''Salamander'' is a Belgian
crime drama
Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as Drama (film and television), dr ...
television series, created by and based upon the novel by Bavo Dhooge, that was first broadcast on
Eén on 30 December 2012. The 12-part series, produced by Skyline Entertainment and written by Ward Hulselmans, stars
Filip Peeters as Inspector Paul Gerardi, a Belgian detective who investigates the theft of 66 safety deposit boxes belonging to prominent Belgian figures. Following the success of the first series, a second series was commissioned by
Eén but production did not begin until five years later. The second series is subtitled ''Blood Diamonds'' and was first broadcast on 7 January 2018.
Plot
Series 1
Jonkhere, a small
private bank in
Brussels
Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
, is robbed and 66
safe deposit boxes 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 (
Filip Peeters) carries out the investigation. He discovers the connection; that the victims are members of a secret organisation called Salamander. This is a
cabal 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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. 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, Egmont Park, the exterior of the
Belgian Federal Parliament,
Cinquantenaire,
Law Courts of Brussels,
Brussels-South railway station and
Hotel Metropole.
Funding was provided by
Vlaamse Radio- en Televisieomroeporganisatie and the Belgian Tax Shelter.
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 is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
.
The first series was later released on DVD 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 Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
via Arrow Films on 17 March 2014.
''Salamander'' was set for an English-language remake, as an
international co-production 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
*
Filip Peeters as Inspector Paul Gerardi
* Violet Braeckman as Sofie Gerardi
* Tine Reymer as Patricia Wolfs
* Koen Van Impe as Vic Adams
*
Wim Opbrouck as Marc De Coutere
* Emilie Van Nieuwenhuyze as Nicola Wolfs
* Leah Thys as Martine Callier
Supporting cast
Series 1 (2012—2013)
*
Koen De Bouw 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 British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...
'' 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
VRT 1 original programming
Flemish television shows
Television shows set in Belgium
Television shows set in Brussels