NOT JUST SWEDEN:

The collector is Jack Irish (Guy Pearce), the eponymous antihero of this intelligent, hard-boiled thriller set in Melbourne, Australia. It's the first episode in a series based on the novels of Peter Temple, Australia's answer to James Ellroy. "Jack Irish: Bad Debts" aired Down Under last year and is now finding a U.S. audience online thanks to AcornTV. [...]

[I]f the show's pacing and character development aren't as crisp as they should be, "Jack Irish" more than compensates with terrific atmospherics and solid acting. Like "Chinatown" and other American noirs whose spirit it channels, most of the action here takes place in well-lit exteriors, rendering the evil it depicts all the more terrible. Deserted cityscapes provide an eerie backdrop for the conclusion's rapid-fire action sequences. "Jack Irish" also benefits from Mr. Pearce's and Ms. Dusseldorp's understated and good-humored performances; the larger cast of characters, especially Jack's shady racetrack partners, provide additional comic relief.

One final note. Almost everyone here speaks with a heavy Australian accent, in addition to which there is much slang that will be unfamiliar to U.S. viewers. But this isn't a major cause for concern. Noir is an international language.

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