User reviews

Being Belgian, I had received several notifications about 'Knokke off' (original title) so I ultimately decided to give it a shot with ep1.

I was thoroughly surprised...good acting, good camera work and a nice story based more or less on real life (it is well known here in Belgium the seaside city of 'Knokke' indeed has many rich posh people).

So yea, I binged the show in 2 evenings....it is well written (thanks to Luc Wyns), good character.development.

I did not like the last episode as everything got a bit too rushed....and apparently a semi-open ending (which I hate) is popular nowadays.

If you like shows like Gossip girl, Skam and The OC, this is for you. This is kind of like the European version of gossip girl. There's extremely rich kids, and the poor outsider. I must say that some of the storylines got a bit boring, But then something exciting happened. The camera quality was amazing. One of the best things was the cast, cuz every character is hot. The acting from Alex and Louise is also extremely good for this type of series. There were a few scenes that were a bit inappropriate, but nothing extreme. The show ended with a big cliffhanger. Hopefully the new season comes soon.

As Episode 1 of "High Tides" (2023 release from Belgium; 10 episodes raging from 31 to 38 min each; original title "Knokke Off") opens, we are introduced to Alex and Louise, a young couple spending the summer in the Belgian beach resort town called Knokke. Alex and Louise are the children of rich families, and enjoy living the high life with their friends. In a parallel story, Daan and his mom arrive at a camping site in Cadzand, just on the other side of the nearby border between Belgium and the Netherlands. Daan has a summer job at a beach resort in Knokke... At this point we are 10 minutes into Episode 1.

Couple of comments: this mini-series is nothing short of a soap opera, Belgian style. There are LOTS of characters to take in during the initial episodes, but by episode 3 or 4, we get a clear idea as to what is going on: a girl (Louise) torn between 2 guys (Alex and Daan) is at the core of this, with tons of side stories along the way. This is in essence the Belgian equivalent of a soap set in, say, West Palm Beach, FL. Alex surely is one of the most unlikable TV characters in a long, long time. Louise is played by Belgian sensation Pommelien Thijs, now 22 yo. The best that I can compare this to is that she is the Belgian equivalent of Britney Spears (Thijs has a long track record as a child actress and is also a successful singer). The setting in Knokke as seen in this mini-series is not entirely on point, as much of the mini-series is set in the neighborhoods of "Zoute" and "Zwin" ( as opposed to, say, "Albertstrand" or "Duinbergen"). Bottom line: if you are familiar with Knokke, you will absolutely enjoy this mini-series. Please don't overthink it, just watch and enjoy what I found to be a guilty pleasure. (I grew up in Flanders, Belgium, and spent all my summers as a youth in and around Knokke-Duinbergen.) As for the title of this mini-series: there isn't a single mention of "High Tides" anywhere, this is simply called "Knokke Off", an obvious wordplay on "Knock Off".

"Knokke Off" premiered on Belgian TV earlier this year, to massive ratings. It also aired on Netflix in the Netherlands, to equal blockbuster ratings. It started streaming on Netflix here in the US recently as well, and Netflix recommended it to me based on my viewing habits. Thanks Netflix! If you are in the mood for a decadent European soap opera that is nothing short of a guilty pleasure, I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.

Throw Elite and Outer Banks in a bowl, mix it together and then you'll have Knokke Off. It's a surprisingly good show and the actors are way better than I had expected. It's the perfect summer show where sex, drugs and murder are the main subjects resulting in an interesting and entertaining story. It does have quite some things that are similar to the first season of the Spanish Netflix show Elite but not in a way that it's too obvious. I actually thought it was a clever way to base a new show off of such a massive success such as Elite, without it being a knock off (pun intended). Definitely looking forward to a possible season 2!

For me was a surprise this serie. I really enjoyed the acting ,talented lead actors and credible characters made me finish it in one day. At the beginning I was expecting another Elite or another teenager drama with a lot of alcohol, drugs and sex; and of course a murder and maybe it is, a typical summer young drama; the difference with this one is the good acting, Alexander and Louise are really well played , they showed talent and they proved that we can have quality in this type of serie full of stereotypes and common places .Willem De Schryver shines playing Alex , showing a long range of emotions and feelings.

An epic show, i personally enjoyed it, the plot was fascinating. Reminds me a little bit of "Euphoria", this show gave me a different point of view on rich people's lives, of course most of the things that happened there wouldn't be in real life but looking at rich people and thinking that they've got no problems is false. I'm not justifying anything that they did there but it gives another perspective. The plot was interesting as it escalated with time. More than that in most teen shows the teens are the center of the plot and the parents are just side characters almost without a personality but here every parent has their issues that we find out about with the continue of the series. I recommend watching.

