We close the year with the US premieres of sixteen new Euro TV programs and seasons in December, including the highly-anticipated return of Beck.
To see the complete list of Euro TV shows available in the US and UK, see the Euro TV Shows by Language section. Viewers in the US can check the ongoing updates of titles released throughout each month on the Euro TV Viewing Guide page.
All programs listed below are shown in their original language with English subtitles, except where noted. Trailers may or may not have English subtitles; for those without, you should still be able to get a sense of the story through the visuals and program descriptions.
NATIONAL PREMIERES
Crimes Parfaits (Perfect Crimes) (France)
Each episode of this anthology crime drama series features a duo of investigators who will do everything they can to find the flaw in the plan devised by a killer who thinks s/he has committed the perfect crime. (The same detective team appears in two episodes per season.)
The series stars Antoine Duléry (Agatha Christie’s Family Murder Party), Isabelle Gélinas (Fais pas ci, fais pas ça), Philippe Caroit (Meurtres à la Rochelle), Elisa Ruschke (Love Is Dead), Arthur Mazet (Les petits meurtres d’Agatha Christie), and Claire Borotra (Vanished by the Lake).
Crimes Parfaits: Saison 1 premieres in the US on Sunday, December 2, at 11 PM ET, on TV5Monde USA.
Vidago Palace (Portugal & Spain)
Set in 1936 against the glamorous backdrop of the eponymous luxury hotel and health resort in Vidago, Portugal, this award-winning romance drama follows Carlota de Vimieiro, the beautiful and educated 22-year-old heiress of a noble but near-bankrupt aristocratic family. Her engagement to César da Silva, the son of bourgeois, nouveau riche Portuguese plantation owners in Brazil, is intended to help secure her family’s financial future.
The thing is, Carlota doesn’t love César but Pedro, the working-class son of Vidago Palace’s receptionist. Pedro, though, isn’t at the hotel to greet her; he’s in Galicia, fighting in the Spanish Civil War on the side of the Popular Front. But fate reunites him with Carlota — in August 1936, the month of her wedding — and they must overcome the many obstacles that are thrown in their path if they are to be together.
Starring Mikaela Lupu (A Impostora), David Seijo (El barco), Pedro Barroso (A Herdeira), Vidago Palace premieres in the US on Monday, December 3, exclusively on Acorn TV and the Acorn TV channel on Amazon.
Lola Upside Down (Lola uppochner) (Finland)
Based on the novel of the same name by Monika Fagerholm, this surreal, Twin Peaks-ish coming-of-age story centers on a group of young girls, friends growing up in the small, coastal town of Flatnäs — a male-dominated place that shelters a quirky community of poets and dreamers, miscreants and misfits.
It’s also where the police must investigate a series of murders.
Starring Mimosa Willamo (Deadwind), Caisa Calin, Julia Hellén, Li Krook, Vivi Lindberg, and Carl-Kristian Rundman (Easy Living), Lola Upside Down premieres in the US on Tuesday, December 4, exclusively on MHz Choice and the MHz Choice channel on Amazon.
The Sandhamn Murders: Season 4 (Morden i Sandhamn) (Sweden)
Based on the novels by Swedish author Viveca Sten, this mystery-crime drama series returns with a new three-part story that revolves around the death of a student who appears to have committed suicide in his apartment on the idyllic island of Sandhamn. As Detectives Thomas Andreasson (Jakob Cedergren, Those Who Kill, The Spider) and Mia Holmgren (Sandra Andreis, Annika Bengtzon, Arne Dahl) of the Nacka Police investigate, what they discover points to Marcus being a homicide victim instead.
Soon thereafter a second man is murdered, and Nora Linde (Alexandra Rapaport, The Team, Codename Hunter), a summer resident on Sandhamn and a former classmate of Thomas, does some unofficial digging around on her own. But will she, Thomas, and Mia be able to save another person from becoming a homicide victim, too?
Stefan Gödicke (Spring Tide) and Saga Samuelsson (Missing) join the cast, which includes series regulars Lotta Tejle (The Simple Heist), Ane Dahl Torp (Codename Hunter), Jonas Malmsjö (Modus), and Anki Lidén (Irene Huss).
