''Salamander'' is a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

crime drama television series, created by and based upon the novel by Bavo Dhooge, that was first broadcast on

Eén Eén (stylized as één; en, "one") is a public Dutch-language TV station in Belgium, owned by the VRT, which also owns Ketnet, Canvas and several radio stations. Although the channel is commercial-free, short sponsorship messages are broadc ...

on 30 December 2012. The twelve-part series, produced by Skyline Entertainment and written by Ward Hulselmans, stars

Filip Peeters Filip Peeters or Philip Peeters (born 2 December 1962) is a Flemish actor. He is well known for his work in the television series ''Salamander'' as Paul Gerardi and ''Zone Stad'' as Didier Francks. He is one of a few Flemish actors who have been ...

as Inspector Paul Gerardi, a Belgian detective who investigates the theft of sixty-six safety deposit boxes belonging to prominent Belgian figures. It was broadcast in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

on BBC Four from 8 February 2014. Following the success of the first series, a second series was commissioned by

but production did not begin until five years later. The second series is subtitled ''Blood Diamonds'' and was first broadcast on 7 January 2018. BBC Four broadcast from 14 April 2018.

Plot

Series 1

Jonkhere, a small

private bank Private banks are banks owned by either the individual or a general Partner (business rank), partner(s) with limited partner(s). Private banks are not incorporation (business), incorporated. In any such case, creditors can look to both the "enti ...

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, is robbed and 66

safe deposit box A safe deposit box, also known as a safety deposit box, is an individually secured container, usually held within a larger safe or bank vault. Safe deposit boxes are generally located in banks, post offices or other institutions. Safe deposit ...

es belonging to a number of the most prominent public figures in Belgium are cleaned out. The owners want to keep the thefts under wraps, presumably to avoid scandal. Police Inspector Paul Gerardi (

) carries out the investigation. He discovers the connection; that the victims are members of a secret organisation called Salamander. This is a

cabal A cabal is a group of people who are united in some close design, usually to promote their private views or interests in an ideology, a state, or another community, often by intrigue and usually unbeknownst to those who are outside their group. T ...

of the country's industrial, financial, judicial and political elite; the safe-deposit boxes contained secrets as far back as

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Gerardi becomes the target of both the criminals and the authorities.

Series 2

Chief Inspector Gerardi opens an investigation after political refugee Léon Tchité is murdered. He becomes entangled in a blood diamonds network.

Production

Filming began in Brussels in May 2011. Filming locations include

Brussels Park Brussels Park (french: Parc de Bruxelles, ; nl, Warandepark) is the largest urban public park in central Brussels, Belgium. Formerly known and still sometimes colloquially referred to as the Royal Park (french: Parc royal, nl, Koninklijk Park ...

, Egmont Park, the exterior of the

Belgian Federal Parliament The Federal Parliament is the bicameral parliament of Belgium. It consists of the Chamber of Representatives ( Dutch: , french: Chambre des Représentants, german: Abgeordnetenkammer) and the Senate ( Dutch: , french: Sénat, german: Senat). ...

Cinquantenaire The Parc du Cinquantenaire ( French for "Park of the Fiftieth Anniversary", pronounced ) or Jubelpark (Dutch for "Jubilee Park", pronounced ) is a large public, urban park of in the easternmost part of the European Quarter in Brussels, Belgi ...

Law Courts of Brussels The Palace of Justice of Brussels (french: Palais de Justice de Bruxelles, ; Dutch: ) or Law Courts of Brussels, nl, Rechtbank van Brussel is a courthouse in Brussels, Belgium. It is the country's most important court building, seat of the ...

Brussels-South railway station Brussels-South railway station (french: Gare de Bruxelles-Midi, nl, Station Brussel-Zuid, IATA code: ZYR), officially Brussels-South (french: Bruxelles-Midi, link=no, nl, Brussel-Zuid, link=no), is a major railway station in Brussels, Belgium ...

and Hotel Metropole. Funding was provided by Vlaamse Radio- en Televisieomroeporganisatie and the Belgian Tax Shelter. BBC Four acquired ''Salamander'' in 2013 and first broadcast commenced from 8 February 2014. Sue Deeks, head of acquisition for the BBC said, "'Salamander' is a gripping, edge-of-the seat thriller. It will make a fantastic addition to our Saturday nights on BBC4". The series was also acquired by RTBF and later by

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 ...

. The first series was later released on DVD in the

via Arrow Films on 17 March 2014. ''Salamander'' was set for an English-language remake, as an

international co-production A co-production is a joint venture between two or more different production companies for the purpose of film production, television production, video game development, and so on. In the case of an international co-production, production companie ...

between Cite Amerique and the British Artist Studio, but later, production switched to ABC Studios, where a pilot for a potential 2017-2018 series was ordered on 31 January 2017.

Cast

Main cast

as Inspector Paul Gerardi * Violet Braeckman as Sofie Gerardi * Tine Reymer as Patricia Wolfs * Koen Van Impe as Vic Adams *

Wim Opbrouck Wim Opbrouck (born 5 February 1969) is a Flemish actor and singer. He is especially known for his work on stage. Opbrouck comes from Bavikhove, part of Harelbeke and studied at the Herman Teirlinck Studio. As an actor, he joined the Blue Mon ...

as Marc De Coutere * Emilie Van Nieuwenhuyze as Nicola Wolfs * Leah Thys as Martine Callier

Supporting cast

Series 1 (2012—2013)

Koen De Bouw Koen De Bouw (born 30 September 1964 in Turnhout) is a Belgian actor. He trained to be an actor at Studio Herman Teirlinck in Antwerp and made his breakthrough in Belgium with his role of serial killer ''Stef Tavernier'' in the TV-series Witte ...

as Joachim Klaus * Mike Verdrengh as Raymond Jonkhere * Lucas Van den Eynde as Carl Cassimon * Jo De Meyere as Armand Persigal * Warre Borgmans as Commissaris Martin Colla * Vic De Wachter as Gil Wolfs * Kevin Janssens as Vincent Noël * Tom De Hoog as Patrick Dejonghe * An Miller as Sarah Debruycker * Els Olaerts as Yolande * Jan Van den Bosch as Vic's Assistant * Bart Hollanders as Victor

Series 2: ''Blood Diamonds'' (2018)

* Vera Van Dooren as Commissaris Monda * Jeroen Van der Ven as Antony Minnebach * Boris Van Severen as Jamie Capelle * Michael Vergauwen as Jokke De Moor * Peter Van De Velde as René Kroneborg * Govert Deploige as Alain * Tom Van Bauwel as Roger Roppe * Herbert Flack as Jonatan Bury * Kadèr Gürbüz as Sabine Kroneborg

Episodes

Series 1 (2012—2013)

;Reception Ben Lawrence of ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

'' gave the first two episodes three stars out of five and called its plot "compelling".

Series 2: ''Blood Diamonds'' (2018)

References

External links

Eén: Salamander
*
BETA Film: Salamander
* {{BBC programme Belgian crime television series Belgian drama television shows 2012 Belgian television series debuts 2010s Belgian television series Eén original programming Flemish television shows Television shows set in Belgium Television shows set in Brussels