Undercover (Bulgarian TV series)


Undercover was a Bulgarian crime drama television series produced by Bulgarian National Television that premiered on BNT 1 on April 17, 2011.
The series tells the story of the undercover police officer Martin Hristov, who infiltrates the gang of Bulgarian mafia boss Petar 'Dzaro' Tudzharov.

Plot summary

Martin Hristov, a specially trained agent, is appointed to go undercover in the gang of Bulgaria's top mafia boss, Dzharo. On his way he faces numerous challenges in order to completely become part of the criminal world. His task becomes more complicated when he meets the big boss' girl, Sunny. While undercover he gets a promotion in the mafia hierarchy and becomes part of the world full of crime, violence and corruption.
The show is inspired by Martin Scorsese's 2006 film The Departed.

Cast

Critical reception

Undercover has received critical acclaim as well as becoming a hit with viewers, managing to attract a strong audience from its debut. Critic Emil Antonov said the show "offers viewers a dynamic and tense atmosphere, and interesting characters in a crime drama attractive to much of the native audience. Although many of the stories in the new Bulgarian cinema navigate around the time of transition and development of crime in Bulgaria, Dimitar Mitovski manages to break this pattern. He creates a story that strikes a chord with Bulgarians and is dynamic enough to keep us distracted from our daily lives."
The series received five nominations for the Golden Nymph Award at the 2012 Monte-Carlo Television Festival: Sevda Shishmanova, Dimitar Mitovski and Ivan Doiko as Outstanding European Producer and Outstanding International Producer ; Mihail Bilalov and Zahary Baharov as Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series; and Irena Miliankova as Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series. Undercover also won "The Golden Umbrella" award for Best Series, as well as awards for best cinematography, best musical score and most popular series at the 2012 MediaMixx International Festival, devoted to all forms of media in Central and Eastern Europe.
However, the show has been criticized in Bulgaria for its depiction of graphic violence, sexual situations, profanity and drug use. During the fourth season, BNT head Vera Ankova threatened to pull state funding from the show, putting the series' future in doubt. Additionally, Bulgaria's Council for Electronic Media demanded the series be fined for profanity and said its content was not suitable for its 20:45 timeslot. State regulators declined to fine the network so long as the show was moved to a later time slot.

Airing

In Bulgaria, the series premiered on 17 April 2011 on BNT 1, and airs on Sunday evenings, with reruns airing on Fridays.
While the first episode was in production, Fox Crime of Fox International Channels began negotiations to distribute the film internationally in other Balkan nations Romania, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Croatia, Montenegro and Albania. The early demand to distribute a series was a first for a BNT production.
In 2012, New Films International announced plans to distribute the series in China, Germany, France, Great Britain, Turkey and throughout Latin America.
In 2014 Netflix released it.
On 20 March 2016, the fifth season premiered on BNT 1. It was announced that it was the last season of the series.