Sandhamn Murders: Season 4 premieres in the US on Tuesday, December 4, exclusively on MHz Choice and the MHz Choice channel on Amazon.
Modus: Season 2 (Sweden)
Loosely based on the “Vik/Stubo” crime novels by Norwegian author Anne Holt, the second season of this hit Swedish series finds US President Helen Tyler (Kim Cattrall, Sex and the City) kidnapped while on a state visit to Stockholm. The carefully conceived and meticulously executed nature of the abduction points to an inside job.
Meanwhile, psychological profiler Inger Johanne Vik (Melinda Kinnaman, The Bridge, The Eagle) has moved in with her partner, Detective Ingvar Nyman (Henrik Norlén, Johan Falk, The Fourth Man), and is happily pregnant. However, their world is turned upside down when Ingvar is hastily assigned the role of special FBI liaison officer to work alongside Warren Schifford (Greg Wise, The Crown), Special Advisor to the President. Schifford knows Inger, who is asked to join the investigation, from her time with the FBI in Washington.
Little do they know they’re up against an enemy far more powerful than they can imagine. The conflict will draw them into a global network of terrorists, and Inger will cross paths with Madame President, causing dark secrets from their past, ones that both women thought were buried and long forgotten, to re-surface.
Featuring Billy Campbell (Cardinal), Samuel Fröler (Rebecka Martinsson), and Paprika Steen (Below the Surface), Modus: Season 2 premieres in the US on Thursday, December 6, exclusively on Walter Presents and the PBS Masterpiece channel on Amazon.
Dogs of Berlin (Germany)
This action-crime drama series centers on two opposite and unconventional Berlin police detectives who are forced to team up in a battle with the Berlin underworld after a politically-sensitive murder — that of a Turkish-German football superstar — happens the night before a big international game in Berlin-Marzahnto.
The cops, Kurt Grimmer (Felix Kramer, Dark, Shades of Guilt) and Erol Birkan (Fahri Yardim, Tatort, CopStories), must also confront their own weaknesses, criminal activities, and corruption, and decide which side of the law they are actually on.
The series co-stars Anna Maria Mühe (NSU: German History X), Katharina Schüttler (Generation War), Urs Rechn (Flemming), Sebastian Achilles (Alles Klara), Antonio Wannek (Bulow and König), Hannah Herzsprung (Weissensee), Imad Mardnli (Tempel), Seyneb Saleh (Deutschland 86), and Mišel Matičević (Babylon Berlin).
Dogs of Berlin, a Netflix Original series, premieres globally in all Netflix territories on Friday, December 7, exclusively on Netflix. (You can add it to your queue now.)
The Hook Up Plan (Plan Coeur) (France)
Set in modern-day Paris, this romantic comedy series revolves around the misguided attempt by a group of friends to help their amie Elsa (Zita Hanrot, Chefs) rebuild her confidence and renew her faith in dating, relationships, and finding love.
Costarring Sabrina Ouazani (Inch’Allah) as Charlotte, Joséphine Draï (France KBEK) as Emilie, and Marc Ruchmann (The Chalet) as Jules, The Hook Up Plan, a Netflix Original series, premieres globally on Friday, December 7, exclusively on Netflix. (You can add it to your queue now.)
The Sandhamn Murders: Season 5 (Morden i Sandhamn) (Sweden)
This popular mystery series’ fifth three-part story opens with Nora (Alexandra Rapaport) and her new love, Jonas (Stefan Gödicke), participating in the Midsummer celebrations on Sandhamn. But the festivities turn into a nightmare when his daughter, Vera (Saga Samuelsson), doesn’t return home as agreed, and a young man is found dead, most likely the victim of murder.
The Sandhamn Murders: Season 5 premieres in the US on Tuesday, December 11, exclusively on MHz Choice and the MHz Choice channel on Amazon.
