The Belgian firefighting drama returns for a second wave on Walter Presents, bringing us a further helping of incendiary scenarios to warm the cockles.
If you want to avoid all spoilers, stop reading this article now.
Known as Onder Vuur in its native language, this is a character driven show that introduces us to the troupe at a small Ostend fire station as they tackle emergencies, personal issues and the potential threat of a merger with another station.
There have been a number of firefighter-related TV dramas over the years, including our very own ‘London’s Burning' and the US based ‘Chicago Fire', for example. ‘Under Fire' is a worthy addition to the list. We’re on our second season, but season three has already aired in Belgium in 2024, and I believe there’s a fourth on its way.
In the opening episode of S2, we get reintroduced to Orlando Foncke (Louis Talpe) at the small station known as Post Oosteroever. When Orlando and his colleagues are called out to a major fire, it’s so large that the neighbouring Post Centraal fire station sends additional manpower to help tackle the blaze. But the Centraal’s chief makes a bad decision, and suddenly the lives of Oosteroever’s firefighters, including Orlando, are put in mortal danger.
Meanwhile, the experienced Patrick tries to reconcile with his estranged fisherman brother, but without success. His brother and his fellow-fishermen are unhappy about the mayor’s proposal to build a windfarm near to where they catch their fish. They decide to dump tons of stinking fish heads on the pavement outside of city hall as a protest, which results in Patrick and the other firemen having to clear up the stinking mess. It doesn’t sound to me like the sort of “emergency” that our fire service would get involved with, but perhaps things are different in Belgium.
Much like ‘London’s Burning', this is a lightweight drama that delivers a selection of soap-opera-like characters for us to get to know. As often happens with this type of drama, the characters themselves are fairly two-dimensional and perhaps a little cliched, but that’s not to say that it’s not an engaging watch. The storylines ramp up the tension, and whilst there might not be much in the way of depth of character, they’re a likable bunch on the whole.
The acting is of a high quality from an experienced cast. And the production values, in what much be a challenging environment having to deal with fire-related situations, are also of a high standard.
There’s much to like about ‘Under Fire'. It’s not challenging viewing with complex plots and characters, but it has a certain charm. If you’re a fan of the aforementioned ‘London’s Burning' and ‘Chicago Fire', give this a go. You don’t need to have seen S1, but it would make sense to start from there if you’re new to the show.
Walter Presents: ‘Under Fire' Season 2 is available as a boxset on C4 Streaming now.
