Latest news with #Cecilie
Metro
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Metro
New Netflix show with 100% Rotten Tomatoes score racks up 23 million views
Sophie-May Williams Published June 2, 2025 3:22pm Link is copied Comments After a busy weekend enjoying the sunshine, you might fancy taking your Monday to Friday evenings a little slower. Specifically, curling up on the sofa after work with a cup of coffee and some quality TV. If this sounds like your perfect way to relax, we've got just the thing for you: a binge-worthy new Netflix drama that has just received a no-notes 100% Rotten Tomatoes score, with 23 million views since it dropped on the platform (Picture: Netflix) Secrets We Keep is a Netflix original Danish mystery thriller, starring Marie Bach Hansen, Excel Busano, and Danica Ćurčić, to name a few. Without giving too much away, it taps into the twisted world of the wealthy - similar to shows like The White Lotus, Perfect Strangers and Sirens - while maintaining a more realistic edge. In a little more detail, viewers watch Cecilie, a rich executive living in an affluent Copenhagen suburb, search for Ruby, a missing au pair from the Philippines. When Ruby suddenly vanishes without a trace, Cecilie becomes suspicious, convinced that sinister circumstances are at play. Especially when the police don't make the case a priority (Picture: Netflix) When Cecilie fails to spark interest from the authorities, she decides to take matters into her own hands and search for Ruby. Alongside her own au pair, Angel, who is close friends with Ruby, the amateur investigators soon uncover dark family secrets - some of which are a little too close to home for Cecilie, who is forced to confront the people she thought were her family and friends. At its core, Secrets We Keep is a deep dive into a missing person's case involving the ultra-wealthy who, because they have all the money in the world, think that they can get away with the darkest of crimes. While the show isn't based on a true story, it does showcase Denmark's au pair culture (Picture: Netflix) Ingeborg Topsøe, the show's creator, went into detail about this aspect with Netflix's Tudum. She said: 'I've always been fascinated by the power structures within a family. Few people associate Denmark with such 'Upstairs, Downstairs' homes. Denmark is often portrayed as a very egalitarian society, and I've never seen homes like these portrayed on TV. Perhaps it's a reality we don't want to acknowledge the existence of …. Au pairs are "part of the family", while being employed, and parents are well-meaning, while absent. It's these cold, hard facts — hidden beneath a soft layer of niceness — that intrigues me' (Picture: Netflix) After watching the six-episode limited series, fans and critics alike have been raving about the quality of the show on Rotten Tomatoes. Joel Keller from Decider described it as a thriller that 'doesn't try to distract viewers by sending them down too many dead ends.' Rather, it 'tells a story about class, race and wealth in the process.' Juan Pablo Russo from EscribiendoCine said the series manages to 'naturally inject questions about privilege, the racialisation of domestic work, and individual responsibility in the face of systems that benefit some at the expense of others' (Picture: Netflix) Kshitij Rawat from Lifestyle Asia wrote that Secrets We Keep 'uses the familiar tropes of suburban mysteries (missing girls, tight-knit communities, smug rich people, pristine lawns hiding rotting secrets) but twists them into something far more intimate and morally disquieting.' Samuel R. Murrian, a critic from Collider, compared it to 'this year's most zeitgeisty hits Adolescence and The White Lotus.' However, the critic suggested that Topsøe and the actors 'handle its dark material even better' (Picture: Netflix) Pramit Chatterjee from Digital Mafia Talkies agreed, calling it 'essential viewing for all,' and a 'fantastic companion piece to Adolescence.' Finally, Archie Sengupta from said: 'Secrets We Keep holds on to your attention from the first episode, and its twists and turns are nothing short of thrilling' (Picture: Netflix) It wasn't just critics showering the show with faultless reviews, either. The Popcornmeter, which houses viewer testimonials, received a respectable 76%. With over 100+ ratings, it was described as 'one of the best mystery productions in years,' and 'brilliant in every way.' Other notable reviews included: 'An emotional drama that clearly depicts the power of the ultra-wealthy and their shameless treatment of those hired to serve them.' Plus, another labelled it 'one of the most thought-provoking, brutally realistic, and emotionally gripping series I've ever seen' (Picture: Netflix) Possible Secrets We Keep spoilers ahead: Many commended the ending as well. Usually, viewers can be quite harsh when it comes to finales, often dubbing them as frustrating or lazy. However, Secrets We Keep experienced the opposite, demanding attention right until the very end. Perhaps the most thought-provoking comment in this respect comes from a viewer called Chris, who said: 'It's an amazing story with an ending that will blow you away. In truth the ending is the biggest problem with the series because it ended the way a story like this would end in real life. It's heartbreakingly honest and real' (Picture: Netflix) As for the negative reviews? They're far and few between. The majority aren't even that bad, either, just a few complaints that the perpetrators didn't get what they deserved. But if you want to make that call for yourself, we only have one suggestion: cancel your viewing plans and watch Secrets We Keep instead. By the fan and critics' reaction so far, you won't regret it. Secrets We Keep is now streaming on Netflix (Picture: Netflix)
