Hidden Assets (2021– ) User Reviews

A solid crime drama that takes place in Ireland and Belgium

[Tweekums · 8/10 · 20 January 2022]

In the opening scenes a woman is murdered in a flat in Antwerp; shortly afterwards a suicide bomber attacks an event there killing fourteen people, local police link the bomber to the flat. Meanwhile in Co. Clare, Ireland, the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) of the Garda raid the house of a suspected drug dealer intending to seize anything bought with illegal funds. They discover a number of uncut diamonds and the deeds to the flat in Antwerp. CAB officer Emer Berry heads to Antwerp and is soon working with Belgian policeman Christian De Jong. They work to establish links between the events in Ireland and Belgian; a sense of urgency is given when they establish that the bomber only used half of his explosives; presumably somebody else intends to use the other half.

I really enjoyed this six part series. It started well with the two apparently separate incidents in Ireland and Belgium before quickly linking them. While it is obvious there is a link it is considerably less obvious just what the link is. It is clear that whoever is behind the crimes is very professional and very dangerous. The characters are an interesting bunch; Emer and Christian are good leads and there are plenty of suspicious characters who may or may not be criminally involved. It was a relief that we only see the police getting on with their jobs; too many series find it necessary to give them troubled back stories and family lives. The cast is good; notably Angeline Ball and Wouter Hendrickx as Emer and Christian. Overall a solid drama which I'd recommend to fans of the genre.

Good solid police drama

[Vindelander · 7/10 · 21 January 2022]

Thoroughly enjoyed this and it deserves its current 7.6 rating imo. Good storyline and casting - although I wasn't familiar with many of them- and builds to a good if somewhat rushed ending. Clearly begging for a second season the way that the last scene is shot.

Some of the reviewers have given it a panning which I don't think it deserves when you look at some of the dross like Rules Of The Game that's out there currently.

Nice bit of Irish/Belgian drama

[bbosma-24403 · 7/10 · 15 March 2022]

A good piece of entertainment that wasn't stretched out too far like so many these days. (Netflix seems to like eight episodes, but not every storyline needs it.) while there were a few of the usual plot holes and unlikely turn of events, Hidden Assets has fewer of them than most similar shows. It's not The Bridge or Unforgotten, but it's worth watching and I'll definitely be looking out fir Season 2.

Fun and clever, but with trashy elements

[paul2001sw-1 · 7/10 · 30 January 2022]

Set in Ireland and Belgium, there's a lot to enjoy in crime drama 'Hidden Assets', whose dense and juicy plot proceeds at a lively pace throughout. Notably, the Irish police force features a four-strong chain of command, all of them female; also one of the leading suspects is also a woman. But there are also some trashier elements: a fair amount of expository dialogue; a data expert who fits the cliches of the idiot-savant in her ability to see patterns that no-one else can; a lead character of inappropriate cockiness who, in the first episode, travels to Belgium, breaks into a flat without authorisation, and suffers no penalty; and a final shoot-out with several ludicrous aspects. It's still good fun, but not quite serious drama.

Nice surprise

[grahamf-55542 · 9/10 · 27 January 2022]

After watching an abysmal BBC offering I thought it was risky going straight into this. A very pleasant surprise. High class drama, very convincing story line and well-acted throughout.

The plot kept me guessing, and I loved the camera-work and the acting.

Nice to see a drama that didn't get over-stretched. Perhaps another series? I'd be happy to see more of Emer and Christian.

A promising start and an awful ending

[ikanboy · 6/10 · 18 August 2022]

While it looked promising in the beginning the series got a flat tire in the final episodes. Trying to make the story more complicated merely showed up it's weaknesses. It really only had one interesting character, the baddie, and they did a good job of hiding (him/her).

As to those who despised Norah: she's an accomplished actress (watch Red Rock) and was deliberately playing her character as one who has Aspergers.

And yes Michael Ironside needs to lose weight.

Fine Crime Drama

[scrubber · 8/10 · 9 December 2023]

Fine crime drama about a joint operation between Irish and Belgian police involving murder, terrorism, money laundering and corruption. I have watched both series and rate both highly. Although series one has a satisfactory conclusion it does leave a few questions which enables series two to continue the story. Nearly all the main characters from the first series continue into the second with the one obvious change where the lead Irish detective Angeline Ball is replaced by Nora- Jane Noone, both are good but personally I preferred Angeline. The main Belgian detective is played by Wouter Hendrickx, I really enjoyed his underplayed performance. Again the second series ends satisfactorily but leaves an oportunity for another series, but I have no idea if this is planned. If you like a coherent crime story without over dramatic CGI nonsense this is well worth ten hours of your time.

Hidden acting

[keith-pollard · 6/10 · 22 January 2022]

The standard unbelievable crime plot with the usual bonkers twists. Watchable, but let down by some actors doing a great job of hiding their acting skills. The lead detective was much better as Imelda in The Commitments! As for the Irish lady finance expert....

