What happens when the hunter becomes the hunted? That’s the question at the centre of  a new Swedish-crime thriller Blood Sacrifice, which has become an immediate hit, writes streaming reviewer NICK OVERALL.

Set in Stockholm, Blood Sacrifice (Netflix) tells the creepy tale of a serial killer who doesn’t target vulnerable civilians, but rather police officers.

Anyone on patrol on Friday night becomes a potential victim of this elusive figure whose motive remains as hidden as his identity. 

Stockholm needs police on the beat, but how do you protect the people whose job it is to protect others? 

Detective Thomas Berg (Jakob Oftebro) is assigned the task of catching this killer, but as the secrets of the case unravel he soon discovers he may have to reach deep into his own past to find the answers. 

Berg enlists the help of his father Alfred (Peter Anderson), a former cop with a shadowy background of his own.

Regular readers of this column will know a different setting for a crime series is always a big green tick in an age where these shows are so common. Sweden certainly gives this one a much needed vibe that helps set it apart.

Blood Sacrifice comes from George Kay, whose work audiences may be familiar with in shows such as Lupin (also on Netflix) and Hijack (Apple TV Plus).

These shows both do a stellar job of making time a major point of tension. Blood Sacrifice’s similar ticking clock is what keeps the story engaging. 

In this story each murder happens at precisely the same time every week, making each minute feel like a nail-biting countdown before the killer strikes again.

The writing doesn’t always hit the heights it wants to, but capped at just five episodes the plot moves along at an addictive pace that makes this one easy to recommend.

RETURNING for a second season this month is the loose spin-off to The Office (US version) which has managed to muster up quite a remarkable following.

Many expected The Paper, streaming on Binge, to be relegated to the failed spin-off bin soon after its premiere last year, but the show has managed to prove a hit.

Whereas The Office was set inside a branch of a failing paper company, this follow up series takes a look at a workplace that actually uses paper. 

The Toledo Truthteller is a struggling local news outlet in Ohio trying to stay afloat in a rapidly digitising world. 

This series introduces us to the dysfunctional journos and editors trying to keep their outlet alive. 

The plot kicks off when timid editor Ned Sampson (Domhnall Gleeson) gets a gig at the paper and becomes the last chance at turning their struggling reputation around. 

Plot wise, its tether to The Office comes in the form of Oscar Martinez, an accountant from the previous show who has now moved his smarts towards a more journalistic pursuit.

Beyond that though there isn’t actually much linking the two series.

They share more in structure and writing than anything, a mockumentary style set up that fixates on the mundane yet hilarious antics of the workplace. 

After getting off to a very shaky start, by the end of the season many viewers felt The Paper had found some kind of footing, almost mirroring the story of the show itself.

It’s a lot like the show that inspired it. The Office (US) in its first season struggled to carve out a voice in the comedy world. It was only once it got to season two that it really took off.

Does the same fate await The Paper? This season will prove the real test. 

News all day, every day at CityNewsQBN.com.au.