IOL News
02-06-2025
- Entertainment
- IOL News
Missing nanny reveals sinister secrets: discover the dark side of wealth in 'Secrets We Keep'
Cecilie (Marie Bach Hansen) with her neighbour and best friend Katarina in a scene from 'Secrets We Keep'. Image: Netflix I know that not everyone is a fan of subtitled offerings. However, sometimes it's worth putting aside such peeves when you are guaranteed a phenomenal watch. One such show is the Danish whodunit, 'Secrets We Keep', which is among SA's Top 10 shows streaming on Netflix. The six-part series is set in an affluent suburb in Copenhagen, where Filipino au pairs live their best life, too. It centres on the close-knit friendship between Cecilie (Marie Bach Hansen) and her lawyer husband, Mike (Simon Sears), and their neighbours Katarina (Danica Curcic) and her tycoon husband Rasmus (Lars Ranthe). The dynamic changes when the latter couples nanny, Ruby (Donna Levkovski), goes missing. Cecilie grapples with guilt after dismissing Ruby's plea for help during dinner at her home on the night of the incident. The event also affects Cecilie's au pair, Angel (Excel Busano), and other local babysitters from the Philippines. Viewers streaming the first episode are captivated by the lavish lives of the featured individuals. Cecilie, a working mother, enjoys an ideal balance between her career and family life, a privilege made possible by Angel. These opulent homes, filled with top-of-the-line decor and high-tech gadgets, appear worthy of a feature in a sophisticated home magazine. Despite their seemingly flawless lives, wealthy families often have hidden complexities. And that is certainly unpacked in the unfolding episodes. Although Cecilie shows kindness and support for Angel, encouraging her to finally start her own business, her well-heeled lifestyle sharply contrasts with the personal hardships faced by her nanny. Katarina and Rasmus are more inconvenienced than concerned by Ruby's disappearance, even though all her belongings, including her passport, are in her room. 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Next Stay Close ✕ Rasmus (Lars Ranthe), Cecilie (Marie Bach Hansen), Katarina (Danica Curcic) and Mike (Simon Sears) in a scene from 'Secrets We Keep'. Image: Netflix Meanwhile, Cecilie urges Katarina to report Ruby as a missing person. The case is assigned to a police officer named Aicha (Sara Fanta Traore), who appears to be more emotionally invested in solving it. Cecilie initiates her own investigation into the matter, occurring concurrently with Aicha's inquiry. Amid this, she stumbles across information that looks damning for her husband, who, when he was younger, was charged with rape. During this time, she discovers potentially incriminating information about her husband, it is compounded by her knowledge of a rape charge when he was a young adult. This incident has haunted him his entire life, as there were mitigating circumstances surrounding the charge. But he isn't the only suspect on her list, especially after realising that Ruby was pregnant. Rasmus has a chequered history with their au pairs, who are never around for a very long time. The strain of Ruby's disappearance weighs heavily on everyone, and the cracks in their relationships as well as friendships start surfacing. However, the distracted parents remain oblivious to their teenage sons' activities: secretly filming their au pairs and sharing the pornographic material. While Katarina's son Oscar (Frode Bilde Rønsholt) is the ringleader of this group, Cecilie's son Viggo (Lukas Zuperka) is more of an observer until he is shown troubling footage of Ruby. At school, a teacher stumbles across what the boys have been up to, and it opens a can of worms, especially when Ruby's body is found. "Secrets We Keep" reveals the evolving moral compass of the affluent as they attempt to resolve issues with financial resources. The narrative dissects their transformation from lenient to neglectful parenting styles. Through detailed settings and complex challenges, the script highlights the contrasting realities of nannies and their employers. Overall, this stylishly directed series offers a bird's-eye view into the deficient morals of the rich, who have no qualms turning a blind eye to injustice when it comes to protecting one of their own. Rating: 4/5 **** a standout series with exceptional qualities. Below are similar must-see offerings: "Sirens" In this Netflix dark comedy, Devon is worried about her sister Simone's unsettling connection with her wealthy new employer, Michaela, prompting her to plan an intervention. It has a star-studded cast of Meghann Fahy, Milly Alcock, Kevin Bacon and Julianne Moore. "The Perfect Couple" A Nantucket setting provides the backdrop for a story about a lavish wedding thrown into chaos by a sudden murder. It stars an ensemble cast of Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Eve Hewson, Billy Howle, Meghann Fahy, Donna Lynne Champlin, Jack Reynor, Michael Beach, Ishaan Khatter, Sam Nivola, Mia Isaac and Dakota Fanning.
