Thursday March 30, 2023
Nasir Dhagole (L) plays "Twenty-Four" and Malin Levanon (R) plays Tilda Renström in the SVT series "Detective from Beledweyne". Photo: Niklas Maupoix / SVT
Stockholm (HOL) - Swedish public television broadcaster SVT has unveiled a new character-driven crime drama, "The Detective from Beledweyne," which uniquely blends humour, personal development, and the challenges of migration. The six-part series stars Malin Levanon as Tilda Renstrom, a fired ex-prosecutor working as a case officer at the Migration Agency, and Nasir Dhagole, a Somali theatre actor in his first film role, as "Twenty-Four," an asylum seeker with a keen eye for solving crimes.
The unlikely duo teams up to solve the mystery of a missing girl near a refugee detention center. Tilda, eager to regain her former position as a prosecutor, takes advantage of the Somali refugee's Sherlock Holmes-like investigative genius, while Twenty-Four sees an opportunity to remain in Sweden. Meanwhile, police officer Mats Drevild (played by Christopher Kamiyasu) is suspicious of Tilda's newfound success in crime-solving and seeks to expose her incompetence.
The series has received praise for its fresh approach to the crime genre, balancing a heavy seriousness with a humorous tone. The show's producers, led by scriptwriter Aron Levander, aimed to create a character-driven crime drama that explores the personal development and challenges of the main characters while shedding light on the Swedish migration system. Nasir Dhagole, like his character, is originally from Somalia and is currently active in the Gothenburg theatre scene.
Dhagole, making his TV debut, found the role both exciting and challenging. He stated that he could relate to his character's experiences as an immigrant in Sweden and believes that many others will recognize themselves in "Twenty-Four."
"When I got into the script, it felt quite complicated, but I also felt that his story was very important and needed to be told. I was affected by similar feelings when I first came to Sweden. You are not a tourist, but you are terrified of returning to your home country."
"The detective from Beledweyne" premiered on March 10 and airs every Friday at 9 pm on SVT.