The Killing is an American crime drama television series that premiered on April 3, 2011, on AMC , based on the Danish television series Forbrydelsen ( The Crime ). The American version was developed by Veena Sud and produced by Fox Television Studios and Fuse Entertainment. Set in Seattle , Washington , the series follows the various murder investigations by homicide detectives Sarah Linden ( Mireille Enos ) and Stephen Holder ( Joel Kinnaman ).

AMC announced the series’ cancellation in July 2012, Fox Television Studios and Netflix . The Killing was again canceled by AMC in September 2013, but netflix announced in November 2013 that it had ordered a fourth season consisting of six episodes to conclude the series. ^[1] The complete fourth season was released on Netflix in all territories on August 1, 2014. ^[2]

Cast

Main

Actor	Character	Seasons
		1	2	3	4
Mireille Enos	Sarah Linden	Hand
Joel Kinnaman	Stephen Holder	Hand
Liam James	Jack Linden	Recurring	Hand	Guest	Hand
Annie Corley	Regi Darnell	Hand	Recurring		Guest
Billy Campbell	Darren Richmond	Hand		Guest
Michelle Forbes	Mitch Larsen	Hand
Brent Sexton	Stan Larsen	Hand
Kristin Lehman	Gwen Eaton	Hand
Eric Ladin	Jamie Wright	Hand
Brendan Sexton III	Belko Royce	Hand	Guest
Jamie Anne Allman	Terry Marek	Hand
Elias Koteas	James Skinner	Hand
Hugh Dillon	Francis Becker	Hand
Amy Seimetz	Danette Leeds	Hand	Guest
Bex Taylor-Klaus	bullet	Hand
Julia Sarah Stone	Lyric	Hand
Max Fowler	Twitch	Hand
Peter Sarsgaard	Ray Seward	Hand
Gregg Henry	Carl Reddick	Recurring	Main [3]
Joan Allen	Margaret Rayne	Main [4]
Tyler Ross	Kyle Stansbury	Main [5]
Sterling Beaumon	Lincoln Knopf	Main [5]
Levi Meaden	AJ Fielding	Main [5]

Recurring

Series overview

Season		Episodes		Originally aired
				First aired	Last aired	Network
1	13		April 3, 2011	June 19, 2011	AMC
2	13		April 1, 2012	June 17, 2012
3	12		June 2, 2013	August 4, 2013
4	6		August 1, 2014		Netflix

Season 1 (2011) Writer

The Rosie’s murder, the Larsen family’s attempts to deal with their grievances, and the fluctuating electoral fortunes of a political Campaign that becomes embroiled in the case.

Season 2 (2012) Writer

The Season of the Seven Years of the Seattle Police Department. The Larsen murder case gets closed with the discovery of those involved in it.

Season 3 (2013) Writer

A year after the Rosie Larsen case, Stephen Holder searches for a runaway girl and uncovers a string of murders connected to one of Sarah Linden’s previous murder investigations. Linden, no longer a detective, must return to both a career and a case she had put behind her. ^[6]

Season 4 (2014)

The fourth season features detectives Sarah Linden and Stephen Holder handling the fallout of their actions from the previous season while investigating the murder of a survivor is a member of an all-boys military academy. ^[7]

Production

The pilot Was ordered by AMC in January 2010 And Then Was picked up for a full series order in August 2010. ^[8] [9] The series is filmed in Vancouver , British Columbia , With Some scenes filmed in season two in Coquitlam , British Columbia , at Riverview Hospital . Began production on the pilot episode on December 2, 2010. ^[10] The pilot is written by series creator and executive producer Veena Sud and is directed by Patty Jenkins . ^[9]

In contrast to the original Danish series , executive producer Veena South explained, “We are creating our own world. We are using the Danish series as a blueprint, but we are kind of diverging and creating our own world of suspects and , Potentially, ultimately who killed Rosie Larsen. ” South describes the series as “slow-burning storytelling in a sense that every moment that we do not have to prettify or gloss over or make something necessarily easy to digest, that we’re able to go to all sorts of places that are honest , And dark, and beautiful and tragic, in a way that is how a story should be told. ” ^[11]

