Tonnano

I binged Mocro Maffia and was genuinely impressed. For a Dutch production, it was exceptionally strong: raw, violent, and at times uncomfortably close to what gang life in the Netherlands must be like. Well acted, well written, well directed. Solid all around.

Tonnano quickly became my favorite character, largely thanks to Khalid Alterch's brilliant performance. So when a standalone spinoff was announced, I was genuinely excited. I expected the same high (almost un-Dutch) level of quality in production, writing, and direction. With all the talent involved, this should've been a guaranteed hit.

I couldn't have been more wrong.

This series is an insult, not only to fans of Mocro Maffia, but also to the cast and creatives who poured their time into making this thing. Everything is off. And I mean everything. The production is sloppy, the writing is weak, the direction is all over the place, and the performances (with a few exceptions) are shockingly poor. Compared to its parent series, it's an absolute abomination.

It's painfully obvious the show had neither the budget nor the time to get things right. The script feels rushed, the scenes look unrehearsed, and it honestly feels like they used the first take of every shot.

I loved Mocro Maffia. But this spinoff just made me angry. It destroys the Tonnano character and drags down the entire franchise with it.

Credit where it's due: Khalid, Ciraj, and Anas still manage to shine. Their talent is the only reason I endured it to the end.

But please, no more of this.

The way the story goes seems to be made by artificial intelligence. Why the things happen and why the people act the way they do is just plain irrational. Every episode seems to end in a Deux ex machina, which sometimes is the only way out if you force tension by killing of a key figure in the story. The fact that for example there is no backlash for shooting guns in a village, there could have been an urgency to leaving because in the real world, police would show up.

What a missed opportunity. I was really looking forward to this spin-off featuring perhaps the most exciting actor from the Mocro Mafia series. But after the first episode, I knew enough. Tonnano is far less realistic, dark, and shocking (in a good way) than its predecessor. The choice to focus on the Achterhoek region, along with the acting performances and casting, is a real disappointment. It's understandable that Tonnano has changed and may have become a bit softer with kids, but the family from the Achterhoek simply doesn't work and instead elicits laughter rather than tension. I was biting my nails in suspense with Mocro Mafia, but here I felt much more of a new "undercover" series vibe.

With such a talented artist as Khalid, I had hoped for and expected more. A missed chance...

Love the spin offs from mocro mafia. Great story and love the rawness of these producers. However, never let 'randstadacteurs' try to talk an eastern (or southern) dialect in the Netherlands. It's the worst. As the Dutch call it: toes bending (tenenkrommend). The scene with the airconditioning is also technically impossible. Really brings down the quality of this spin off. Anyway, can't wait for season 2! Khalid is the best, by the way.