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Series 1 is excellent. The female lead detective, Sandra Winckler, is outstanding as she strives to prove herself in a male-dominated profession. Also outstanding is Paul Maisonneuve, the retired detective, who comes back to work with Winckler on solving a series of puzzling crimes that involve corpses being dug up and displayed in model homes. The plot slowly unfolds and comes to a satisfying conclusion in the final two episodes of Season 1. Seasons 2 is longer and during the second half, the behavior of Sandra Winckler is so unprofessional and implausible that it seriously lowers the quality of the series. Season 1 gets a 9; season 2 a 5.

As a keen follower of mostly British and Scandinavian crime dramas, I try at times to broaden my horizon and find out what other nationalities/countries have come to offer. Thanks to the site here plus Wikipedia, it is now easy to look around and see what is going on elsewhere, together with brief synopsis and comments.

As I liked Braquo and Engrenages, then Les témoins met my eye as well - and caught my attention from the very first moments. The producers are apparently the admirers of Scandinavian film noir, but this was not annoying, on the contrary - the concept, camera-work, music score and mood were catchy to follow, and the story "started working" at once, making you ponder on and over what could and would really happen. Leading characters and actors were distinct (particularly Thierry Lhermitte as former police chief Paul Maisonneuve and Marie Dompnier as police lieutenant Sandra Winckler) and the plot had interesting twists and turns, full of mysticism, but without interventions from supernatural forces; plus the nature in North-Eastern France is very different from we are used to see in French films, accentuating the similarities with Western Scandinavia and Northern England and Scotland.

All in all, a good series, and the number of episodes (6) is just right to obtain a versatile, yet not protracted and not discursive crime series.

Scandi-noir brings with it a set of expectations which Witnesses duly delivers. Female cop with suppressed issues -- check; a wintry French coastal village dominated by Broadchurch style cliffs -- check; improbable crime scenes that darkly hint at a miscreant with a messed up mind -- check, and the usual cool colour palette of blues and greys -- check.

Genre conventions are not a bad thing, if used deftly, and Witnesses delivers. Marie Dompnier as the female lead investigator, Sandra Winckler, is impressive as the astute cop who exorcises her insomniac nights by obsessively cleaning her apartment. Thierry Lhermitte plays the former high-flying policeman haunted by family tragedy, and as Winkler's former instructor who is implicated in the bizarre crime, suppresses dark secrets about his past. The location shooting in Le Tréport, with its strange funicular railway which is used as a disturbing feature in the first episode, is inspired, and the photography is superb.

This review is based on viewing the introductory episode, which sometimes tends to be dramatically the most engaging with television mini-series, such as The Bridge and its British-French counterpart, The Tunnel, but marred in subsequent weeks by a lurid story trajectory. Hopefully Witnesses will exhibit a narrative restraint where trust is placed in mood and character development without forsaking the sense of unease that is so well established in the opening hour.

Despite the tendency to compare it to recent offerings like The Bridge and The Tunnel etc, really you should forget those and seek to approach this with a clean slate.

We're seeing it with a head start here in Australia, and episode 2 shows that the promise is there to live beyond the initial opening episode and what are always grand setups.

Whats truly astonishing to me is that for the lead actress, Marie Dompnier, this is the first outing for her in front of a camera (i understand she is a seasoned theatre actor). She is transfixing, not only for her appealing appearance (i already have a crush, but will move beyond the superficial hereon in!), but for making her confident female detective character utterly believable. Its something of a triumph right there. She looks as though she has been acting on film for some time. I hope to see more of her in the future.

As i said, im 2 episodes in and i cannot not follow through!

The far north of France has its universally appealing quirks, as the unlikely hit film Welcome to the Sticks (Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis, 2008) exploited to excellent comic effect. But can Le Nord serve as an effective setting for more serious drama, like that emanating from much farther north? This French mystery-thriller series gives a Gallic slant to all the tropes developed to such good effect in classic Nordic Noir: weird title song in fractured English, drone shots of landscapes under oppressive skies, obsessive female cop with personal issues, etc. Nearby Normandy was settled by the Vikings, after all.

