CONTEXT

• The Killing is a very popular critically acclaimed 2007  Danish TV detective drama series originally called Forbrydelsen which is Danish for ’the crime’. It is about the hunt for a young woman's killer. 
• The series was unusual in that it featured a strong female police detective called Sarah Lund.

  The character of Sarah Lund resists traditional objectification of women

  by not being depicted in a sexual way for the male gaze(Laura Mulvey)in that she does not wear short skirts or tight revealing clothing. Sarah Lund even became famous for wearing the big woolly jumper which became a much sought after fashion item!
• The show is set in Denmark, Copenhagen.
• The good reviews were followed by direct engagement  from the entertainment section of the Newspaper who chaired an online forum and full series episode guide. The Guardian felt that it’s educated ABC 1 target audience demographic would enjoy the series due to its gripping story,Danish culture and strong performances from its cast.
• The Killing was produced by the Danish national public service broadcaster(PSB) D R in partnership with the German public service broadcaster Z D F in 2007. 
• The series was sold by Z D F to the BBC to be broadcast in the UK on BBC 4 in 2011.
• Its success meant that it would eventually be remade by US TV and shown on Netflix. It has been sold to the international global market to over 120 countries and won numerous international awards. 
• The British Broadcasting Corporation is a public service broadcaster. This means it is paid for in a license fee by the British public
• The national Danish issues correlate to the UK's national issues:

  Violence against women,

  Equality in the workplace and 

  Family life including 

  Single parenthood.

  high levels of immigration,

  impact of crime on families and 

  corruption in politics. 
• The Killing reflects the social and cultural contexts of the modern professional woman in modern day Europe eg Sarah Lund highlighting the difficulties of combining work life with the challenges of being a single parent.
• FILM NOIR

  The use of a dark film noir visual style is used throughout including:-

  DRAMATIC SHADOWS

  NIGHT TIME

  LOW KEY BLACK & WHITE LIGHTING

  HARSH CONTRAST

  It is intriguing and suspenseful. The chase at the start uses this style because it is shot in the dark with lots of shadows. It is full of semiotic meaning with Barthe's enigma codes and signifiers.
• REPETITION & DIFFERENCE IN GENRE THEORY

  STEVE NEALE

  The Killing follows many of the expected standard elements of the crime genre:-

  CODES & CONVENTIONS

  These standard codes and conventions of TV Crime Dramas include elements such as a Detective hunting a killer. The structure of The Killing is reassuring and predictable even when dealing with difficult subject matter e.g. the Police will follow the clues/evidence and eventually solve the mystery and eventually catch the criminal which fits in with Steve Neale's theory about repetition in genre. 
• REPETITION IN GENRE

  (Standard Codes & Conventions)

  Police Procedure 

  Detective Work

  Guns

  Murder 

  Violence 

  Female Victim

  Multiple Suspects

  Mystery

  Clues
• DIFFERENCE IN GENRE

  Female Police Detective

  Long Form Drama

  Film Noir Style

  Danish Setting

  Subtitles 

  Multiple Story Strands:-

  Family Impact

  Political Intrigue
• Detective Sarah Lund subverts the female stereotype in television crime dramas by being the lead detective in a murder case. Sarah is brave intelligent and determined. She takes action and exhibits all the characteristics of a male lead detective. 
• LONG FORM DRAMA

  The differences in genre in The Killing are that the series is a long form drama set over 20 episodes which each episode covering 24 hours of the same crime investigation(rather than a different crime every week).
• THE DEBATE ABOUT VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

   

  The series features a female victim of rape and murder objectified by being dressed in her underwear and covered in blood and this inevitably opens up the discourse or debate raised by feminists about excessive violence against women in society and in the TV crime genre disguised as popular entertainment.
• Sarah Lund is working as chief police investigator which challenges the patriachy.
• Sarah Lund can therefore be seen as an aspirational role model for women being professional, intuitive, isolated, single parent, independent
• FOREIGN LANGUAGE CRIME DRAMA

  The Killing was the catalyst  for the distribution of foreign language crime programming on UK television. The series kickstarted he popularity of what became known as the Scandi or Nordic Noir genre in the UK as well as the popularity of the American inspired long form series boxset in the UK.

  Its unexpected success influenced BBC 4's scheduling but also that of other UK channels who now regularly show foreign language dramas on other UK channels such as Channel 4,Sky and Netflix.
• T R X 

  New very recent developments in foreign television programme distribution include T R X which means The Rights Exchange and this is a new global online deal-making tool that enables TV rights buyers and sellers from around the world to connect and complete licensing deals entirely online.