We tend to think of the Scandinavian countries as oases of peace – orderly, enlightened places where nothing ever happens. And that illusion is deeply misleading. Denmark, too, has had its own monsters. One of the most shocking criminal cases in recent history, which sent shockwaves through the country in 2015, inspired Kristian Corfixen’s book and later became the basis for a Danish limited series that left Netflix viewers deeply unsettled.
A chilling true story from Denmark, this gripping Netflix docudrama explores a real hospital murder case that stunned a nation and raised terrifying questions about silence, guilt, and responsibility. Blending true crime and psychological thriller, the four-part series digs into betrayed trust, medical ethics, and the dark corners hidden behind a white uniform. Below, we break down everything you need to know. The trailer is at the end of the article.
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The Nurse – All the key info
- Original title: Sygeplejersken
- Genre: Drama, True crime
- Country of production: Denmark
- Original language: Danish
- Year of production: 2023
- Length: 4 episodes (about 43 to 54 minutes each)
- Director: Tobias Lindholm
- Main cast: Fanny Bernth, Josephine Park, Peter Zandersen
The Nurse – What the Danish docuseries on Netflix is about
Early one morning in March 2015, Danish police receive a disturbing phone call from Pernille, a newly hired nurse at Nykøbing Falster Hospital. She believes a close colleague has been deliberately killing patients and fears it has just happened again. What begins as a single accusation soon unravels into a murder investigation unlike anything previously seen in Danish legal history. As the case unfolds, more hospital staff come forward, admitting they too had long suspected the same nurse of poisoning patients – in some cases for years. The questions at the heart of the investigation are as chilling as the accusations themselves: why did no one intervene, and where is the proof? The limited series is based on a true story that sent shockwaves through Denmark.
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The cast of The Nurse
The miniseries cast features actress Fanny Louise Bernth, born in 1988, a second-generation performer from Copenhagen, who has had several notable roles in Det er så yndigt (2021) and Herrens veje (2017). Also in 2017, Fanny gained experience as the narrator of a radio comedy, I Tried to Dance It Away.
The other lead is Josephine Park, the same age as her co-star and, like Fanny, originally from Copenhagen. She became well-known for her roles in Doggystyle (2018), The Investigation (2020), and Shorta (2020). “I was obsessed with the idea of portraying the nurse as close to reality as possible, and at a certain point I realized I couldn’t,” Park told Nordic Watchlist.
Here is the full cast list.
Fanny Louise Bernth (Pernille Kurzmann Larsen)
Josephine Park (Christina Aistrup Hansen)
Peter Zandersen (Niels Lundén)
Dick Kaysø (Kenny Herskov)
Selma Kjær Kuscu (Alberte)
Amalie Lindegård (Katja)
Stine Schrøder Jensen (Pia)
Sofia Cukic (Marlene)
Sara Fanta Traore (Trine)
Stephanie Nguyen (Diana)
Mathilde Eusebius (Mathilde Eusebius)
Shahbaz Sarwar (Ditte)
Our review
The direction takes on a sober, controlled tone, stripping away rhetoric and sentimentality to make room for a cold yet piercing look into the characters’ psyches. The suspicious deaths, the quiet investigation, and the moral drama emerge through an atmosphere of constant tension, in a setting that seems almost neutral yet is charged with a latent sense of threat.
The thoughtful pacing and attention to detail force the viewer to search for small signals behind every gesture: it’s a story that doesn’t rely so much on shock value as on planting doubt and unease.
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The Nurse – the horrific true story
An adaptation of the book of the same name by Kristian Corfixen (published in Italy by SAGA Egmont in 2021), the Netflix series Netflix The Nurse tells, in dramatized form, the true story of Christina Aistrup Hansen, a Danish nurse who in 2017 was sentenced to twelve years in prison for four attempted murders.
Learn more ►The true story that inspired “The Nurse”: incredible, but true
When to watch the miniseries on Netflix
The Nurse is now available on Netflix ► WATCH ON NETFLIX
