The Breakthrough: Release date, plot, cast and more about Netflix's latest Swedish crime drama

Netflix’s The Breakthrough tells the gripping story of a double murder that shook Sweden. The case was so complicated that it took 16 years to solve it and find the culprit, making it the second-largest homicide investigation in the country.

The Swedish series is based on the true-crime book The Breakthrough: How the genealogist solved the double murder in Linköping by Anna Bodin and Peter Sjölund. It follows a detective who teams up with a genealogist to uncover the mystery 16 years after it remains unsolved.

The series premiered on Netflix on January 7, 2025, and is getting rave reviews from viewers and critics. Here is all you need to about The Breakthrough’s release date, plot, and cast.

The Breakthrough release date

Peter Eggers as John Sundin (Image via Netflix)

The Breakthrough was released on Netflix on Tuesday, January 7, 2025, which means the show is already available to watch, and you can check it out right away. The series features four episodes, which dropped simultaneously on January 7, 2025.

The show has already entered the top 10 charts on the streamer in the US and is being loved by the audience. To watch the series, you need an active subscription to Netflix, which starts at $6.99 per month.

The Breakthrough plot

The series is a fictional take on a real double murder that took place in Linköping, Sweden, in 2004. The murders went unsolved for 16 years until new DNA technology helped solve the case. The show follows Detective John as he collaborates with Per, a genealogist.

The two use groundbreaking DNA genealogy to track down the killer. Meanwhile, for 16 years, the families of the victims deal with their grief, and the whole community struggles with fear. The official synopsis for the series reads:

“When a shocking double homicide goes unsolved for 16 years, a detective teams up with a genealogist to catch the killer before it becomes a cold case.”

In her official statement to Netflix, series director Lisa Siwe revealed the two investigators use different approaches to reach the killer. She said:

“In our series, we follow the two main protagonists as they search for the answer that all the other characters are looking for - by working with two completely different methods.“

”The genealogist moves backward in time to find clues in church records and family trees, and the police officer moves forward in his search for the next trace of the perpetrator.”

Siwe further talked about how the show touches upon the themes of human tragedy and compassion:

“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. It's a story about the compassion and care for one another that is needed to move on when terrible things happen.”

The Breakthrough cast

Mattias Nordkvist as Per Skogkvist (Image via Netflix)

The Breakthrough stars Peter Eggers plays John Sundin, the detective based on the real-life investigator Jan Egon Staaf. The actor has earlier appeared in the shows Anno 1790 and Snabba Cash.

Mattias Nordkvist stars as Per Skogkvist, a genealogist. His other television credits include Deliver Me, Solsidan, The Machinery, and The Shift. Julia Sporre, known for her roles in Shame on Dry Land and A Thousand Times Stronger, plays investigative journalist Stina Eriksson.

The rest of the cast includes Jonatan Rodriguez as John’s senior, Miran, Anna Azcarate as Gunilla, Helen Al-Janabi as Elena, Marley Norstad as Adnan, and Bahador Foladi as Saad Abbas.

For more news and updates about The Breakthrough and other Netflix shows, stay tuned to Soap Central.