Penoza

Penoza is one of the greatest series produced by the Netherlands. After her husband is being killed, Carmen decides to take over the role of leading an organized crime scene to protect her children. But being a mother and a "godmother" is not all that easy. She is under continuous attention of the police, and every now and then getting close to convictions. Members in her family are turning against her, and when she discovers the secret of her father she is almost devastated. The competition with other gangs leads to liquidations and cold blooded killings. But it never gets too bloody for the viewer, all goes in a very realistic play of drama and thrills. Exciting inside in the real underworld. Great actors, great roles and a fantastic story are the ingredients of an exciting series you don't want to miss!

This series is by far the best Dutch tv serie ever made. I've watch season one to three for at least 10 times. This series gives a good view into the Dutch crime scene. Since i'v worked as a prison guard i know this series gives a good inside view into Dutch crime. Not all the actors are that good but over all the character build up is pretty good. You really feel sorry for Carmen when she does everything to protect her family. Season one,two and three are really good. But after that it is getting real bad. And to complete the mess they cldsed it up with a really bad movie. But still i love the first seasons very much and will watch it again in the future because it still amazes me.

... really a series to have been watched week to week when first aired, for streaming makes it increasingly-repetitive, tending towards very boring when viewing more than a couple episodes at a time... and there is no 'crime-family'-story, just the female lead character continually saying she-wants-out but never leaving her life of crime-death-suffering

... what the show does do to some degree is to showcase the absurdity of wars-on-drugs, as they are futile beyond any-all measure... as with any class of drugs billions of dollars are involved, and whenever a small, unscrupulous-element seizes control, there will always be unending numbers of others wanting to take over... bodies piling up very quickly

... there are several very strong as well as weak performances, the weaker ones don't really sink the couple early seasons, but eventually the entire production suffers under their negative weight... so watch the early years, enjoy them for what they are, then quit or you'll-get-what's-coming-(to-you)

This is a pretty average Dutch TV series that uses a well worn theme of a woman who takes over her husband's drug trafficking network. It's reminiscent of the Italian series where the daughter took over the Father's mafia network, and also the Mexican series, "Reina del Sur". The story is spotty in areas, and the overuse of flashbacks at the start, and during each new episode, becomes extremely annoying after a while. They lend very little to the continuing story, and one has to resist the urge to constantly "fast forward" through those scenes. Character development is good for the lead character, as it shows how the business can seduce anyone to become totally changed as a person. In other instances, more development could have been done with some of the other characters e.g. the detective Leeflang. The acting is average. While there are 4 seasons listed, I was only able to view two of those but if the other reviews on this site are right, the series seems to go downhill after season two so I may not have missed much.

'The Godfather' explored the problems of an essentially good man trying to escape from his criminal family; 'The Sopranos' explored how such a family might live amongst the ordinary upper-middle classes. Dutch drama 'Black Widow' blends both these themes, as its protagonist is a mafia widow who finds herself lumbered by her murdered husband's criminal debts. It's strength is in displaying the ambiguous relationship that such this person (and the other non-combatants in the family) might have with their bread-winning relatives. But it lacks the operatic quality of the Italian drama 'Gomorrah' (my favourite mafia story of the year), and it's also lacks that drama's rich portrait of how organised crime permeates civil society. Overall, it feels mostly plausible, and well-plotted, but I found it a little hard to care about Carmen, our semi-innocent heroine who merely wants to continue her good life without having to pay for it.