User reviews

T. is spectacularly good. It has humour, high quality acting. The storyline and dialogue are surprising and captivating. The direction is exquisite, sometimes tongue-in-cheek, sometimes chillingly emotional. Koen De Bouw is totally different from all his other roles, his comic timing and humour is spot on. Ella Leyers is very natural and spontaneous, and touching in her scenes with the equally authentic Gène Bervoets. Herwig Ilegems is a real comic gem, we already knew that, but this time he proves that he can be very believable in a dramatic vein. T. is not the classical whodunit, but it is thriller, comedy and drama all in once. It succeeds on all three levels. This series deserves a lot of viewers!

Rarely today you find a show that is original and fresh ,well written with great casting. What a great commentary of life and relationship that is humorous and bluntly exposing of the frailty and hurts we live with and communicate through to others all of this in the guise of a detective drama. Well done excellent production ,I'm only hopeing there are more to come.

In spite of potential unreality and exaggeration (I am not sure that a person like that could be in contact with young people and assist authorities nowadays), but the concept and its realisation are really distinct. True, the cases are not equally interesting, but when the wrongdoer could be guessed in advance, there is always a twist in his-her motive and some aspect the viewer (as well as the police) was unable to ascertain...

The gem of this Series is undoubtedly Koen de Bouw - he is really something, so different from his other performances; I have also briefly looked at remake trailers and must state that no other actor in the role of Professor T. Is up to this task. Plus, here my another favourite was Goele Derick as Ingrid Sneyers. Well, the remaining cast was good as well, though I was not fond of certain replacements in Seasons 2 and 3... As for the latter, I disagree with those claiming that Season 3 is worse or unnecessary, I find it pleasant change of venues and skilful roundup of the story, no hasty finish due to less viewers, lack of funds, etc.

Thus - 10 points for performances and depiction of "crazy moments", 8 for the smoothness - 9 in total. Good work!

The characters are well embroiled in a story throughout the series that is full of unexpected events. It depicts our human dark and enlighten sides with a clever mix of disgust, humor and romanticism. The acting is excellent, at a level where I felt real moving moments throughout the series. The music is fantastic.

Its the first time I watch something in Flemish, thought I was not going to tolerate it, but the acting and the story just took over and I enjoyed it as if it was my native language!

I thoroughly enjoyed Professor T., and was increasingly drawn into the two series available on UK's All4 channel, ultimately binge watching! Yes, it takes a while to get into its stride, so disregard the Guardian reviewer's lazy and flippant review based only on the first episode. The series' writers' intentions only become clear over time and some of the best scenes (and explanations of the Professor's complicated past) are left building right up to the closing episodes of Series 2. If there are echoes of previous TV dramas, so there are in a myriad of small screen offerings - where could we find total originality after so many decades of TV? Humour, tragedy, suspense, romance and whodunit unravellings take turns to entertain, and I ended up really liking all the main characters, finding the acting and directing high-end throughout. The European aspects might be appreciated more by a UK audience drilled in Scand-noir than by US viewers, as we know Americans often prefer to remake a successful Euro-series or movie in English on home soil to guarantee a good audience. Still, if subtitles and a foreign ambiance are fine by you, I'd unreservedly recommend giving this thoughtful Belgian drama a go. The intriguing series 2 ending leads me to think a third series might be pending.

Professor Jasper Teerlinck lectures in criminology at Antwerp University and sometimes helps the police with active cases. He is no ordinary crime fighter; not only is he very direct he is also rather troubled... some might say he is actually insane. He frequently sees things that aren't there; imagining people breaking into song and in one case seeing a man literally as a puppet complete with strings! The other characters are interesting too; most notably Inspector Annelies Donckers, a police officer who was once a student of the Professor; Paul Rabet, a senior police officer with issues of his own and Christina Flamant, another senior officer who was once involved with the professor.

When one first starts watching this series one may wonder just what is going on; is it a drama or is it a comedy... the truth is it is a bit of both with a touch of tragedy too. Koen De Bouw is great as Professor T; the character could so easily have been annoying or silly but he makes the professor likeable and believable. The supporting cast are solid too; most notably Ella Leyers as Annelies and Goele Derick as Mrs Sneyer's, the professor's secretary who steals every scene she is in despite being a relatively minor character. The cases are typically contained within a single episode, although the final case of each of the two seasons is spread over two episodes. These are fairly standard murder mysteries which are well handled with each having plenty of suspects to keep viewers guessing. The series does throw up some surprises as characters have to deal with personal issues one wouldn't expect in such a series; these are dealt with well; giving depth to the characters rather than detracting from the story. Overall I'd certainly recommend this to fans of murder mysteries who are looking for something a little different.

