Oh, how fitting! Eleven new Euro TV program premieres in the US for the eleventh month of the year. (I wonder if this means anything significant in numerology.)
To see the complete list of Euro TV shows available in the US and UK, including ongoing updates of titles released throughout each month on streaming platforms and digital channels, see the Euro TV Shows by Language section.
All programs listed below are shown in their original language with English subtitles.
NATIONAL PREMIERES
Black Widow: Season 4 (Penoza) (Netherlands)
Say the phrase “great mafia TV show” and most people will think of an Italian series. Yes, there are quite a number of them, but this award-winning crime drama from the Netherlands, which just completed its fifth and final season on Dutch television, is right up there, too.
Season 4 opens several months after the events in the Season 3 finale, and finds Carmen (multiple-award winner Monic Hendrickx, Unfinished Sky, Het zuiden) having survived the assassination attempt and waking from the coma. She’s also taken to prison and has little chance of ever being released. But freedom could be hers if she’s willing to infiltrate the Mexican cartel, currently engaged in a gang war with the gang led by the Coach (Jacob Derwig, In therapie), for Public Prosecutor Justine de Heer (Jacqueline Blom, Loenatik).
Then Carmen’s son, Boris (Stijn Taverne, Spangas), disappears while trying to find the person who tried to kill his mum. To find him, Carmen needs to be out of prison. To be free, she needs to be a mole for the feds. To stay alive, she needs to keep her deal a secret from her family and the gangs. That, and hold herself together without breaking under the extreme pressure.
Featuring Sigrid ten Napel (Overspel), Niels Gomperts (The Godless), Olga Zuiderhoek (Trollie), Loek Peters (Sophie’s Web), Raymond Thiry (Celblok H), Medina Schuurman (Rozengeur & Wodka Lime), Eric Corton (Baantjer Mysteries), and Joost Koning (Framed), Black Widow: Season 4 premieres in the US on Thursday, November 2nd, exclusively on Walter Presents and the Walter Presents Channel on Amazon.
Call My Agent!: Season 2 (Dix Pour Cent) (France)
Oh là là! One of the best comedy-drama series to hit the small screen in the US and UK in the past year returns for another season that is sure to be filled with laugh-out-loud intra-office and star-studded dramas at the ASK talent agency.
Starting with Agence Samuel Kerr itself. The agency is in bad shape financially, prompting its four partners — Andréa Martel (Camille Cottin, Allied), Mathias Barneville (Thibault de Montalembert, The Tunnel), Gabriel Sarda (Grégory Montel, Loin de chez nous), and Arlette Azémar (Liliane Rovère, Détectives) — to look for a savior.
Grâce à Dieu, Andréa finds an angel in the form of young millionaire Hicham Janowski (Assaâd Bouab, Kaboul Kitchen), a temperamental man with no experience in the business and whose investment in the company comes with more than the partners bargained for. What’s more, the rivalry between ASK and Starmédia is really heating up. Hicham’s strategy for handling it: steal the competition’s star client, César Awards winner Fabrice Luchini (Tout ça… pour ça!).
As with the celebs in Season 1, Luchini is but one of the real-life stars who features in the second season’s storylines. Others include double Cannes Film Festival award winner Isabelle Adjani (Quartet), Academy Awards® winner Juliette Binoche (The English Patient), César Awards winner Christopher Lambert (Subway), and César Awards winner Guy Marchand (Garde à vue, Nestor Burma).
Call My Agent!: Season 2, a Netflix Original series, premieres in the US & UK on Thursday, November 2nd, exclusively on Netflix.
Rebecka Martinsson (Sweden)
Based on The Blood Spilt, The Black Path, Until Thy Wrath Be Past, and The Second Deadly Sin — four of the “Rebecka Martinsson” crime novels by Åsa Larsson — this new Nordic noir mystery series stars Ida Engvoll (Bonus Family, A Man Called Ove) as the eponymous lawyer.
Originally from Kiruna, located beyond the Arctic Circle in the far north of Sweden, Rebecka is a successful tax attorney in Stockholm. When a childhood friend passes away suddenly, she reluctantly puts her fast-track career on hold and returns to her hometown. It soon becomes apparent that things are not what they seem, and Rebecka joins Police Inspector Anna-Maria Mella (Modus) and her partner Sven-Erik Stålnacke (Thomas Oredsson, Beck) in the hunt for a killer.
Back in Stockholm, Rebecka’s beau Måns Wenngren (Niklas Engdahl, Bonus Family) is waiting for her to come home, as are her colleagues. But there’s more than murder keeping her in Kiruna. Being here is forcing Rebecka to deal with a past she has struggled to leave behind, pushing her into the shadows of her childhood to confront the trauma that caused her to flee her hometown years ago.
Meanwhile, more women are being murdered…
Featuring Jakob Öhrman (8-Ball), Gunilla Röör (Livet i Fagervik), Jonas Inde (The Fat and the Angry), Jonas IndeVille Virtanen (Norskov), Lars Lind (Arne Dahl), Samuel Fröler (Missing), Rebecka Martinsson premieres in the US on Monday, November 6th, exclusively on Acorn TV and the Acorn TV Channel on Amazon. (Look for my upcoming review.)
Meurtres à Dunkerque (France)
This telefilm in France 3’s popular Meurtres à… mystery-crime drama series is the first of four that will screen in the US this month. It stars Charlotte de Turckheim (Vive la colo!, Clara Sheller) as Captain Janie Roussel of the Dunkirk Police — the widow of a corsair and a celebrant at the city’s annual Carnival festivities. That is, until a man’s corpse is found hanging from the top of a ship’s mast in the port.
The victim was a corsair, as well, and the case is assigned to Roussel and Lieutenant Eric Dampierre (Lannick Gautry, Vanished by the Lake, Maison Close), a recent transplant from Paris. Whether the two detectives like each other is irrelevant, because the body count is rising. Their investigation uncovers evidence that suggests the murders could be related to an event that happened years before, also during the Carnival season, and that Roussel and her family could be connected…
Featuring Jean-Miche Fête (Caïn), Adrien Rob (The Judge Is a Woman), Bruno Paviot (A Very Secret Service), Catherine Demaiffe (Blood of the Vine), and Tom Hudson (Résistance), Meurtres à Dunkerque premieres in the US on Tuesday, November 7th, at 10:59 PM ET, exclusively on TV5Monde USA.
Meurtres en Martinique (France)
This Meurtres à… movie has as its central character Mount Pelée, an active volcano on the Caribbean island of Martinique. It is near its summit where the corpse of a young woman is discovered at a construction site. Elsewhere on the island, forensics specialist Captain Léna Valrose (Sara Martins, Détectives, Pigalle, la nuit), who is of Martinican descent, is on assignment from Paris to conduct some training.
The training gets canceled when Valrose is tasked with helping to identify the victim’s body, and she is subsequently placed in charge of the investigation. Partnering with her on the case is Captain Paul Ventura (Olivier Marchal, Elite Squad, Braquo), a twenty-year resident on the island whose deep knowledge of local customs makes him more Martinican than Valrose. And supervising them is Commissioner Magaly Brédas (France Zobda, S.O.S. 18, Lea Parker), a 30-year veteran of police work. What neither Ventura nor Brédas knows is that Valrose also has a personal reason for being on Martinique…
Featuring Philippe Lavil (Nina), newcomer Éric Delor, Luc Bernard (The Bureau), and Gunther Germain (Enquêtes réservées), Meurtres en Martinique premieres in the US on Tuesday, November 14th, at 10:59 PM ET, exclusively on TV5Monde USA.
Nero Wolfe (Italy)
The ever-popular “Nero Wolfe” whodunit novels by American author Rex Stout, a winner of the prestigious Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America, have been adapted numerous times for television, film, radio, and the stage. This mystery series from 2012 is the most recent adaptation (that I know of) for the small screen.
Set in 1959, it stars Francesco Pannofino (A Case of Conscience) as the persnickety, curmudgeonly, and rather maniacal gourmand, orchid enthusiast, and private detective, while Pietro Sermonti (Tutto può succedere), one of Pannofino’s many costars in the hit Italian comedy series Boris, plays the role of Wolfe’s charming, pragmatic, and legwork-doing assistant, Archie Goodwin.
Having parted ways with the FBI, Wolfe, along with his trusty sidekick, bids addio to the Big Apple and ciao to his new home of the Eternal City — quite the excursion for a man who (almost) never goes out and habitually solves cases from the comfort of his armchair.
Soon after they arrive in Rome, Wolfe has his first case, which concerns the disappearance of a pensioner (a story based on Stout’s novel Fer-de-Lance). It’s followed by cases that involve poisoning, abduction, theft, and sabotage; these storylines are based on the plots in Champagne for One, The Golden Spiders, The Rubber Band, Gambit, If Death Ever Slept, The Red Box, and Over My Dead Body.
Featuring Andy Luotto (Medici: Masters of Florence), Giulia Bevilacqua (È arrivata la felicità), Marcello Mazzarella (Lampedusa), and Roberto Nobile (Detective Montalbano), Nero Wolf premieres in the US on Tuesday, November 14th, exclusively on MHz Choice and the MHz Choice Channel on Amazon.
Cover Story: Season 2 (Pressa) (Iceland)
Even before the credits roll in the gripping Season 1 finale of this Edda Award winner for Television Show of the Year, you already have the sense that there will be more danger in store for investigative journalist Lára (Sara Dögg Ásgeirsdóttir, Réttur, The Night Shift), regardless of which continent she’s on.
The Season 2 opener, “Burnt Bones,” finds Lára back in Reykjavik, back at her old job at the tabloid paper The Post, and back to living apart from her husband. On top of taking care of her teen daughter Alda (Annalísa Hermannsdóttir, Life in a Fishbowl) and infant son, she has the added responsibility of helping to look after her ailing father. And given her recent experiences, Lára isn’t willing to put her life on the line for her job or to answer calls from unknown callers anymore.
But after a Filipino-owned establishment is set alight and a young woman dies in the blaze, Lára follows up on a colleague’s story, and editor Nökkvi (Kjartan Guðjónsson, (Harry Og Heimir) puts her article on the front page. The thing is, Lára’s interview of a friend of the dead woman and her Page 1 story opens a Pandora’s box. What’s worse, Alda is indirectly connected to the crimes.
Featuring Þorsteinn Bachmann (Trapped) and Arndís Hrönn Egilsdóttir (Case), Cover Story: Season 2 premieres in the US on Thursday, November 16th, exclusively on Walter Presents and the Walter Presents Channel on Amazon.
Meurtres à Grasse (France)
The third Meutres a… made-for-TV movie in November stars Lorie Pester (Demain Nous Appartient) as Sophie Mournel, a museum guide in Grasse, the Riviera town considered the world’s perfume capital. While leading a tour, Sophie and the tourists are horrified to find the corpse of a man, covered in burning fat, in the enfleurage vat (a fat-extraction oven used in the perfumery business).
Commander Marianne Dusseyre (Commissaire Laviolette) heads up the investigation and is none too pleased that her unofficial partner on the case is Sophie — because the young woman is the widow of Marianne’s late son. But they must put aside their differences if they’re going to catch the killer, who may or may not be Maxime (Samy Gharbi, Demain Nous Appartient), Sophie’s adopted brother and a (now-former) colleague of the victim.
As Marianne and Sophie continue their digging, they learn that the strange tattoo on the victim is linked to the legend of the 13th note, the mythical grail of perfumers whose origin goes back to Ancient Egypt.
Featuring Roby Schinasi (Plus belle la vie), Sophie De La Rochefoucauld (Plus belle la vie), and Christophe Kourotchkine (A Very Secret Service), Meurtres à Grasse premieres in the US on Tuesday, November 21st, at 10:59 PM ET, exclusively on TV5Monde USA.
Thou Shalt Not Kill (Non uccidere) (Italy)
Rather, thou shouldst binge this Italian noir mystery series, because it is brilliant. I will say more about this in my upcoming review. In the meantime, here’s what you need to know about it:
Set in Turin, the series stars Miriam Leone (1992, Medici: Masters of Florence), aka Miss Italy 2008, as Inspector Valeria Ferro — a steely, ballsy, and demanding detective in the Crime Squad. To her colleagues, including Andrea Russo (Matteo Martari, Luisa Spagnoli), Gerardo Mattei (Riccardo Lombardo, Drawn for Jury Duty), and Luca Rinaldi (Luca Terracciano, Un passo dal cielo), Valeria’s sleeping with their boss, Giorgio Lombardi (Thomas Trabacchi, 1992, Anti-Drug Squad), comes with the territory of working alongside her.
The first two-part story concerns the death of a teen-aged girl, whose body is found in the flooded basement of a building in the Little Bucharest section of Turin. Valeria is sure the victim knew her assailant, but there are few clues to point her toward any one suspect… until her keen observations and instincts lead her to the truth she’s been seeking.
Meanwhile, Valeria’s troubled past is about to come back and haunt her, but she doesn’t know it yet, because neither her brother Giacomo (Davide Iacopini, Fog and Crimes) nor sister-in-law Michela (Viola Sartoretto, Massimo Ribasso) have told her the news: Valeria’s mother won her appeal and is being released from prison.
Thou Shalt Not Kill premieres in the US on Thursday, November 23rd, exclusively on Walter Presents and the Walter Presents Channel on Amazon.
Magellan: Season 2 (France)
This popular French mystery series reminds me of the hit British series, Midsomer Murders. It’s set in a fictional provincial town (Saignac) that’s idyllic on the surface, but beneath, not so much, because the murder rate is through the roof. (Just like in Midsomer County, the deadliest county in England.)
As such, there’s never a dull moment for Police Commissioner Simon Magellan (Jacques Spiesser, Collection Fred Vargas, Scalp). And even when there isn’t a murder (as if), there are the pesky locals. On the bright side, the widowed Magellan has two daughters, a journalist for a girlfriend in Florence Higel (Nathalie Besançon, Enquêtes réservées), a public prosecutor for a close friend in Paul Gavrillac (Bernard Alane, Some Place Else), and good meals with them at his favorite restaurant.
The new season finds Magellan and Lieutenant Béziat (Maka Sidibé, Main courante) working to crack more complicated cases, including the murders of a hotel director, an illusionist, and a chef, amongst other victims.
Featuring Yamine Dib (Un si beau voyage), Selma Kouchy (Second Chance), and newcomer Marie de Stefano, Magellan: Season 2 premieres in the US on Tuesday, November 28th, exclusively on MHz Choice and the MHz Choice Channel on Amazon.
Meurtres à Strasbourg (France)
Reminiscent of Blood of the Vine, the final Meurtre a… telefilm this month opens with Julian Mathis (Jean-Baptiste Maunier, Mes chers disparus!), the heir to the prestigious Clos-Mathis winery, and Clara Lemestre (Eugénie Derouand, Loin de chez nous), a brilliant oenologist, preparing for a VIP tasting of a special cuvée of Alsace wine. But rather than a white wine flowing out of the vat, the liquid is a rosé pink. Sabotage? No. Murder. They find the body of Julian’s father, Ronald, inside the vat with his eyes glued shut. (Mon dieu!)
Handling the investigation are Katel Leguennec (two time César Awards nominee Hélène de Fougerolles, Va savoir), commander of the Strasbourg Police, and Maxime Keller (César Awards nominee Olivier Sitruk, L’appât), the head of the forensics unit. These two were sweethearts in their youth; then things got complicated: After Maxime moved abroad, Katel remained in Strasbourg, then fell in love with and married Franck (Jean-Claude Dauphin, The Passenger), Maxime’s father. (Ahem.)
In questioning possible suspects, Katel and Maxime learn that everyone in the Mathis family and amongst their associates had a motive for killing Ronald, including Lidy (Oscar® nominee Marie-Christine Barrault, Cousin cousine), the Mathis family matriarch. But when additional victims are discovered, the investigation takes a turn and the clues reveal a connection to the legend of Saint Odile — a young girl born blind and abandoned by her parents, who became the patron saint of Alsace.
Featuring Bellamine Abdelmalek (Spiral), Michel Scotto di Carlo (Blood on the Docks), Sophie Gourdin (Malone), and Sophie Mounicot (Blood of the Vine), Meurtres à Strasbourg premieres in the US on Tuesday, November 28th, at 11 PM ET, exclusively on TV5Monde USA.
ADDED TO PROGRAMMING SCHEDULES
Strike Force: Season 1 (aka Force, Smeris) (The Netherlands)
This crime drama, the most successful Dutch police action series of the past decade, follows polar-opposite partners Theo Kamp (Jeroen van Koningsbrugge, Baantjer Mysteries) and Willem Niessen (Dennis van de Ven, Draadstaal) as they risk their lives to keep the city of Tilburg safe.
The two only became partners after Theo, the brash and impetuous top homicide cop, stepped out of line one time too many in his obsession to bring down leading criminal Freddy van Nuenen (Patrick Stoof, The Godless). His punishment: being demoted to the Drugs Squad and partnered with Willem, the straightest, most by-the-book detective on the force.
Forced to keep his head down and fists to himself while under Willem’s watchful eye, Theo wants nothing more than to nab Freddy and get his old job back. So he continues his investigation on the QT while working alongside Willem to take down murderers, kidnappers, and a mole within their ranks.
Featuring Kiki van Deursen (Framed), Daan van Dijsseldonk (Wolfseinde), Hans Ligtvoet (Serious Crimes), and Lindsay Zwaan (Black Widow), Strike Force begins airing Sunday, November 26th, at 10 PM ET, on Eurochannel.
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