First thing to say is that this has nothing to do with the Alexandre Dumas novel from the 19th Century; nor the 1964 French, Spanish and Italian film adaptation of the same book. This is a brand-new family drama from the Netherlands about the world of bulb-growing. And no, I can’t recall the world of bulb-growing or floristry ever featuring in TV drama before – so this is unique in that regard.
If you want to avoid spoilers, stop reading this article now.
But Walter Presents have invested in 24 episodes of ‘Zwarte Tulp' (to give it its Dutch name), so they clearly think it’s blooming marvellous!
‘Black Tulip' centres around an incident that occurred more than 20 years previously. Four members of the Kester family are driving down a country road, when Luuk Vonk pulls out from a field in his tractor. He swerves to avoid the Kester’s car, but they cannot evade the tractor’s trailer, and both the parents are killed in the accident – leaving their two children unharmed in the backseat.
Cut to today, and on the anniversary of the incident, tensions are running high between the Kester and Vonk families. It’s the town’s annual flower show, which includes a parade of floats decorated by the local growers – including both the families.
Luuk Vonk, however, stays behind – because he’s managed to cultivate the ultimate in tulip growing – a black tulip. But first, he needs to register it with the bulb-growing authorities.
But whilst he’s doing that, he receives an unwelcome visitor who both destroys the rare plant and takes Luuk’s medication from him – causing him to suffer a fatal heart-attack and perish on the greenhouse floor. We see the protagonist, but suspicions fall on another family member with whom Luuk had argued earlier.
This is all about the conflict between the two families that has arisen from the deaths 20+ years previously, and the difficult relationships within both those families, too. Even Vonk’s innocent granddaughter is caught-up in the drama when the Vonk’s float suffers a malfunction with her trapped on it.
This is a thoroughly competent piece of drama with some excellent performances and high-quality production values. There is more than a hint of soap-opera about it, with affairs and rivalries and jealousies galore. It’s a bit like a modern-day Dutch version of the 1970’s British series, ‘The Brothers' (starring Colin Baker, Kate O’Mara and other actors of that era), which was about a family-owned road-haulage business. Only this involves tulips rather than lorries!
I’m not sure I could stomach 24 episodes of it, which is what Walter Presents is offering us, but it’s entertaining enough. And if the somewhat niche genre of “horticultural drama” is something you’d be interested in, then give it a go.
Walter Presents: ‘Black Tulip' launches on Channel 4 on 8th December at 24.00. The first two seasons available to stream on Walter Presents via Channel 4 streaming.
