It’s not hard to imagine there’s inherent drama that comes with being a member of a firefighting crew.
The huge popularity of Chicago Fire in the US (as well as every other show under the Chicago umbrella) shows the appetite for watching the fictive emergency services at work.
And if that sounds to your fancy, then Channel 4’s latest Belgian acquisition might be as well. The ten-parter Under Fire was added to the free streamer this week and promises a ‘thrilling’ ride.
So what exactly is it about? At East Bank Station, a close-knit crew of firefighters are trying to balance their high-stress jobs with the chaos of their personal lives.
The motley crew, based in Ostend, Belgium, is headed up by one Lieutenant Patrick Sinnaeve (Sam Louwyck) and counts Orlando Foncke (Louis Talpe) as the bravest in the squad. There is no burning building he won’t charge straight towards.
But behind the scenes Orlando is a mess. And even in front of the scenes, he’s prone to bending the rules in a way that definitely goes against firefighter protocol.
With bad boy behaviour prevalent across the squad, things go topsy-turvy when a deadly mishap puts the headstrong bunch in the firing line – so now they’re fighting fires on the street and in their office.
To save their cherished fire station, Sinnaeve is forced to take a desk job and put his team in the hands of the new Lieutenant Dominique Meersman (Lien De Grave). In part because she’s a woman, the appointment does not go down a treat in the macho blokey-bloke ethos of the station.
Dramatic and heart-pumping visuals abound as the team faces major internal changes, all while fighting to save lives on the job.
The show dropped on Netflix in 2022, but is now available to stream for free on Channel 4 as part of the platform’s Walter Presents offshoot.
Walter Presenters launched back in 2016, it is an on-demand platform with a selection of award-winning foreign-language dramas, hand-picked by Walter Iuzzolino.
What else is free to watch on Channel 4?
- The Shadow. This haunting crime drama follows a young journalist called Norah (Deleila Piasko) on assignment. Things take a sinister turn when a strange beggar warns Norah that she will kill a man sometime in the future.
- The Couple Next Door. Another season of young couples in the ‘burbs who become a bit overly friendly with their neighbours – with dire consequences.
- The Devil’s Leap. A former special forces father must find a way to save himself and his daughter from the terrifying forces threatening to end them before it is too late in this hike-gone-wrong.
Many reviews of Under Fire, or Onder Vuur in Belgian, have remarked on the authentic nature of the actions sequences.
A review in Midgard Times gushed: ‘There are some scenes in the series, like rescuing the people stuck in a hot balloon that appear to be so real. The audience will be able to feel the adrenaline rush.’
‘Under Fire sounds like it might just be Chicago Fire by way of Belgium, but its truly gripping and cinematic action sequences take it up a notch and make it a worthy binge,’ said a write-up in Decider.
Elsewhere, user reviews on the show were mixed, with some noting it wasn’t particularly realistic (!), but @info-37063 wrote on IMDb: ‘Loved the interventions, the actors and the shots. Nicely filmed and great atmosphere. For a Flemish series absolutely something innovative and worth the watch!’
Under Fire is available to stream on Channel 4 and Netflix.
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