Haunted (La voie de Laura) (France)
Marie Gillain (All Our Desires, Coco Before Chanel) stars in this French thriller as Laura, a new mum who has left her troubled past behind and rebuilt her life by converting a cottage in the highest valley of the Pyrenees into a successful bed-and-breakfast. Here in the quiet of the Valley of the Eagles, Laura has found peace and also Jérôme (Philippe Caroit, Meurtres à la Rochelle, Magellan), now her fiancé.
But the fragile balance she’s created is soon upended. When the last group of guests arrives before the end of the season, Laura is convinced that one amongst them knows her past and was sent by her ex-boyfriend, Olivier (Andrei Aradits, Caps), to kill her. Suspecting everyone, she fears for her life and the life of her son. Her situation worsens when a gendarme is killed and Olivier escapes from prison.
Featuring Jean-Michel Tinivelli (Le juge est une femme), Agnès Soral (Blood of the Vine), and Olivier Pagès (Femmes de loi), Haunted premieres in the US on Thursday, December 13, at 8:30 PM ET, on. Eurochannel.
The Protector (Turkey)
The Protector follows the epic adventure of Hakan (Cagatay Ulusoy, Içerde, Medcezir, Adini Feriha Koydum), a young shopkeeper whose modern world gets turned upside down when he learns he’s connected to a secret, ancient order, tasked with protecting Istanbul.
At the start of this superhero fantasy drama that weaves an action story with Ottoman and Turkish legend and history, Hakan couldn’t be further from a hero — he’s just an ordinary guy in this city of 15 million, where East meets West and past meets present. Then he learns that his hometown is under threat from the mysterious, mystical Immortals, and that it’s his job to stop them. It’s a task he’s not only unprepared for, but one he resists — despite his destiny.
Costars include Okan Yalabik (Magnificent Century) as Faysal, a successful businessman that Hakan looks up to; Hazar Ergüçlü (Medcezir) as Zeynep, Hakan’s confidant; Ayca Aysin Turan (Karagül) as Leyla, Faysal’s chief of staff and Hakan’s love interest; and Mehmet Kurtulus (Cenk Batu) as Mazhar, Faysal’s right hand man.
The Protector, a Netflix Original series, premieres globally on Friday, December 14, exclusively on Netflix. (You can add it to your queue now.)
4 Blocks: Season 2 (Germany)
The new season of this dark and gritty German crime drama opens a year after the Season 1 finale. A lot has changed for the Hamadys: Abbas (Veysel Gelin, Late Night Berlin: Mit Klaas Heufer-Umlauf) is facing trial for murder; Amara (Almila Bagriacik, NSU: German History X) has made a fresh start with Latif (Massiv); and Toni (Kida Khodr Ramadan, Greyzone) can finally get into the real estate business.
But Toni’s attempts to expand the influence of the family puts more than his marriage to Kalila (Maryam Zaree, Tatort) in danger, because the powerful al-Saafis are not going to give up their control of Berlin without a fight.
Featuring Oliver Masucci (Dark), Sami Nasser (The Team), Ludwig Trepte (Deutschland 86), and Karolina Lodyga (In the Face of Crime), 4 Blocks: Season 2 premieres in the US on Saturday, December 15, exclusively on Prime Video.
Acquitted: Season 2 (Frikjent) (Norway)
Picking up where Season 1 leaves off, the second season of this mystery-crime drama finds prosecutor Amina Sahir (Amrita Acharia, The Good Karma Hospital) bringing William (Ingar Helge Gimle, Mammon) to trial for the murder of Aksel’s (Nicolai Cleve Broch, The Half Brother) high school sweetheart, Karine Hansteen — a crime for which Aksel was acquitted in court but still judged as guilty within the community. The new trial takes a toll on everyone in town, and a new incident puts the spotlight on the Nilsen family once again: the death of another girl.
Costarring Lena Endre (Wallander), Tobias Santelmann (Borderliner), Synnøve Macody Lund (Black Widows), Ellen Dorrit Petersen (Borderliner), Fridtjov Såheim (Torpedo), and Øystein Røger (Struggle for Life), Acquitted: Season 2 premieres in the US on Tuesday, December 18, exclusively on MHz Choice and the MHz Choice channel on Amazon.
