The first episode of Zwarte Tulp gives the sense of a well-directed but conventional television series. Cynically speaking, this is 'just' another Dutch drama, in an age of extraordinary serial storytelling. In fact, it has a lot of the same plot elements as Showtime's 'Ray Donovan' written by Ann Biderman, but nowhere near its kind of gravitas.
The acting is generally very strong, which in Dutch television is actually rare. Marcel Musters, Anna Drijver and Raymond Thiry are naturals, but a few actors can't shake the infamous Dutch 'stage tone', which drags down the series. Benja Bruijning is a terrific addition from the 2nd episode, which made it stronger than the first, but not strong enough to get me to watch ep 3.
This series was definitely made by a very skilled and experienced director (Ben Sombogaard) and writers, but it feels like they lacked the vision on how to tell a relatively standard story to today's audiences, who have been spoiled with the likes of David Fincher, Aaron Sorkin, Vince Gilligan, Matthew Weiner and basically every HBO show. If RTL wants to be a contender in the on- demand future of TV, they better start hiring crazier writers and show runners.
