First things first. If you want to watch this show in English, don't even think about going for the dubbed version. I have watched three episodes with subtitles and one dubbed trailer. The dubbing just does not convey the characters, voices, subtext, or feelings well at all. That's not the fault of the voice-over actors, it's just the nature of dubbing. Unless you are visually impaired or have difficulty reading for other reasons, the subtitles are a better way to go by far.
So, this is a very solid, well acted family/crime drama with good production value. It captures the sub-culture of this extended family and their small Orthodox community quite well. I'm not Belgian or Orthodox myself but I am Jewish and it feels reasonably authentic to me. The primary actors are well cast, even the smaller roles like the patriarch and the local butcher. Shout-out to the young actor playing the main character's English son. He's quite good, very natural and likable.
So far the pacing is good and keeping me invested. The story of the "prodigal son" returned is always a good start. When you add the layer of the son having rejected the strict parameters of his family's religion and been cast out, having to make a new identity, it becomes more compelling. That part is actually very true to life and I find it fascinating.
Of course some of it is far-fetched, not so much the straits in which this old diamond-dealing family finds itself as the way the prodigal son (Noah) has transformed. I suppose it makes sense, since he would have been very young when he left (early 20s) and 15 years have passed. Still, sometimes the show relies on "tough guy" tropes from American and I assume British shows to inform his actions, words and demeanor, and it doesn't always work.
This is especially true when he uses English phrases and words out of the blue. They are only sprinkled in here and there but they always take me out of the moment. I'm American. I recognize and understand the words, I just don't know why this Belgian guy would be using them, particularly when he is speaking to Albanians? And the actress playing his son's grandmother, who is supposed to be English, uses a disjointed combination of Cockney and other accents that are clearly inauthentic.
But overall, I don't care much about accents. They are hard to get right and the actors are all doing a fine job with the stuff that really matters. It is at heart a family drama with some business and crime matters woven through it, and as that it works. Also, there is really nothing else on Cable right now like it. So, I recommend it.
Also, it makes me really think diamonds are just not all that and cost more in blood and treasure than they are really worth. But maybe that's just me.
