Film

Netflix’s New Crime Series Based On Best-Selling Novels Debuts To Rare Perfect Rotten Tomatoes Score

27 March 2026

As it debuts on Netflix, Jo Nesbo’s Detective Hole gets a rare Rotten Tomatoes achievement.

It’s not the first time that the memorably named Harry Hole has been at the center of a high-profile adaptation. Drawing from The Snowman by Jo Nesbø, two-time Oscar nominee Michael Fassbender played the detective in the 2017 psychological thriller from director Tomas Alfredson. Rebecca Ferguson, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Val Kilmer, and J. K. Simmons co-starred in the film.

Jo Nesbo’s Detective Hole has premiered with a flawless 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The score is currently based on just six reviews and may well change as additional reviews are submitted over the coming weeks. But as it stands, the Nordic noir is already a massive improvement over the Fassbender film. That one sits at only 7%, with 197 reviews counted.

What Is Jo Nesbo’s Detective Hole About?

Jo Nesbo’s Detective Hole consists of eight episodes, dropping on Netflix on March 26. It’s a mix of serial killer drama and murder mystery, with Tobias Santelmann in the title role of Harry Hole. Thought of as an anti-hero detective, Hole faces off against longtime rival and corrupt detective Tom Waaler (played by Joel Kinnaman). He also aims to track down a serial killer and bring Waaler to justice before time runs out.

Pia Tjelta, Anders Baasmo, Ellen Helinder, Simon J. Berger, Ingrid Bolsø Berdal, and Kelly Gale also star in the adaptation, which is based on the Harry Hole book The Devil’s Star. It is directed by Anna Zackrisson and Øystein Karlsen, with Nesbø serving as the creator and writer.

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The project hails from Working Title and its parent company Universal International Studios, with Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Katy Rozelle, Rene Ezra, Karlsen, Niclas Salomonsson, and Nesbø as executive producers. The ending of Detective Hole season 1 indicates that the producing team is leaving the door open for more seasons.

What Critics Are Saying About Detective Hole

Joel Kinnaman's Tom looking judgingly down at Tobias Santelmann's Harry in Jo Nesbø's Detective Hole — Joel Kinnaman’s Tom looking judgingly down at Tobias Santelmann’s Harry in Jo Nesbø’s Detective Hole

ScreenRant‘s review of Detective Hole was glowing, with Dhruv Sharma noting that the complex dynamic between the two co-leads is one of the adaptation’s greatest strengths. Veteran critic Richard Roeper, writing for RogerEbert.com, is also positive and points out that the crime drama could get even better with future seasons.

But what several critics note, including Kelcie Mattson at Collider, is that Jo Nesbo’s Detective Hole will appeal to Bosch fans. That is perhaps the biggest recommendation. If you like good crime dramas, then this one is worth checking out.

All episodes of Jo Nesbo’s Detective Hole are now on Netflix.