As the season begins, Luc and his friends are faced with a crisis: Anna-Maria is missing! Luc’s criminal instinct leads him to Anna-Maria’s hometown of Morgenthal, where he slowly uncovers the Giovanoli family’s darkest secrets. When a Boy Scout troop discovers a female corpse whose mutilations resemble those of an earlier victim, Luc has to ask himself a horrifying question: Is Anna-Maria being held captive by a serial killer?

He heads to the Giovanoli family home to find answers…

Actor/comedian Mike Müller returns as Luc Conrad, a former police detective turned funeral home director whose investigative instincts always get the better of him. These days his job is to comfort and console the bereaved, but as soon as Luc starts to suspect foul play his inner sleuth takes over. Lucky for Luc, he’s got a great support team at home – Erika Bürgisser, manager of the Conrad Institute funeral home and an old friend of Luc’s late father, and Fabio Testi, undertaker’s assistant, amateur gardener, avant-garde musician and proponent of fine Goth fashion. Filmed in the breathtakingly beautiful northern Swiss canton of Aargau, The Undertaker serves up equal helpings of sinister mystery, quirky comedy and heartfelt drama. Together, Luc and his friends make sure that no murder goes unsolved – and that anyone entrusted to their care definitely leaves a good-looking corpse!

Visit our The Undertaker micro-site here.

This summer marks 20 years since production began on the long-running Swedish police procedural Beck, and to celebrate this milestone MHz Choice presents a series of brand-new interviews with the cast!

First up is Kristofer Hivju – the newest member of the Beck team! Kristofer is best-known to US audiences as Tormund Giantsbane in Game of Thrones, and you’ll be seeing a lot of him on the big screen in the next few years too! In this interview, Kristofer talks about how his character, Steinar Hovland, is a “Viking in a police uniform” – and why Steinar and Martin Beck make such a great team.

Watch every episode of Beck only on MHz Choice – start with Kristofer’s first episode (#32) or from the very beginning – whatever you do, just watch!

He’s the dutch uncle you’d love to have – experienced, concerned, insightful. Sven Wollter plays retired police detective Van Veeteren in the series based on the bestselling novels by Håkan Nesser. Set in the fictional city of Maardam, a scandi anytown with names that even sound Dutch, the series explores themes we’ve come to expect from the Swedes – dysfunctional families, religious fanaticism, child abuse, suicide. But it doesn’t have the edgy feel that some of the Scandinavian Noir titles do. It’s got a measured, thoughtful pace and musical scoring that make the crimes seem like beautiful tragedies.

As the series begins, Van Veeteren plans his new life as a used bookstore owner and is about to pick up his son from prison release. He’s saying goodbye to young colleagues Münster (Thomas Hanzon) and Moreno (Eva Rexed), newly positioned to move up the ranks as lead investigators. They last about two seconds without him, of course, and in the subsequent days make a beeline to his bookstore to pick his brain about difficult cases. Over a bottle of dark ale, they get his perspective on investigating, human nature and their own lives. It’s more than talk, however – we end up seeing him in action through flashbacks and the times when he’s asked for or pushes himself into cases.

What makes Van Veeteren so watchable is the humanity of the central character. He’s generous and big-hearted, with blind spots as big as his best qualities. He’s relentless when working a case, he doesn’t always know when he’s pushed someone too hard, and his father’s heart has trouble letting his son go. Similar to Wallander, the Van Veeteren episodes are about more than individual cases – they’re about the art of police work and the heartbreak of fatherhood. He is perhaps the most likable of our Scandinavian crime protagonists.  Van Veeteren was one of the very first MHz DVD releases almost a decade ago, and we’re delighted to be able to add this much-loved show to the ever-growing MHz Choice library.

Ready for another summer spritzer? The hit mystery series Bulletproof Heart features effervescent megastar Gigi Proietti, who’s entertained Italian audiences for decades. He began as a TV and film actor in the 1960s and shot to stardom in 1976 with a one-man comedy show, Look at Me, Please, which made him a household name. Americans might know him from US films such as The Appointment and A Wedding. He’s also had an illustrious theatrical career and has been the voiceover dubbing artist for actors like Robert De Niro, Sean Connery, Sylvester Stallone, Richard Burton, Richard Harris, Dustin Hoffman, Charlton Heston and Marlon Brando.

Bulletproof Heart takes place in a print newsroom, creating a nostalgic feel and a gentle screwball sensibility. Solid writing and a delightful ensemble cast bring forth riffs on journalism, aging, the joys of Italian food and the perils of love and family life. The cast even includes Gigi’s real-life daughter Carlotta Proietti, who pipes up as a minor comic character in the newsroom. The luminous Francesca Inaudi plays his daughter in the series, and if you think you’ve seen police chief Enrico (Giovanni Scifoni) before, you have. He played Vivaldi’s son Stefano in Inspector Vivaldi Mysteries, and guest starred in Don Matteo.

