Is this really the end of The Bridge? The creator has his say on the show's future

Sofia Helin’s character made her final farewell by solving her last case, saving her partner from certain death, and throwing her warrant card off the Oresund Bridge. She seems to be leaving the police force for good.

That, we have been told, was that. The fourth series is the final ever of The Bridge… but hang on. That may not quite be the case.

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Creator Hans Rosenfeldt, who created the show and wrote most of the episodes over the course of the four series, insists that he has no current plans to return. But he admitted he would not rule out ever returning to Saga or the police stations of Malmo and Copenhagen.

Asked by RadioTimes.com if he could ever revisit Saga or write a spin-off, he said: “This is really it as far as we know. You should never say never. About 15 years from now, maybe somebody says, 'I wonder what happened to Saga Noren?' But we have no plans of revisiting her or the universe any time soon."

What about a prequel?

“Like a Young Saga thing? Probably not. But you should never say never. It’s a strong brand and I guess people will try to make it happen. But I have no intention of going back to her.”

Sofia Helin, the actress who has played Saga over four series, takes a similar line. Asked whether she would ever revisit the character she told RadioTimes.com: “You never know. But for now it’s the end.”

As for Rosendfeldt’s decision to end the series the writer (pictured below) said: “I’m a bit sad about not being able to return to especially the character and the universe we created.

I'm a little bit sad about that, but I still feel we made the right decision that you shouldn’t drag it out too long. There was a risk that we were starting to repeat ourselves. We wanted to maintain the quality and I think we did that throughout the fourth series. But after that, it’s a bit of a risk."

He added, “I’m proud we could make it an international hit. I am proudest of the character of Saga. She’s a very strong feminine character, in her early 40s – at a time when it's harder for actresses to get jobs in the meaty roles. I am very proud to have made a character with her condition and make her lovable and a role model for a lot of people.”

Rosenfeldt is working on his sixth novel this summer, and plans to write a speculative TV script in the autumn, possibly for the UK market.

At the time of speaking, he has still not heard from ITV whether they want a third series of the ITV cop drama Marcella, which finished series two in March 2018.

“We haven’t heard anything from ITV yet on whether they want a third series,” he says. But he’d "definitely" like to write more for Anna Friel's troubled investigator, he said.

As for his mystery new script he said: “I am not sure where it will end up. I am going to create something new – two new shows this autumn.

“It is not necessarily for Swedish telly so it might end up in the UK. There's a big chance it might end up there.

“I have no idea what it’s going to be. I am pretty sure it’s not going to be about the police any more. It’s going to be a thriller of some sort because I like that genre. I am not going to do a procedural. I have done that with four series of The Bridge, two series of Marcella and six novels. So I am kind of done with the police boards and the rooms and the investigations.

“I am just going to write it and see and say, 'This is something I would like to do'. But I have no idea who I am going to end up doing it with.”

This article was originally published on 29 June 2018