In a story set in the world of politics, art, addiction and fashion, comes a new three part detective series.
BBC First's "Van Der Valk" starts on Wednesday, June 24 at 8pm and stars British actor, Marc Warren as the Dutch detective, Piet Van der Valk. He is easy-going, comfortable in his own skin, street smart, instinctive and unapologetic. He is a great boss and is respected by his team.
Produced by Company Pictures, and filmed on location in Amsterdam, the investigation drama centres on Van der Valk and his dynamic team in solving a raft of mysterious crimes using astute human observation and inspired detection.
"Van der Valk" is an every man sort of character. He reflects the energies of Amsterdam: its tolerance and liberalism. He can be a loner, and at times he might seem a little taciturn or moody but he has some stuff going on that we find out about as the show goes on. There’s definitely sadness there and by the end of the series we find out why, said Warren about his character.
" Van der Valk " tackles some unusual themes like art, politics, addiction and mysticism, which is not the cliched image of the old Amsterdam.
"It's all Chris Murray, our writer. He is a very intelligent man. He has an interest in the esoteric. So this has been a real opportunity for him to develop those ideas of alchemy and the rest. He is a seasoned writer and he has been very approachable for all of us. There doesn’t seem to be any ego to him at all, he is always keen to explore and he has a great, inquisitive mind," Warren said.
Another great attribute about the writer Warren said was that Murray adapts the characters according to the actors strengths.
"He has created the world and we start playing the roles and he adapts accordingly, so he’ll play to our strong points. So eventually we become an amalgamation.
Talking about his co-stars, Inspector, Lucienne Hassell, played by Maimie McCoy and the rest of the cast, Warren said: " I am surrounded by a great team, really characterful, very likeable and watchable so they do a lot of work for him (Van der Valk). All he does is use his instinct and intuition to put the pieces together and join the dots to figure it all out,".
Like many shows nowadays, the production house made use of local crew and cast in Amsterdam. Something that Warren was very proud about sharing.
"Since we filmed on location, we used locals. The crew worked hard, they’re really wonderful and passionate people and very warm. The local actors are excellent too. They just make you look better – they give it that European, almost Scandi feel with their great accents and great acting," he said.
While in Amsterdam, Warren made sure to tour the place.
"I walked everywhere and got to know the city a bit more. I think it is a very cool city. It is very beautiful, and such an interesting place. But the reality is I was mostly working so only scratched the surface really," he said.