Vivendo nas Sombras

First of all, I'm an avid TV-series watcher. It's pointless to name them all but believe me, I've probably wasted years of my life watching series of all kind.

Second, I just can't believe the quality of this show. Romanian shows are cheap soap operas, cheap comedies or just plain bad cheap stuff for the masses.

It is the first time a Romanian show (original show) pays attention to details such as: - music - lighting - perfect sound - editing and special fx

I've seen the shows other reviewers mention: Breaking bad, The Wire, Sopranos, 24, etc - more than once. UMBRE is not a copy of those shows. But now, in 2015, after millions of movies have been made it is almost impossible to say a new show is totally original so of course you feel the need to compare them.

UMBRE has the Romanian touch to it - the long scenes where all you see is a bit of the normal life of a character - the type of scenes that give you a sense of reality to it. You don't have these in US shows.

The actors do a wonderful job and I don't need more character development, it's not a novel it's an action-comedy show not a theater play.

The slang might be too much for some but when was the last time you spend some time within that social class? When you watch The Wire there are scenes where all they say is "fu*k" for 5 minutes, continuously.

I really want this show to continue - it's a new breed of show in Romania and I want to see this one succeed and other to appear afterward. I'm just sick and tired of shows about communism, Romanian tragedies, telenovelas, etc.

Absolutely brilliant actors, very refreshing to see a different kind of acting, more organic and realistic. I binge watched it and I hope more seasons will fallow without killing other important characters!

Well done! This series is amazing. It is really nice to see that Romania got so many talented actors, directors and writers. This Balkan area is full of the activities that are put in screenplay of this series. It is so nice to see that countries like Romania talk freely about their problems through those amazing pieces of art. It is a huge boost for whole area, thanks to HBO Europe, to continue on producing stuff like this. Strongly recommending Umbre (Shadows), and keep on going Romanians!

PS. Characters are not that well developed, it is more focused on the topic rather than characters, so that is why I gave this series 9 and not 10.

Waiting for season 3!

After the first two episodes, I just can't stop myself from laughing through each episode. The irony just gets deeper and deeper by each episode. Especially in silence, Relu's or his wife's expression just got me bursting out in laughter (the wedding episode is the icing on the cake).

I am pretty sure this series is not meant to be dark humor type like say, Patriot, or action-comedy genre, but it actually makes me laugh uncontrollably at times. It totally deserves 10 stars.

I have to admit I'm not familiar with the Romanian cinema, but it seems they have some serious talent. Story follows a cab driver, who works as a debt collector for a local gangster and, of course, things get complicated rather quickly.

Some people compare this with Sopranos, but it is in my opinion very different. Maybe it's the east European setting, cheap cars and run- own houses, but it sells the idea that he is doing it just to survive. There is no glam gangster life present in Sopranos, no pools, no expensive cars, just making the ends meet.

The production value is high. Good acting, writing and directing. I think it helps seeing actors you've never seen before,because it makes them more believable and you can enjoy them without prejudice.

Nice little change of pace from the same old, same old American TV shows.