Over the years Nordic Noir has given us The Killing, The Bridge and of course The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Scandinavian crime thrillers have introduced a dark, brooding quality to the genre that has captivated audiences worldwide, both in the original versions and in the English adaptations. Those qualities are also paramount in Wallander, the BBC series based on the novels by Swede Henning Mankell. The “existential” detective Kurt Wallander is played by Kenneth Branagh who earned one of his four Golden Globe nominations for that role (in 2008). Asked about the allure of crime in a northern clime, the actor told the HFPA “there's something about the severity of the weather that is very gripping and isolating. The environment is often very scary but magnificent. I enjoy a poetic dimension and larger themes that spaciousness of the northern land seems to make possible.” Wallander: The Final Season, comprised of three episodes, begins airing on May 8 on the PBS anthology series Masterpiece Mystery!