ZeroZeroZero

ZeroZeroZero has to be one of the most underrated, surprisingly great series of the last few years. For all the great ratings by critics and viewers alike I never heard about this until recently. It's an eight episode miniseries that will keep you in the edge of your seat throughout each episode! It's beautifully shot, it has such a fresh, gritty feel to it. It's also brilliantly written, directed, acted, etc. The acting is just fantastic, especially Dane DeHaan and Andrea Riseborough. I was so into this show that I binged all eight episodes of the course of a weekend. I was actually disappointed that it's only a miniseries because I wanted to see more. Hopefully they start making more of these kind of gritty crime thrillers.

If Charles Dickens had written an epic cartel/mafia/"Gomorrah"/"Narcos" hybrid script it would have looked something like this: a bingeable, epic, gripping, international crime thriller. A very smart, complex, brutal, clear-eyed script with three major story-lines: Buyers, Sellers, Brokers. Excellent production values; impressive level of detail, a cast of hundreds and some astonishing performances.

Am I biased, yes because I absolutely love the Gomorrah tv series written by Roberto Saviano (As is the book for this series). In fact I was looking to see if there would be a season 5 just the other day and I came across this new show.

The pacing, the music, the acting, the suspense are all perfect, it's fabulous. I have only seen 2 episodes but I have little doubt the rest of the show will continue with the high standards already set out. Simply put I love these slow moving provocative crime drama's, which don't have the typical over the top action.

This is one of the most well shot, well written miniseries I have ever seen, and yet nobody I talk to has ever heard of it (I myself heard of it from a podcast completely unrelated to tv/movies). Amazon definitely needed to promote this better.

To me, this felt like one really long film rather than a miniseries, and I mean that in the best way possible; there is very little discontinuity or downtime as each episode rolls on. The story itself is a tightly woven tale of 3 parties from 3 different countries involved in an international cocaine shipment, and it is executed wonderfully. The suspense is high and action nearly constant after the first episode, which admittedly takes a minute to get going, so be sure to give it a chance as it has to set the rather complicated story up.

The thing that shocked me the most was the production quality; Amazon must have spent a fortune on this because the set pieces, camera work, cinematography, acting etc. Are all top notch, and each episode feels like a film production. There are some rather breathtaking hover shots over exotic landscapes, and the locations felt authentic.

The show utilizes a "rewind" cinematic technique throughout that I thought was rather unique and well executed. At certain points the story will seemingly jump forward in time, and as things begin to converge and confusion sets in (as in, "what the hell did I miss?"), the timeline will rewind and you are given the missing details from a different character's perspective. It's executed extremely well, and adds additional suspense to an already wild show. You'll know these moments are about to happen because the camera slows and cued music begins to play for great effect.

If you don't mind reading a lot of subtitles (roughly 2/3 of the show) and this sounds interesting, definitely check it out. It's the best kept secret on Amazon.

The story, the characters, the music, the performances...everything is superb. I really loved the mix between three countries (the suppliers, the couriers and the buyers). I definitely recommend it to anyone who is looking for a great series with all the ingredients. A must watch!!