Penoza

Fantastic. The best series I have seen in a very long time. Neither given to write reviews, nor watch two entire series in two sittings yet here I am. Often brutal but utterly communicative with a sensational lead performance, this is a story of good people doing very bad things in an ever desperate downward spiral toward oblivion. The juxtaposition of the viewers empathy toward a mother utterly betrayed and her acts increasingly destitute of all morality, is perfectly poised.

I was only able to view the first two series here in the UK, so any further series are an unknown quantity to me.

This is not The Sopranos, and has only the theme of crime families in common. Like the Sopranos, this is quality TV of the very highest calibre.

Most recommended.

'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.

This series goes from good (series 1), OK (series 2) to bad and boring (series 3). And now there's talk about a series 4. Please don't.

The series is about a woman (Carmen) whose family is in the drug business. As her husband is killed her happy family life is overand she becomes very much involved in the business.

We all know these kind of stories, but being set in Amsterdam and with good acting the first series was very good.

Series 2 brought in some new characters and was pretty much OK, although it didn't have the good story lines.

Series 3 was completely unbelievable (Carnen takes on the Russian as well as the Mexican Maffia).

So if you wanna see some decent dutch acting, watch series 1 and leave it at that.

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.