End of Summer is a Swedish crime drama based on former police officer Anders de la Motte's bestselling novel of the same name.
"End of Summer is a complex and absorbing mystery drama in a beautiful setting," says Sue Deeks, Head of BBC Programme Acquisition, as the drama heads to BBC 4 and BBC iPlayer.
Having previously acquired high-profile Scandi dramas like The Killing (which made our Top 100 TV shows of all-time list) and The Bridge, there are high hopes that the six-part series will be a great watch.
It revolves around Swedish psychologist Vera, whose brother vanished when she was a child. When she meets a familiar young man 20 years later in a group therapy session, she's drawn back to her rural hometown, determined to uncover her brother's fate. Here's everything we know…
End of Summer release date
End of Summer begins on BBC Four at 9 pm on Saturday, July 6 with a double bill. It's also being released as a box set on BBC iPlayer. We have a best BBC dramas guide if you want more shows to enjoy. We don't have a US release date as yet.
Plot
The makers tease: "The story begins in summer 1984 with five-year-old Billy disappearing in rural Sweden, and the inconclusive police investigation that follows, shattering the family. Two decades later, Billy's sister Vera, meets a hauntingly familiar young man, which forces her to unravel the truth behind her brother's disappearance."
Cast
Julia Ragnarsson (Midsommar, The Bridge) stars as Vera. Erik Enge (Tigers, The Sandhamn Murders) plays the haunting young man she meets.
Julia says of playing Vera: "This has really been a challenging and fantastic experience. Vera is a complex character and I've had the luxury of working with incredible actors."
Also in the cast are Simon J Berger, Torkel Petersson, Per Ragnar, Linus James Nilsson, Anna Granath, Emelie Garbers, Henrik Norlén, Bahador Foladi, Vilhelm Blomgren, Ida Gyllensten and Lars Schilken.
What happens in episode 1?
Grief therapist Vera's life is turned upside down when a new patient, Isak, joins the group and recalls memories from his childhood that he can't quite come to terms with. Vera increasingly begins to recognise his story, which has striking similarities to her own childhood and the summer 20 years ago when her younger brother disappeared.
What happens in episode 2?
Isak disappears without a trace and Vera goes to her childhood home in the town of Reftinge to tell her family about her suspicions that Billy might be alive, but they are not listening. At her father's birthday party, she meets her uncle Harald and realises that she herself lied to the police about what happened when Billy disappeared.
Is End of Summer based on a book?
End of Summer is an adaptation of acclaimed Swedish novelist Anders de la Motte's 2016 novel of the same name.
It is the first of his so-called Four Seasons Quartet, which also includes "Deeds of Autumn", "Dead of Winter" and "Rites of Spring". The four books are connected thematically, rather than by using the same characters or settings.
The blurb for the End of Summer novel reads as followed: "Summer 1983: Four-year-old Billy chases a rabbit in the fields behind his house. But when his mother goes to call him in, Billy has disappeared. Never to be seen again.
"Today: Veronica is a bereavement counsellor. She's never fully come to terms with her mother's suicide after her brother Billy's disappearance. When a young man walks into her group, he looks familiar and talks about the trauma of his friend's disappearance in 1983. Could Billy still be alive after all this time? Needing to know the truth, Veronica goes home — to the place where her life started to fall apart.
"But is she really prepared for the answers that wait for her there?"
More about End of Summer
The series is directed by Jens Jonsson (Young Wallander) and Henrik Georgsson (The Bridge) with lead writers Stefan Thunberg (Wallander) and Björn Carlström (Hunters), who also produced the series with Per Janérus (Hunters).
Is there a trailer?
No, not yet.
