''Undercover'' ( bg, Под Прикритие, translit=Pod Prikritie, ) was a Bulgarian crime drama television series produced by

Bulgarian National Television The Bulgarian National Television ( Bulgarian: Българска национална телевизия, ''Balgarska natsionalna televizia'') or BNT (БНТ), stylized as ·Б·Н·Т· since 2018, is a public television broadcaster of Bulgari ...

that premiered on BNT 1 on 17 April 2011. On 20 March 2016, the fifth season premiered on BNT 1. It was announced that it was the final season of the series. The series tells the story of the undercover police officer Martin Hristov (

Ivaylo Zahariev Ivaylo Zahariev ( Bulgarian: Ивайло Захариев) is а Bulgarian actor, known for the lead role of the undercover cop Martin in the BNT 1 series Pod Prikritie which was sold in 184 territories on 3 continents. Ivaylo is popular with hi ...

), who infiltrates the gang of

Bulgarian mafia The Bulgarian mafia ( bg, мафия) is a series of organized crime elements originating from Bulgaria. Organized crime groups and activities Modern organized crime is associated with the early 1990s, when weak power and continuous change of go ...

boss Petar 'Dzaro' Tudzharov (Mihail Bilalov).

Plot summary

Martin Hristov, a specially trained agent, is appointed to go undercover in the gang of Bulgaria's top mafia boss, Dzharo. On his way he faces numerous challenges in order to completely become part of the criminal world. His task becomes more complicated when he meets the big boss' girl, Sunny. While undercover he gets a promotion in the mafia hierarchy and becomes part of the world full of crime, violence and corruption. The show is inspired by

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of many major accolades, inclu ...

's 2006 film

The Departed ''The Departed'' is a 2006 American epic crime thriller film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by William Monahan. It is both a remake of the 2002 Hong Kong film '' Infernal Affairs'' and also loosely based on the real-life Boston Win ...

Cast

as Martin Hristov * Irena Miliankova as Silvia Veleva - Sunny (season 1–2) *

Zahary Baharov Zahari Emilov Baharov ( bg, Захари Емилов Бахаров; born August 12, 1980) is a Bulgarian actor, best known for portraying the roles of Moth in ''Zift'' (2008), Ivo Andonov in the BNT series ''Undercover'' (2011–2016), and Lo ...

Ivo Andonov Ivo Andonov is a fictional character and one of the main protagonists of the BNT crime series ''Undercover'' (Bulgarian: ''Pod Prikritie''). Andonov is portrayed by Zahari Baharov as an unmerciful and ruthless gangster, who initially served as t ...

* Vladimir Penev as Inspector

Emil Popov Emil Popov is a fictional character and one of the main protagonists on the BNT crime series Pod Prikritie. He is portrayed by Vladimir Penev. He is a Bulgarian policeman who works everything by the book. Early li ...

* Mihail Bilalov as Petar Tudzharov - Dzharo (season 1–4) * Alexander Sano as Zdravko Kiselov - The Hair (season 1–3) * Deyan Donkov as Vasil Nikolov (season 1–2) * Kiril Efremov as Tihomir Gardev - Tisho the Twin (main: season 1–3; recurring: seasons 4–5) * Ventsislav Yankov as Nikolay Rashev - Niki the Twin (season 1–3) * Ivaylo Hristov as Kiril Hristov, Martin's father (main: season 1; guest: season 2) * Marian Valev as Rosen Gatzov - The Hook * Hristo Mutafchiev as Alexander Mironov (main: season 2; recurring: season 1; guest: season 3) *

Tzvetana Maneva Tzvetana Maneva ( bg, Цветана Манева) (born in Plovdiv, Bulgaria on 30 January 1944) is a Bulgarian actress. She was born in Plovdiv and her artistic career started here. The eminent Bulgarian actress made her debut in cinema in th ...

Cveta Andonova This is the full list of main and recurring characters on the Bulgarian crime drama television series '' Undercover''. Overview Main characters Martin Hristov Martin Hristov (portrayed by Ivaylo Zahariev) is the lead character on the first fo ...

, Ivo's mother (main: seasons 2–3; recurring: season 1) *

Georgi Staykov Georgi Staykov ( bg, Георги Стайков, born 10 August 1964 in Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria) is a Bulgarian actor. He graduated in acting from the National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts, Sofia. Professional career His debut in ci ...

