In this spinoff of the BBC popular series “The Missing”, detective Baptiste is now retired and recovering from brain surgery. The six-part crime procedural, Baptiste, is an intense crime thriller.
Baptiste (Tchéky Karyo) is called in by Amsterdam’s Chief of Police and former lover to investigate the disappearance of Natalie, a young sex worker. He meets her uncle Edward (Tom Hollander of “The Night Manager”) and soon Baptiste and Edward become involved in taking down a Romanian crime organization. The Romanians are in the business of sex trafficking in the red light district of the city. While still the same old curmudgeon as in “The Missing”, Detective Baptiste now has conflicting emotions in his relationship with his own daughter, and with his former lover. Nonetheless, he is quickly sucked into a case that exposes the seedy underworld of Amsterdam beneath the picturesque streets and canals. His family suffers while he becomes obsessed with the case.
Filled with a number of red herrings to throw the viewer off track, Baptiste may fool the viewer as to what really happened to Natalie, and who really is implicated in sex trafficking. This is a great whodunit worthy of six hours of viewing time.
Note: Available on Masterpiece Theater and pbs.org. Baptiste premiered in April of this year. A second season is planned for next year.