“I keep trying to call you on Tuesday but keep getting a busy signal.” You can’t imagine how often I’ve heard that. But that’s because I’ve taken my phone off the hook so I can dive into the new episodes on MHz Choice streaming every Tuesday. I’ve been addicted to all the great international shows on this site for years, and while I hear friends calling me about things they are watching on other streaming sites, I laugh to myself. Because while they have to pray something interesting pops up every month- every week on MHz is a nonstop dizzying array of great thrillers from Italy, Denmark, Finland, France, Sweden, and lately, even shows from Slovenia, Serbia and Croatia. Here are some of the new shows that have made me insane.
The Bastards of Pizzofalcone. This terrific, Italian police procedural, set in Naples, began in 2017 and lasted for four seasons. The fourth season is finally popping this month on MHz and I cannot wait. Handsome Alessandro Gassmann stars as the charismatic Inspector Lojacono, who has joined the squad after being falsely accused of selling information to the mafia back when he worked in Rome. Gassmann is the son of actor Vittorio Gassman, and I have loved him ever since I saw him in director Ferzan Ozpetek’s 1977 Steam: The Turkish Bath. His love interest in the series is the gorgeous Carolina Crescentini, playing the steely prosecutor Laura Piras. The rest of the cast is exemplary. There was controversy over the lesbian love affair between one of the officers and the medical examiner because of complaints by the Catholic newspaper. Alessandro Gassmann applauded the controversy which he felt insured the show with “good luck.”
Fatal Crossing. A taut, suspenseful Danish mini-series starring Marie Sando Jondal as journalist Nora Sand. Suspended from her big city paper for sleeping with a subject she was writing about, she slinks back home to North Zealand, staying with her father, a respected professor, who she has a complicated relationship with. Someone sticks in her mailbox photographs taken of two young girls from town who disappeared in the 1980s. Their last siting was on a boat traveling from Denmark to England, and the photos were taken during that crossing. But who stuck them in her mailbox? Only when a new girl goes missing does the mystery deepen, and Nora once again works at her Uncle’s newspaper printing her new investigation into the 80s disappearance. This surprisingly leads her to a serial killer named William Hix in England and she goes to interview him with startling results. The final episodes landed yesterday and I was on the edge of my seat with the wild twists and hair-raising turns.
Carlo & Malik. This exciting Italian procedural is set in a police station in Rione Monti and stars ruggedly handsome Claudio Amendola as the seasoned Inspector Carlo Guerrieri, irked that he is assigned a new partner- Malik (Miguel Gobbo Diaz), a 28-year-old undercover officer who came over from the Ivory Coast as a child, plucked from the water to safety while he watched his mother drown. We see the racism his color elicits during the investigations from locals, but his rocky relationship with his boss intensifies because of Malik’s blossoming relationship with Carlo’s beautiful daughter Alba (Rosa Diletta Rossi), who is a medical examiner in the Institute of Forensic Medicine. Also, Malik is put in an impossible situation by being ordered to secretly investigate Inspector Guerrieri over past improprieties. Season 2 debuts August 26th.
The Paradise. I was blown away by the first season of this show about a seasoned Finnish detective Hilkka Mantymaki (played by the remarkable Riitta Havukainen) who travels to the sunny, beautiful Costa del Sol in Spain to assist a Spanish investigator Andres Villanueva (played by the moody, good-looking Fran Perea) concerning a series of brutal murders of Finnish citizens who have migrated there. Who knew that there was a big Finnish population in Spain? As the murders increase, the two uncover the widespread corruption between authorities and officials, plus an escalating drug trafficking network. Meanwhile, Hilkka gets troubling news back home about the increasingly disturbing behavior of her husband, suffering from dementia. The surprising sexual relationship between the Finnish detective and the Spanish police officer is refreshingly told, and the mystery is pretty sensational. A new season of this show begins in September and I’m really looking forward to it.
Tatort: Munster. Tatort is the long-running series on German TV which has including a wide range of detectives set in different cities. I have devoured each series and some have been pretty amazing, but this new one is a hoot. It stars Axel Prahl as the rough-edged but intelligent detective Frank Thiel who lives in an apartment building where his landlord is the exasperating, upper-crust know-it-all coroner Karl-Friedrich Boerne (played beautifully by Jan Josef Liefers). Karl-Friedrich does help immeasurable in the solving of the crimes but is a pain in the ass. His diminutive assistant in the lab is played by the delightful Christine Urspruch. I can’t tell you how much fun each episode is- the two leads sparring with each other makes each episode in the twisty mysteries come alive with wonderful dark humor.
Off Track. I was obsessed with this six-episode French mini-series about a loving couple Laurent (Gil Alma) and Elsa (Sara Mortensen) living with their teenage daughter Luci (Marie Mallie). Laurent is a well-respected architect and Elsa is a real estate agent and one day she goes missing after a morning jog. Laurent is immediately considered a suspect but he begins his own investigation, finding to his shock the woman he has been married to for 20 years is not really who she says she is. As more bodies pop up, Laurent realizes his investigation into his missing wife might put him (and his daughter) in danger. Every episode kept pulling the rug out from under me in this excellent thriller.
Unclaimed. Another engrossing French series about a police unit called “Les Invisibles,” which investigate when bodies are found that can’t be identified. The team is led by the offbeat Darius (Guillaume Cramoisan), and the other members of the unit are terrific. There is the seasoned, gruff and sardonic Marijo (Nathalie Cerda), the former boxer Ben (Quentin Faure) and the pretty rookie nicknamed the “Duchess” (Deborah Krey). Each mystery is fascinating, suspenseful and surprising. The end of the second season really ends on a cliff-hanger so I pray there is more to come.
Cassandre. The stunning Gwendoline Hamon plays Superintendent Florence Cassandre who is transferred from Paris after a scandal and personal problems with her rebelious teen son Jules (Luca Malinowski). She arrives in the incredible remote, but incredibly scenic Alpine town of Anecy, and her arrival is met with animosity from the cops she has to work with. Especially Pascal Roche (played by the frighteningly handsome Alexandre Varga), who the team hoped would lead their squad. Also part of the policing team is a familiar face to French films- Dominique Pinon, so memorable in films like Delicatessen, Amelie, and especially Diva. The breathtaking visuals of the area and the excellent cast make this series wildly enjoyable.
Arctic Circle. This Finnish/German production has a charismatic Lina Kuustonen as police officer Nina Kautsalo, who has a special needs daughter (beautifully played by Venla Ronkainen, who has Down syndrome). The first season was a harrowing tale of a dangerous virus being spread by trafficked prostitutes. But Season 4, which just landed, is a gripping series that starts with a series of deaths in a nursing home. It is suspected to be caused by carbon monoxide, but as Nina investigates, she discovers it is connected with a psychotic, cult-like, religious sect. Brother, is this season demented and great. The last few episodes were jaw-dropping.
Now these are only a handful of fabulous shows offered- and they keep adding new ones. No wonder I turn the phone off on Tuesday. One recent show Miss Merkel, which is about the ex-Chancellor Angela Merkel (humorously played by Katharina Thalbach), who resigns and movies with her husband and pug dog (named Helmut) to the town of Uckermark. There she gets involved in a local homicide investigation and uses her skills to help solve the crime. (The inside joke is that the real Angela Merkel is deathly afraid of dogs). There was only two episodes and both were hilarious and so much fun I pray there will be more. Fortunately, there is way too much to catch up on at MHz to even worry about that.