Cœurs Noirs

This is a fictional story of the French military's special forces operating in the Middle East against terrorists. Besides the plot, the brilliance of this series rests on attention to detail, fantastically timed camera work from many angles, superb acting and dialogue, and the cinematography brings the series to life. It all rings true. Though many unforeseen circumstances events often do not go in favour of the special forces. It is edge-of-your-seat viewing and compulsive.

One key member of the main team is killed, while another Sab gets into deep water and the team needs to rescue her. It makes the plotline unpredictable too. Nothing mundane here.

The joy of episode 4, Tarek, is when they burst into song while driving, a scene worth endless re-watching!

The first series concludes with a tense cliff-hanger and you will find it hard to wait for the second series. This is top notch filmwork.

The only downside is the realism of this action-for-TV story comes at a time when humanitarian tragedies are happening in Ukraine and Gaza. People searching for Black Hearts note when aired by the BBC in 2023 for some obscure reason it went by the title 'Dark Hearts'.

The series is superb and highly recommended.

Bring on series two!