3/10 just for the scenery, the vibe and the directing.

This is the 3rd TV show I watched in a row where it's glorifying cheating on husbands/boyfriends and breaking off marriages or relationships.

Obviously it's just a show, and obviously there are plenty of movies out there where men cheat on wives/girlfriends, and in those movies/shows, men are portrayed as evil or horrible, and at the end of the movie, he ends up in a bad shape. HOWEVER, in these last 3 shows I watched (all filmed in 2023), women cheated on their husbands/boyfriends and were portrayed as romantic, beautiful or "finding herself", and not even show a little empathy towards the husband/boyfriend.

What happened to the morals? Are we just normalizing women cheating and not taking accountability? I'm surprised that no one is outraged by this.

Initially skeptical due to my lack of interest in the posh artificial world of the beau monde, I delayed watching this show, despite its glowing reputation in Belgium. But then I had to fill half an hour, so decided to give the first episode a try. No regrets! In two days I devoured the entire series, left feeling a sense of melancholy after the final episode. I want more! Luckily that final episode left more than enough flesh for a second season.

Story is good, but the acting and dialogues make it next level. Who has seen Crimi Clowns might recognize Luk Wyns' style in the quirky conversations and oneliners.

Great acting by youngsters Pommelien Thijs and Willem De Schryver. Looking forward to see them carry the next season and hopefully other shows.

Good stuff!

This series really is no more than a soap opera. It's full of the typical clichés you would see in any youth series. I won't spoil the storylines, but you can think of the most common themes in any soap opera or youth series and put them together. Anyway, as you can tell.. it wasn't for me and I don't think it's the quality content some claim it to be. There was no originality and most of the times it was very predictable.

But apparently it ticks all the boxes for teenagers/young adults: Hot guys, hot girls, sex, drugs, a girl struggling with her disorder, more sex, an evil father, rich people and a not so rich person... etc. Etc.

So, why did I finish it? There was one mystery that I was curious about, so I wanted to know what happend, so there's that. And the entire series feels like eye-candy, so.. when you've got nothing better to do you keep watching for the hot actors and locations.

Some positives: Beauuutiful locations! And the acting was above average. Especially Alexander and Louise.

First of all Alex and Louise were portrayed really well by their actors. Their actingskills are actually very impressive, and consequently carried the whole series.

Aside from the good acting, the filmography and the location were very pleasing to the eye.

The only thing this series lacks is a unique storyline. There are so many soap series that follow use a similar storyline, especially the Belgium/Dutch ones. Still, I hope there will be a second season, with a better storyline preferably. I am also curious what other projects these actors will star in in the future, they will definitely be able to achieve big things actingcareer.

It's subpar in every way. Clothes, storyline, good looks, characters, setting. The rich kids didn't have the sheer wickedness of those of the Spanish series and only one of the adults was properly evil. There were just two poor kids featured, one of whom was, of course, a drug pusher and prostitute while the other was a "decent" lad.

Completely ludicrous things happened. A mother searching for her sister somehow procures a gun but why? What was she going to do with it? Then she's stupid enough to flash it around. People blab secrets to their own detriment. Somehow a major disco goes from an idea to actuality in about a week. No planning application, no drinks licence applied for, no change of use request for the building, no evedence of builders or decorators. This would have taken a team of professionals months but a few idle rich boys get it done in days.

I know it's a teen drama and we are meant to suspend disbelief, but there's a limit.

As for the dénouement we see what happened in the past but not how things were covered up. The gun makes a final appearance in the most ridiculous way.

There's clearly going to be a second season and I suppose it's going to be just as poor as this one.

I watched it all but that's not a recommendation. There's a heatwave and I'm barely going out! I'm having to fill my days with dross.

It's a long long long story.... that does not seems to happen... one of the most booring tv serie I've watched...well, did not get through the 4th episode... to booorrriinnngggg!!

Do not waiste your time. The story line, the dialogue, the screenplay, everything about this tv serie is terrible.

It's a long long long story.... that does not seems to happen... one of the most booring tv serie I've watched...well, did not get through the 4th episode... to booorrriinnngggg!!

Do not waiste your time. The story line, the dialogue, the screenplay, everything about this tv serie is terrible.

It's a long long long story.... that does not seems to happen... one of the most booring tv serie I've watched...well, did not get through the 4th episode... to booorrriinnngggg!!

Do not waiste your time. The story line, the dialogue, the screenplay, everything about this tv serie is terrible.

It's a long long long story.... that does not seems to happen... one of the most booring tv serie I've watched...well, did not get through the 4th episode... to booorrriinnngggg!!

Do not waiste your time. The story line, the dialogue, the screenplay, everything about this tv serie is terrible.