There’s another twisty Swedish thriller on the horizon with Acorn TV’s The Crow Girl. Based on Erik Axl Sund’s bestselling trilogy, the novels and the new adaptation utilize many of the elements that make the genre famous, paired with a dark psychological edge. Moody settings, determined protagonists, and disturbing villains similarly propelled Stieg Larsson’s bestselling Millennium trilogy, which also mined heinous criminal conspiracies before its adaptation into both a set of Swedish/Danish co-productions and David Fincher’s American remake. ​ The Crow Girl is less of an edgy techno-thriller, more driven by psychology to get into the heads of genuinely disturbing individuals, but with a similarly moody flair. An emphasis on the psychological aspect makes the series particularly unnerving; we have almost equal access to the psychic depths of heinous villains, unfortunate victims, and imperfect protagonists alike. The Crow Girl may not be mining wholly new territory, but it’s nonetheless a series that packs a punch thanks to excellent performances and strong, complex character writing.
What Is ‘The Crow Girl’ About?

When the body of a deceased teenage boy is found in a public place, full of lidocaine and tucked into a bag, it triggers clear alarm bells for local detectives. Why would a killer want the body found? The trio of DCI Jeanette Kilburn (Eve Myles), DI Lou Stanley (Dougray Scott), and DC Mike Dilliston (Elliot Edusah) gets pulled into an increasingly complicated and disturbing series of events that center around children’s disappearances and corruption. The body was found near the office of Carl Lowry (Trevor White), a creepy, high-profile dentist arrested for pornographic images of children, but they can’t quite connect him to the murder. As the detectives circle and psychotherapist Sophia Craven (Katherine Kelly) gets increasingly involved in the case, they’ll all have to get to the bottom of a disturbing network of villains before it’s all too late. The investigation reaches both elite organizations and shady underground institutions alike, exposing villains everywhere as bodies pile up.
‘The Crow Girl’ Mines Rich, Complex Characters for Disturbing Drama

Eve Myles and Dougray Scott in ‘The Crow Girl’
Image via Paramount+

The Crow Girl benefits from both strong writing and adept performers at its core. It builds a suspenseful world full of predatory, corrupt institutions at both high levels of power and the shady underground. Everywhere the investigators turn, they find new, unsettling secrets, making for a criminal investigation that evolves and doesn’t leave one easily. Adapted for the screen by Milly Thomas (Sex Education), who wrote four of the series’ six episodes, the characters are fleshed out with rich pasts, baggage, and complexity. Many investigative series and films rely on plot pivots, but there’s a clear emphasis here on character twists across the board, and it elevates the material into something more interesting than the usual fare. The ensemble is multifaceted, and who they are (and believe themselves to be) is often less simple than they appear. Eve Myles gives a great performance as Detective Kilburn, dedicated and talented but increasingly emotionally affected by the crimes. Film and TV history is replete with dogged detectives, from Sherlock Holmes to Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay), but Myles’ embodiment of Kilburn’s investment creates a memorable detective who is simultaneously sternly no-nonsense yet decidedly human. Dougray Scott is charming, passionate, and a bit edgy, but though he’s a good cop, is he a good man? Scott’s presence is always powerful, and there’s a subtlety to it that he nurtures well to land a rich character overall. Katherine Kelly’s intelligent psychotherapist, Sophia Craven, also proves memorable despite the show’s continual mystery over how exactly she fits into what’s really happening. Craven’s a stern professional but haunted by past cases, and Kelly routinely holds her own, commanding the screen. She builds considerable complexity into her performance, especially when the edges of her personality start to fray from the strain (like dangerously dunking a hopeful paramour in the bath or showing up in certain places unannounced). The Crow Girl is remarkably well shot and lit, capturing the ever-cloudy dreariness of the landscape in a way that complements the heaviness of the plot. A common hallmark of the best of Nordic noir is the apt use of the environment to establish an ever-present but subtle bleakness, and that’s true here, too. There’s a strong command of tone and setting, adding to the claustrophobia of the plot’s tightening noose. The skies are never clear, covering every outdoor scene in a soft, gray half-light that obscures any sense of time of day, and indoor settings are rarely better. Though it’s bleak, it’s rendered palatable overall by enough earnest figures (like Kilburn and Dilliston) getting to the bottom of the crisis. It’s an engaging and twisty path full of engaging and twisty characters that feels genuinely immersive, rather than removed, in part because of the focus on capturing subjectivities.
‘The Crow Girl’ Doesn’t Pave New Ground, but Offers Notable Depth

Katherine Kelly in ‘The Crow Girl’
Image via Paramount+

The Crow Girl isn’t entirely set apart from other dark and complicated detective shows, given the prominence in our era of projects that follow the darkest villains of the era. That said, it’s a strong example overall. There are numerous layers to what’s really happening, and the reveals are well-paced, unnerving, and evolve the plot and characters in equal measure. Layered characters are well-portrayed and given strong screen presences by talented performers like Myles, Scott, Edusah, and Kelly. The story is heavy at times, but the cast’s on-screen chemistry and talents make it more enjoyable than it has any right to be. For fans of more pessimistic and dark detective material, The Crow Girl is easily a worthwhile watch; you’ll just want to take a long, cleansing shower by the end of it.

The Crow Girl

The Crow Girl is a masterfully bleak crime story that finds life thanks to surprising character evolutions and great performances.

Release Date

January 16, 2025

Network

Paramount+

Directors

Charles Martin

Writers

Laura Lomas

Eve Myles

DCI Jeanette Kirkland

Katherine Kelly

Sophia Craven

Pros & Cons

The Crow Girl boasts very strong performances, particularly from leads Eve Myles and Dougray Scott.
It’s a well-scripted and structured series that smartly relies on character revelations as much as plot discoveries, keeping audiences on the same changing ground as the characters.
There’s a strong command of tone and worldbuilding that compliments the subject matter well, creating an immersive series.

There are plot turns that thoroughly feel like well-worn tropes in this genre.