Dirty Lines is a series that can be enjoyed by anyone who has an appreciation for the history of European culture and its institutions. Despite being set in the 1980s, Dirty Lines is a series that can still appeal to a modern audience. The show is created by Pieter Bart Korthuis (Penoza) and features Benja Bruijning and Joy Delima.
– Dirty Lines review does not contain any spoilers –
Dirty Lines Will Give You the Taste of a Different Kind of Drug
In Dirty Lines, Amsterdam brothers Frank and Ramon Stigter start a phone sex line. It’s a simple concept: Men call up to speak with an attractive woman (or man or couple) for the price of a regular telephone call. The workers on the other end of the line are paid by the minute, and they can earn serious money if they’re good at their jobs.
It’s the late 1980s in Amsterdam. The Netherlands is on the brink of change. Home to a vibrant and free-thinking underground scene, Amsterdam seems immune to the darker political undercurrents spreading through western governments.
But, as you might imagine, there’s more than just phone sex going on here. The series also serves as a reminder that while we talk about how much everything has changed over the last several years, it sounds the same: Sex sells, and capitalism is always looking for new ways to make money.
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Dirty Lines Is a True Coming-of-Age Story Set in the 80s
Dirty Lines has more than enough to keep viewers interested throughout its six episodes—there are drugs and violence, real estate scams and mobsters, and even some humour! But at its core, this is a story about capitalism and how our society will always find new ways to commodify sexuality.
The series takes place when telephones became a regular part of everyone’s life, and Amsterdam was experiencing a boom in drug use.
Dirty Lines tells the story of a group of entrepreneurs who take advantage of the liberalization of the telephone system to start a sex hotline that allows callers to speak with women and men looking for fun. The “dirty lines” company is run by brothers Frank and Ramon Stigter.
It is one of the most promising new shows to come out of Europe, and even though it’s only six episodes long and available at the moment just in Dutch, it’s well worth watching in its original language. Dirty Lines is one of Netflix’s newest international titles, joining the popular Spanish series Elite and Dark, a German-language science fiction series.
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Dirty Lines Is All About the Progress Liberalism Made in the 80s
Dirty Lines feels like an incredibly unique series in that it follows its characters through this journey while providing historical context that shows how much has changed in the last three decades. The world has become more connected, and the Internet is a part of daily life around much of the globe — even our phones have gone digital, which means we can’t hear the sound of our voices when we talk to others.
This is important because our voices play a significant role in Dirty Lines; they’re often described as “dirty” or “sexy” as they’re used to lure customers into spending money talking with various phone operators.
The series will give you a taste of a different drug: nostalgia. And isn’t that more interesting? But it’s not just about drugs and sex. The six-part series is a true coming-of-age story set in the 80s – when anything could have happened. It’s also about the progress liberalism made during those years, however slow and awkward it may have been.
Stream It or Skip It?
If you like to be entertained, are interested in anything tangentially to do with sex, want a strange and different view of Amsterdam during the 1980s, or want to see a show that pushes your cultural boundaries, I strongly recommend watching this new series on Netflix.
Dirty Lines is streaming on Netflix.
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