Belfer

AKA The Teacher on Channel 4's Walter Presents This is among the best of those series that fall into the category of Nordic Noir (though Poland obviously isnt Nordic!) After the body of a local student is found in a forest, the police discover that she was murdered. A new teacher Pawel Zawadzki arrives at her school, but his reason for leaving his city job is unclear. From there develops a wonderful plot that encompasses local corruption, drug dealing and the overlapping worlds of students and adults, linked up by the desire of Pawel to discover the truth behind the girl's death. It is hard to describe in too much detail why this wonderfully shot and atmospheric thriller is so gripping, without giving too much away. Yet I hope I can persuade you to give this a go. I rarely waqtch TV, as so much of it is tripe, let alone be drawn into something so compelling that I would have happily binge watched this series. If you have enjoyed the Bridge (Bron/Broen)or the Lawyer (Advokaten), you will gripped by this intriguing, well written and superbly cast thriller

A truly outstanding series. Just when you think you know where it's heading there comes another twist. Brilliantly paced with believable characters that you come to really care about. One of my favourite shows in a long time.

Basically, the title says it all. After an excellent first season, the second one is a huge disappointment.

My advice? Watch season 1, omit season 2. You won't loose anything meaningful or worthwhile.

Season 1 is great because of its focus on personal tragedy and personal stakes, plus small city that looks nice on the surface but when you dig deeper cracks start to show.

I loved the first season - it is unique and so small town Central European. I like the contamination thread and and the so awaited Swedish investor thread... The second season is more stereotypical, and unnecessarily complicated. Even in that I like the teacher reffering to some Polish and foreign cultural greats during classes. Any Polish fans, please, what does the title, Belfer mean?

A word BELFER in Polish is a disrespectful slang name for a teacher.