Contains mild spoilers forThe Killing I III.

Two years; actually it takes place now.

Series two took place in 2009 so its the years that have passed.

It seems like shes finally letting her guard down and showing a much more emotional side?

Its a reaction to the current state of affairs with the financial crisis.

Shes looking after herself now.

Shes not bothered so much with the criminals and society anymore; shes looking out for number one.

She feels that shes paid her dues and is looking for a more comfortable life.

Its something that happens when financial crisis hits us.

You cant save the world so you make a run at look after yourself and those closest to you.

Shes done twenty five years in the police so she wants something more comfortable; a desk job.

Her story can be thought very much as a Job story, like in the Bible.

The pace of series three seems quite relentless.

As an audience, we feel like we barely have time to catch our breath.

Did you consider making this another twenty-episode series?

I liked the series we did in twenty episodes but this time the story fitted better into ten.

Theres been an increase of scenes featuring darkened rooms and putting the characters in danger.

Did you feel like you had to make the threat bigger this series?

The perpetrator seemed highly organised and one step ahead.

They seem extremely deadly.

If Im not shown too much then my own fears come through.

Its the form of storytelling for this genre and thats why we use the shadows and dark.

Its to get questions forming about the perpetrator; why are they here?

What do they want?

what might I find there?

Id like to ask you now about the Sarah Lund character if I may.

Where did the roots of Lund come from?

I knew I wanted to do something more sinister with her in the lead role.

I wanted to have a heroine who didnt talk about her private life all the time.

She would be socially handicapped.

A lot of it was down to Sofies ability to do the character so well.

Well shes strong and resourceful, and she has abilities that you and I dont have.

She is attractive to men.

I can write lots of sinister stuff for Sarah Lund but when Sofie plays it, its very sympathetic.

you’re able to watch her with sympathy.

Sofie has a glow about her.

The Killingis really a destiny drama.

Sometimes you cant change what you are and Sarah Lund has tried to so hard to change.

What would be her destiny?

So you are right when you say that she was almost waiting for something to happen.

Its like feeling a finger on your shoulder and you know something isnt entirely right.

Staying with season one, one of my favourite characters was Lunds partner, Detective Inspector Jan Meyer.

It really felt like you could identify with him and his frustration with Lund at times.

Definitely, because she doesnt really talk much.

She has to have these characters around her to push her into saying anything.

The partner role is very important as it generates some pressure on Lund and pushes her in other directions.

If she was just alone she would be speechless.

And its to show her annoyance with other people.

She is always annoyed when the phone rings and thats part of the game: to annoy Lund.

Season two was a completely different kind of case.

Yes, at the beginning she was very insecure and had lost everything that meant something to her.

For me the second series was very much a come back to get her on her feet again.

Weve seen an emergence of darker material out of America recently, in particular the Chris NolanBatmanfilms.

I would love to writeBatmanif anybody asked me.

I like the sinister stuff in Batman and Gotham City.

The Killinghas transformed the idea of Saturday night TV in the UK.

People whove never watched subtitled programmes before are addicted.

How does it feel to have made subtitles cool in the UK.?

Im very proud if thats true.

I dont know if well get there but Im very proud.

It was a big deal for me to learn that its made such an impact in the UK.

Sren Sveistrup thank you very much!

The Killing Series III is released on DVD on the 17th of December, The Killing Trilogy (feat.

series 1-3) is released on both Blu-ray & DVD on the same day.

Read our reviews of The Killing III,here.