Perfume (Parfum) (Germany)
Inspired by Patrick Süskind’s international best-selling novel, Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, this six-part drama shifts the story’s setting from 18th-century France to modern-day Germany.
A woman is murdered, her scent glands removed from her body. More young women turn up dead, killed in similar fashion. Investigating is a young detective who traces the crimes back to group of friends — former students at an international boarding school who bonded through their intense passion for scent and experimented with scents to manipulate people.
A production of Constantin Film (which adapted the same novel for the 2006 feature film, a box office hit), the series stars Friederike Becht (The Same Sky), August Diehl (Close to the Enemy), Wotan Wilke Möhring (Inspector Falke), Natalia Belitski (Shades of Guilt), Ken Duken (Tempel), Marc Hosemann (4 Blocks), Jürgen Maurer (Anatomy of Evil), and Trystan Pütter (Generation War).
Perfume, a Netflix Original series, premieres in the US on Friday, December 21, exclusively on Netflix. (You can add it to your queue now.)
Wolf (Börü) (Turkey)
Tasked with risky operations across Turkey, members of a special security unit confront danger and tragedy both on the field and at home.
Wolf, a Netflix Original series, premieres in the US on Friday, December 21, exclusively on Netflix. (You can add it to your queue now.)
Beck: Season 6 (Sweden)
It is a merry Christmas indeed as Beck, the fan-favorite Nordic noir mystery series based on the novels and characters by Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo, returns with four new feature-length episodes starring Peter Haber as Swedish detective Martin Beck (Ängelby) and Kristofer Hivju (Game of Thrones) as Norwegian tec Steinar Hovland.
In the first story, Martin quits the Stockholm Police and Steinar temporarily takes over as the team leader. His first case in this position is the disappearance of a young woman in Stockholm, which is somehow connected to the beating death of a man in the Middle East. Beck becomes involved when he helps the National Security Police investigate a suspected terrorist, and both he and Steinar end up in a race against time to prevent a catastrophe from occurring.
The second story finds Beck officially back on the job in a more senior position, but struggling to find a replacement for Steinar, who wants to keep his job in Martin’s previous role. Meanwhile, the coach of a junior hockey team is murdered. In the third story, as Martin and co. investigate the death of a twelve-year-old girl’s mother, they learn the family has been living with protected identities. And the Season 6 finale opens with the murder of a restaurant owner, a crime presumed to be gang-related and has a connection to the police.
Returning cast members include Ingvar Hirdwall as Beck’s neighbor, Rebecka Hemse as Beck’s daughter Inger, Måns Nathanaelson as Oskar Bergman, Anna Asp as Jenny Bodén, Elmira Arikan as Ayda Çetin, Jonas Karlsson as Klas FredénInger, and Åsa Karlin as Andrea Bergström. Jennie Silfverhjelm (Real Humans) joins the cast as Detective Alexandra Beijer.
Guest stars include Niklas Engdahl (Rebecka Martinsson), Charlotta Jonsson (Wallander), Peter Eggers (Anno 1790), David Lindström (Blue Eyes), Eva Melander (Rebecka Martinsson), Eric Ericson (Irene Huss), and Joel Spira (Thicker than Water).
Beck: Season 6 premieres in the US on Tuesday, December 25, exclusively on MHz Choice and the MHz Choice channel on Amazon.
Mafia Undercover: Season 2 (Solo) (Italy)
Marco Bocci (Anti-Mafia Squad, Romanzo Criminale) returns as undercover cop Marco Pagani in the new season of this action-packed crime drama, which picks up where the Season 1 finale left off. Agata Corona (Carlotta Antonelli, Suburra: Blood on Rome), daughter of mob boss Antonio Corona (Renato Carpentieri, Don Matteo) and Marco’s wife, has been kidnapped, and Marco disobeys police orders in order to save her.
