User reviews

A fun to watch show telling the history of the first phone sex company, the start of the Dutch dance and xtc. Was a great trip down memory lane. Bringing back the last years of the 80's.

The start is a little to slow and predictable. After a that it is fun to watch. For a dutch serie pretty funny because I Am dutch and all the old 80/90 brands and labels etc. If you are not dutch and born in after the 90ties you re not gonna like it. I liked it but my score could have been 8 of 9 if it was a little less woke.

Being 17 in 1989 and living under the smoke of Amsterdam, this series has nailed the Zeitgeist for sure. Dancing in Dansen Bij Jansen, the illegal houseparty's in the Silo, it's exactly how it was back then and I really enjoy being thrown back in time. Plus it's a great history lesson, but only in the background, not only about the transfer from disco to house music in the Netherlands and the introduction of extacy, but also about the start of the gay subculture in Amsterdam.

Besides the nostalgia, it's a good series. The characters are lovable and the acting is good.

Great show. Just watch further than one episode as the first episode may seem a bit confusing due to the "parallel" story telling and the facts inserts. After the second episode the show starts to open in all its beauty. Would advise for everyone, who would like to have a positive evening or destruct from the routine. The show also surprises with diversity, equality, and sexual openness. Loved it!

If you are middle-aged or older or a young person interested in the 1980's, you will enjoy this light-hearted Dutch series. The clothes are so typically 80's without being over the top, especially the clothes worn by the Ramon character that I sometimes burst out laughing, and not because they were ridiculous but because it felt like time-travelling. Maybe, and just maybe, some of the clothes and the hairstyles are more an earlier 80's style, for example the teased hairstyle worn by Frank's wife, which, as far as I remember, was no longer popular in the late eighties (then again, perhaps I don't remember it correctly). The interior designs are a lot of fun to watch, too, as are the obsolete technical gadgets (the crew must have had a lot of fun collecting them). The story of how house music became popular in Amsterdam is interesting, too.

Of all the characters, I liked Frank the most because he is a weird but entertaining cross between a successful person and a loser. The actor delivers a fine performance, making very funny faces while also conveying a sense of vulnerability. I also liked the performance by the actor who plays Ramon, although the closeted gay character was not very interesting, we have all seen it many times before.

As regards the stories and messages about sex, don't expect anything novel or earth-shattering here. Considering the fact that the protagonist wants to become a sexologist and this is the period when she explores her own sexuality, we don't even learn whether she manages to come during sex with a partner eventually, or not. There is a scene with her lover (also a sexologist...) that suggests that she doesn't, but it is left at that.

Great dutch series!!! Watched E01 with Eng DUB, but it really takes away the charm of the Dutch actors a bit. Would recommend to watch it with subs instead.

Season 2? Netflix?

I like the concept, fine show to lightly watch. But seriously, you can't watch it without headphones. Like the sex noise is so loud. Like unnecessary loud. Overall fine acting and plot.

Even though I didn't live myself in Amsterdam at this time I enjoyed seeing the life in the city back then.

Loved seeing some fresh faces in the dutch film scene and the acting was great. You might get confused with the humor if you aren't dutch, but I'd highly recommend watching if you want a trip down memory lane.

Really good! The first episode you need for the basic plot set up. Then from episode 2 it gets really good. Chris Peters as Ramon is a real discovery! It really catches the Zeitgeist of that time. Some people are talking about wokeness? Well perhaps Holland was and always has been woke. But the people with their regressive orthodox minds are trying to reverse things to the 1800's. What those people mean with: they don't want wokeness to be 'forced' upon them,' is code for: they want to discriminate, they want to suppress people sexually and they don't want others to express themselves in anyway they want it. They can go watch Russian cable tv, that will please them for sure. I'm old enough to know what it was like in the late 1980's and the 1990's, in The Netherlands. Woke? Nonsense. In the Randstad area (the biggest megalopolis of Europe with at its heart the 4 big cities of The Netherlands: Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht) the Dutch were and are still like this. People of every skin colour and sexual preference, the house party scene, the sex telephone lines, the actual sex people had and have: it's a reality. So reality is woke then. Conservatives can go watch all white Friends or Seinfeld and finish with Fox News. Dirty Lines is rooted in real life. Great actors, and great production. With many funny moments.

