Marie Dompnier in ‘Witnesses,’ one of the best foreign TV shows of the year
In no particular order, These are our favorite foreign TV series of 2015.
River – NetTVwatch was ahead of the curve on this one. We watched and reviewed River as soon as it showed up on Netflix; it’s now starting to get more media attention. Though Stellan Skarsgard’s portrayal of the deeply flawed DI John River may be the best reason to watch the show, there is plenty more to like about this dark police procedural.
The Code – Probably the most unique series in our top five. Australia has generated some excellent TV series recently, and The Code is the best of the lot. The relationship between Jesse – the reluctant hero – and his brother Ned adds an extra layer of interest to this intriguing mystery.
Witnesses – This under-the-radar series has been our most popular review in recent months, and it’s no surprise. Witnesses is a taut police procedural and thriller that puts France on equal footing with the BBC in this genre.
The Fall, season 2 – Gillian Anderson and Jamie Dornan continue their complex portrayals of cop and killer. There are mind games aplenty. We enjoyed every minute.
Catastrophe – A nice change of pace from murder and crime! With lots of sitcoms finding a home on streaming services it would be easy to overlook Catastrophe. Sharon Horgan and Rob Delaney wrote and star in this series about a 40ish couple with real life problems. We rarely like sitcoms, but this one is good!
For River:
I have to admit that I wasn’t expecting great things. I channel surfed on Net Flix and saw that this was a BBC Detective mystery. The BBC Seems to consistently deliver quality programs, so I thought “Why not?” After the first 5 minutes, when River’s partner Stevie sang joyfully to Tina Charles song “I love to love”, I was transfixed. I watched all 6 episodes yesterday – a Saturday with 14 inches of snow piling up outside.
This series made me laugh and cry more than any other series I’ve ever watched. It was heartwarming, dramatic and suspenseful. I fell in love with Stevie and River and felt empathy for most of the other characters.
I loved this series more than I can say. I plan to watch the whole series again over Thanksgiving when my mom comes to visit.
If I could give this an 11, I would. Please ignore the haters. You really can’t please everyone.
I plan to watch everything Nicola Walker ever did. She is the most amazing actress I’ve ever watched. LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!
It is a great series. Thanks for your comments!