Keizersvrouwen

The way this series plummeted from being good to being bad truly hurt. It started out as an interesting and enjoyable character study about a madame and the girls in her escort service (with some tedious side stories regarding organized crime, political corruption, and a dysfunctional relationship with her teenage daughter). Unfortunately, it morphed into a "crime drama" and it was all downhill from there.

***Below might be considered spoilers for some***

It ended up being chocked full of unlikable characters who I wanted to see walk off a cliff; chief among them being: 1. Lulu, the teenage daughter - almost every scene with her mad me cringe. 2. Said daughter's grandmother, Sylvia - evil through and through, but good for a few laughs. 3. Ralph, a crime boss - Your stereotypical mafioso. 4. The police inspector (I can't even remember his name) - The crusading "crime fighter" who wanted to win no matter the cost.

Read the review by clsi-19102 and had to chime in. Plot? Nope. Cast acting? Nope. I gave it a 7 solely due to Karina Smulders. From fully in control of situations in an understated subtle manner to lost emotionally, I thought she was spot on. The series only worked when she was on screen. As I said: ViewPoints !

This is a very mediocre crime series from Holland. The acting is not good (especially Thijs Römer, who is from an acting family but cannot act at all) and the storytelling is sloppy. But the biggest problem of this series is, is that none of the characters is likeable.

The previous reviewer must have been watching a different series, there are a couple of similarly named series. If you do have the correct one, you do know that just watching the first 10 minutes of episode one doesn't really qualify you to review the series? It only qualifies you to review the first ten minutes of episode one.

The lead character is profoundly damaged from a nightmarish childhood and a mother whom she might well have in common with Satan himself.

In addition to a towering performance from Smulders, her bratty daughter also deserves praise. ADDICTION WARNING: If you watch the conplete episode one, you WILL need to watch the entire series.

The plot may be a little predictable, but only a little. I liked the women in this series the most.