Penoza

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 first two seasons of Penoza are definitely worth the while. Good story, good cast and they kept everything somehow realistic. However, the decision to give the kids of the main character Carmen a more prominent role from season 3 on really killed the show for me. They are such poor actors (especially the girl) that I found myself not able to watch the show anymore. Twice I have tried to finish season 3 but everytime I just find myself so annoyed about these actors performances that I have just given up. Too bad because I held the show in such high regards the first two seasons.

This woman "carmen" does nothing 'wrong', but is involved in a multitude of crimes and killings all in the name of protecting her family even thou she loses 2 husbands, a father and a sister. A bit unrealistic at times but a good drama to watch that is full on and entertaining. They probably milked it for a bit too long (5 seasons). The first 2 seasons are the best. Carmen is portrayed beautifully. She is a standout in the acting department in this series. Some of the acting for nat, luciene, and storm is a bit weak at times. Berry plays his role well. As i said they story lines goes off the rails the further the series goes which is really quite normal. Overall it was a decent watch.

... 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)

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.