Danish Thriller 'Side Effects' Replaces Serial Killers With Opioids

Miso Film's new crime thriller "Side Effects," starring Josephine Park ("The Ox," "Baby Fever") as Chief Investigator Nora Søby, has debuted exclusive first-look images as it prepares to launch on TV 2 Denmark, with Fremantle handling international sales.

The series follows Søby as she leads Denmark's top crime unit investigating the murder of a dockland security guard and the disappearance of a large shipment of pills containing a lethal opioid.

Jonas Allen and Peter Bose produce for TV 2 Denmark through Miso Film, a Fremantle company previously behind Netflix's "The Rain," "The Investigation" and "Those Who Kill," as well as "The Uniform." Upcoming Miso projects include "The Cold Song," "The Traitor Within" and "Royal Blood."

Why no serial killer?

Creator and main writer Lasse Kyed Rasmussen said the show deliberately broke with Nordic crime tradition. "Miso Film has killed a lot of people across its productions during the years, and I'm guilty of a few of those murders myself. When we started working on this series, we talked about creating a new serial killer series. But every meeting ended with a desire to do something different and closer to reality," he said.

"During those meetings, we looked out of the windows of our office in Copenhagen, only to see that, thankfully, there were no serial killers roaming the streets. But, like so many other major cities in Europe, we do have a real killer on the loose in the form of the drugs that claim the lives of many young people every year."

The classic serial killer is replaced by "deadly opioids that keep spreading and constantly claiming new victims." Rasmussen said the premise came from a direct question: "The idea for the show started when we asked ourselves: what is actually killing people in 2026? The obvious and alarming answer was street drugs."

During research, the team talked to the police, read books and listened to podcasts to ensure every plot element had a connection to reality. Rasmussen added that the truth is close at hand: "I can't cross the park next to my apartment without seeing dealers selling drugs or people smoking joints. Drugs are everywhere. And many people know a child, relative or friend who has a connection with drugs. There is never just one victim when a person starts taking drugs."

Drug abuse's reach across families and society became the show's core. "This network of side effects and consequences of drug abuse is one of the great tragedies of modern society, but also what makes the story relevant and relatable to a broader audience," Rasmussen said.

What does the series look like?

Jonas Alexander Arnby, who co-wrote and directed the series, aimed to reveal "how criminality enters individual lives, alters relationships, and reshapes people's futures."

"Every crime carries a human cost, and we wanted that cost to be felt through the fear, grief, compromises, and irreversible choices left in its wake," Arnby said.

The visual approach combined a "contemporary filmmaking style with the immediacy of '70s-inspired documentary grain and the tension of documentary-like zooms."

"We filmed the city with intimacy and intensity, placing the viewer alongside the people forced to live with violence and uncertainty. The result is a world where danger is never abstract, and where every personal loss carries emotional weight," he said.

The creative team discussed references including "Pusher 2," "Irréversible," "Succession," "Mobland" and "Dopesick," but Rasmussen said no obvious comparison fits "Side Effects." He credited "Jonas Arnby and his talented team, whose vision has given the show a visual identity all of its own."

Copenhagen as backdrop, a mother as protagonist

Producer Jonas Allen previously worked with Arnby on "The Uniform," shot mainly at the police academy and on the outskirts of Copenhagen. "Arnby and I talked a lot about using Copenhagen as a raw urban backdrop in order to create an authenticity that mirrors the realism of drug dealing without going into traditional gang territory that has been portrayed so often in other series," Allen said.

While the city is one of the show's stars, Park shines brightest as Nora: a flawed mother, an ambitious cop with vices. "She is also just one of us – a person with a troubled past trying to do her best. The crime genre almost demands a main character with an unhealthy work-life balance. You could also say that Nora works far too much. But we always had a strong ambition to create a character that is both a cop and a mother," Rasmussen said.

Even leading the war on drugs, Nora cannot shield her own daughter. "That's not because Nora is a bad mother – or bad at her job. She's simply the mother of one of the many ordinary young people who give in to temptation and end up with a serious drug problem. Because drugs and their consequences affect everyone," Rasmussen said.

He added: "Josephine's portrayal of Nora brings even more humanity to her, along with a recognizable pain that will hopefully make Nora feel like a complete human being, rather than just another crime investigator."

With Fremantle managing international sales, "Side Effects" positions Danish crime drama to tackle Europe's opioid crisis head-on when it reaches TV 2 Denmark audiences.