TV show we love: Serres

Overshadowed by Papakaliatis’ Maestro, there is another Greek series on Netflix that is worth the watch. A second renowned and beloved Greek screenwriter has managed to get his show on the international platform. Giorgos Kapoutsides’ Serres has recently been added to Netflix and it is a heart-warming tale between a father and a son.

Filmed and based in the city of Serres in Greece, where Kapoutsides is from, the series tells the story of a gay man who suddenly becomes his estranged father’s caregiver following his mother’s death. He leaves his life in Athens and moves back home to Serres. Father and son live together like strangers in the same house as they try to get to know each other again and it seems like they have forgotten how to care for one another.

Of course, in true Greek series fashion, several secondary characters add spice to the mix. A gossipy, know-it-all aunt who meddles in everyone’s business, an insensitive sister too busy being an influencer and an old best friend from high school who comes to save the day.

What is refreshing about Serres, is that Odysseas, the son, is not struggling with his sexuality, he is openly gay. He doesn’t hide it or sugar-coat it. Something we don’t see too often on Greek TV. His identity is not a subject to question throughout the series. Instead, we see Odysseas’ inner circle come to fully accept it in a truly touching way as the series develops.

Complex family dynamics come to the surface and the simple storyline of the show makes it easy for audiences to relate. Who hasn’t experienced a family loss, the need to belong, to be accepted and loved, to stand up and put boundaries and find their place in this world?