First cancellation and revival

AMC announced on July 27, 2012 that the series would not be renewed for a third season. ^[12] However, Fox Television Studios announced that they were attempting to shop the show at other networks. ^[13] In August 2012, it was revealed that Fox Television Studios was in talks with both DirecTV and Netflix in an attempt to revive the series. ^[14] In November 2012, it was confirmed that Fox Television Studios was in final negotiations with Netflix to continue the series for a third season. AMC, which had originally canceled the show, was also included in the deal, which would gain the network the privilege of airing the new episodes before being hosted by Netflix, In netflix. ^[15] Variety reported on November 30, 2012, that the show would be returning to AMC, planning for a May 2013 debut, with production set to begin months before that. Cast members Mireille Enos and Joel Kinnaman Were confirmed to return, with Veena Sud as showrunner and returning writers Including executive producers Dawn Prestwich and Nicole Yorkin . ^[16] On December 12, 2012, it was confirmed that Billy Campbell , Michelle Forbes , and Brent Sexton would not return for the third season. ^[17] [15] Variety reported on November 30, 2012, that the show would be returning to AMC, planning for a May 2013 debut, with production set to begin months before that. Cast members Mireille Enos and Joel Kinnaman Were confirmed to return, with Veena Sud as showrunner and returning writers Including executive producers Dawn Prestwichand Nicole Yorkin . ^[16] On December 12, 2012, it was confirmed that Billy Campbell , Michelle Forbes , and Brent Sexton would not return for the third season. ^[17] [15] Variety reported on November 30, 2012, that the show would be returning to AMC, planning for a May 2013 debut, with production set to begin months before that. Cast members Mireille Enos and Joel Kinnaman Were confirmed to return, with Veena Sud as showrunner and returning writers Including executive producers Dawn Prestwich and Nicole Yorkin . ^[16] On December 12, 2012, it was confirmed that Billy Campbell , Michelle Forbes , and Brent Sexton would not return for the third season. ^[17] That the show would be returning to AMC, planning for a May 2013 begin, with production set to begin months before that. Cast members Mireille Enos and Joel Kinnaman Were confirmed to return, with Veena Sud as showrunner and returning writers Including executive producers Dawn Prestwich and Nicole Yorkin . ^[16] On December 12, 2012, it was confirmed that Billy Campbell , Michelle Forbes , and Brent Sexton would not return for the third season. ^[17] That the show would be returning to AMC, planning for a May 2013 begin, with production set to begin months before that. Cast members Mireille Enos and Joel Kinnaman Were confirmed to return, with Veena Sud as showrunner and returning writers Including executive producers Dawn Prestwich and Nicole Yorkin . ^[16] On December 12, 2012, it was confirmed that Billy Campbell , Michelle Forbes , and Brent Sexton would not return for the third season. ^[17] Cast members Mireille Enos and Joel Kinnaman Were confirmed to return, with Veena Sud as showrunner and returning writers Including executive producers Dawn Prestwich and Nicole Yorkin . ^[16] On December 12, 2012, it was confirmed that Billy Campbell , Michelle Forbes , and Brent Sexton would not return for the third season. ^[17] Cast members Mireille Enos and Joel Kinnaman Were confirmed to return, with Veena Sud as showrunner and returning writers Including executive producers Dawn Prestwich and Nicole Yorkin . ^[16] On December 12, 2012, it was confirmed that Billy Campbell , Michelle Forbes , and Brent Sexton would not return for the third season. ^[17] Billy Campbell , Michelle Forbes , and Brent Sexton would not return for the third season. ^[17] Billy Campbell , Michelle Forbes , and Brent Sexton would not return for the third season. ^[17]

On January 15, 2013, AMC and Fox Television Studios announced that the series had been renewed for a 12-episode third season. Production started on February 25, 2013, in Vancouver , British Columbia , Canada, ^[6]and ended on June 25, 2013. ^[18]

Second cancellation and revival

AMC ultimately canceled the series after the third season in September 2013. ^[19] However, in November 2013, two months after its cancellation, Netflix announced it had picked up the Killing for a fourth and final season consisting of six episodes. ^[20] Cast members Mireille Enos and Joel Kinnaman returned with Veena Sud as showrunner, and executive producers Dawn Prestwich and Nicole Yorkin returning as writers. ^[21]

