Before he earned a front-row seat to the rise and fall of the DC Extended Universe, Joel Kinnaman came to the attention of global audiences via AMC’s “The Killing.” It was a fitting project for the Swedish-American star, considering it was based on the Scandinavian series “Forbrydelsen.” Whereas the original show was based in Copenhagen and followed a Danish Detective Inspector, the American remake was set in Seattle, and starred Kinamman and Mireille Enos as homicide detectives. If you missed the show during its original run, you’ll be pleased to know you can stream all four seasons right now on Hulu.
Today, Kinnaman’s best-known role is that of Rick Flag Jr. in the DC Extended Universe. Of course, that ill-fated cinematic universe went out with a whimper after a string of box office flops in 2023, including the disaster of superheroic proportions that was “The Flash.” By that point, however, Kinnaman’s Rick Flag Jr. had been killed by John Cena’s Peacemaker in 2021’s “The Suicide Squad.” Since then, the actor has gone on to lead Apple TV’s “For All Mankind,” and Season 5 of that same show saw Kinnaman reunite with Mireille Enos, 12 years after their final outing as homicide detectives in “The Killing.”
For fans of their AMC show, it was a momentous reunion. “The Killing” was a solid hit for the network when it debuted in April 2011, but it also introduced American viewers to Kinnaman, whose debut was aided by his unmistakable chemistry with Enos. Along with 2011’s “The Darkest Hour,” the show established Kinnaman’s career outside Sweden, where he’d been working since appearing in the soap opera “Storstad” as a child. With “The Killing,” however, he was about as far from a soap opera as he could get.
The Killing was the perfect American showcase for Joel Kinnaman
These days, aside from “For All Mankind,” Joel Kinnaman is steadily churning out crime thrillers and action movies. He appeared in Andrea Di Stefano’s “The Informer” in 2019, John Woo’s “Silent Night” in 2023, and Brad Anderson’s “The Silent Hour” in 2024. Kinnaman also starred in the action thriller “Icefall,” which became a massive <a href="https://comicvibe.com/georgie-mandys-first-marriage-season-2-finds-new-streaming-home/” title=”Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage Season 2 Finds New Streaming Home”>streaming hit for Prime Video in 2026. As such, those who only know him from his more recent projects should get a kick out of his performance in “The Killing.” Far from being an action hero, Kinnaman plays a narcotics cop-turned-homicide detective with distinctly rookie energy.
Season 1 introduces us to Stephen Holder, who, having joined the homicide division, is paired with detective Sarah Linden (Mireille Enos). The first run of episodes sees Linden and Holder investigate the murder of teenager Rosie Larsen (Katie Findlay), and though it’s infused with much of the eeriness and chilly intensity of its Scandi-noir origins, it’s also much more character-focused than you’d expect from a procedural. That certainly worked in its favor, as Season 1 earned a very respectable 94% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes.
As the series went on, Kinnaman and Enos’ detectives investigated the family of the girl killed in Season 1, the case of a missing runaway girl that leads to a spate of murders, and the killing of an entire family. Along the way, they also uncover political corruption and a conspiracy within the Seattle police department. Though the series’ ratings and critic scores declined as new seasons arrived, it maintained a consistent quality throughout.
The Killing remains one of Joel Kinnaman’s best projects
Though “The Killing” is based on the Danish show “Forbrydelsen,” it’s very much its own thing. Showrunner Veena Sud told IGN in 2012 that she and the writers were “using the Danish series as a blueprint” but ultimately diverging from the original show to create their “own world.” That ultimately proved successful enough to keep the show going for four seasons, though it faltered on more than one occasion.
Originally produced by Fox Television Studios and Fuse Entertainment for AMC, “The Killing” was canceled in July 2012. It returned for a third season, however, thanks to a last-minute deal that saw AMC airing the episodes before they hit Netflix. AMC pulled the plug once again in September 2013, with Netflix ultimately ordering a fourth season of six episodes that hit the streamer in August 2014. After that, “The Killing” was no more and Joel Kinnaman went on to star in the messy 2014 “Robocop” remake.
Before they re-teamed for Season 5 of “For All Mankind,” Kinnaman and Mireille Enos found themselves in yet another premium drama when they signed on for Prime Video’s “Hanna,” which lasted three seasons and ran from 2019 to 2021. Though the show did well enough, “The Killing” remains their best collaboration and, arguably, the best project in either of their filmographies. Luckily, Hulu subscribers can stream the entire series at no extra cost, and with Hulu now folded into Disney+, you can watch it on either service.
