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British murder drama meets Nordic noir in next month's 100th-episode specialCredits
Broadcaster ITVLength 1 x 120 minutesTX 8pm, Wednesday, tbc, FebruaryProduction company Bentley ProductionsWriter Paul LogueDirector Alex PillaiProducer Louise SuttonExecutive producer Jo WrightLine producer Ian StrachanLine producer (Denmark) Deborah Bayer MarlowDirector of photography James MossProduction manager (Denmark) Emilie SteenCasting director Louise CrossProduction designer Paul BoothCommissioners Steve November; Charlie HamptonDistributor All3Media International
Neil Dudgeon, aka DCI John Barnaby, is pressing the flesh at a meet-and-greet, but he's a long way from the picturesque villages of Midsomer. On a crisp autumn afternoon, he's a fish out of water in Copenhagen's Tivoli Gardens, where his day begins with a two-hour grilling by journalists ("Is this your first time in Denmark?" "Why do you think the show is so popular here?" "My editor is a big fan. Could you sign this for her?").
Next up is a drinks party with fans from Borgen. The real-life Borgen, that is. "Maybe next time we could team Barnaby with [The Killing's] Sarah Lund?" suggests Copenhagen's deputy mayor for culture and leisure. If the cultural love-in between Scandinavia and Britain ever had a high water mark, this is probably it.
Next month, Midsomer will celebrate its 100th episode with The Killings Of Copenhagen, a one-off special in which Barnaby leaves the traditional rural killzone of Causton and Badger's Drift to pursue leads in Denmark. The series' first-ever foreign shoot has been part-funded by Danish broadcaster DR, home of The Killing, The Bridge and Borgen, with additional funding from the Copenhagen Film Fund.
The series regulars are joined by a clutch of actors from Denmark's two most famous exports, including Ann Eleonora Jorgensen (The Killing) and Birgitte Hjort Sorensen (Borgen) as a pair of Copenhagen cops who spar with Barnaby and sidekick DS Nelson (Gwilym Lee).
Unlikely mash-up
Given that DR is synonymous with searing Nordic Noir and Midsomer with light-hearted rustic whodunits, this sounds, superficially, like the most unlikely brand mash-up since Cowboys & Aliens. In fact, it's simpler than that; think of it rather as "a regular episode of Midsomer with a Danish flavour," explains producer Louise Sutton.
"We're not doing a...