Hidden Assets

A good piece of entertainment that wasn't stretched out too far like so many these days. (Netflix seems to like eight episodes, but not every storyline needs it.) while there were a few of the usual plot holes and unlikely turn of events, Hidden Assets has fewer of them than most similar shows. It's not The Bridge or Unforgotten, but it's worth watching and I'll definitely be looking out fir Season 2.

In the opening scenes a woman is murdered in a flat in Antwerp; shortly afterwards a suicide bomber attacks an event there killing fourteen people, local police link the bomber to the flat. Meanwhile in Co. Clare, Ireland, the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) of the Garda raid the house of a suspected drug dealer intending to seize anything bought with illegal funds. They discover a number of uncut diamonds and the deeds to the flat in Antwerp. CAB officer Emer Berry heads to Antwerp and is soon working with Belgian policeman Christian De Jong. They work to establish links between the events in Ireland and Belgian; a sense of urgency is given when they establish that the bomber only used half of his explosives; presumably somebody else intends to use the other half.

I really enjoyed this six part series. It started well with the two apparently separate incidents in Ireland and Belgium before quickly linking them. While it is obvious there is a link it is considerably less obvious just what the link is. It is clear that whoever is behind the crimes is very professional and very dangerous. The characters are an interesting bunch; Emer and Christian are good leads and there are plenty of suspicious characters who may or may not be criminally involved. It was a relief that we only see the police getting on with their jobs; too many series find it necessary to give them troubled back stories and family lives. The cast is good; notably Angeline Ball and Wouter Hendrickx as Emer and Christian. Overall a solid drama which I'd recommend to fans of the genre.

Set in Ireland and Belgium, there's a lot to enjoy in crime drama 'Hidden Assets', whose dense and juicy plot proceeds at a lively pace throughout. Notably, the Irish police force features a four-strong chain of command, all of them female; also one of the leading suspects is also a woman. But there are also some trashier elements: a fair amount of expository dialogue; a data expert who fits the cliches of the idiot-savant in her ability to see patterns that no-one else can; a lead character of inappropriate cockiness who, in the first episode, travels to Belgium, breaks into a flat without authorisation, and suffers no penalty; and a final shoot-out with several ludicrous aspects. It's still good fun, but not quite serious drama.

Fine crime drama about a joint operation between Irish and Belgian police involving murder, terrorism, money laundering and corruption. I have watched both series and rate both highly. Although series one has a satisfactory conclusion it does leave a few questions which enables series two to continue the story. Nearly all the main characters from the first series continue into the second with the one obvious change where the lead Irish detective Angeline Ball is replaced by Nora- Jane Noone, both are good but personally I preferred Angeline. The main Belgian detective is played by Wouter Hendrickx, I really enjoyed his underplayed performance. Again the second series ends satisfactorily but leaves an oportunity for another series, but I have no idea if this is planned. If you like a coherent crime story without over dramatic CGI nonsense this is well worth ten hours of your time.

All the cast are believable in their roles. The production values are quite high with only a few oddly staged indoor scenes looking washed out. The story is quite complex and although I enjoyed it, we had to keep pausing to work on what was going on.

This is much better than a lot of the cop shows around. There is also a degree of humour that brings the characters to life.