Happy Friday! This week’s “global TV to watch” includes three series that stylize their titles with an ampersand in lieu of the word “and.”
Who knew there was a National Ampersand Day in the US? I didn’t, but now I do and you do, too. Established by author, designer, and typographer Chaz DeSimone in 2015, National Ampersand Day is observed every September 8 to celebrate the “&” — a character and a logogram that depicts the conjunction “and” & has been around since before the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 A.D. So let us give the & its due with the following three series.
Bukow & König (Germany)
Television crime fighting duos come in all shapes and sizes, where the partners are usually opposites — younger & older (Deadly Seasons), old school & modern (Dalziel & Pascoe), laid-back & uptight (Death in Paradise) — and the one in this cracking crime drama fits that mold. First appearing on German TV back in 2010 is the team of Alexander Bukow (Charly Hübner, Tatort: Cologne) & Katrin König (Anneke Kim Sarnau, Crime Scene Cleaner), characters within the long-running Polizeiruf 110 franchise.
Bukow is a police inspector who, prior to moving back to his hometown of Rostock, had spent 17 years rising up the ranks in the Berlin Police. Married with two children, he is street smart, well-connected, and willing to work on the edge of the law to get results. He also has a seedy past that could come back to haunt him. By contrast, König is a Hamburg native who recently transferred to Rostock. Single, straight-laced, and controlling, she’s a consummate professional with a sterling reputation amongst her colleagues at the State Criminal Police as a top-notch criminal profiler and analyst.
When the two first begin working together on a case involving the murders of two teen girls, König knows about Bukow’s past and wonders if he’s a bent copper. Bukow, though, is unaware that König is more than just his partner… and has a sneaking suspicion that he’s being followed… (Trailer is from Season 1)
Twenty-three episodes of Bukow & König are currently available for streaming in the US on MHz Choice and its digital channels, including MHz Choice on Amazon. Select episodes are available for digital purchase on Amazon Video.
Half Bad: The Bastard Son & the Devil Himself
Based on the novel Half Bad, Book 1 in the “Half Bad Trilogy” by Sally Green, this action-packed fantasy thriller is terrific, a layered, binge-worthy, Harry Potter-esque tale of good vs. evil, perception vs. reality, alienation, survival, betrayal, vengeance & more. It’s really too bad that Netflix only gave it one season; I & other fans of the show would have loved to have seen more of it, particularly since there was so much of the “Half Bad” story left untold by the close of the season, not to mention that “did he or didn’t he” cliffhanger.
The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself follows Nathan (Joe Lycurgo, Titans), the son of a Fairborn Witch mother & a Blood Witch father — one who turned himself into a wolf, slaughtered a bunch of Fairborn Witches, and absorbed their powers. On multiple occasions. For Nathan, who’s a good kid, there’s no living down his father’s legacy. If the Fairborns have their way, there’s no living, period; they believe Nathan has the potential to be as evil as his father and are out to murder him. The thing is, Blood Witches have a different context for what went down, and Fairborns aren’t the only threat to Nathan’s life. Forced to go on the run, Nathan gets help from both a Fairborn & a Blood Witch as he journeys toward his destiny…
Half Bad: The Bastard Son & the Devil Himself is currently available for streaming globally on Netflix.
North & South (UK)
There are several programs with the title North & South, but here I’m talking about the excellent period drama limited series based on the novel North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell —a novel that explores issues of geo-social constructs, including class & gender, as well as the impact of industrialization on mill owners & workers. Starring Daniela Denby-Ashe (Waterloo Road, My Family) & Richard Armitage (Stay Close, Berlin Station), it is also one of the greatest love stories of the past 170 years.
The four-episode drama follows Margaret Hale (Denby-Ashe), a young woman from the South of England who moves with her parents to the (fictional) industrial city of Milton in the North of England, where she meets local mill owner John Thornton (Armitage). Things between them get off to a rocky start, and misunderstandings serve to keep a distance between them. Adding to their interpersonal drama are situations with their respective families, including illness & prejudice. But in the end, love prevails!
(If watching that video hasn’t made you want to binge-watch North & South for the umpteenth time, then… I have no words…)
North & South is currently available for streaming in the US on BritBox and Passionflix and their digital channels, including BritBox on Amazon and Passionflix on Amazon.
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