Kudos to the Team

[bwmcg · 8/10 · 19 January 2022]

What a pleasure to watch a well written, well acted, suspenseful, bingeworthy series.

This is head and shoulders above some of the rubbish that is currently masquerading as entertainment.

Wouldn't mind a follow up from the same team.

Great, until the final episode

[msoprivate · 7/10 · 22 May 2022]

This series is well produced, features some fine performances, and maintains the suspense until the closing moments of its intriguing plot. The final episode becomes annoying and unconvincing, however, because of sequences of glaring police recklessness and disregard for logical public-safety precautions, and highly improbable judicial leniency towards the main suspect.

Seriously Good

[dcarroll74 · 10/10 · 8 November 2021]

RTÉ have been very good at producing seriously good drama over the past decades however, this has come up more than a notch.

I don't remember a cross collaberation before where, an Irish drama was created outside of Ireland. This series has pushed the boundaries, and so far, it works. Time will tell.

I can actually see this series reaching global viewing, especially as the premise of the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB), is unique to Ireland, and has, since it's inception, been copied in many other countries.

This series get's my vote, and I am very critical.

... S1 story just lacking any punch.. S2 recovers

[bjarias · 6/10 · 8 February 2022]

... it's just not very good, there's little to draw interest in the story & characters are bland... it's a field loaded with much better productions... stretched watching to episode four and could just not take any more

... the first season lead gone in season two... it mattered yet it didn't not-so-much... all episodes in S2 work pretty well... nice that it has come back... what helps a lot are series high production values, money is being well spent... hope all continues on to S3, gets even better.

Good but with a very poor ending.

[newhouses-03256 · 4/10 · 16 January 2022]

Ignoring the many many plot holes that you could drive a bus through this is very watchable. Although Some bits are just too stupid - eg. A forensics person in woodland seriously couldn't tell if a guy had been shot in head and dumped out of a car or had fallen from an aeroplane passing overhead. Unfortunately the final episode is so ridiculous and a massive let down. Even Scooby Doo comes up with more believable endings than this. They should have gone with "..... and then she woke up and it was all a dream...."

A series made good with the continental crossovers

[patrickbarks · 7/10 · 24 January 2022]

I really like European tv shows, especially recently with the likes of Undercover (Belgium) and Dogs of Berlin (Germany), so seeing the trailer for this with the crossover between Ireland and Belgium immediately sparked my interest.

The story is well made, with good locations, realistic sets and very strong acting at times. The use of cameras to portray the ambience in scenes such as the weather and scope of the atmosphere is very well made.

The car chase in episode 5 was very well done, and the camera work at times portrayed the intenseness of scenes throughout the episode very well.

I also love in this how they didn't hold back with the use of cars. If you're a car lover, you're spoiled with a nice little helping of car eye candy throughout the series ;)

You can tell a little that the budget for this show was small, but I think they did fantastic overall. The crossover between the two countries adds atmosphere and more dynamics to the show, making it stand out from your usual detective caper show.

I would have loved to have seen more Dutch being spoken, even through subtitles for authenticity, but I understand them wanting to cater more to casual English speaking audiences, and I think the crossovers between the dialogues in English and Dutch are sensible considering the nature of the two countries and characters involved.

Brilliant acting and writing.

[Pizzaowner · 9/10 · 19 April 2022]

Fantastic!!

Excellent police-style drama with great acting and superbly written.

Normally I am harsh on these types of dramas as I find most of them cookie-cutter made. Beautiful police women inspectors and dull men and every second scene laced with overt or suggested sex.

THIS is how a police drama should be written and presented.

Decidedly one of the best I have seen in MANY years and I hope there is a second season.

The female lead is outstanding and all the other ,members of her team as well as the overseas officers are excellent as well.

All in all a VERY enjoyable show with enough intertwined plot-lines to keep us intrigued but not so many we are confused.

VERY highly recommended.

Promising but it falls down

[berniemac-53913 · 7/10 · 21 November 2021]

Was really looking forward to this show but theres just too many holes in the script. The acting us alright I don't think the script helps. It definitely had promise but it's no Love/Hate.

Brilliant!!

[kagey-28769 · 9/10 · 17 January 2022]

Really enjoyed this , thought the whole thing was very well paced with none of the usual finding A whole back story about a hard up difficult life copper !!

Just went for the story and it didn't stop . I thought the whole thing well put together . Of course there was a few plot holes , after all it's a story in a limited time .

6 episodes came and went.

