Reviewed by Rama Gaind.
Directors: Börkur Sigþórsson, Jan Matthys, Foxtel.
This one is a spin-off from the British anthology drama television series – The Missing – which was written by brothers Harry and Jack Williams (One of Us, Rellik, Liar). Baptiste has also been created by them.
The inconstant detective Julien Baptiste (played well by Tchéky Karyo) is a character that originated in the 2014 series. In the 2019 by-product, the intuitive French investigator specialises in tracking down the vanished.
After having an operation on his brain tumour, Julien claims he is not the man he once was, but is persuaded by his former boss to help the Dutch Police. While on holiday with his wife, he assists in an investigation for his former girlfriend, the Amsterdam Chief of Police.
His mission is to track down a 15-year-old missing enslaved sex worker in the city’s notorious red light district. He finds himself caught up in the criminal underworld, but things are not what they seem.
Karyo stars opposite Tom Hollander who is Edward Stratton, the young girl’s jittery and desperate uncle, and Jessica Raine – as Genevieve Taylor – a no-nonsense Europol agent also assigned to the case. It doesn’t take long to realise that all is not as it seems with Stratton. The show also introduces Kim Vogel (Talisa Garcia), who has a criminal history and Constantin (Alec Secăreanu), a Romanian national who is seen murdering a victim at the start.
This is not just a run-of-the-mill missing person’s case. It’s obvious that there’s more going on here than meets the eye.
As the story unfolds over six episodes, it doesn’t take long to realise this is a special television crime series of a high calibre. The modern-day Poirot is often one step ahead of the bad guys, but there are times when they do outpace him.
