Fortitude

Fortitude is set in a small, isolated Arctic town where life has always been calm and orderly. That peace is shattered when a violent death appears on what has been the planet's safest community, and the investigation reveals that long-buried tensions and strange occurrences have been simmering under the surface. As local officers, scientists and officials try to understand what happened, alliances fracture, secrets spill out and the town's survival comes into question. The show keeps the mystery close to the characters, mixing police procedural elements with creeping unease and hints of something more unnatural, without resolving its central puzzles too quickly.

Created by Simon Donald and first released in 2015, the series stars Richard Dormer, Sienna Guillory, Mia Jexen, Sofie Gråbøl and Luke Treadaway. The cast anchors a moody, chilly production that leans on location atmosphere and careful casting to sell its claustrophobic setting.

The series didn't sweep the big prize circuits, but it did draw awards attention for technical work and strong performances. Critics and industry voters repeatedly noted the production design, cinematography and ensemble acting, earning a handful of nominations in craft categories and specialist television awards.

Fortitude made an impression for how it used landscape as a character, its willingness to mix crime drama with speculative elements, and its bleak, slow-burning tone. It developed a dedicated audience who talk about its visuals, oddball moments and refusal to tidy up mysteries, helping it stick in conversations about icy, atmospheric TV.

Critical response was mixed to positive, reflected in a 6.8/10 average from viewer votes. Many reviewers praised the lead performances and the show's ability to sustain dread, while some found the plotting uneven and the genre shifts jarring. Themes that recur include isolation, community pressure, the corruption of secrecy and the collision between scientific curiosity and human fear.