Things get more complicated when Antonio asks Marco to get his son Bruno (Peppino Mazzotta, Detective Montalbano) — the only person in the Corona clan who knows Marco is a cop — out of prison. For his part, Bruno is losing his sanity and wants everyone he considers his enemy dead, including Marco. Meanwhile, inter-family mafia conflicts continue and the body count rises.
Costars include Diane Fleri (I Am Love), Federico Tocci (Suburra: Blood on Rome), and Riccardo Zinna (The Homicide Squad), and new cast members Ivana lotito (Gomorrah), Giselda Volodi (Thou Shalt Not Kill), Paolo Briguglia (Cacciatore – The Hunter), and Mattia Sbragia (Undercover).
Mafia Undercover: Season 2 premieres in the US on Tuesday, December 25, at 8:30 PM ET, on Eurochannel.
WALTER PRESENTS TITLES ADDED TO PBS MASTERPIECE ON AMAZON
The following shows, already available in the US on Walter Presents platforms, will be added to the PBS Masterpiece channel on Amazon in December (dates tba). (Images below courtesy of Walter Presents)
3X Manon (France)
This disturbing and heart-wrenching three-part miniseries follows 15-year-old Manon (Alba Gaïa Bellugi, The Bureau), a deeply-troubled delinquent who is court-ordered to live in a reform school for six months after numerous incidents, the most recent one being Manon stabbing her mother. This is her last chance at redemption, and if she fails to turn herself around, prison for Manon is a certainty.
The Body Collector (De Zaak Menten) (Netherlands)
Guy Clemens (Lord & Master, The Prey) leads the cast of this historical drama as Dutch investigative journalist Hans Knoop. The true story follows how Knoop worked to uncover the truth behind Pieter Menten (Aus Greidanus, Baantjer Mysteries), a multimillionaire art collector, Nazi, and war criminal who was responsible for the execution of Jewish families in Poland during World War II.
Duel (Duel en ville) (France)
This crime thriller revolves around Inspector Alexandre Konygnski’s (Xavier Beauvois, Django) investigation into Philippe Dellas (Patrick Chesnais, No Limit), the mayor of a large provincial town who accidentally kills his mistress. Dellas is running for re-election and doesn’t want a scandal, so with the help of his trusted driver (Olivier Rabourdin, Trepalium), he covers it up and goes to extreme lengths to protect his career and reputation.
Elite Squad: Season 2 (Flics) (France)
Opening two years after the events in Season 1, the final season of this gritty crime drama finds Constantine (Yann Sundberg, Deep), now head of the Anti-Gang squad, trying to bring down ruthless criminal Dominique Battaglia (Olivier Marchal, Crimes Parfaits), for which he needs the help of his former colleague, “Yach” (Frédéric Diefenthal, The Forest), recently released from prison. Meanwhile, there’s a mole at work in Commissioner Legrand’s (Catherine Marchal, Section zero) organization…
Resistance (Résistance) (France)
Dan Franck (Marseille, Spin) created and wrote this six-part historical drama as a tribute to the courageous young adults who risked their lives for France and freedom during World War II. Based on actual events and spanning 1940-1944, it follows a group of young war heroes — including Lili (Pauline Burlet, La Vie en Rose), Jeannot (Tom Hudson, Urban Jungle), and The Kid (César Domboy, Outlander) — as they constantly put themselves in danger as members of the Resistance.
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Header photo credits: Vidago Palace courtesy of Acorn TV; Mafia Undercover (© Angelo Di Pietro) courtesy of Eurochannel; Beck courtesy of MHz Choice; Dogs of Berlin (© Katja Kuhl), The Hook Up Plan & Wolf courtesy of Netflix; 4 Blocks (© Turner) courtesy of Prime Video; Crimes Parfaits (© Ango Productions) courtesy of TV5Monde USA; Modus (© Global Series Network) courtesy of Walter Presents
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Did you miss any of the new shows and program additions from previous months? Check the Euro TV Viewing Guide 2018 Archives to find out.
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For details about the December premieres of shows from the UK, Canada, and Ireland, visit The British TV Place. For those about the debuts of programs from Australia and New Zealand, visit The Down Under TV Place.
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