19-2

Unlike many I don't mind reading subtitles when the colloquialisms substitute for the French language as it evolved in Québec. This is a riveting and addictive series. The portrayal of the relationship between Berrof and his mother paints a classic picture of a dysfunctional middle class family of the region and one that seems to be repeated in old French-Canadian families right along the fur-trade route from Québec through Detroit and Sault St. Marie is much more common than one might suppose in kind if not in degree. The promiscuity between couples and open relationships is also more commonly visible in Montréal than elsewhere in Canada. The behaviour of the police in solving internal problems like the wife-abuser or the dealing with cops personal problems, alcoholism, and the tendency to sweep misdemeanors under the carpet is accurate. I am disappointed to have learned that it is being remade in English with a different cast. The language is one I am familiar with having spent some of my formative years in the city. Some of the local jargon I picked up during the show was quite funny and a lot of that nuance may be lost in translation in the "anglais" version, but I will try to keep an open mind. If it gets (typically) "sanitized" in order to appeal to the English Canadian audience, it will be a totally different series, and I may prefer to go on watching the Québec version if it was available.

This series is absolutely outstanding. I just watched the finale and it was excellent, so well done, I had goosebumps after it was over. The writing is amazing and the acting is superb. I plan to watch the English series next, but I don't expect that it can top the French series. Everything about this show was so incredibly well done. The writers were not afraid to deal with very difficult subjects. As another reviewer said, the characters are flawed, but very likeable regardless. As a former Montrealer, I started watching the series for nostalgia purposes, mostly. But I ended up binge watching this well written and highly entertaining show.

Definitely one of the most gut-wrenching cop series out there. Every character is flawed, yet likable. The situations are almost always tense and the stress of being a police officer is very well expressed.

There was a one-year hiatus between season one and season two, due to a change in producers, but the quality of the series has not faltered one bit. The second season first episode (no spoilers here) will go down in history as being one the most frightening and shocking out there.

You can't help but like and relate to the lead characters, Benoît Chartier, played by Claude Legault, and Nick Beroff, played by Réal Bossé. Those of us familiar with Bossé have never seen him in such a dramatic role. One wonders where he channels all that angst from.

If you are fluent in French and looking for something that would be world famous if HBO produced it, look no further, 19-2 is it.

If you appreciate great writing, excellent acting and impeccable direction this is the series for you.

19-2 lures you in, grabs ahold of you and doesn't let you go until the end. You become engrossed in the day to day lives of these officers and their families and their stories.

And the acting is some of the best I've seen anywhere, truly superb!

While you travel with these officers on patrol, encountering some of the saddest, silliest, darkest, and scariest situations imaginable, you can't help but see and feel exactly what they are experiencing as they try to keep some semblance of order in such a messed up world. Their camaraderie as a team and as a family feels exquisitely real, and you can't help but feel it as well.

The storyline threading through all episodes of all 3 seasons is gripping and heartrending as it pulls and tears at the characters in life altering ways.

Just watch it - you'll see what I mean.

I'm usually more of a fan of anti-heroes. I would watch breaking bad and Dexter over CSI and Bones any day. This show about Montreal's police really does something for me though. Frankly, I think I usually avoid police shows because to me, the characters in them are either cliché or stagnant. In 19-2, rest assured you'll see no righteous, confident hero nor eccentric genius who infuriates-everyone-but-is-tolerated-because-he-is-always-right (mentalist, Monk, House...). The characters will all make you hate them a little at some point, while still having you rooting for them. They evolve, as do their relationship in a natural, believable way. New plot lines are thrown in at the right pace: no time for being bored, but enough to make it coherent and fluid. The dialogues are right on the spot - absolutely natural, powerful or funny when needs to be. Although, this is probably one of those shows people from France might need subtitles to understand. Finally, they know exactly when to go slow mo', when to mute or delay the scene to make it efficient. If you know French, 19-2 is really worth your time.