All police cadets are thrown in at the deep end. For Katarina Huss (Karin Franz Körlof), that end is a lot deeper than it looks.
As a new recruit in Gothenburg, Sweden’s second largest city, she’s joined a force still reeling from the recent violent riots at an EU summit meeting. Members came away from the conflict bruised and battered – one is still on life support – and the wounds aren’t just physical.
When we first meet Katarina and her squad, they’re en route to break up a clash on a soccer field. When their instructor goes missing, Katarina finds him weeping in their van, too traumatised by his memories of the riots to go on. “Remember, you have been trained for this,” he had told them on their way there. Clearly, training alone can’t protect you from everything.
Huss keeps the focus firmly on Katarina. It’s rare to have a scene without her, and most of the time we only see and know what she does. It’s more naturalistic than Nordic Noir (though it definitely does look chilly out on the streets), focusing as much on how modern policing works from a newcomer’s point of view as it does on solving crime. As a trainee, we get her perspective on the force and the society they’re meant to protect, and it doesn’t take long for some cracks to become obvious.
Police work, at least at her level, is teamwork. Running off after suspects – as she does twice early on – is a great way to miss out on what you should have been paying attention to. When the trainees are placed with an active unit, their leader Johan Jansson (Anders Berg) tells them, “The rules are simple: We look after one another, and have each other’s back when things get rough.” Which, if you’ve ever seen a series about corrupt cops, should have alarm bells ringing.
Police cadet Katarina Huss (Karin Franz Körlof) among her fellow new recruits. Source: Distributor
Policing is hard from the get-go for Katarina in ‘Huss’. Source: Distributor
Over the 10 episodes of Huss (made up of five two-part stories), the damage done by the riots is a constant presence. Each episode begins with a member of the force giving their perspective on what happened and why, intercut with riot footage. Some think they did the best they could, while others feel let down or betrayed.
Early stories focus on various crimes: a murder involving a BMX-riding minor and a flood of illegal guns, domestic abuse (and how far Katarina is willing to go to be part of her unit), a hostage situation and an undercover drug operation. But eventually the fall-out from the riots will have to be faced, even by the newest member of the force.
Huss is determined to make her own mark. Source: Distributor
Making matters even more complicated, Katarina’s mother Irene (Kajsa Ernst) is the Deputy Chief of Police. She wasn’t keen on having her daughter follow in her footsteps, and for Katarina, having relatives in high places isn’t how she wants to make her way up the ladder. In the first episode, Katarina comes to her mother’s office just to make sure she isn’t under her command; later meetings aren’t all that much warmer.
Not only are two generations of women facing off against each other here, but two generations of crime dramas as well. Irene Huss was the lead character in a of more traditional crime novels (which were later adapted into a TV series) by Swedish writer Helene Tursten where Detective Huss balanced investigating murders with raising a family.
There, her main challenge was tracking down killers: in Huss, her daughter faces a much more complex world of crime. For Irene up in her office, the system may have its flaws but overall it’s working. Out on the street, Katarina is learning a different lesson.
Detective Darius Kiani (Kardo Razzazi). Source: Distributor
Locals spit at them as they walk by or accuse them of betraying their brothers. Many members have quit, though that does mean an infusion of fresh blood like detective Darius Kiani (Kardo Razzazi), who has a slightly more enlightened approach to law enforcement than Johan. Many of those around Katarina feel like their bosses left them in the lurch with how they handled the riots and what came after.
Loyalty or justice, the system or what’s right. Katarina’s going to have to pick a side whether she likes it or not.
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