Anton Damyanov This is the full list of main and recurring characters on the Bulgarian crime drama television series '' Undercover''. Overview Main characters Martin Hristov Martin Hristov (portrayed by Ivaylo Zahariev) is the lead character on the first fo ...

(season 2) * Petar Popyordanov as

Momchil Neshev This is the full list of main and recurring characters on the Bulgarian crime drama television series '' Undercover''. Overview Main characters Martin Hristov Martin Hristov (portrayed by Ivaylo Zahariev) is the lead character on the first fo ...

(season 2–3) * Boyko Krastanov as

Erol Metin This is the full list of main and recurring characters on the Bulgarian crime drama television series '' Undercover''. Overview Main characters Martin Hristov Martin Hristov (portrayed by Ivaylo Zahariev) is the lead character on the first fo ...

(main: season 5; recurring: season 4) * Yoanna Temelkova as

Nia Tudzharova This is the full list of main and recurring characters on the Bulgarian crime drama television series '' Undercover''. Overview Main characters Martin Hristov Martin Hristov (portrayed by Ivaylo Zahariev) is the lead character on the first fo ...

(main: season 5; recurring: season 4)

Episodes

Critical reception

''Undercover'' has received critical acclaim as well as becoming a hit with viewers, managing to attract a strong audience from its debut. Critic Emil Antonov said the show "offers viewers a dynamic and tense atmosphere, and interesting characters in a crime drama attractive to much of the native audience. Although many of the stories in the new Bulgarian cinema navigate around the time of transition and development of crime in Bulgaria, Dimitar Mitovski manages to break this pattern. He creates a story that strikes a chord with Bulgarians and is dynamic enough to keep us distracted from our daily lives." The series received five nominations for the

Golden Nymph Award The Golden Nymph Award(s) are the prizes awarded to the winners of the Official Competition of the Monte-Carlo Television Festival. History Prince Rainier III of Monaco created the Festival de Télévision de Monte-Carlo in 1961 to "encourage ...

at the 2012

Monte-Carlo Television Festival The Monte-Carlo Television Festival is held every year in June in the Principality of Monaco at the Grimaldi Forum, under the Honorary Presidency of H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco. The opening ceremony inaugurates each new edition, intro ...

Sevda Shishmanova Sevda Shishmanova (born June 2 1962 in Razgrad) is a Bulgarian producer, director and journalist of Bulgarian Turkish origin. Education Shishmanova studied Bulgarian Philology at Sofia University and documentary film directing at Krastyo Saraf ...

Dimitar Mitovski Dimitar ( bg, Димитър; Macedonian: Димитар) is a South Slavic masculine given name. It is widely found in Bulgaria and North Macedonia. Dimitar is derived from Saint Demetrius (280–306), alternate form of Demetrius. Containing the P ...

and Ivan Doiko as Outstanding European Producer (Drama Series) and Outstanding International Producer (Drama Series); Mihail Bilalov and

as Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series; and Irena Miliankova as Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series. ''Undercover'' also won "The Golden Umbrella" award for Best Series, as well as awards for best cinematography, best musical score and most popular series at the 2012 MediaMixx International Festival, devoted to all forms of media in Central and Eastern Europe. However, the show has been criticized in

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

for its depiction of graphic violence, sexual situations, profanity and drug use. During the fourth season, BNT head Vera Ankova threatened to pull state funding from the show, putting the series' future in doubt. Additionally, Bulgaria's Council for Electronic Media (CEM) demanded the series be fined for profanity and said its content was not suitable for its 20:45 timeslot. State regulators declined to fine the network so long as the show was moved to a later time slot.

International broadcast

While the first episode was in production,

Fox Crime Fox Crime (stylized as FOXCRIME) is a television network, launched by the Fox Networks Group, which airs across several countries of Europe, Africa and Asia such as Italy, Portugal, Serbia, Bulgaria, and Turkey. Its basic programming include numero ...

began negotiations to distribute the film internationally in other Balkan nations

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

, Macedonia,

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

and

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

. The early demand to distribute a series was a first for a BNT production. In 2012, New Films International announced plans to distribute the series in China,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

and throughout

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

. In 2014,

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...

released the series in France.

References

External links

* *
New Films International: Undercover
* {{IMDb title, id=1909015 Bulgarian television series 2011 Bulgarian television series debuts 2010s Bulgarian television series 2016 Bulgarian television series endings Bulgarian National Television original programming