If it wasn’t for the charismatic Haris Alexiou playing the grandmother in Greek drama series Maestro in Blue, I may not have watched the first season to the end, mesmerised by her effortless acting and the closing song in her throaty and passionate voice, which made the whole season worth it.
Then season 2 came to Netflix and no matter how hard I tried to avoid pressing play, Haris Alexiou drew me in once more. This time round, I was transfixed and binge-watched over two days, until the end of the last episode that made me choke on my sarnie.
The show is a bittersweet story, following Orestis, a troubled musician, who travels to the Greek island of Paxos to direct a revival of the local music festival. Orestis, who is married to authoritarian Alexandra, has a fling with a 19-year-old, whose brother is in love with his best friend. The friend’s father beats up his wife and homosexual son and ends up at the bottom of the sea only to bob to the surface at a very inconvenient time.
An investigator arrives on the island while half the protagonists are fighting their demons and at the same time trying to cover up the murder. As an aside, the girl’s father is running for mayor and making millions with his side hustle of drug trafficking, while the mother is having a secret affair with the island’s too-infatuated-for-his-own-good resident doctor.
Observant granny, who has a spicy past, is the figure of reason and wisdom.
The admittedly interesting plot touching on many of society’s maladies, with quite a few unexpected turns had me drawn in. Throw the Italian mafia into the mix and you have your weekend sorted.
Now I can’t wait for season 3.
The original language of the series is Greek and it can be watched dubbed in English or with subtitles.