There are good things here. Marie Dompnier as the young detective Sandra Winckler is very watchable: she alone gives the series its focus and makes one care about what happens. But the plot is far too elaborate even by recent Scandinavian standards and the holes in it gape far too wide. The device of giving no answer at all to straight questions becomes seriously overused, especially in relation to Paul Maisonneuve (Thierry Lhermitte), the aristocratic, stone-faced ex-police chief with an enigmatic past. You keep on wanting to yell, "Just answer the question!" at Paul. As for Sandra, you'll repeatedly find yourself shouting, "Call for backup on your cell phone!" and when this fails, "For heaven's sake just shoot him!"

The small Channel town of Le Tréport, at the foot of chalk cliffs, has a major role as a dismal, Gothic background for the convoluted goings on. Yet Le Tréport in reality is a charming place, certainly not one known for awful weather, demented clown-faced serial killers, and rabid wolves. It might have been better to use the Broadchurch method: a sunny seaside village with magnificent cliffs as a splendid foil to the dark undercurrents.

There will of course be another series of Witnesses, as certain plot elements need to be resolved. I suppose I'll watch it, but not with high expectations. There was only just enough in this series to make me persist with all six episodes, and it's really not a patch on The Killing or Broadchurch nor on the best French cop dramas like Spiral.

I've just finished watching this series following its run on Channel 4 in the UK, and thoroughly enjoyed it. It has bags of atmosphere, some fabulous and very intense acting, and a great central character in the stunning Marie Dompnier. Certainly an actress to watch.

In addition, considering its 6 hour running time and novelistic structure, not to mention 2 intertwined mysteries to keep the viewer guessing, it really jogs along at quite a clip, with as much intrigue and incident per episode as many mini-series have in their entire running times.

There were a few plotting issues that lose it one point out of 10, but otherwise I thought this was as gripping as anything I've seen on TV for a while.

I liked season 1 of Witnesses but season 2 is terrible. Preposterous plot and it violates an important rule of the genre: you don't introduce new characters at the very end of the series. There were so many questions which were never answered and the main detective was so unlikeable and self-centered, it was hard to root for her. Skip this one and watch something else!

French crime drama 'Witnesses' appears to take many of its cues from the superb Danish series 'The Killing': an intense, career focused, thoughtful but lonely female protagonist, with a tendency to go into dark places alone, coupled with a landscape that is always painted grey (in this case, the seaside town of Le Treport, which probably won't attract too many additional holiday makers as a result of its portrayal). Unfortuantly, there are also some problems, most notably, a complex plot that doesn't make a lot of sense. For example, it's clear that the crime under investigation involves someone seeking revenge on a retired detective, so the first thing the police do is to bring the person in question back onto the job specifically to lead the case. It's a standard trope of television detectives, of course, that they accidentally find a personal link to the case they're investigating; but it's a bit crazy to assume the reverse, that a known personal involvement would lead to someone being put in charge, especially as much of the tension in the drama comes from his own reluctance to share what he knows with his colleagues. The acting from the two leads was good, and I also liked the mood of the piece, but ultimately, the story just isn't very plausible or engaging.

The first season was good, but halfway through the second season I was screaming expletives at the female lead detective Sandra and her cohort Catherine. They takes matters into their own hands in such a stupid, careless, pigheaded fashion, I couldn't stand it. I do not suffer fools gladly.

We watched Season 1, only, and after reading the reviews, probably will not watch Season 2. We watched on PBS Masterpiece app, French with English subtitles. The first 5 episodes kept us engrossed - lots of tension but building and unfolding plot enough to be interesting. Not too much gore and that was appreciated but lots of mystery & tension. Characters unfolded as well. THEN as we were on the edge of our seats at Episode 5 - what a disappointment. Episodes 6 & 7 plodded along unnecessarily. Everything could have wrapped there but no ... they dragged out with a plodding half of Episode 5 and every more unnecessary Episode 6. Really left a "bad taste" and dropped Series 1 from a solid 9 to a 6. Should have wrapped it up in Episode 5. Scene at the bunker was totally drawn out and implausible- Sandra was right there! They must have bern contracted for 6 episodes - 5 would have been great!

