# High Tides (2023)

> A wealthy group of friends on the Belgian coast confronts adulthood, love, and family expectations over one tense summer.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/126572

## Facts

- Seasons: 3
- Episodes: 26
- Episode runtime: 35 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: drama
- Created by: Anthony Van Biervliet
- Network: VRT 1
- Cast: Pommelien Thijs, Willem De Schryver, Eliyha Altena, Anna Drijver, Manouk Pluis, Ayana Doucouré, Kes Bakker, Jef Hellemans
- TMDB rating: 7.3/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt21093806/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: moderate
- Complexity: accessible
- Violence: none
- Tone: melancholic, tense, sun-bleached, restless, sincere

## What critics say

Audience reception is positive overall, with the first two seasons rated modestly and the third season rated markedly lower.

## Synopsis

High Tides (2023-2026) is a Flemish national-television drama series created by Anthony Van Biervliet for VRT 1, produced with Dingie. Louise (Pommelien Thijs) and Alexander Vandael (Willem De Schryver) anchor a wealthy friend group whose easy summers begin to fray as adulthood arrives unannounced. Around them, Daan (Eliyha Altena), Melissa (Anna Drijver), Anouk (Manouk Pluis), and Margaux (Ayana Doucouré) navigate shifting loyalties, romantic entanglements, and the heavy expectations of family money and reputation, while Alexander's father Patrick Vandael (Geert Van Rampelberg) looms over the family's standing. The engine of the story is the friends' struggle to keep their privileged bubble intact while their choices carry real consequences. Each episode builds tension through conversations, parties, and quarrels that escalate over the course of a single heated season by the sea. Across three seasons and twenty-six episodes, the series keeps a serialized, character-driven rhythm. Set on the Belgian coast in the present day, it carries a sun-bleached but restless mood, blending melancholy, sharp social observation, and youthful longing. Fans of Skam, Euphoria, and Gossip Girl will find resonance in its portrait of privileged young adults learning that summers end.

## Shows like High Tides

- [Absolute Beginners (2023)](https://ember.film/tv/148280)
- [DRUCK (2018)](https://ember.film/tv/67746)
- [Seaside Hotel (2013)](https://ember.film/tv/55537)
- [Cordon (2014)](https://ember.film/tv/56232)
- [Summertime (2020)](https://ember.film/tv/84299)
- [The Perfect Lie (2026)](https://ember.film/tv/1104995)
- [Roosters (2025)](https://ember.film/tv/168688)
- [Van Vlees en Bloed (2009)](https://ember.film/tv/39395)
- [We Children from Bahnhof Zoo (2021)](https://ember.film/tv/96426)
- [The Girls at the Back (2022)](https://ember.film/tv/129881)

---

Site overview: https://ember.film/llms.txt