ceska/ceskoslovenska TV

A series based on real criminal cases of Czech gendarmes from the 1920s and 1930s.

Appearing on the scene in the series of thirteen detective stories is the Prague underworld of the 1920s and 1930s. The trio of police inspectors hunting for criminals from petty thieves to murderers under the baton of police counsel Vacátko pull well together, and no sinner escapes them. But you won't escape either, as they will take you captive by their peculiar humor and perfect solutions of the cases with which they are confronted.

Follow the pioneers of criminalistics across four centuries, be a witness to groundbreaking discoveries that forever changed the world of crime-fighting. From fingerprints to forensic ballistics, from Vidocq to Pinkerton.

The series Prague Underworld relies on understatement to colorfully depict the history of Czech criminology. Each episode is a precise miniature portrait, full of tragicomic figures: petty criminals and thieves, prostitutes, con men and even major criminals. Using 1930's society and a touch of nostalgia as a backdrop, the series shows the varied atmosphere of a world long forgotten: technology seemed to be at its peak, limousines were ever more elegant, political life ever more confused and women ever more seductive. The protagonists of the series are old-fashioned detectives in bowler hats: Messrs. Bruzek, Bouse and Soucek. Their universally admired boss, respected Police Commissioner Vacátko, has recently died, and the new commissioner brings different times. Only the sins of the Prague's underworld remain basically the same.

History student Palach's self-immolation protesting Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1969. Lawyer Buresová defended his family against communist regime's attempt to dishonor his sacrifice for freedom.

In a remote village where everyone knows each other, a girl goes missing under suspicious circumstances.