These comments are based on watching in Dutch with English subtitles.

This series could be compared to Monk or House, but, it does not remain in the simple genius with null social skills that solves police cases. The Professor T. is also a deconstruction of the human mind, traumas, emotions and their consequences in people's lives and is analyzed as the psyche and emotions have led to commit ordinary crimes. Although the cases are autoconclusive, the central characters are evolving and growing and all seasons have a common link that is the mysterious and traumatic suicide of the Professor's father. Apart is the music that accompanies the series, quite unusual, but, that fits like a glove.

Like other reviewers, I was not convinced this was for me--I thought I knew what it was going to be. Stick with it, it is surprising how this holds your attention. The storyline and the characters are intriguing. Professor T is brilliantly, certifiably crazy, but remains functional, others care about him and accept his quirkiness--. It is also very funny. The music is also terrific.

I discovered Professor T on PBS. The first 13 episodes were so good, I am paying to watch Series 2. All the acting is top notch. These are not familiar actors to me, but I am very impressed. Each small mystery is interesting and fun to solve along with the cast. I can't wait for Series 3 to be available in the States too!

This is a series worth watching even with subtitles, although any subtitles add to the experience in some cases, such as crime series,in our opinion. (We are fans of Scandi Noir on SBS Australia) While initially a strange series it draws you in, with a series of subplots and the eccentric professor center stage. Some have mentioned Monk in these reviews by comparison, but I think it was much harder to suspend disbelief in that show and argue that this is an infinitely better series to watch. Its European flavour is far more digestible that American slick offerings. Ingrid Sneyers (Goele Denck) is a hoot to watch and her interactions with the professor are enjoyable, as is the mother of professor T. Best to make up your own mind but we give it a full score for its eccentric individuality.

These days its Channel 4 rather than the BBC, ITV, 5 or Sky etc where we get our intelligent crime drama fix.

Professor T. is the latest example - this time from Belgium. In my opinion its a hugely better offering than the BBC's total re-working of the Agatha Christie classic The ABC Murders.

Well the first two seasons are incredibly good. Sadly most of the wonderful connections are lost in the third season which is downright awful and we lost all interest in it. Just watch the first two seasons and be prepared for a let down in the third. The Rabet Teerlinck interface was tough at the start but very watchable now harrowing start of the third season building to the hiring of a rabid wound up top as a chief inspector. Well.. now we have lost most of our interest.

Until then this drama is cohesive in that it successfully stitches together threads within a university criminology department and plain clothes police. This is generally as in the synergy between the two institutions and singular as in cases where T helps the police plain clothes unit. It also has plenty of individual people related back stories including dealing with mental illness. Let's face it you might think that a bad recipe.

As you get through the Episodes this is not so as appropriately mental illness can trigger a lot of crimes. Apparently one good example is shame. I am not going to tell you which episode but its a stand out one. Even Professor T has some form of mental illness which anyone, who has come across it, should recognise. Yet this does in no way stops him from being key to solving crimes. In fact its the opposite. He is a "necessary evil" for the police as he annoys many people he comes into "contact" with. Notice the use of inverted commas.

So NB a team or group of people holds this brilliant drama together - not just Professor T. Also there is a lot of humour; mostly at the university were T works, which is very important when dealing with, at times, heavy drama. It's a great recipe just like their often Palm Oil free chocolate. Well done Belgium.

This show is quirky and surprising, and highly addictive. This is Monk on steroids. I love it!

This is a well acted show, but the shaky camera ruins it. Moves for no reason. Tries to be similar to NYPD Blue, but unlike that show, the way they do it here, is annoying.

Got motion sick trying to watch this show while the camera was constantly bobbing and weaving like a drunk boxer.

Choice of background music was frequently weirdly inappropriate.

Also, shortest class ever at the beginning of S1 Ep.1???

Professor T is a Flemmish version of Monk, only not as endearing.

This is an excellent series, and I'm sorry that Britbox and PBS decided to produce what I consider an extremely watered down version of an extremely good and adult series. What I liked about the Belgian series - 1) The acting is extremely good. The actors are their characters. The wonderful actress Goele Derick who plays the formidable Frau Ingrid Sneyers is terrific in the part. 2) The series is a good blend of the Human Psyche, murders, subtle and broad humor. The blend is extremely captivating. There are samplings of actual psychiatry, philosophy, and classical music. There are wonderful and humorous fantasy sequences. If anything, the series got better over a three season period. I must admit, that in the final scenes in the last episode of the series. I felt a little emotional, with a bit of a lump in my throat. I can't recommend this series more highly.

