Naman Shrestha
Based on Jo Nesbø’s ‘Harry Hole’ novel series, specifically ‘The Devil’s Star,’ Netflix’s ‘Jo Nesbø’s Detective Hole’ is a Norwegian crime drama series created by Jo Nesbø. It revolves around a competent yet troubled detective, Harry Hole, who leads a simple life in a small apartment in Oslo, Norway. On the one hand, he is in a constant battle with his corrupt colleague and adversary, Tom Waaler, who was responsible for the death of Harry’s closest colleague — something only he knows. On the other hand, more troubles arise as a series of ritualistic murders strikes the city into a state of chaos and panic.
As he juggles his personal and professional life, Harry must use his skills to solve the puzzling patterns of the serial killer on the loose and restore peace and quiet in the city. Titled ‘Jo Nesbø’s Harry Hole’ in Scandinavia, the mystery thriller series features Tobias Santelmann, Joel Kinnaman, Pia Tjelta, Ellen Helinder, Anders Baasmo, Kåre Conradi, Simon J. Berger, and Peter Stormare. The city of Oslo serves as the show’s visual setting, with its hustle and bustle reflecting the commotion in Detective Harry’s mind and life.
Jo Nesbø’s Detective Hole Filming Locations
Production on ‘Jo Nesbø’s Detective Hole’ was conducted entirely in Norway, primarily in and around Oslo. According to reports, principal photography for the debut season of the detective series commenced in May 2024 and concluded after about 113 days of shooting, in the first week of December of the same year. Since the show is set in Norway, it is only natural for the shooting to take place on location so as to maintain authenticity throughout the narrative.
Oslo, Norway
As the production team of ‘Jo Nesbø’s Detective Hole’ spent multiple months filming the inaugural season across the city of Oslo, they reportedly utilized more than 160 locations, including Restaurant Schrøder in Waldemar Thranes gate 8 at St. Hanshaugen. From what we can tell, a few portions were also lensed in and around the swimming pool arena at Frognerbadet, in Middelthuns gate 28. For the scenes depicting Harry’s house and the surrounding areas, the cast and crew set up camp in and around St. Hanshaugen Park, situated within the borough of St. Hanshaugen, just north of the city center. Furthermore, the Grønland police station at Grønlandsleiret 44 in Oslo supposedly served as a prominent production location for the Norwegian series.
In June 2025, the production team reportedly took over the studio facilities of Dagslys at Gjerdrums vei 6. The cost-effective studio space features 5 custom-built movie studios of varying sizes, production offices, and workshop services, making it an ideal filming destination for a wide range of projects. During a conversation with Tudum, director and executive producer Øystein Karlsen expressed his thoughts on using Oslo as the production location. He stated, “Having been a fan of the books for years, I always felt that Oslo on its own is such an important character in the stories. It has the perfect mixture of rich and poor, dark and light, old and new, to balance the darkness and suspense in the universe that is Harry’s. Jo’s version of Oslo is sort of a Gotham version, and we enhance that in the series.”
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