NetflixLooking for your next Netflix binge-watch? Look no further than its new series The Glass Dome, a Nordic noir thriller that has raced up the Top 10 chart this week.
With so many new releases coming out each and every week on Netflix, it can be hard to keep up with what to watch. Already this month we’ve Black Mirror Season 7, with six sinister new tales from the twisted mind of Charlie Brooker.
If soapy melodrama is more your thing, Ransom Canyon landed on the streaming service, promising a mix of Virgin River-level romance and Yellowstone settings. And, later this month, Joe Goldberg will make his return in You Season 5.
However, the lesser-known titles are well worth your time too, as evidenced by the success of the new Netflix show The Glass Dome – here’s what you need to know before you dive in.
What is The Glass Dome about?
The Glass Dome is a Scandi thriller series that follows criminologist Lejla, who was abducted as a child. When she returns to her Swedish hometown, another young girl is kidnapped and Leija is shocked to discover eerie similarities to her own case.
You see, when Leija was abducted, she was held in a glass dome by her captor. However, the perpetrator was never tracked down – it’s one of the reasons she got into criminology in the first place.
Years later, she ended up moving to the US to start a new life, but is forced back to Granås – the village where she grew up – after her adoptive mother Ann-Marie’s death. Here, she meets up with her childhood friend Louise.
When Louise’s daughter Alicia goes missing, Lejla gets involved in the investigation, forcing her to confront the trauma she’s worked so hard to bury.
NetflixAs per the official synopsis, “After criminologist Lejla returns to Sweden in the wake of her adoptive mother’s death, she’s thrown into a dark mystery involving the disappearance of her friend’s young daughter, Alicia.
“The news hits too close to home for Lejla, who was abducted as a child and still lives with the scars. Determined to find the missing girl at all costs, Lejla battles with her trauma as she veers ever closer to the truth about Alicia’s kidnapping – and her own.”
One of the reasons The Glass Dome has been so well-received is thanks to its twist ending, which you won’t see coming (of course, we’re not going to spoil it for you here).
The Glass Dome cast
NetflixLeija is played by Faithless star Léonie Vincent, while Blue Eyes actor Johan Hedenberg takes on the role of Leija’s adoptive father, Valter. Other key cast members in The Glass Dome include:
- Johan Rheborg as Tomas Ness, Valter’s younger brother and a police officer
- Gina-Lee Fahlén Ronander as Louise, Leija’s friend and Alicia’s mother
- Minoo Andacheh as Alicia
- Farzad Farzaneh as Said, Alicia’s father
- Ia Langhammer as Jorun, the sheriff’s deputy
- Seraphine Krystek as young Lejla
How many episodes are there?
NetflixThere are six episodes in total, each with a 40-45 minute runtime. If you don’t speak Swedish, you can watch them with English subtitles or dubbed.
While it is billed as a limited series, creator Camilla Läckberg has revealed that The Glass Dome Season 2 could be on the cards if Netflix gives it the go-ahead.
Speaking to FilmTopp, she explained, “I always think when I create a TV series that there will be more seasons. Then you have to see if there is interest from the channel and so on. But in my mind, when I am creatively working on this, I always think about some kind of continuation.”
Is it based on a book?
AmazonNo, The Glass Dome isn’t based on a book. However, Camilla Läckberg is a famous crime writer, so it shouldn’t be surprising that the Netflix series is so gripping and a great entry to the genre.
Known as “the rock star of Nordic noir,” Läckberg is most famous for her Fjällbacka series of crime novels, which feature the crime solving husband-and-wife duo Erica Falck and Patrik Hedström.
Why you should watch The Glass Dome
Although it’s too early for an audience score, The Glass Dome has been rated 86% by the critics on Rotten Tomatoes, with many praising the gripping storyline and twist ending.
Collider wrote, “This enterprise certainly gets the job done as a whodunit, but it’s more tantalizing as a character study; it’s at its most gripping when we’re in Lejla’s head.”
Movies and Munchies added, “Several aspects of the plot are left unexamined and characters sometimes act contradictory to what’s been established, but the storytelling effectively misdirects and twists leading to a satisfyingly dark conclusion.”
NetflixOf the less favorable reviews, Decider said, “The first episode of The Glass Dome was too predictable, giving us a bad feeling that the rest of the limited series will be, as well.”
As for what the viewers at home think, one said on X/Twitter, “The Glass Dome on Netflix was so good. I didn’t see that twist coming until the moment it happened.”
“I found the Glass Dome on Netflix good,” wrote another. “Slow in the beginning, I nearly switched off, glad I carried on with it. Lots of twists and turns and never who you expect it to be!”
A third added, “Clearly I need to get into more Nordic Noir, because… Y’all… The Glass Dome on Netflix was completely wild to me. I swear I didn’t expect that twist. I did not see that s**t coming and when I tell you I was PISSED!”
The Glass Dome is streaming on Netflix now. For more, check out the best TV shows of the year so far and the anticipated 2025 releases you cannot miss.