SQuaREserien

SQuaREserien is a fictional Swedish-language television series and part of a broader media franchise that uses the SQuaRE framework as a narrative anchor. Set in a near-future where software systems pervade daily life, the series explores themes of software quality assurance, artificial intelligence, and data ethics through a techno-thriller lens.

Created by screenwriter Lena Holmström and director Erik Johansson, the series is produced by Nordic Film Collective. The first season premiered in 2023, and multiple seasons have followed. The show is structured into six feature-length episodes per season, with runtime typically between 50 and 60 minutes.

Premise: A cross-disciplinary team at the independent watchdog agency SQuaRE investigates critical incidents in AI systems across sectors such as health, transportation, and finance. While tracing software defects, design flaws, and biased data, the team confronts governance challenges, corporate secrecy, and the human costs of unreliable technology.

Main characters include Dr. Elin Nord, a seasoned QA engineer; Rafael Costa, a cybersecurity analyst; and Yui Nakamura, a data scientist. The series has been praised for its technically informed portrayal of QA work, its ethical framing, and its suspenseful plotting, though some reviewers note a dense use of industry jargon.

SQuaREserien has influenced discussions about software quality and accountability in popular culture and has been cited in academic contexts on media representations of AI. The franchise also features companion novels and an online interactive experience, expanding on the SQuaRE framework.