are increasingly questioning the ethics of true crime consumption. Series like this one suggest an alternative path—one where rigorous storytelling, procedural authenticity, and respect for victims' families can coexist with compelling drama. By anchoring itself in Danish institutional values of duty and integrity, and by maintaining emotional and narrative restraint, the series demonstrates that true crime need not exploit tragedy to engage audiences.

For viewers accustomed to sensationalized crime narratives, *The Investigation* offers something different: the genuine complexity of how justice systems work, the human weight of investigation, and the quiet dignity of remembering victims not as plot devices but as people whose absence matters.

**Sources**

https://www.kriminyt.dk/medier/serier/efterforskningen-etik-og-dybde-i-true-crime-fortlling

https://series.unibo.it/article/download/12483/12981/48857

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_p8bVDwECjo

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