As the series begins, investigative reporter Bruno Palmieri is facing retirement when one last story captures his interest. So he’s back in the game, looking into what might have been a wrongful conviction. He lives in the same apartment building as his protective son, a cardiologist, and harbors a secret longing for a woman he loved years ago. That woman’s daughter ends up working on the paper with Bruno, which brings him across the path of his former love, reigniting their spark, etc. The comedy and romance take off from there.

The name of the series refers to Bruno living for 30 years with a bullet in his lodged in his heart, put there by an unknown shooter. It’s caused him to live carefully for three decades – too carefully, perhaps. In this scene, he’s trying to talk sense to his daughter-in-law, Giovanna, who’s locked herself in her room because of a few of her own fears.

Bulletproof Heart is an unabashed valentine to Rome – from the sumptuous aerials in the opening credits, to the transition shots between scenes and the references to Roman dishes. It’s got surprises like Bruno’s standup routine at the end of each episode, or the funny dialogue between him and his photographer friend Fiocchi, played by Italian comedian Marco Marzocca. The two of them together are a comedy act of their own – talk about nonverbals.

Summer’s not over yet, folks. Let’s keep the party going!

Below is an excerpt from Proietti’s one-man show, Look at Me, Please, in which he did a routine about how Americans sound to Italians.

In 1973, Guillou and a fellow reporter gained fame for exposing a secret military intelligence organization in Sweden. Three decades later, a tabloid newspaper accused Guillou of having been a KGB collaborator in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. Guillou confirmed that he’d had contacts with the KGB during that period, but said they were part of his work as a journalist. Regardless of that controversy, Guillou’s background provided an authentic basis for his first Hamilton novel, published in 1986; eleven more Hamilton novels followed over the next two decades.

The books were an instant success, and it didn’t take long for them to be adapted for both the big and small screen. Stellan Skarsgård starred as Hamilton in a pair theatrical releases starting in 1989, but the big breakthrough came the following year with an eight-part TV series…

The Tatort franchise recently produced its 1000^th episode, starring one of its most popular detectives, Klaus Borowski (Axel Milberg). His popularity comes as no surprise to MHz Choice viewers, who got a good, long look at his odd self in the first season of Tatort: Borowski. Season 2 brings more of Klaus’ unique brilliance, paired with a physical and social awkwardness that seem to work against his getting together with in-house psychologist, Frieda Jung.

Besides their very human and interesting detectives, the Tatort series also bring sass into their portrayal of various German regions and neighboring countries. In the upcoming episode Tango for Borowski, beautiful Finland is presented as a primitive, scary, backwoods, ends-of-the-earth kind of place. Of course, Borowski gets stuck there on a mission, and we get to watch him writhe in the Land of the Midnight Sun. Which for him, is the Land of No Shut-Eye.

Another classic aspect of the Tatort series is its retro theme song, unchanged from the early ‘70s. It was composed and performed by the amazing German saxophonist Klaus Doldinger, who also scored hit films such as Das Boot and The Neverending Story. We all know the Tatort theme from the opening and closing credits, but that’s just the first 45 seconds. Here’s the piece in its entirety. Klaus Doldinger plays a Hohner Klavinet using a heavy wah-wah effect, Udo Lindenburg (who went on to become Germany’s first German singing rockstar) on drums and Lothar Maid on bass (who later played in seminal krautrock band Amon Düül II). Check out the groove around 1:10 in –

There’s been heated debate in Germany about changing the theme song, but sanity seems to have prevailed and it will remain unchanged. You can also catch Klaus Doldinger (age 81) as he tours internationally with his band, Passport. He’s still rockin’ what he wrote almost 50 years ago.

This summer marks 20 years since production began on the much-loved Swedish police procedural Beck, and to celebrate this milestone MHz Choice presents a series of brand-new interviews with the cast!

Rebecka Hemse gained fame for her role as Martin Beck’s daughter Inger when the very first Beck film premiered two decades ago. She’s worked steadily since then, on stage and screen, and today she is renowned as one of Sweden’s most accomplished theater actors. We caught up with Rebecka backstage at the Royal Dramatic Theater in Stockholm shortly after she finished filming her scenes for the four new Beck movies, which will premiere in 2018. In this interview, Rebecka talks about “freaking out” at her audition, getting sentimental working with Peter Haber and how watching Beck is a cozy Sunday night family tradition in Sweden!

Watch every episode of Beck only on MHz Choice – and stay tuned for more of our exclusive interviews with the cast and crew!

His other films include the expansive historical epic I Am Dina (2002), a stylistic precursor of sorts to 1864, and the Danish thriller Just Another Love Story (2007), which stars Beck actress Rebecka Hemse. Bornedal recently announced that his next film will be a sequel to the original Nattevagten – reuniting him with his old colleague Kim Bodnia!

In this 2014 interview, Bornedal talks about the genesis of 1864, the challenges of setting up Danish TV’s biggest-ever production, and what the legacy of the war of 1864 means to the Danish people today.

