Sordid plots and straight bananas: Brussels becomes a hotbed of love and revenge
(The Guardian Belgium)

If Brussels makes you think of vacuum cleaner regulations, think again. A new drama casts it as a place of passion and back-stabbing. As the EU turns 60, we look at its place in popular culture`Everyone comes to Brussels driven by revenge or love or both.` It might be news to those for whom the de facto EU capital is synonymous with vacuum cleaner regulations or food safety standards. But this is drama, not real life. The line is from the blurb for a glossy Dutch TV drama series, Brussels, which reimagines the city as a stage for intrigue and vicious power games.Here is the self-satisfied EU commissioner, looking after her business interests while navigating political rivals and a past lover. Woven into the plot is a Russian-Ukrainian oligarch, an idealistic teenager dragged out of a mosque and a rough sleeper. The dialogue switches between Dutch, English, French and Russian, while the camera offers sweeping panoramas of the Belgian capital. Continue reading...