From Scandi noir to Tassie noir: Victoria Madden’s adapting auteurship of noir in Australian television

Tasmanian writer/producer Victoria Madden has made no secret of the influence of Scandinavian noir (also known as Nordic noir) on her work. After working in the United Kingdom and Ireland on several prestige television productions, Madden moved back to her native Tasmania and created two locally set and shot limited television series: The Kettering Incident (2016) and The Gloaming (2020). These well-received crime series – dubbed ‘Tassie noir’ by the local press – have staked out a place within the wider emerging genre of Australian noir and the perennially popular global television crime market. The Tasmanian landscape lends itself to comparison with Scandi and other European ‘noirs’ (such as Scots noir) due to its climate and topography, as well as for depicting crime narratives set in remote or marginal places. Looming mountains, treacherous coastlines and cold, rainy weather all contribute to their gothic-noir style. This article will examine Madden’s two programmes in comparison with two classic Scandi noir series, Forbrydelsen ( The Killing ) (2007–12) and Bron | Broen ( The Bridge ) (2011–18), tracing commonalties in narrative construction, character, mood and the use of landscape.