# 1985 (2023)

> Three young recruits in 1980s Brussels get pulled into a spiral of crimes attributed to the Bende van Nijvel gang.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/87497

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 8
- Episode runtime: 55 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: crime, drama
- Created by: Wouter Bouvijn
- Network: VRT 1, La Une
- Cast: Tijmen Govaerts, Aimé Claeys, Mona Mina Leon, Tom Vermeir, Titus De Voogdt, Peter van den Begin, Roda Fawaz, Guillaume Kerbusch
- TMDB rating: 7.8/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14909772/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: moderate
- Tone: tense, melancholic, paranoid, gritty, atmospheric

## Synopsis

1985 (2023) is a Belgian crime drama series created by Wouter Bouvijn for VRT 1 and La Une. Following friends Marc (Tijmen Govaerts) and Franky (Aimé Claeys) and Franky's sister Vicky (Mona Mina Leon), three young people who move to Brussels to join the Gendarmerie, the eight-episode limited series builds its engine around recruits who find themselves pulled into a spiral of violent crimes attributed to the so-called Bende van Nijvel gang. Their careers, loyalties and personal lives are tested as the investigation widens and the institution around them shows its cracks. Officers Guy Goffinard (Tom Vermeir) and Philippe Debels (Titus De Voogdt) and Major Herman Vernaillen (Peter van den Begin) represent the authority the young recruits must navigate. Drawn from real events, the series is a tense, atmospheric period piece set in 1980s Brussels, with a melancholic, paranoid tone and a textured sense of its era. Its stories unfold as one continuing investigation rather than case of the week episodes. Fans of Chernobyl, Babylon Berlin and The Night Of will find resonance in its grounded, true crime rooted dread.

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