The usual woke nonsense -- and therefore, all too predictable

[210west · 6/10 · 21 May 2023]

In the opening episode, a terrorist blast in Antwerp kills more than a dozen people. Shortly afterward, we learn that a Belgian politician, described as "right-wing," has been busy denouncing "migrants." As soon as I heard that, my heart sank. Because I immediately knew, even so early in the series, that what looked like an all-too-familiar act of terrorism, the sort of thing we read about practically every day, would turn out to be a false-flag operation, and that the malefactors responsible would of course be in league with -- surprise! -- the dastardly politician.

As a general rule, anyone labeled "right-wing" and "anti-migrant" on TV shows today is, ipso facto, a convenient villain, a dangerous sociopath, and acts of terrorism invariably turn out to be the work of corrupt politicians, greedy corporations, or rogue groups within the government. And this series, like just about every crime series nowadays, followed that rule to a T.

Come to think of it, so did the first season ("Acceptable Risk"), whose slimy villain turned out to be -- yep! -- an evil corporation, in this case Big Pharma.

However, I'm still giving the show a 6, because the spunky, hardworking Irish heroine is very appealing (she was also the best thing about the first season); and although the central whodunnit aspect was, as I'd feared, disappointingly conventional, the series was otherwise enjoyable.

Brilliant

[richardgray-06235 · 10/10 · 3 November 2023]

Best crime series we have watched for a long time. Looking at reviews I notice a split between those who understand this series and those who don't! If you are an intelligent, wise and perceptive human being - this series is for you. Excellent plot - unfortunately reflects reality of politics, power and big business. The story depicts what can be understood as the modern equivalent of the mafia political connections of the 1930's. Crafted with the collaboration of three countries and drawing on some masterful acting this series is not only gripping but forces the viewer to consider this modern nexus.

Good drama, some poor acting

[cathkavan · 6/10 · 22 November 2021]

Some poor acting from a not very credible Angelina Ball, good storyline though. Angelina was great in the Commitments, but same can't be said here, I'm afraid.

Belgium and Ireland join for a Nordic noir crime drama

[peterrichboy · 8/10 · 2 February 2022]

When a terrorised attack takes place in Antwerp, at the same time an Irish police department dedicated to collecting money made from organised crime in Ireland. It turns out the laundering operation they are investigating is linked to the terrorised attack in Belgium.

This results in both departments joining together to solve their respective crimes. Very much in the style of the Bridge an unlikely alliance is formed between two detectives from each country.

What result's is a very entertaining crime drama with plenty of plot twists and the mandatory cliffhanger ending to each episode. 8/10.

International dimension adds thrill, but does not remove certain aridity in full

[BeneCumb · 7/10 · 30 March 2022]

Plus the finance aspects of this plot are too complex for laymen to grasp and the "big guns" behind all this mess could have been surmised long before the round-up and finale. Some viewers apparently miss chases and shootings, but modern crime is more over Internet and current approaches are not too keen on catching wrongdoers "heavily" in urban areas...

True, the performances are good (main cast ladies in particular), the Irish and Belgian approaches and differences nicely visible, but the number of scenes and storylines not providing additional value was somewhat big. On the other hand, Season 2 may follow, and I will probably find time for that - as many aspects remained unsolved and the ending scenes were not ultimate.

How on Earth has this scored so highly????

[Migano2000 · 3/10 · 21 January 2022]

Let me start off by saying that this was STRONGLY RECOMMENDED to me and so I went in with high expectations and, almost from the outset, I was scratching my head wondering if it was a joke recommendation....

The acting is absolutely terrible to the point of, again, thinking someone is going to appear with a camera telling me I've been had...

The main detective (the girl from the commitments) is absolutely woeful and constantly aware - and showing it - of where the camera is, but she's by far and away the best actor in this mess.

There's a character called Norah, I'm not sure if she's Emer's superior or her PA (if you watch it you'll know what I mean) but all she does, and I mean ALL SHE DOES is stare vacantly whilst rolling her eyes like one of those dolls you get at a fairground.

Every cliche in the book is deployed and the production values are non existent. Went into this relatively excited to be getting some great TV and, having just finished episode 3 (and I'll finish the damn lot to see what happens) I cannot see this improving beyond a, very generous, 3/10.

Started well but becoming rather slow and tedious.

[evansp-39777 · 6/10 · 9 February 2022]

I've only got to the start of episode 5 at the moment but it's been getting slower and slower after a promising start. I do appreciate,though,that real life detective work is often painstakingly slow-but it doesn't make for good drama. Also,the only likeable character is the Belgian police boss.

Had enough of it for today. I'll try and finish it tomorrow. Wife already asleep!

Great Acting Great Production

[bobetjo · 8/10 · 23 January 2022]

All the cast are believable in their roles. The production values are quite high with only a few oddly staged indoor scenes looking washed out. The story is quite complex and although I enjoyed it, we had to keep pausing to work on what was going on.

This is much better than a lot of the cop shows around. There is also a degree of humour that brings the characters to life.