Notes on Nordic Noir as European Popular Culture

‘Nordic noir’ has increasingly become the prevalent term in the English-speaking world when referring to contemporary crime fiction – books, television serials and feature films – from the Nordic countries. With its unexpected international appeal and unforeseen longevity, the phenomenon has been the subject of, for instance, popular guide books and television documentaries for international audiences. The cycle has also attracted academic research which recently has grown into an international field.
In this particular article, the genre, and mainly its audiovisual part, will be considered from the perspective of how it has paved the way for new and increasing financial and artistic collaboration within the audiovisual industries, not only in the Scandinavian countries, but also attracting mounting interest from mayor players from the broadcasting and film sectors in Germany, the UK and the US. Additionally, the question of why ‘Nordic noir’ exports so well while most popular culture from the region does not will be posed and discussed. After all, during the last decade or so crime fiction has developed into a major popular culture export in a way that is historically unprecedented, at least with regard to the fields of literature, film and television from the Nordic region.