Another IMDb reviewer (daggersineyes?) liked season 1, but urged readers vigorously to 'pass' on Season 2. But Season 2 started with a bus full of dead frozen people and a pretty amnesiac trying to reconnect with her family. Compelling?! Yeah, I should have listened to dagger. I also enjoyed Season 1 with its mysterious piles of bodies turning up, implicating a high official in murder. But Season 2 fell off the tracks after a few sessions. I can only imagine that the writers thought they were doing a 4-episode offering, but then we're told to expand it to 8----& they went "huh? We have identified the killer & his cohorts and possible motive'(the guy's a loony-tune... What else would explain it?)... Why would we need 4 more episodes?" Seriously, the writers should have just insisted on writing a new 4-parter instead of producing this drivel. It was as bad as those C-westerns of the early 40's with Nazi war criminals... And trucks! Typically, an 8-session season might be 3 story-lines (4+2+2) or whatever... Anything but a dragged-out bit of nonsense over an entire season.

I have seen 8-parters done in mystery series, but the scope was broader, of course. When you start with a bus full of dead people, you have to 'cut to the chase' fairly quickly . Oh well.. next time (I listen to 'dagger').

Not belittling the performances here, but the story was disgraceful! Not something the writers want on their resumés, I can assure you (O, you wrote t-h-a-t? That the one where 2 villains commit suicide? Always wondered what you guys were thinking ... We'll call you - don't call us..)

Okay, so I exaggerate a bit. It's a personal nomination for worst television series of the last 50 years. And, of course, it's only the worst television series that I've personally seen in the last 50 years. I'm sure there are worse coming out of places like ... I don't know ... Albania, but of all the series I've seen in the last 50 years, this comes right at the bottom of the list. No question about it.

Let's just summarize the nonsense and then we can all move on to something else shall we?

It starts with an empty bus of corpsicles (i.e. frozen dead men). No obvious relationship between any of them other than they all disappeared starting around 3 years ago.

The we have the appearance of the amnesiac red-headed Catherine.

Over the remainder of the first episode and into the start of the second we learn that:

1) Catherine was kidnapped 3 years go 2) her amnesia is drug induced. 3) While being held, she gave birth to a baby 4) All the dead men on the bus are her ex-lovers 5) She was forced to give up the baby 6) and then ... get this ... the reason she was forced to give up the baby was that she wasn't considered worthy of raising the baby.

I'm not giving away anything in all of the above as it all comes early on in the first episode except for one point early in the second. No spoilers there as if it was possible to spoil any of this rubbish.

Think about point 6 a bit. Forced to give up the baby because she wasn't worthy of raising the baby.

Wouldn't it have just been easier NOT to have kidnapped the baby, not to impregnate her, and then she wouldn't have had the baby in the first place so there wouldn't have been any need to save the baby by taking it from her? Geez.

So why did we continue to watch this preposterous plot?

Well, in ep. 1 and 2, my wife and I are thinking this all sounds a bit intriguing and I'm sure it will get better now that they have set the scene and we discover what is really going on. Perhaps a plot to create babies to sell on the black market? That would have at least been mildly more logical that what they gave us.

In ep 3 and 4., we're thinking this is getting ridiculous but maybe we're missing something so let's continue as it has to get better and I'm sure it will make sense soon. Series 1 was okay; series 2 couldn't be this bad, could it?

By ep 5 and 6, it's just a case of we know it's rubbish but we started so we may as well finish.

Ep 7? Well, I actually enjoyed ep. 7 I'm embarrassed to say. Decent bit of tension, mystery. Still didn't think it made any sense but at least it was mildly enjoyable.

Ep 8? Well, if the series was the 'worst series of the last 50 years', then ep. 8 was the "worst single episode of any series made in the last 50 years." Just preposterous, ridiculous, atrocious, mind-numbing, wrist-slashing, drivel. What more can one say?

Oh, and just as an aside. My wife and I are both convinced that throughout the first 7 and a half episodes, Catherine refers to the baby she had to give up as her son (en francais, mon "fils"). That's what the Engish subtitles said and that's what we heard in the french (we are both reasonably fluent). Midway through ep. 8, and it suddenly becomes "ma fille" (i.e. a girl) and remained so to the end. My wife and I both caught this and both asked each other if we'd misunderstood or missed something. We're convinced not. The writers just switched from a boy to the girl half way through the final episode. A sex-change operation on a 6 month old baby? Weird.

