The Best Immigrant (2025-2026)

The first four and a half episodes were well-paced. An interesting main plot (which reminded me of the 1980s IKON youth series "De Papegaai" during episode one) that viciously pokes fun at the media world through the show of the same name. Add to that a battery of good actors (Charlotte Timmers as the tough producer Lauren is the standout of the entire series, as are Louis Talpe as the arrogant host and Bert Haelvoet as the creepy security guard), characters you'll both love and hate (hello, Muna), and it really can't go wrong, right?

Yes. Until halfway through the last episode.

If they'd had 6 episodes instead of 5, they could have wrapped it up nicely, tied it up, and done. Now, however, it seems they suddenly had to rush the ending halfway through the fifth episode because Streamz might want a second season. The result is a clusterfuck of a finale that leaves a bad aftertaste on an otherwise excellent drink. "There are many of us," but apparently all those many were arrested in a failed raid? Was it part of the 'plan' that Tarik would eventually become a candidate or not? What's even the bigger picture behind that whole escape attempt? And I'm not even talking about producer Lauren, who can track down Anne and the fugitives using drones and, in three seconds, turn it into a Hunted/Hunting Season-esque concept—thus seemingly announcing a second season. A shame, because some stories don't need to be drawn out.

Translated from Dutch · View original

The Best Immigrant is set in a utopian Flemish Republic where the Flemish have thrown off the Belgian yoke and the popular desire for remigration has been met. As popular entertainment, there's a television program of the same name in which migrants compete for residence permits. This story is fairly well-developed, with humorous competitions, hilarious remarks about the countries of origin, and witty references to Flemish culture.

Highly successful as satire, it's also hilarious for other reasons. For example, the text at the beginning of each episode stating that this scenario is getting frighteningly closer, or the tragic and dramatic scenes that accompany each deportation of a migrant in the program. Moreover, the unfortunate migrants here almost all speak flawless Standard Dutch and dress in Western clothing, which is in stark contrast to the situation on the ground.

Furthermore, most of the actors are quite good performers. Charlotte Timmers is definitely the best. Jennifer Heylen is not very amiable and not the strongest actress, but her co-star Louis Talpe is a true revelation for me.

Translated from Dutch · View original