Nordic noir

[ nawr-dik nwar ]

noun

1. a genre of fictional literature, television, and film set in Scandinavia and featuring dark, complex stories of crime that unfold within an otherwise ordinary or bland social environment, usually expressed in very plain language:

   I’d read a bit of Nordic noir, but it wasn’t until I watched a miniseries from Denmark that I realized how awesome this genre is.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Nordic noir¹

First recorded in 2005–10; modeled on film noir ( def )

Example Sentences

There is an inherent darkness to the Nordic Noir shows, and a sense that the scales are never balanced or endings neatly tied up.

From The Daily Beast