When The Team – a group of European investigators headed up by a Danish detective (played by Lars Mikkelsen) – started working to lift the lid on organised crime across borders in 2015, it racked up 40 million viewers on the seven European TV stations that produced the series; in addition, it was licensed to several other countries.

Last month (June), Danish major Nordisk Film Production started principal photography for the second season, which will shoot in English, Danish, Flemish, German and Arabic on location in Germany, Denmark, Austria, Belgium and Morocco, for Network Movie and European broadcasters including ZDF, DR, NRK, SFR, ORF, VTM and ART, plus Belgium’s Lunanime and Austria’s Superfilm. 

Scripted by Danish screenwriters Jesper Bernt and Kari Vidø, with The Team creators Peter Thorsboe and Mai Brostrøm, The Team starts when a hideaway for illegal immigrants in Denmark falls victim to a brutal attack. The only survivor is a young Syrian woman who has been hiding in the marshy areas. Among the victims is the German owner of the hiding place and two Belgian sisters who had been in contact with a Syrian terrorist militia. The murders are investigated not only by Danish detective Nelly Winther (Marie Bach Hansen), but also by Germany’s Gregor Weiss (Jürgen Vogel) and Belgium’s Paula Liekens (Lynn van Royen), who have already been tracking the two terrorist-militia sisters. Does the attack have a terrorist background, or is there another motive? Europol organises the entire operation, which takes the team of detectives from Denmark to Belgium, through Germany and down to Austria, where they realise that organised crime exists in all social classes, and witness “how western money supports a rotten system which is equally governed by business and violence”, according to the synopsis.

Danish directors Kasper Gaardsøe and Jannik Johansen will set the concept for the 8 x 58-minute series, which also stars US-Iranian actor Navid Negahban (Homeland) and French newcomer Sarah Perles. Other Danish actors in major roles include Anders Juul, Troels Lyby, Kristian Ibler, Esben Dalgaard and Regitze Estrup.