Czech detective drama The Fury pulled me in from the first episode, so with nine to go, my weekend watching is set. Perhaps this series will be yours, too.
A nominee for Best TV Fiction Series at the 2016 Prix Europa broadcasting festival, as well as for a Czech Lion Award (the highest award in the film and television industry in the Czech Republic), The Fury (Rapl) is a spin-off of the crime thriller serial Bukowsky Circus, which to my knowledge hasn’t screened in the US. Bridging the two series is the character Detective Kuneš, played in both by Hynek Cermák (Head Over Heels).
Kuneš is like a cross between Blochin (from Blochin) and Richard Brock (from Anatomy of Evil) — a father of a daughter, a street-wise detective who doesn’t pull any punches (literally), and a sullen, moody man who seems to be devoid of the capacity to smile and to play nice with others.
When we first see him in The Fury, he’s beating up his ex-wife’s boyfriend, Radovan Soupal (Stanislav Majer, The Labyrinth). This lands him in the police disciplinary hot seat, but instead of being thrown off the force, Hvozdíková (Dana Černá, Circus Bukowsky), his superior, sends him to the hinterlands of the Czech Republic — to one of the most dangerous areas of the country, by the Ore Mountains near the Czech-German border — ostensibly on an “observational exchange” but in reality on an unofficial investigation. She wants Kuneš to look into a cold case, the unsolved murder of Officer Hana Wagnerova, and find the killer.
Meanwhile, up in the Ore Mountains, a man just released from prison is shot dead seconds after he walks out of the gate. Rohan (Alexej Pysko, Gangster Ka), who heads up the Jáchymov Crime Unit, assigns the case to the earnest, by-the-book, allergic-to-cigarettes cop Lupinek (Lukás Príkazský, The Invisibles). It’s supposed to be his first solo case, but Kuneš’s arrival at the station changes that.
It also alters somewhat the dynamics at the police station — not just because there’s a new face amongst the cops, but also because Gregor (Jan Dolanský, Cesty domú) the hot-headed, chip-on-his-shoulder, (for real) bad-guy cop, basically loses his alpha male status to Kuneš.
As the detectives investigate the murders of a priest, the leader of a hunting group, and other victims, Kuneš continues his inquiries into the Hana W. cold case while Soupal plots his revenge against Kuneš (amongst others of his unsavory plans).
Each of the episodes features a standalone murder mystery story, although structurally The Fury is more of a noir detective drama than a straight-up whodunit. Regardless, the series overall is quite engaging.
The thirteen-episode first season costars Tomás Jerábek (Doktor Martin), Lucie Zácková (Wings of Steel), Cyril Drozda (Most!), and Aneta Krejcíková (Ulice).
The Fury is currently streaming in the US on Prime Video, and will begin airing Tuesday, August 27, at 9 PM ET, on Eurochannel. Euro TV fans across the pond can catch the Czech series on Prime Video UK.
__________________
Add your comments on our Facebook and Twitter pages.
Share this post/page.
Outbound links on this page include non-affiliate links and affiliate links; the latter allows us to earn income for qualifying purchases and actions made through the links.