Admittedly I've only seen the first six episodes so far (I live in the US), but if the rest of the series continues at the same quality level, I will remain a fan. The show is very unique - yes it is another entry in the "quirky outsider helping the police solve crimes" genre, but at least Jasper Teerlinck (great name!) is a professor of criminology who knows a lot about criminal psychology and who does actually teach classes in it. His level of involvement with the police so far has been believable and nowhere near as ridiculous as, say, in a show like "Castle" (now thankfully off the air).

The crime stories depicted in "Professor T." take place in interesting circumstances and manage to be genuinely puzzling without becoming overcomplicated with lots of characters and subplots. The solutions are often surprising, but not out of left field. The acting is great across the board - Koen de Bouw is terrific as the title character, but my two especial favorites are Goele Derick as the professor's hilariously deadpan secretary Mrs. Sneyers, and Bart Hollanders as the affable Inspector Daan De Winter. The personal life stories involving the regular characters work well within the framework of the show and are nicely balanced with the police procedural aspect. I love the bizarre flights of fancy Teerlinck is prone to, when he sees and hears offbeat images and music that aren't actually there - sometimes they are funny and sometimes they're a bit scary, but they are always handled imaginatively. The photography and overall look of the series are also to be commended. To me the entire production comes off as very original.

My only nitpick is regarding the wardrobes of Donckers and De Winter: would anyone with the rank of Police Inspector really dress in such a consistently slovenly manner on the job and not be reprimanded? Watching the first episode I actually thought they were two college students interning at the police department - it took me awhile to realize they were supposed to be full-fledged detectives. The tousled-hair, unkempt-sweatshirt-and-jeans look the characters favor undermines their credibility a bit, IMO.

Everything else about the show is so well done, though, that it doesn't really bother me - I've gotten used to it (and hey, maybe in Belgium it would be perfectly acceptable). If "Professor T." keeps going the way it has been so far, I will definitely keep watching.

No soy exagerado. Es de las mejores series que he visto en mi vida. Maravillosa e irrepetible.

...more in particular in my hometown Antwerp, and spoken in my native language Flemish (which some, mostly Dutch, minimisingly coin it a Dutch dialect). Excellent screen job in production, directing, acting, story line, score. It all shows in a most-enjoyable creation. No unnecessary depressing gore and attention-grabbing drama. It rather leaves you with a smile and spirits lifted.

After watching the first season on PBS, we subscribed to Walter Presents to get the other two seasons. The quirky characters and plots, the great sound track. The moments when everything flys off the rails and we are in Jasper's head seeing the world from his perspective. Just a great, imaginative, gripping show.

One word: quirky. The way it's filmed is very unusual. The Prof sees things we do not. However, I like it.

Took me a while to figure out it was Belgian. Mainly because I can speak German and I kept hearing German words, but I knew it wasn't German and I knew it wasn't Swiss German either as I lived there for a year. So that was a bit distracting at first. I watch a lot of European shows on Netflix so am used to the subtitles now. But I have to be very careful not to fall asleep and watch every line or I will miss something.

I am watching this show in Ontario, Canada from an American PBS station. I'm so glad PBS is showing foreign tv programmes.

The cast is eclectic to say the least. But that's fine. I'm only 3 episodes in so maybe my rating will improve as I watch more.

After years of poor quality tvshows, belgian tv is finally making series worth watching. I was never a Koen De Bouw fan but watching 'Grenslanders' made me curious about T. I had not watched it but I rented the 3 seasons in the library and after the first musical note I was hooked. The music is an important element. The great acting, not only by Koen De Bouw, but everybody in the show creates a high standard. It's a smart and intelligent show, a crossing between Ally Macbeal and House MD. Sharp dialogues. And the storylines are touching.I hope there will be more!

Yeah i know he's a professor, but c'mon. He's detectiving and you know it. And look, another messy haired woman detective in ill fitting ugly sweaters. I wish their detective work could manage to solve the case of how to find a comb, shampoo and a barber without a sense of humor. And look, the detective is emotionally transported by music. A good number of detective/priests, detective/Oxford dropouts, detective/socialites, detective/ aristocrats, detective/detectives rely on jazz, blues, classical music, pianists, violin scraping, electronica to elevate them above the cares of the filthy, teeming world that surrounds them. But hey, at least there's no time-traveling or violent cops who hold conversations with their murdered, half-headed police partners. And look, the novel concept of detective/doctors/professors who despise the rest of humankind.

I love detective series, even if they tend to be formulaic... And American. Now, thanks to The Killing and Spiral, European countries have developed a new thread which tends to be darker, less predictable and artfully filmed. Even compared with these milestones, Prefessor T is original, funny, sad and thought-provoking. The incidental music is anything but incidental and besides episode-length cases to crack, there's a whole series' storyline which asks serious questions about perception and mental health. An absolute gem.