Reception

Critical reception

Reviewers and fans of three seasons of Veena Sud ‘s US TV series, The Killing ,-have Noted Similarities and borrowed Elements from David Lynch ‘s TV series Twin Peaks and the follow-up movie Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me , and Compared and Contrasted Sud and Lynch’s works. ^{[22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29]}

Season 1

The series premiere was praised by most critics, Metacritic gave it a score of 84/100 based on reviews from 29 critics, indicating “Universal acclaim”. ^[thirty]

Tim Goodman, The Hollywood Reporter , “The Good Hollywood Reporter ,” “The Best of the Hollywood Theater.” Goodman also praised Mireille Enos ‘ s performance as the lead character Sarah, saying, “It’s not up to you watching Enos play Sarah for a while that sinks into it. ^[31] Entertainment Weekly ‘ s Ken Tucker gave it a B +, saying, “The acting is strikingly good” and that “[s] ome viewers may find the killing a little too hard and deliberate. Steadily, giving the series unexpected power. ” ^[32] Alex Strachan of the Vancouver Sun said the series “is soaked in the atmosphere and steeped in the stark realism of Scandinavian crime novelists Henning Mankell and Stieg Larsson ” and that it “is not as much about a young girl’s murder as it is a Psychological study of what happens afterward, how a tight-knit community tries to recover and how a dead child’s mother, father and siblings learn to deal with their bread in their own private ways. ” ^[33] Matt Roush of TV Guide applauded the series, calling the acting “tremendous” and saying that he was “instantly hooked by the moody atmosphere of this season-long murder mystery set in Seattle.” He went on to say, “What really stands out for me, in this age of cookie-cutter procedurals, is how The Killing dramatizes the devastation a violent death HAS was family, a community, we the people involved in the investigation. Nothing about this show is routine. ” ^[34]

Subsequent episodes were met with lesser praise by criticism of the show’s reliance upon increasingly implausible red herrings to drive each episode and the withholding of details about each character’s background, especially Rosie’s, thus making it difficult to relate to or empathize with. ^[35] [36]

The first-season final was made with negative reviews from some critics. The Los Angeles Times called Expired it “one of the MOST frustrating final in TV history,” ^[37] with Alan Sepinwall of HitFix.com calling the end “insulting.” ^[38] Finally, Maureen Ryan of AOL TV said that the final “killed off any interest I had in ever watching the show again.” ^[39] “[The show],” Heart Havrilevsky “in The New York Times Magazine . “Fast-forward to the final, in which we learn that what we’ve been watching is actually a 26-hour-long episode of Law & Order , and we ‘

Season 2

The early seasonal episodes, with Metacritic giving a score of 68/100 based on reviews of 23 critics. ^[41]

Lori Rackl of the Chicago Sun-Times stated: “Few television shows are as addictive as this pensive, wonderfully paced suspense.” ^[42] The Washington Post ‘ s Hank Stuever Stated: “My own enjoyment of The Killingbegins and ends with the gloom so brilliantly conveyed by ict pace and performance.” ^[43] Brian Lowry of Variety stated the series remained “compelling,” adding that “the writers … are adept at overcoming the stodgy pace by dangling tantalizing clues near each hour’s end, creating a strong pull to see what transpires next.” ^[44] HitFix ‘ S Alan Sepinwall “better.” He added: “The performance is still good, and now the characterization is a bit better. When you add that to the fine atmosphere … and you see the mystery itself as a kind of necessary The show that do not work, then it’s not bad. ” ^[45]

The final season, ” What I Know ,” received mixed reviews. Sepinwall Stated: “I’d like to Say That season 2 of The Killing Was an improvement is season 1, and In Some ways, it probably Was The second season Certainly DID better job of doing what Veena Sud Claimed to be doing last. Year, in which it took advantage of the extra time to sketch in some of the characters … I honestly feel like any kinder feelings I have for the second season came from the complete lack of investment I had in it. ^[46] Sean McKenna of TV Fanatic rated the final 4.7 out of 5 stars, but on first viewing, was not sure what to feel. “Sucked into the world, ^[47]CraveOnline’s William Bibbiani called the final “an odd duck.” After citing Jamie’s early revelation as “melodramatic silliness, “Bibbiani added:” The rest of the episode gets its job done, with one major, glaring flaw. The characters end up more or less where they need to be, but somewhat ridiculous loose ends remain. ” ^[48] Brandon Nowalk of The AV Club rated this final a C-, calling it” so unconvincing, “adding” I couldn ‘ t believe how little all this affected me after-resolution The Killing so thrillingly Took My grudging commitment for a ride a Few weeks ago. This is the same show that delivered Richmond’s hospital nightmare, the hunt for Holder, the anti-Western standoff ” Sayonara, Hiawatha ,” and the crazy train of the last two weeks? No, this is the full-circle episode, the one that takes the show back to its roots. Wah wah. ” ^[49]

