August 10th, 2017, Swedish journalist Kim Wall boarded a privately built submarine built by a Danish man for an interview and cruise in the harbor. She never returned and the next day the submarine had sunk, and its designer rescued from the water. What unfolded next became an international case and the subject of the limited series The Investigation.

Focusing nearly entirely on the Danish Police investigating Wall’s disappearance The Investigation takes the unusual approach of never having the subjects of that investigation,
either Wall or the suspect Peter Madsen appear in the series. Aside from Wall’s parents the focus is fixed squarely on Jens Jansen the lead detective and his team as they attempt to discover the truth behind Madsen’s continually changing story.

The Investigation does an excellent job of portraying the meticulous work of investigating a crime and slowly building a case element by elements when critical pieces are missing from the puzzle. While Jensen and his home life are the elements that are intended to give the limited series a ‘character arc’ I found them far less compelling than the actual work of solving the case, the multi-national team assemble to do it, and the extraordinary lengths required.

Like The Wire this series is not about cops and robbers in gun battles but rather on the actual work, day to day, and the frustrations of good police work.

The Investigation is streaming on HBOMax.