Reviews

With the international series The Window we enter the football world. Don't expect to see the game itself because you don't see a single ball rolling in the episode.

Jordan Burdett turns out to be the victim of the *real* game that is played in the background, as witnessed by the opening scene that takes place in the near future.

Everything revolves around Jordan (Samuel Jordan, Sex Education ), a seventeen-year-old promising footballer who plays for Athletic in the fictional ESL. His brother Kieran (Tommy Bastow, The Crossing ) is his manager and he tries to sell his brother to a big foreign club for a lot of money. However, that is not to the liking of Athletic's Korean owner, Jae-Yeon Cho (Teo Yoo, Chocolate ), who does not like to see the young striker leave and will do anything to prevent it. The problem is that Jordan does not yet have a professional contract and is therefore free to choose where he goes.

The viewer is therefore already introduced in the first episode to a lot of unsavory practices that are apparently common in the world of football brokers.

Many series use their pilot to introduce the characters to the viewers. The Window also does that, but the series wastes little time to immediately put those characters in the picture in detail. In a short time they succeed in presenting a large ensemble cast in their full regalia.

The pilot also immediately provides a good portion of action, both with underhand machinations and straight-up violence. It therefore quickly becomes clear that there is a considerable game of tug-of-war in the making to bring in Jordan Burnett. Whether there will be winners at the end of the story is doubtful judging by The Window 's intro. But we can be sure that it will be a captivating journey.

The Window is set in the world of football agents and the dubious practices that go around in the sports world.

When I reviewed the first episode of The Window, I was misled. That first episode mainly revolved around the seventeen-year-old football talent Jordan Burnett from which you can easily deduce that Jordan is the main character of this series.

It soon becomes clear that his role can rather be labeled as a prominent supporting actor. Because although his figure is central to the story, the main roles are still claimed by other characters. For example, there is the shrewd broker Romelus (Mel Raido, Deep State), who, together with Kieran, Jordan's brother, must ensure that the striker finds a new club. In addition, there is also Esther (Lynn Van Royen, Beau Séjour ) a freelance journalist who investigates corruption in the British sports association and the world of sports agents.

As the series evolves, these two characters become the most important in the whole story. Each of them has its own agenda from their own professional world. Romelus is anything but a wimp and has pulled many dubious stunts in the past to attract sports people. Esther, on the other hand, is a determined lady who knows how to make important friends in the world, which allows her to learn a lot, although she initially comes across as a bit naive.

Gradually but surely, a lot of impure practices come to the surface and both Romelus and Esther each go in search of the source of evil. Romelus, who himself has become part of the system through his past and actually still is, fears to be sidelined. While Esther is looking for a controversial article that can put her work in the picture, which will really launch her as a sports journalist.

The story of The Window is very well put together and comes across as believable. As a viewer you will understand that, although The Window is pure fiction, there is still a grasp on gossip that circulates in the circuit of agents and some sports associations. The main goal of all parties is primarily to make money, and that sometimes involves practices that are best not publicized.

The Window is also an international series in which we find actors from various European countries, but also some from Asia. The latter is certainly not abnormal because there are many European football clubs that have an Asian owner.

The actors themselves all leave a strong impression and know how to portray their various characters. Towards the end, the series also becomes a real nail biter. Especially when a dramatic image that we see at the start of the pilot is further illuminated and the viewer gets to see what is really happening.

The Window can rightly be labeled as a strong series, with a more than solid scenario that has been worked out down to the last detail.