Ratings

When it premiered, the pilot was AMC’s second-highest original series premiere, following The Walking Dead . The first drew 2.7 million viewers and a 2 household rating. The first two episodes of the first episode were the first to be rated 4.6 million total viewers and a 3.7 household rating. ^[50] The UK premiere on Channel 4 brought in 2.2 million viewers. ^[51] In the second season, the viewership and ratings dipped to a series low 1.59 million viewers and 0.6 rating with adults aged 18-49. ^[52]

The following table shows, in millions, for the first airings:

Awards and nominations

Awards and nominations for The Killing

year	Association	Category	Nominated work	result
2011	1st Critics’ Choice Television Awards [53]	Best Drama Series	The Killing	Nominated
		Best Actress in a Drama Series	Mireille Enos	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series	Michelle Forbes	Nominated
	63rd Primetime Emmy Awards [54]	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series	Mireille Enos	Nominated
		Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series	Michelle Forbes	Nominated
		Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series	Patty Jenkins (Episode: “Pilot”)	Nominated
		Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series	Veena South (Episode: “Pilot”)	Nominated
		Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series	Elizabeth Kling (Episode: “Pilot”)	Nominated
		Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series	The Killing	Nominated
2012	38th Saturn Awards [55]	Best Television Presentation	The Killing	Nominated
		Best Actress in Television	Mireille Enos	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actor in Television	Joel Kinnaman	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actress in Television	Michelle Forbes	Won
	64th Writers Guild of America Awards [56]	Best New Series	The Killing	Nominated
	69th Golden Globe Awards [57]	Best Actress – TV Series Drama	Mireille Enos	Nominated
	Directors Guild of America Award [58]	Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Series	Patty Jenkins	Won
2013	39th Saturn Awards [59]	Best Syndicated Cable Television Series	The Killing	Nominated
		Best Actress in Television	Mireille Enos	Nominated
	34th Young Artist Awards [60]	Best Performer in a TV Series – Supporting Young Actor	Seth Isaac Johnson	Nominated
	2nd Annual Social TV Awards [61]	Best Drama Social TV	The Killing Story Sync	Nominated
2014	Critics’ Choice Television Award [62]	Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series	Peter Sarsgaard	Nominated

Distribution

Netflix

In March 2013, Netflix closed negotiations with Fox Television Studios with a third-party service. Netflix streamed the season for three months after its final. It is the first two seasons. ^[63] In November 2013, Netflix announced it had picked up the series for a fourth and final season after AMC had canceled it. ^[20]

Online promotion

Season-one advancement is AMC’s The Killing website included “Rosie’s Room” has virtual simulation of murder victim Rosie Larsen’s bedroom That users Could explored in order to learn more about Rosie’s life and search for secrets and clues That Could help lead to the discovery of Who is responsible for her untimely death. Users could peek inside Rosie’s dresser, look under her bed, listen to her answering machine messages, flip through her vinyl record collection, and explore her laptop computer to access her social networking profile, vlogs, photos, and emails. ^[64] Season-one promotion also included an interactive application called the “Suspect Tracker” Whereby users could vote for the suspect in the murder investigation and discuss their theories about the case and its suspects with other fans. ^[65] A personality quiz titled “How Would You Be Cast in a Crime Thriller?” Telling users what part they would be cast in on the Killing based on their reactions to various crime-related situations was also released prior to season one. ^[66] AMC’s The Killing website also featured exclusive sneak-peek and behind-the-scenes videos, trivia games, numerous photo galleries, episode and character guides, a blog, and a community forum.

For a couple of years, the AMC’s The Killing website has added “Rosie Larsen Interactive Case File,” which gives a glimpse into the suspects, evidence, crime scene photographs, and documents related to the case. ^[67]

References