Episode 1 of *The New Force* opens in 1958, as Stockholm’s streets witness a historic moment: the deployment of the city’s first female police officers on patrol. These pioneering women serve as the muse for Netflix’s gripping new series.
Our narrative unfolds amidst the turbulent heart of the Klara District—a seething hotbed of crime and chaos—where these female officers are, for the first time, entrusted with full authority. The arrival of these trailblazers sparks a media frenzy, with the press and public alike captivated by the groundbreaking development.
Caught in the eye of this cultural storm are Carin, Siv, and Ingrid. At the police station, they encounter Police Sister Berg, a formidable figure who appears to be the station’s superintendent.
On Carin’s inaugural day on the streets, she is paired with Officer Johan Reimer, who openly doubts her capabilities. Yet the women are far from unprepared—all have undergone rigorous jiu-jitsu training, a fact that offers at least some reassurance.
Siv and Ingrid, too, are assigned partners—Officers Rossi and Wallin, respectively—but neither man takes their female counterparts seriously. Tensions erupt when Rossi falsely claims to have searched a drunken man, who later storms into the station wielding a knife. Siv is left exposed by Rossi’s deceit, but Ingrid swiftly intervenes, de-escalating the situation before it spirals further. Still, the ordeal underscores the harsh reality many of the women face: their male colleagues subject them to relentless scrutiny, and not all can withstand the pressure. A number of recruits abandon the force entirely.
Meanwhile, Carin discovers her police badge has vanished. It emerges that a prior altercation with a prostitute named Monica has backfired spectacularly—Monica has apparently made off with Carin’s badge. Undeterred, Carin dons civilian attire and ventures back into Klara’s gritty underworld, determined to reclaim what is hers.
Simultaneously, Ingrid and Siv find themselves cold-shouldered by the male officers in a bar when they step in, off-duty, to join them for a drink. Among the men present is Oscar, known for his unpredictability. At the bar, he attempts to flirt with Siv, who remains confident that one day she will be working alongside him as a detective. There's a palpable undercurrent of sexual chemistry between them, though it remains ambiguous whether Oscar is overstepping boundaries.
The following day at work, Oscar extends an invitation to Siv, offering her a glimpse into the operations of the detective department. Meanwhile, Carin's path leads her to a sordid brothel, where she quickly finds herself embroiled in further trouble. The club's owner, Jack, takes a liking to her, and the situation threatens to escalate at any moment. Fortunately, Carin manages to wriggle free from his grasp and stumbles upon Monica in the back, bleeding.
Monica insists she doesn't have her badge, but unfortunately, Jack overhears Carin mentioning her police credentials, prompting Carin to make a hasty escape. The next day, Carin finds herself in a precarious position when she needs to register for a weapon but lacks her badge. Conversing with Johan, she learns that he had picked up her badge from the ground and had been holding onto it all this time, intending to teach her a lesson. After all, he reasons, what if she dropped her weapon and it fell into the wrong hands?
However, this lesson backfires spectacularly when a dead body surfaces at the lake. It's Monica. Carin is consumed by guilt, believing herself responsible for the tragedy after her visit to the brothel the previous night had stirred up trouble. Determined to uncover the truth, Carin is frustrated by the lack of action from the police. When her attempts to gain assistance from her superiors prove futile, Carin decides to defy a direct order and fabricate a story, claiming that the Detective Inspector had given her the go-ahead to view the report.
