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‘Ferry,’ the unstoppable rise of a drug trafficker

Actor Frank Lammers shows that you can be the leading man in a series without needing to respond to the traditional standards of male beauty

Frank Lammers, in the foreground, star of 'Ferry,' a Netflix series.

Ángel S. Harguindey

Nov 22, 2023 - 18:18CET

The first distinctive feature of the TV series Ferry is that it shows that you can be the star of its eight episodes without needing to conform to the traditional standards of male beauty. You just have to look at a photo of actor Frank Lammers to see that. The second is that it explains step by step how to industrially manufacture a psychoactive substance derived from amphetamines (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine) and synthesize it in laboratories to produce ecstasy, the drug that plays an essential role in the show’s plot. Featuring the same cast of characters, Ferry appears as the prequel to Undercover, whose popularity justified a three-season run.

The Belgian-Dutch co-production, which is available on Netflix, tells the story of the unstoppable rise of Ferry Bouman, a skilled and ruthless criminal who has his sights firmly set on becoming the biggest drug trafficker in Brabant (Belgium). It is an ambition that he manages to realize with the help of family and friends, and the strong demand for his product, of course. But he soon finds out that survival in the underworld means having no scruples whatsoever, and includes working with the police if this means he can stay in the saddle.

If there was any doubt about the consequences of globalization on local customs and social habits, let us highlight the fact that the global distributors of Ferry’s drug belong to a biker gang — clones of the American Hell’s Angels — and that the main setting is a trailer park of prefabricated houses. The inhabitants of these houses reflect a sector of society, like the one in the United States, that is very used to a certain kind of nomadism. Bouman will achieve his goal of becoming the drug kingpin, the world will continue to import the “American Way of Life,” and the viewer will be entertained with another fantastic series: everyone is happy.

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