NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Entertainment

TV review: Greyzone is every shade of black

Calum Henderson
By Calum Henderson
Entertainment reporter, NZ Herald·Weekend magazine·
3 Aug, 2018 11:30 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

A scene from Greyzone.

A scene from Greyzone.

What is it about Scandinavian TV dramas that makes them so much more nourishing than everything else on the menu? Could it simply be the subtitles force us to actually watch and appreciate it, instead of half-listening while scrolling Instagram on our phones?

New TVNZ OnDemand series Greyzone, a Swedish-Danish-German co-production, is the latest show for connoisseurs of Borgen and The Killing to savour. But is it really that good, or is it just Homeland in a variety of European languages? The answer: it's sort of both.

At least it's not another dark, gritty police procedural — not quite. We've moved on now, it seems, to action-packed terrorism hostage thrillers, which is a welcome change of pace.

If you've been put off Scandinavian drama in the past — fair enough, they can seem like quite a lot of work — this one would make a good starting point.

It starts with a truck stopped at the Swedish border by no-nonsense detective Eva Forsberg (Tova Magnusson) acting on a tip-off from German police. You can tell this is a higher class of television when she speeds into the port, but a cut just before she slams on the brakes means you don't get to see the car screech to a dramatic halt.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The truck, it turns out, has a bloody massive missile head concealed behind a false wall. When the smugglers figure out the cops are on to them, there's a bit of a shootout, and the body count begins. This is all before the opening credits. No mucking around here.
The situation becomes clearer when Eva meets a guy from the Swedish intelligence service who says the missile she found is one of two stolen in Greece a couple of years earlier. The other one, they reckon, is already in Sweden.

"The explosive power of such a missile is huge," he declares, leaning back in his chair with his arms folded.

Meanwhile, at a drone conference in Frankfurt, talented drone engineer Victoria Rahbek (Birgitte Hjort Sorensen, whose previous acting credits span Borgen to Pitch Perfect 2) is unveiling her company's latest bit of kit. After her presentation she meets a guy called Iyad, who claims to be a journalist — a very strong indicator that he is not to be trusted.

No surprise, then, when he later sticks her in the neck with a giant syringe. She is held captive in her own home, forced to watch surveillance video of her young son in a hotel room in Paris, and is told he will be knocked off should she fail to co-operate with Iyad and associates in what seems an unusually competent and well-organised terror plot.

The two strands converge to create a high-stakes, grippingly paced and highly entertaining drama — there's no way you're reaching the end of the first episode without immediately launching into the next. The 10-part series gets only more rewarding, the action more fraught and complex, the deeper you get.

Discover more

Entertainment

Survivor season 3 unconfirmed as finale ratings slump

30 Jul 03:45 AM
Entertainment

The best TV and movies to stream this weekend

01 Aug 11:00 PM
Opinion

Cold Case puts farcical Sensing Murder in its place

31 Jul 06:00 PM
Entertainment

Shortland St slammed for 'ignorant' Down syndrome story

31 Jul 10:10 PM

Maybe those Scandinavian TV connoisseurs are on to something.

• Greyzone available through TVNZ OnDemand

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Entertainment

Entertainment

Lorde releases new single ahead of Virgin album

19 Jun 10:47 PM
Premium
Lifestyle

From Jacinda Ardern to Air NZ: 32 of the best lifestyle and entertainment stories of the year so far

19 Jun 10:00 PM
World

Trump gives TikTok 90 more days to find buyer, again delayed ban

19 Jun 05:53 PM

Help for those helping hardest-hit

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Entertainment

Lorde releases new single ahead of Virgin album

Lorde releases new single ahead of Virgin album

19 Jun 10:47 PM

Hammer the last song the Kiwi singer will release before her album comes out next week.

Premium
From Jacinda Ardern to Air NZ: 32 of the best lifestyle and entertainment stories of the year so far

From Jacinda Ardern to Air NZ: 32 of the best lifestyle and entertainment stories of the year so far

19 Jun 10:00 PM
Trump gives TikTok 90 more days to find buyer, again delayed ban

Trump gives TikTok 90 more days to find buyer, again delayed ban

19 Jun 05:53 PM
Premium
TikTok made Addison Rae famous. Pop made her cool

TikTok made Addison Rae famous. Pop made her cool

19 Jun 06:00 AM
Inside Leigh Hart’s bonkers quest to hand-deliver a SnackaChangi chip to every Kiwi
sponsored

Inside Leigh Hart’s bonkers quest to hand-deliver a SnackaChangi chip to every Kiwi

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP