Dos veranos

I've watched three episodes and it's holding my attention.

The two things I'm struggling with is the age difference of the cast, and being able to tell who is who from 1992-2022. There's got to be twenty years age difference between the actors, yet they are playing friends of the same age. One of the actors looks old enough to be his 'mates' dad!

I'd suggest new viewers have IMDB open on the cast when they watch. It easily allows you to connect the two different actors to the same role thirty years apart. It will certainly help you know who is who.

Hopefully it has a satisfying ending.

Two Summers is a well-produced, well-acted series that maintains its tension well and keeps the viewer guessing. Plus, it has a few twists and turns along the way. Two things kept it from getting higher marks: First, there was the challenge of trying keep track of which character was which 30 years later. I managed to solve that problem. The bigger issue was the absence of likability of any of the characters. The characters were so flawed and cynical, it was hard to feel good about anybody in the drama. That said, it did hold one's interest.

As Episode 1 of "Two Summers" (2022 release from Belgium; 6 episodes of about 45 min each) opens, we are in "Silicon Valley, USA", where Peter and his wife Romee live in a palatial estate. Just as they head out the door, Peter receives a message on his phone, containing a highly explosive video of an incident that happened 30 years ago. We then go to "Antwerp, Belgium", where a group of 6 friends get ready to fly out to a private island in the south of France, to celebrate Romee's 50th birthday. At this point we are 10 min into Episode 1.

Couple of comments: let me state upfront that I hail from Antwerp, Belgium (but have now lived in the US for many years) and when this was suggested to me by Netflix based on my viewing habits, I almost fell onto the floor when I realized that this is an authentic Flemish/Belgian TV mini-series. The "two summers" referred to in the title are the current summer and the summer of 1992, when the protagonists all are about 20 years old. Now reaching 50, it turns out that there are some very dark secrets hanging over their heads. So what starts as a happy-go-lucky reunion among this group of longtime friends, quickly unravels, and I'll leave it at that. The only performer I recognized is Ruth Becquart, one of Belgium's top actors (she was recently in the new season of that other great Flemish series "Undercover", also available on Netflix).

"Two Summers" premiered on Belgian (Flemish) TV in February (with stellar TV ratings), and it recently premiered on Netflix, where all 6 episodes are streaming now. If you are in the mood for a psychological thriller with a twist (or two) and a European setting, I'd readily suggest you check this out and draw your own conclusion. Note to Netflix: THANK YOU for bringing this to US audiences. Please stream more such foreign mini-series!

This is the kind of series that stands or falls on the strength of the acting, rather than the plot twists, suspense and action. The drama - the "secret" events of 30 years previously - is what haunts the characters now and the series handles all this pretty well, with the lies, deceit and self-delusions thick on the ground.

I found two or three of the characters a little weakly-drawn but the interactions were well acted and believable.

Belgium cinema/tv is building an excellent reputation for high quality drama, and this series is proof of that.

Don't watch this if you need action sequences, smart plot-twists and intrigue. But if you want a series that deals with serious issues in a serious, interesting and adult way, Two Summers is for you.

If it were a book, it would be a page turner. The series has fine actors, good plot, nice location. But there are some sloppyness.

I had to watch quite a few episodes to figure out who is who. When there are so many actors involved, the director should see to that we know who is who.

The woman around whome the series revolve is long, tall, darkhaired, eerie white and has brown eyes. Her 30 year older self is blond, blueeyed, small, freckled and has a broader face. That is a major faux pas.

So too is the pilot character. He is much older than the others.

The island??? There are no such island near the French Riviera. But ok, fiction is allowed.