Okay, it won’t be quite as dramatic as the arrival of William of Orange and the Glorious Revolution in 1688, but Channel 4’s on demand service Walter Presents is launching three Dutch crime series in the coming months. If you’re looking to move on from the Danish and Swedish shows that have dominated the world of subtitled crime, then look out for Framed, The Neighbours and Penoza.
Framed kicks off on Friday 14 October on All 4, and is a 10 part series based on the book Mr Miller by Charles Den Tex. Michael Bellyacher, played by Daan Schuurmans, has just been given a senior management position at the media consultancy he works for. A colleague he had an affair with commits suicide. She’d been trying to get in touch with him about something important, and was keeping files on his accounts, but now she’s dead and Michael doesn’t believe she killed herself.
As he starts looking into the woman’s death, more and more things don’t seem to add up. Soon, he’s exiled from his office, cut off from his family, and nothing is as it seems. Gradually, it becomes clear that the Mr Miller she mentioned to him might hold the key. You’ll find a brief episode guide here.
If you liked Follow the Money, we reckon this ramped-up, man on the run conspiracy thriller will have you glued to your screen.
Daan Schuurmans also heads the cast in The Neighbours. Dates for it haven’t been announced yet, but the story kicks off in the aftermath of a crime and then goes back to look at how it came about.
Eva and her husband Peter (Schuurmans) are comforted after the loss of their baby by new neighbours Rebecca and Steef. Comforted, and then some, because soon a little bit of wife swapping is going on and as boundaries are crossed, so are certain laws including the one about killing people. With its mix of sex and intrigue, the show has been a hit in The Netherlands and a second series has been commissioned.
Penoza, meanwhile, is a series in which the wife of a murdered mafia man reluctantly takes over the family’s criminal interests after his assassination.
If you go to Channel4.com you can register and set up email notifications to let you know when new episodes of Framed are available.
Have a look at our top 20 crime shows of all time for more great TV.
