I am glad the Flemish producers of the hit-show Undercover decided to deepen the most interesting storyline, that of drug kingpin Ferry. The first season of Undercover was the best, although the later seasons are pretty good too. You can't help but see the reminiscence to Breaking Bad though (Ferry is Walter, Daniëlle is Skyler, Lars is Jesse and John is Mike). Even the goonie friends of Dutch-Jesse are present. But as a Dutch saying goes, better stolen properly than made-up poorly :) In that sense it does a great job. The portrayal of the underground synthetic drug scene is a major problem down in the south here, and the acting is spot on. The character Ferry feels more fleshed out the longer Frank Lammers plays it, which can be weird since this show is set before the first season of Undercover. I just love Elise Schaap, in this part but she seems to be a really nice person too.
Casting for Lars is perfect too, before this I only knew Yannick van de Velde from the SUPER funny Rundfunk show and movie Jachterwachter.
The production seems on par with American standards, which should make this show more appealing abroad.
If you liked Breaking Bad, Top Boy or other drug related crime dramas, and you feel like having a look into the Dutch underworld, this is definitely for you.
Watch the movie Ferry first though, for background purposes. And watch it in Dutch with subtitles. Otherwise the sublteties will be lost in translation.
