The star of upcoming British fairytale mystery drama Mayday has compared the series to hit Danish crime series The Killing.

Sam Spruell likened the new series from the makers of Life on Mars, Hustle and Spooks to the slow-burning tension and suspicion found in the Danish mystery (titled Forbrydelsen in it’s home country). Speaking to Digital Spy, the Snow White and The Hunstmen star said the following:

“On the face of it, it’s like a Midsomer Murders, but I’d say it’s much more The Killing. You get to kind of meet a whole range of people and work out how they are connected to the crime that is taking place. You see all their personal situations and the difficulties they are facing.”

“It’d be stupid and arrogant to say it’s going to be as big as The Killing is,” he noted. “I think The Killing is brilliant. If we can get anywhere near that, it’ll be wonderful. That’s a tall ask. We’re gonna try, dammit!”

Mayday, which made our list of upcoming British dramas to look forward to earlier this week tells the story of a missing girl in a quiet village, interspersed with fairytale lore and mythical misgivings. You can read the official synopsis below:

When a young girl goes missing on her way to the Mayday parade, the small community in which she lives looks to one another for answers.

But beneath the picture-postcard idyll lies a sinister other world and the dark woods teem with myth.

As the community reels from Hattie’s disappearance, the drama follows the mass hysteria and ensuing search from the point of view of the central characters, each of whom fears that someone they know is responsible. As they keep silent, their suspicions intensify over the course of the five episodes.

Mayday will air on July 1.

Will you be watching the drama hybrid this summer?