Ready for another Roman holiday? Season 2 of Bulletproof Heart brings back the merriment with Gigi Proietti and the gang. The only addition is newspaper editor, Gabriele (Massimo Poggio), who’s replaced the scheming vixen, Renzoni and bounced her back to the newsroom. Besides Proietti’s starpower, Bulletproof Heart also features a terrific ensemble of established comic and dramatic actors, many of whom MHz Choice viewers have seen in other series. There’s one comic actress new to the MHz Choice library, however – Luciana De Falco, who plays the court records librarian, Wanda. Most episodes have a scene in which Bruno (Proietti) has to sweet talk Wanda into letting him see court records without the requisite paperwork. Always painful for him, and delicious to watch!

1864 | Miniseries

This eight-hour miniseries, billed as the most ambitious and expensive in Danish television history, is anchored around two brothers who fight in the bloody battle at Dybbøl Mill. But it’s really about how the war of 1864 shaped Danish history. The pilot begins with a group of bored students on a field trip and then flashes back to tell the stories of those who fought at the site they are visiting. As the focus shifts between contemporary Denmark and the events leading up to the war that creator Ole Bornedal claims “defines contemporary Denmark,” we are invited to contemplate how much can change in 150 years—and the role that institutions have in shaping or resisting that change. For those unfamiliar with European history, the series is both educational as well as engaging. Content advisory: The pilot episode contains a moderate amount of profane and obscene language; young boys experiment with masturbation.

— Kenneth R. Morefield

In this dark and suspenseful four-part miniseries, Helena Bergström (the original Annika Bengtzon) plays Maja Silver, an inspector with the Stockholm police department who returns to her hometown in the Swedish Bible Belt in an attempt to reconnect with her daughter. Their family reunion is interrupted by a terrible discovery as an emaciated girl is found dead on a highway. When another local girl disappears, Maja finds herself embroiled in an intense search for the truth. The investigation leads her to a charismatic preacher who holds mysterious sway over his flock – but as the search for the missing girl intensifies, it becomes clear that many in the community have their own secrets…

“Missing depicts what happens when fear takes hold of a small community, where everyone has their own secrets.”

– Director Colin Nutley

Director Colin Nutley’s first TV drama in almost two decades is a family affair: Nutley and his wife Helena Bergström have a long history of collaboration, and this time they are joined by their daughter Molly Nutley, a rising young talent who made a big impact as Kim in Thicker Than Water. In Missing, Molly plays Becky, Maja Silver’s estranged daughter, and the scenes between real-life mother and daughter crackle with tension and electricity.

The distinguished cast also includes Johan Widerberg, who steals every scene he’s in as the Svengali-esque Pastor Stein, and Samuel Fröler (who played Johan Falk’s buddy Sven in Executive Protection) as the father of the missing girl.

Also of note is the music: equal parts blues, country and gospel, composed and performed by Swedish singer-songwriter Daniel Norgren. Norgren’s been making waves in Europe for almost a decade, and his very first US tour kicked off in September 2017. Influenced as much by American movies as by the Swedish countryside where he grew up, Norgren records his songs on a lo-fi four-track with home-made instruments, adding thick layers of eerie atmosphere to the proceedings – as you can hear in the trailer, which features the standout track ‘Mean Old Devil Got On’.

Scandinavian audiences enthusiastically greeted Missing when it premiered in January 2017 – it set a new streaming record for Swedish TV channel C More, shattering the previous record held by the last season of Beck! So get ready to immerse yourself in a brand-new Scandinavian mystery… and get ready to meet Ziggy, we think you’ll dig him too!

Missing premieres October 3rd – only on MHz Choice!

In the sweeping epic set in Victorian London, star-crossed lovers Maisie and Hugh meet as children through wretched circumstances and never forget each other. They travel wildly divergent paths: Maisie grows up as a London street urchin, and Hugh becomes the scion of the Pilaster banking dynasty. They meet again as young adults across the canyon of an economic divide.

It’s a German production, so get ready for the sight and sound of German actors portraying Londoners (a la Donna Leon’s Brunetti in Venice and Homicide Unit Istanbul in Turkey). Here’s a special treat: Axel Milberg from Tatort: Borowski plays Samuel Pilaster, Hugh’s ostracized, homosexual uncle. Do not miss his character’s attempt at singing 34 minutes into part 2. For Milberg fans, another memorable moment.

If you enjoyed the novel, prepare yourself for a restructuring of the story, with different emphases and parts omitted. Whereas the book establishes the relationships between Hugh, Solly, Edward and Mickey as boarding school classmates, the TV production drops that and presents the foursome as as adults. The novel is more about murder, whereas the television production emphasizes love and intrigue.

However, taken on its own terms, A Dangerous Fortune packs a wallop. Fast-paced and witty, with social themes that would please Dickens, it sweeps you into the world of London streets, Victorian banking, ruthless villains and characters undone by their own blindness. It stars British heartthrob Dominic Thorburn as Hugh Pilaster and Dutch actress Laura de Boer as Maisie. Their chemistry pops, making the love story satisfyingly wrenching. And if you notice Thorburn doesn’t seem to be speaking German… you’re right. He’s saying his lines in English and was dubbed by a German voice actor.

So grab a scone, get the Kleenex handy and jump in. As kind-hearted Solly asks Maisie in part 1, “Do you believe in love?”