I could go on but what's the point. Please, please, I beg of you: don't waste 8 hours of your lives on this travesty as we did. Find something else. Anything. It couldn't possible be worse than this.

Season 2 let down from first series: Well acted with intriguing plots, this series can not overcome its flaws: the selfish sloppiness of the main character may be more true to life than the infallible detectives in US and British crime dramas but at times just seems ridiculous. More of a drawback is the low- budget filming, so dark and dull I wondered at first if the makers couldn't afford better lighting. Then I realized the higher-contrast image is most likely a product of post-processing where the makers have deteriorated the image to make it look more like a documentary. That's not a bad idea but you have to show the audience detail and not hide important aspects of the image, especially faces which are often darkened in shadows. Too bad because the actors are top notch. The script and pacing, when they aren't dragging, can be involving, building tension as the series progresses. But by the final episode, the plot-convenient actions of the characters become almost comical. While there are some drawbacks, don't let that discourage you from watching. This is a series made for grown-ups who think and there's too little of that in today's crime dramas. Hopefully, when season three comes around, the series will find a little more color, definition and more refined character development.

I enjoyed the second series as much as the first. Very disturbing plot but no more disturbing than some real life cases over the last few years, one in Austria and another in the USA. I disagree with other comments about unprofessional or unlikely behaviour. Put yourself in the character's shoes. One mother has no memory other than of her third child and is desperate to find the only person she remembers. Desperate? You bet, for two reasons - the baby and her memory.

The other character - cop Sandra - has kids herself so will likely feel more strongly about a case involving missing children. Plus she knows there's a threat to previous men in her life including a current one and the father of her kids when there's a good relationship there. And you expect her to still be the good cop doing things by the book?

Not going to give away anything, but the 2nd season ending created more questions than answers. I don't need to have everything tied up in neat little bows, but I think the writers could have done a much better job on how this series came to it's conclusion. That being said, Les temoins is one of the best detective dramas on screen out there. I hope there's a season 3.

Currently there are two seasons, and I don't speak French. Therefore, I had to read subtitles, and my new Roku Television helped greatly with this, for when I was unable to finish a subtitle before it disappeared, I pushed the backup button, and the television backs up 10 seconds, giving me another chance to read the caption and go on. Thus far, each Season finishes one mystery (murder) case, thus the viewer is not left hanging with an incomplete story, a feature I think is great and that I wished was used by more series. Thus, since there are two Seasons, there are two mysteries, thus far. And the Mysteries are very complex, not at all simple formula videos. They have great suspense, and the acting is well done by all. If mysteries are of interest to the reader, I highly recommend this series. I give this a rating of 8 out of 10 only because I had to read subtitles. If it was in my language (English), it would have gotten 10 out of 10.

Shows like Witnesses (Season 1 and 2) are why I continue to prefer foreign television, which is VASTLY superior, over American television. Intricate plots, real, not plastic, people, actors who act because they love it, not to be a celebrity, and oh the amazing atmosphere are many of the reasons foreign television works and just suits me. Witnesses is one of the best. Every actor is fantastic. I binged watched each Season when it was first available to me. No regrets there. It was easy, as I was hooked from the first few minutes. If you like a "thinking person's" television, then you will love both seasons of this stellar show!

I just desperately want to know when someone will get around to making Season 3. We definitely need a Season 3.

My husband persevered but moaned and criticised the whole time, I gave up and read my book. It really is far fetched, ridiculous and annoying.

I only watch the first season, so the comment below only applies to that: The plot seems interesting at first, but the script is so bad that the series ends up falling in quality to each episode. There is no character development. Everyone is empty and boring, and it's hard to care about any of the characters. The relationship between the main characters, Sandra and Paul Maisonneuve, is simply ridiculous. The script tries to force a relationship that simply never happens. The two behave like strangers throughout the entire series and although a past story is quoted it has no ability to create a true relationship and the two characters spend the whole series being boring and distant. The script is very bad. There are no words to describe how bad it is. French police act like a bunch of retarded people in every episode and the way detectives make the discoveries is simply laughable. Most of the time they simply guess things without any evidence. The acting is very bad too. I just watch the series because I'm studying French and I wanted to have a greater contact with the language and the French culture. But I would never recommend this series to anyone. It's just bad.