I got caught up in this series and really engaged with the main characters and then did something I never do: I quit with only two episodes left. It's visually attractive and Holland is a fascinating place but I finally got fed up with the characters always, always making the stupidest choices.I'd like to see Karina Smulders in some other production but life is too short for me to stick with a story I can't be invested in.
26 Reviews
Good but not great!
True_Reviews6 December 2020
Warning: Spoilers
This is an engaging series. And I did like Smulders as the main actress. The story is somewhat predictable, a self-destructive and insecure person who is take on the role of being a madame. They make up for it with nudity, sex, and pretty people. Of course, there is the obligatory gay couple that seems to be in every production and the main character does have a lesbian affair. And there is the required element of minorities who are always portrayed as outside the norm of society. If you enjoy self-centered and destructive behavior this may be for you. For others who prefer more of a story, look elsewhere.
Ouch!
rich735414 September 2020
The way this series plummeted from being good to being bad truly hurt. It started out as an interesting and enjoyable character study about a madame and the girls in her escort service (with some tedious side stories regarding organized crime, political corruption, and a dysfunctional relationship with her teenage daughter). Unfortunately, it morphed into a "crime drama" and it was all downhill from there.
***Below might be considered spoilers for some***
It ended up being chocked full of unlikable characters who I wanted to see walk off a cliff; chief among them being: 1. Lulu, the teenage daughter - almost every scene with her mad me cringe. 2. Said daughter's grandmother, Sylvia - evil through and through, but good for a few laughs. 3. Ralph, a crime boss - Your stereotypical mafioso. 4. The police inspector (I can't even remember his name) - The crusading "crime fighter" who wanted to win no matter the cost.
***Below might be considered spoilers for some***
It ended up being chocked full of unlikable characters who I wanted to see walk off a cliff; chief among them being: 1. Lulu, the teenage daughter - almost every scene with her mad me cringe. 2. Said daughter's grandmother, Sylvia - evil through and through, but good for a few laughs. 3. Ralph, a crime boss - Your stereotypical mafioso. 4. The police inspector (I can't even remember his name) - The crusading "crime fighter" who wanted to win no matter the cost.
ViewPoints...
kijanamdogo28 March 2020
Read the review by clsi-19102 and had to chime in. Plot? Nope. Cast acting? Nope. I gave it a 7 solely due to Karina Smulders. From fully in control of situations in an understated subtle manner to lost emotionally, I thought she was spot on. The series only worked when she was on screen. As I said: ViewPoints !
Karina Smulders is wretched
inyourglass26 January 2021
Why do directors permit their leading actresses to look like they're about to burst into tears? The character is a bold, take-charge woman who runs a string of high-class escorts, yet she's always on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Similarly Laura Sepul in "Banking District" ... who runs a multibillion-euro empire but spends every episode wiping her eyes.
Random scenes with no cohesion
joanipaige19 October 2022
Warning: Spoilers
There were interesting moments in this series, but for the most part the characters were making such unbearably poor life decisions, it's hard to have empathy with any of them, and we don't know why the characters do what they do or feel what they feel. The scenes follow eachother with no reasoning nor giving clarification to the story. Ie:
The main character, Lulu. Is endlessly morose although she is in a happy family. For some reason she returns to prostitution which had previously brought violence and instability to herself and her daughter.. Although in her 30's, her 15 year old daughter was somehow born 15 years prior (?) Lulu walks into work one day, gets angry and quits, in another scene she shoves a man in a store. Her daughter goes missing for days, Mom keeps pimping then, all good, daughter is back. The father is lack luster , he doesn't have much emotion about his wife going into prostitution or his daughter going missing. Lulu's mother is an angry frizzy haired, red lipped, heroin user who lures in then abuses her granddaughter. When Lulu's daughter is freed she has no scrapes or bruises, merely arises the next morning to ask for breakfast!!
After a scene showing a group of weeping girls in a tanker, a previously unseen girl is mysteriously shown sleeping on Ralph's bed. Ralph gives her a passport. I literally went back over the show to see if she was in the tank scene or any other, but couldn't find her anywhere. Ralph is alternately a kindly friend and monster mobster.
One of the funniest scenes was the woman who dropped her piano career to become an escort. She is shown sitting on a bed with a black blind fold, a dog is let loose by a wealthy old man. Then!! It's the next day. Camera does close up zooms of the escort lip twitching sitting on the bed. And, she suddenly says she is staying with the man.
On the upside The actors did a good job in the roles they were given. Lulu reminded me of Lip, from Shameless.
