Based on a true story, the crime drama series The Breakthrough follows the second-largest criminal investigation in Swedish history. In the early 2000s, the small city of Linköping was rocked by a double homicide in broad daylight. Two people — a child and a woman in her late 50s — were stabbed to death. But with no motive or suspect, the case eventually grew cold. Nearly two decades later, the police made headway after a genealogist entered the fray.  Starring Peter Eggers and Mattias Nordkvist, the series was directed by Lisa Siwe (The Bridge) and written by Oskar Söderlund (Snabba Cash). “Though this is a fictional drama series about a crime, it is, above all, a depiction of a human tragedy — where we place our focus on the victims and the investigation rather than the perpetrator,” Siwe told Netflix. “It’s a story about the compassion and care for one another that is needed to move on when terrible things happen.”

Who’s in the cast of The Breakthrough?

Peter Eggers (Snabba Cash) as John
Mattias Nordkvist (Deliver Me) as Per
Jessica Liedberg (Riding in Darkness) as Francy
Jonatan Rodriguez (Gåsmamman) as Miran
Karin de Frumerie (A Man Called Ove) as Lollo
Annika Hallin (Agent Hamilton) as Karin
Julia Sporre (Shame on Dry Land) as Stina
Malin Güettler (Flamingo) as Annika
Anna Azcárate (Red Dot) as Gunilla
Marley Norstad (Ghabe) as Adnan
Pevin Hannah Namek Sali as Maya
Helen Al-Janabi (Top Dog) as Elena
Bahador Foladi (Tehran) as Saad
Julius Fleischanderl (The Sandhamn Murders) as Ante
Per Burell (Rebecka Martinsson) as Kjell
Emelie Falk (Greyzone) as Anna
Magnus Mark (Thin Ice) as Björn

Malin Güettler as Annika stands outside wearing a red parka in ‘The Breakthrough.’

What happens in The Breakthrough?

On Oct. 19, 2004, 8-year-old Adnan (Norstad) and 56-year-old Gunilla (Azcárate) are murdered in broad daylight in Linköping, Sweden. The only witness, a woman named Karin (Hallin) who’d been biking nearby, is unable to identify the suspect before he flees. As investigators pursue the case with scant evidence, dogged detective John (Eggers) remains determined to track down the killer. After the search efforts lead to multiple dead-ends, the case is left unsolved, and Adnan’s and Gunilla’s families are left without justice in their loved ones’ deaths. But 16 years later, a genealogist named Per (Nordkvist) sheds light on the killer’s identity — and makes history in the process.

Is The Breakthrough based on a book?

Yes. It’s based on the book of the same name by journalist Anna Bodin and the genealogist Peter Sjölund.

“When I read the book The Breakthrough, I was struck by the fact that there was such strong human destinies behind this massive murder investigation: Police officers who refuse to give up, relatives who wanted answers and last but not least the genealogist who finally came up with the solution,” Söderlund, who penned the screenplay, told Netflix. “In the midst of this tragedy, there are people who refuse to give up, who’re struggling to move on and whose whole life is marked by what happened.”

Peter Eggers as John speaks with Mattias Nordkvist as Per as they stand in front of a wall of file folders in ‘The Breakthrough.’

Is The Breakthrough based on a true story?

Yes. It’s a fictional account based on the 2004 double homicide of Mohammed Ammouri and Anna-Lena Svensson. The murders were unsolved for 16 years, until ancestral DNA genealogy led to a break in the case.

Where does The Breakthrough take place?

The series takes place in Linköping, Sweden, beginning in 2004.