“Almost unbearably tense”: Inside Marcella star Anna Friel’s “creepy” new Nordic crime drama The Girl Who Died

It’s been four long years since Anna Friel’s impeccable ITV crime drama Marcella left our screens and, finally, the actress is returning to our screens in a series that - whisper it - might just top it. An adaptation of Ragnar Jónasson's bestselling novel, which fellow crime writer Ian Rankin has called “almost unbearably tense”, The Girl Who Died is Friel’s creepy new Nordic crime drama that'll have you glued to your TV screen.

The story follows Una (played by Friel), an exhausted teacher from Reykjavik, Iceland, who moves to the remote village of Skálar for a job tutoring two young girls. So far, so straightforward. But only one student turns up, the other having mysteriously disappeared – and it seems this seemingly peaceful town is hiding secrets more sinister than anyone would believe. It's a story that's creepy, haunting even, and, while we don’t want to give anything away, we should warn you that the ending may find you sleeping with the light on.

While we patiently await the arrival of The Girl Who Died on our screens, here’s everything you need to know about Anna Friel’s next unmissable drama.

What is The Girl Who Died about?

As we mentioned, the series is based on Ragnar Jónasson’s 2021 novel and is set in the remote Icelandic village of Skálar. The story is centred around Una (played by Anna Friel), a burned-out teacher from Reykjavik, who takes a job teaching two girls in the tiny village of Skálar - but only one student appears.

Isolated, lonely and unwelcome, Una finds herself haunted by nightmares and strange singing at night. When a sudden tragedy strikes, she begins to suspect the village holds dark secrets that no one has been willing to reveal for generations. The question is, can she - and will she - uncover them?

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As well as starring in the series, Friel will also serve as executive producer via her Wonderwell production banner, while Jónasson will adapt it. Jónasson has teased that in addition to The Girl Who Died, there may well be more adaptations of his books to come, too.

“I love telling stories, in books and on screen, so I am very excited about setting up Dimma Pictures with Greg Silverman and John-Paul Sarni to make this a reality,” he told Deadline.

"I can’t wait to get started on our first series, The Girl Who Died, with the incredible Anna Friel, with more exciting projects hopefully to follow, from my own books as well as from books by some of my favourite authors.”

Who’s in the cast of The Girl Who Died?

As is stands, Anna Friel is the only confirmed cast member of The Girl Who Died, but we’re expecting more details to be released shortly, so watch this space for more details.

Is Ragnar Jónasson's book any good?

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Yes, the book is Ragnar Jónasson's first standalone crime thriller (he’s best-known for his international best-selling Ari Thór series) and it doesn’t disappoint. It’s brilliantly atmospheric, the suspense is perfectly on point, and it’s so chilling that you probably won't want to read it too close to bedtime! It's therefore not too surprising that it became the first ever Icelandic novel on the Sunday Times Bestseller list, with critics calling Jónasson a “world-class crime writer” and the book “almost unbearably tense”.

How can I watch The Girl Who Died?

We don't yet have a confirmed broadcaster - or a release date - for The Girl Who Died, but as soon as we have more news, we'll update you here.

What else can I watch Anna Friel in?

If you’re yet to see Anna Friel’s performance as Marcella Backland in ITV's hit crime drama Marcella, we’d highly recommend tuning in. All three series are available to stream on ITVX. For a different – but equally brilliant – series, try Butterfly, which is also available to stream on ITVX. The series originally aired in 2018 and Friel stars as the other of an 11-year-old’s boy who wants to change gender and live life as a girl named Maxine.