The main character, Lulu. Is endlessly morose although she is in a happy family. For some reason she returns to prostitution which had previously brought violence and instability to herself and her daughter.. Although in her 30's, her 15 year old daughter was somehow born 15 years prior (?) Lulu walks into work one day, gets angry and quits, in another scene she shoves a man in a store. Her daughter goes missing for days, Mom keeps pimping then, all good, daughter is back. The father is lack luster , he doesn't have much emotion about his wife going into prostitution or his daughter going missing. Lulu's mother is an angry frizzy haired, red lipped, heroin user who lures in then abuses her granddaughter. When Lulu's daughter is freed she has no scrapes or bruises, merely arises the next morning to ask for breakfast!!
After a scene showing a group of weeping girls in a tanker, a previously unseen girl is mysteriously shown sleeping on Ralph's bed. Ralph gives her a passport. I literally went back over the show to see if she was in the tank scene or any other, but couldn't find her anywhere. Ralph is alternately a kindly friend and monster mobster.
One of the funniest scenes was the woman who dropped her piano career to become an escort. She is shown sitting on a bed with a black blind fold, a dog is let loose by a wealthy old man. Then!! It's the next day. Camera does close up zooms of the escort lip twitching sitting on the bed. And, she suddenly says she is staying with the man.
On the upside The actors did a good job in the roles they were given. Lulu reminded me of Lip, from Shameless.
Must see this!!!
evdlangkruis3 October 2019
Very Mediocre crime series
postvoorberti5 January 2020
This is a very mediocre crime series from Holland. The acting is not good (especially Thijs Römer, who is from an acting family but cannot act at all) and the storytelling is sloppy.
But the biggest problem of this series is, is that none of the characters is likeable.
Accurate depiction of this world.
kenneth-amazon21 April 2020
This show is underated and definitely NOT tame. Lots of innuendo. Very accurate depiction of real life in that world. Do not watch this as just a crime drama. It isn't. It's also not quite NC-16 given some of the themes. It's dark. Some scenes will leave your skin crawling.
Khan Review
zkzuber14 April 2022
In the beginning of few episodes I thought it might be interesting but till I reached episode seven I realised I should have not but now when reached till seven I will fast forward and complete till ten. The story is so dumb why a woman the character xandra will choose to be a madam when she has everything going good for her.
Why she does not disclose her past to her daughter in the beginning it self.
Why pressman who has a decent job is shamelessly following his wife who for no reason gets into escort business is not bothered about his husband and he seems to be not affected at all after knowing his wife is into business with criminals.
Why a mother who already has misunderstandings with her teenage daughter will take her along on her escort business trips.
How can all the characters be so dumb.
Total time waster.
Why she does not disclose her past to her daughter in the beginning it self.
Why pressman who has a decent job is shamelessly following his wife who for no reason gets into escort business is not bothered about his husband and he seems to be not affected at all after knowing his wife is into business with criminals.
Why a mother who already has misunderstandings with her teenage daughter will take her along on her escort business trips.
How can all the characters be so dumb.
Total time waster.
Utterly laughable rubbish
arthur-benjamins27 August 2021
I was looking forward hearing my birth language and some real gritty Dutch acting - along with seeing some truly magnificent Dutch women.
There have been some good Dutch series and films on Netflix, so I was enthusiastic to say the least.
These series manage to combine the acting talents (or lack of them) of a great deal of actors (apart from the lead role by Karina Smulders) - fully augmented by a ragtag bunch of so-called "Escorts", whose looks would not look out of place in a convent jumble/garage sale.
All characters sleepwalk their way through their lines and their soggy cardboard acting completely fails to raise the characters' dimensions past anything vaguely credible.
The storyline is so flat that it even fails to curl up at the edges like stale sandwiches.
One character tries to speak German, which was so appalling that I could barely understand half of it. What does it take to employ an actor who has a grasp of German language - or ANY language for that matter?
The only thing that counts is that the cast and crew had a good time knitting this disaster together.
There have been some good Dutch series and films on Netflix, so I was enthusiastic to say the least.
These series manage to combine the acting talents (or lack of them) of a great deal of actors (apart from the lead role by Karina Smulders) - fully augmented by a ragtag bunch of so-called "Escorts", whose looks would not look out of place in a convent jumble/garage sale.
All characters sleepwalk their way through their lines and their soggy cardboard acting completely fails to raise the characters' dimensions past anything vaguely credible.
The storyline is so flat that it even fails to curl up at the edges like stale sandwiches.
One character tries to speak German, which was so appalling that I could barely understand half of it. What does it take to employ an actor who has a grasp of German language - or ANY language for that matter?
The only thing that counts is that the cast and crew had a good time knitting this disaster together.
Loved it..
dawnharrison-4495727 March 2020
I thought this Netflix drama was fabulous and cannot wait for season 2...
