Le Mauvais Camp: La série

I am glad the Flemish producers of the hit-show Undercover decided to deepen the most interesting storyline, that of drug kingpin Ferry. The first season of Undercover was the best, although the later seasons are pretty good too. You can't help but see the reminiscence to Breaking Bad though (Ferry is Walter, Daniëlle is Skyler, Lars is Jesse and John is Mike). Even the goonie friends of Dutch-Jesse are present. But as a Dutch saying goes, better stolen properly than made-up poorly :) In that sense it does a great job. The portrayal of the underground synthetic drug scene is a major problem down in the south here, and the acting is spot on. The character Ferry feels more fleshed out the longer Frank Lammers plays it, which can be weird since this show is set before the first season of Undercover. I just love Elise Schaap, in this part but she seems to be a really nice person too.

Casting for Lars is perfect too, before this I only knew Yannick van de Velde from the SUPER funny Rundfunk show and movie Jachterwachter.

The production seems on par with American standards, which should make this show more appealing abroad.

If you liked Breaking Bad, Top Boy or other drug related crime dramas, and you feel like having a look into the Dutch underworld, this is definitely for you.

Watch the movie Ferry first though, for background purposes. And watch it in Dutch with subtitles. Otherwise the sublteties will be lost in translation.

There are some parts in the serie that are questionable or somewhat predictable. And yes, the acting is not all great, I really expected more from for instance Tygo Gerbrandt. But Ferry was just phenomenal. The dark side of the drugscriminal was really frightening, and it created a scary but beautiful contrast against the love for Daantje. It was really good and convincing chemistry between the two lead actors. The plot is maybe a bit to straight forward, but the characters and the way they slowly slide deeper and deeper into the criminal underworld, and how it changes their characters, is really well played. A must see!

I'm from Brabant, grew up close to where Lammers (lead actor) was born. Half the cast comes from the region. Yes, this series is dramatized, made for entertainment, sometimes cringey and too flashy, but that's okay we're not watching a documentary.

Some of you might not understand that to me, this series is not that far fetched at all. XTC has had a major major influence on border region between The Netherlands and Belgium, followed by all the social/economical/ecological problems.

The story is good, acting is really good for Lowlands-standards. You'll enjoy this one, it's well written.

Also in this case I don't even think you'll need to watch Undercover before Ferry. Maybe start with Ferry the Movie, then Ferry, then Undercover. No idea why they're making prequels not sequels but I'm not complaining.

As Episode 1 pf "Ferry: The Series" (2023 co-production from Belgium and the Netherlands; 8 episodes ranging from 36 to 51 minutes) opens, Ferry is down on his luck trying to sell XTC pills, getting nowhere. On the other hand, things between Ferry and his girlfriend Daan are great, and at a part Ferry proposes to her... At this point we are 10 minutes into Episode 1.

Couple of comments: the Ferry character was developed in the ultra-successful TV series "Underground", which ran for 3 seasons. Ferry was clearly THE breakout character, and a spin-off (and prequel) movie called "Ferry" was released in 2021. Now 2 years later we pick up where that prequel left off. The themes remain the same, with Ferry battling hard to become a player in the XTC pills manufacturing and distribution industry in the Belgian-Holland borderline region. None of what plays out in this series comes as a surprise. It's just that Frank Lammers (as Ferry) is again at the top of his game, I mean it feels like he has prepared his entire career to play this role. Even though I originally hail from Antwerp and speak/understand Dutch fluently, I nevertheless follow most of the band-and-forth conversation with the subtitles, as the Dutch and Flemish accents are heavy duty.

"Ferry: The Series" recently premiered on Netflix, and I watch the 8 episodes over a couple of evenings. If all goes to plan, I'm sure we'll be getting "Ferry: The Series 2" in a couple of years, and I'm already looking forward to it. If you likes "Underground" or "Ferry", or simply are in the mood for a top notch foreign drug crime drama, I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.

If you like the prior show/movie, you'll enjoy this. Has the same look, feel, and enjoyable plot. It's not too riveting, not too predictable, not super intellectual, but is simple fun to watch. My only criticism, which I think exists in the prior stories, is how stupid almost all of the primary characters seem most of the time... terrible decision making, tons of impulse behavior, lots of repeat mistakes with zero learning, and lots of taking things at face/surface level... which seems to be the main engine behind the drama of the show as poor decision making and lack of control create problems.