Fantastic series! Amsterdam in the 80ies!

For all those non Dutch people who think this is "woke" welcome to the Netherlands... This is how it was! 🤣

I really enjoyed watching a show set in the years I was born and found it quite original. It was also interesting to learn a bit of Dutch history. I decided to write a review to tell you to ignore the reviews of the small-minded.

Nice show with good actors takes you back to the 80's in Holland. Great music and likable characters. First episode is just to get to know everyone and after that it's binge time!

The pacing is different than the typical American show but it's fun and delightfully surprising. It took an episode or two to get into the flow but the series is fun and entertaining. The time jumping is challenging to follow but it works. Joy Delima is a wonderful. The whole cast seems to be having fun. Grab a cocktail, light up a joint and enjoy the fun. These people giving it 1 star for its wokeness need to get a life.

I don't like Dutch series, the acting is bad, the storyline is cheap and everything else is even cheaper about it. Will dirty lines it's different. Well done! Acting is good, production is well done, never looks cheap and.for a Dutchie (that's old enough) it's very recognisable. Watch it!

I so much recognise the scene, laughed my ass off, watched all episodes in one weekend.

Great acting, especially for a dutch serie which often have bad acting. Compliments to whole team that made it.

I cant wait for season 2.

Loved it from beginning till the end. Good acting, great look & feel, and good story line. I had sisters that went to Roxy when I was young. So I know the stories. It is so good, that it does not looks like a Dutch show. Great job!!!

Was real curious after watching the commercials on Dutch tv. It did not disappoint and it took me back to the eighties. Amsterdam, the discotheques, the music. The sexiness was a story I had heard about, but it's nice to now a bit more. Of course I googled straight after to find out how they ended up. Characters were good, storyline was good. Very enjoyable and easy watch, but I love the eighties, reminds me of growing up and becoming a teenager. Worth a watch!

Brilliant how accurate they managed to show you what the 80's looked like. Details in everything and all is correct! Based on a mix of true stories. Easy to watch and well acted.

After bingwatching the complete series I checked some stories about the Skene brothers history and in this "Dirty Lines" it is factual scripted but not complete, which makes it possible for a second season.

So for sure this series is build upon true history, like Hotel Babylon. This is a genre you could dislike because you don't understand that it isn't fiction and you're not able to believe that it has happened for real.

I was 27 in the time these brothers started this business, around the same age. My girlfriend was asked to work for them to do the dirty talks. She rejected because of the poor money (her voice was worth an escort fare). So it is very pleasing that the writers of this scenario putted everything in place as it went. They had to deal with inexperienced students instead of relying on hookers, sexperts, writers or actors! That is what this comedy is about. This lack of business knowledge.

Some lads get an idea to make a new business and instead of focusing on quality they freak around and create their own mess.

Big compliments on scenario and actors/casting. All Amsterdam based talents.

I liked the concept so decided to watch it but it was too boring, couldn't even finish the 1st episode (50 minutes long), they are introducing new characters after every 2-3 minutes (also their names are so confusing), jokes aren't funny, just nonsense boring moaning adult stuff. Skip it!

This series hits the eighties in all details. Funny and entertaining. Beginning is a little bit to long. When you dutch it has a lot op inside jokes. This is hoe your parents lived.

Such a great tv show with an amazing storyline. It took a bit to get into it but I binged it within a day! Great plot with a mixture of comedy, drama and nostalgia. I see some people complaining it follows the 'woke' Hollywood agenda but it actually greatly depicts Amsterdam in the 80's. It was very free and progressive, wat ahead of most places in the world!

I really hope they will make a second season because this is great 😁