I thought xandra the main character nailed it... Excellent acting by all, Thought it was gripping, fresh, exciting and shows what the real world is like. and I watched the whole lot in one night.. Actually gutted I have to wait till next year see season 2. Please hurry up!!
I thought xandra the main character nailed it... Excellent acting by all, Thought it was gripping, fresh, exciting and shows what the real world is like. and I watched the whole lot in one night.. Actually gutted I have to wait till next year see season 2. Please hurry up!!
Captivating series
ukcom12 April 2020
The previous reviewer must have been watching a different series, there are a couple of similarly named series. If you do have the correct one, you do know that just watching the first 10 minutes of episode one doesn't really qualify you to review the series? It only qualifies you to review the first ten minutes of episode one.
The lead character is profoundly damaged from a nightmarish childhood and a mother whom she might well have in common with Satan himself.
In addition to a towering performance from Smulders, her bratty daughter also deserves praise. ADDICTION WARNING: If you watch the conplete episode one, you WILL need to watch the entire series.
The lead character is profoundly damaged from a nightmarish childhood and a mother whom she might well have in common with Satan himself.
In addition to a towering performance from Smulders, her bratty daughter also deserves praise. ADDICTION WARNING: If you watch the conplete episode one, you WILL need to watch the entire series.
Lacking originality
MarkP_BN_6516 May 2021
I wanted to like this but couldn't get past the first episode unfortunately. Cliches galore, predictable, poorly casted and acted and nothing at all to keep my interest regretably. What I don't understand, and this is the case with lots of mini serries, is why the main character's children, who are invariably female, are always, without exception, obnoxious and poorly behaved. I know there needs to be drasmatic license but it happens so often that it's tedious. Anyway, this series isn't for me despite it being set in Holland which is beautiful.
Implausible characters
keniwhat1 November 2021
Hard to believe in the characters which detracts from the plot which is as much about collusion as the oldest profession. Not helped by some wooden acting. Given all that happens the director fails to generate any tension. This is left to the soundtrack guy. An odd piece of viewing.
Keizer Cattle would be better English title
vanboom-8277523 May 2020
Caught this on Netflix - overall a very watchable series, if you can handle some pretty dark stuff and complete disregard of human life or dignity. If there was an Oscar for 'zieliege' (sad and pitiful) puppy dog eyes, Xandra would win that hands down.
I listened to the series in its original language - to me Dutch is a much more intimate, gentle, and nuanced language than English or German, but that also makes it harder to act like a 'tough guy' when speaking it (although 'Beertje' manages to pull off acting tough remarkably well!).
Regardless the horrors Xandra has endured, they cannot justify her actions in the final episode; only one character in the whole cast comes out of this quagmire with even an ounce of self respect at least trying to do the 'right thing'. Hopefully those watching will be dissuaded from ever thinking of becoming an escort.
A miserable series
clsi-1910224 March 2020
In addition to the poor performances, especially Karina Smulders, the series has a poor and predictable script. The series brings together people of the worst kind: gangsters, corrupt politicians, trafficking in women, prostitution etc. Anyway, all the characters portray people of the worst kind and the performances are very superficial. The worst actress award of the decade goes to K. Smulders. Please don't do a second season!
A very good Dutch criminal series.
meldondg20 March 2020
Very Mediocre
bshaef3 April 2020
Obvious reason people watch is...
mattfrancis-039632 May 2021
The obvious reason people watch this isn't for the crime or the similarities with today's world, it's because they wanted whatever glimpses of free flesh they could get their eyes on. The series lost ratings because instead of focussing on the plot and dialogue, they focus too much on everything that isn't important. This in turn lost viewers and another Dutch series bites the dust. The cast tried to over act their roles the best they could but it wasn't enough. This blew.
.. well-cast Karina Smulders makes it all work
bjarias10 August 2020
How to make your partner a cuck without him knowing
althafahh11 April 2023
Warning: Spoilers
This story plot is good but when after 4th episode it's Just showing or giving guide book like how to make your partner cuck and lead character is like selfish person who thinks only about herself and we have her lap dog husband who say sorry to his wife always eventhough his wife handling escort business, cheating on him, money laundering and disrespect him on every moment and even in process of saving her life he even went to jail and I guess he is the doormat who his wife thinks a Father figure to her daughter and spineless doormat who will say whatever she wants and play as she like it and she never disclose her affair to her husband and infacr giving commitment to another woman she is ready to Cheat again,lolI think this series is telling how to leave your boring life as mother,gf,wife etc and be happy as escort,lol.
I really liked it
foxyking9319 March 2020
Brilliant
corinneoegerli5 August 2020
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
