Fans of the gritty Danish crime drama The Chestnut Man have been waiting for news about a second season since 2021. Now Netflix has finally answered with a confirmed return date and a first look at what is coming.
The wait for more answers from the dark and rainy streets of Copenhagen is almost over. Netflix officially announced on February 25, 2026, that the sequel series, titled The Chestnut Man: Hide and Seek, will premiere globally on May 7, 2026 . The six-part event is based on author Søren Sveistrup’s follow-up novel, which was published in 2024 under the Danish title Tæller til en, tæller til to (Counting to One, Counting to Two) .
The New Hunt Begins With a Terrifying Game
The new season brings back the tension that made the first season a global hit. This time, the story centers on a 41-year-old woman who disappears. When police start looking into her digital life, they discover something deeply disturbing. For months, an unknown stalker had been watching her private moments .
The killer was playing what Netflix describes as an involuntary game of hide and seek. The perpetrator sent the woman images and videos of herself, along with a strange nursery rhyme-style counting song. When she is later found murdered, detectives realize this case is connected to the unsolved murder of a 17-year-old high school student from two years earlier .
The official synopsis confirms that the killer is now targeting new victims. The body count rises as the perpetrator draws more people into this deadly game. The question remains: who will be the next to “play” hide and seek ?
The Return of Hess and Thulin
Danica Curcic and Mikkel Boe Følsgaard reprise their roles as detectives Naia Thulin and Mark Hess . The pair, who cracked the chestnut man case in the first season, find themselves pulled back together for this new investigation.
However, things are different now. After the intense events of the first case, Hess and Thulin tried to start a personal relationship. That attempt ended abruptly, leaving a lot of complicated and unresolved feelings between them . Their professional dynamic is now more difficult, adding extra tension as they are forced to work side-by-side again to stop a killer.
New Faces Join the Cast
The sequel introduces some significant new additions to the cast. Sofie Gråbøl joins the series . Gråbøl is a legendary figure in Danish drama, best known for her iconic role as Detective Inspector Sarah Lund in the groundbreaking series The Killing (Forbrydelsen), which was also created by Søren Sveistrup . Her involvement brings a full-circle moment for fans of Nordic noir.
Katinka Lærke Petersen also joins the cast . Netflix has not yet revealed which characters these new actors will play, but their roles are expected to be central to the new mystery.
A Standalone Story for New Viewers
For those who haven’t seen the first season, there is good news. Netflix has emphasized that The Chestnut Man: Hide and Seek is a stand-alone sequel . While the main characters return, the case they investigate is completely new. Viewers do not need to watch the first season to understand the plot of the second . However, watching the original series will provide deeper background on the complicated history between Hess and Thulin.
The Mind Behind the Horror
The series remains rooted in the work of Søren Sveistrup, who also created The Killing. His books often explore dark themes related to childhood and trauma. In a past interview, Sveistrup explained his motivation for writing these intense stories .
“Children’s development to adulthood is interesting. One has an enormous innocence and fantasy as a child, then things happen that make this disappear. It’s the most terrible thing I know. I have a big heart for children, they get mistreated in different ways and don’t get to grow up to become normal people.”
This perspective on how childhood experiences echo into adulthood is a core theme in both The Chestnut Man and its new sequel.
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Production Team
The series is produced by SAM Productions . Dorte W. Høgh and Emilie Lebech Kaae serve as the main writers and creators for the television adaptation . Milad Alami is the conceptual director, with Roni Ezra also directing . Morten Kjems Hytten Juhl and Stine Meldgaard Madsen are the producers, while Meta Louise Foldager Sørensen returns as executive producer .
Release Information
The Chestnut Man: Hide and Seek will launch on Netflix on Thursday, May 7, 2026. All six episodes will be available to stream at the same time. Viewers in the USA, UK, Canada, Australia, and India can watch the series starting at 12:00 a.m. Pacific Time on that date.
The first season of The Chestnut Man is available now on Netflix for anyone wanting to revisit Hess and Thulin’s first case before the new episodes arrive.
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