The Mallorca Files

This light hearted crime drama is set on the Spanish island of Mallorca and centred on detectives Miranda Blake and Max Winter. She is British and he is German; together they mostly investigate cases involving foreigners on the island under the direction of their Spanish boss Inés Villegas. The cases, which last one forty-five minute episode, are varied; unlike most such series they don't all involve murder.

I enjoyed this series far more than I expected. The fact that it was first broadcast in the afternoon led me to write it off as light, low-budget, low-quality froth... this was unfair; yes it is light and frothy but it is also a lot of fun and totally inoffensive. Blake and Winter are great lead characters; their relationship develops nicely as the series progresses without any obvious suggestions of romance. The two leads, Elen Rhys and Julian Looman as Blake and Winter respectively, do impressive jobs. Also notable is María Fernández Ache, who plays Inés. The Balearic location is lovely to see on a gloomy winter day in England; and a revelation to those who associated the place with drunken tourists rather than its obvious natural beauty and history! There is a good amount of unforced humour. Overall I'd certainly recommend this to somebody wanting a light, humorous drama set in an attractive location.

It takes a few episodes to find it feet, but it gets there by the end. The two main characters have great chemistry, and you can watch them grow towards each other as the show progress, but don't let it happen too quickly..

Series 2 is already in the can, i think? Let's hope the plots are are bit more thought out, and the script could be sharper.. This show should be prime time, no idea why it's on in the afternoon? ..

Ps the scenery just makes me want to drop everything and go explore the island right now.

As others have noticed, this series makes no sense. Why would a british cop be assigned to work with a german cop solving crimes in spain, when it is quite obvious that neither actually speaks more than tourist spanish? And in addition the political backdrop of brexit makes it even more incredible.

The first few episodes are also quite painful. The female lead is certainly suffering from sunburn and all the acting is a bit wooden. But it gets better. And once it gets into its stride it is good fun. No violence. Light comedy. Light romance. Reasonably well handled intrigues. it is easy viewing without being too cliched. Admittedly this is because the entire scenario is so far-fetched, but hey - I enjoyed it.

Surprised by some of the negative commentary on here. No, it's not realistic in the slightest (why would a British and German cop partner up to solve Spanish crimes on Mallorca?!), but good fun and feel good TV.

Sometimes that's exactly what's needed!

What better way to sit down an a cold grey December afternoon? The blue skies and easy going plots represent forty five minutes of pure escapism. You'll be disappointed if you're expecting anything gritty or challenging, it isn't. It fits perfectly into the afternoon category, joining Father Brown and Shakespeare and Hathaway, and whilst it doesn't quite reach the standard of the crime fighting clergyman it's still a very good watch.

The two leads are very likeable, good fun, I thought they worked very well together. I'm glad to see a second series is planned for 2020, these afternoon dramas are easy to watch (on catch-up.)

Sour Grapes and Night of the Stag are the best of the episodes. My favourite new show of 2019, they improve with every episode.