The National
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The National
Why Netflix show Secrets We Keep is being compared to global hit Adolescence
A new Netflix drama, which follows two wealthy Danish families as they deal with the fallout from a missing Filipina au pair, is being compared by fans to Adolescence – the global hit that put a spotlight on incel culture and toxic masculinity. Secrets We Keep, a six-part limited series in Danish, premiered on May 15 and has struck a chord with viewers for its gripping pacing and unflinching look at racism and Denmark's au pair culture. The show, whose Danish title is Reservatet, has been viewed more than 10.3 million times since its debut and is currently the No 1 non-English show in more than 28 countries. The show follows Cecilie (Marie Bach Hansen), a wealthy executive, whose neighbour's maid Ruby (Donna Levkovski) suddenly goes missing. After realising that her obscenely rich neighbours do not seem too bothered about their au pair's disappearance, Cecilie increasingly grows concerned. Her suspicion and investigation then eventually leads her close to home. Hit British show Adolescence broke Netflix viewership records, with many praising it for its technical achievement – each of the four episodes is shot in one take – and for tackling issues about toxic masculinity. While Adolescence centres around a 13-year-old boy being accused of murdering his classmate, a girl, Secrets We Keep is meant to be a thriller. But it also tackles several issues, from class divide to racism and spotlights the ramifications of an increasing number of young Danes being raised by foreigners. Like many of the wealthy families in the show, Cecilie and her husband Mike (Simon Sears) also employ a Filipina au pair Angel (Excel Busano), whose primary job is to take care of their toddler. Angel is also close to Ruby, their neighbour's au pair, who later goes missing. While Cecilie and Mike adore Angel, who in-turn seems to enjoy living with the family, Cecilie increasingly gets frustrated after noticing their pre-teen son Viggo's (Lukas Zuperka) attachment to Angel. Meant to be sort of a cultural exchange, under Denmark's au pair scheme, foreign nationals can live with a Danish family for up to two years where they learn the culture and language while contributing to the household. In return, au pairs are entitled to receive pocket money monthly as well as boarding and lodging. A large majority of au pairs in Denmark are Filipinos. Despite essentially being housemaids, they are not officially recognised as labour migrants and therefore are not protected by labour laws. No. Creator and co-writer Ingeborg Topsoe said she was fascinated by the power structures within a family. "Denmark is often portrayed as a very egalitarian society, and I've never seen homes like these portrayed on TV," she said. "Perhaps it's a reality we don't want to acknowledge the existence of. "Au pairs are 'part of the family', while being employed, and parents are well-meaning, while absent. It's these cold, hard facts, hidden beneath a soft layer of niceness, that intrigues me.' Secrets We Keep is now streaming on Netflix
Express Tribune
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
The white woman's burden
The latest Scandi Noir series on Netflix is a curious drama that explores themes set in a context far away from our world, yet close to home for many middle-class desi households. Cecilie is a dynamic working woman belonging to the elite class of Denmark. Living in an affluent suburban neighbourhood, her two children are looked after by a Filipino au pair, Angel. Nextdoor it is the same case, at her best friend's Katarina's house, who's husband is Cecilie's husband's boss. Cecilie's older son Viggo is tight with Katarina's son Oscar too and both go to the same school. The thriller begins when the neighbour's au pair Ruby is over one night to hang out with Angel. Ruby is young, diminutive and meek, new to Denmark and its culture. Her immigrant status is yet another factor that makes her vulnerable. After dinner, she tries to tell Cecilie that she is having trouble living with her employers. Cecilie answers kindly that she cannot help and Ruby should talk directly to the couple. That is the last time Ruby is seen. Angel is worried about Ruby's disappearance but for Katarina and her husband it's no skin off their backs to have their nanny vanish into thin air. Katarina only points out how unreliable Ruby is to go AWOL just when her son's classes are around the corner. Cecilie is shown as more sympathetic to her au pair. She speaks to her warmly and says she is part of the family. Sometimes when she is overwhelmed, she shares her troubles with Angel too. As the au pair, Angel takes care of everything from feeding the family and tucking the children in bed. However, it is only after Ruby goes missing, that for the first time Cecilie is struck by Angel's growing concern for Ruby and feels obliged to step in and help her. Whe she lifts one boundary out of the way in her relationship with her employee, Cecilie is forced to see a world she never cared to look at before: the personal lives of underprivileged women who risk everything just to earn a livelihood for their families they have left in their native countries. Unfortunately Cecilie comes from such a different world, that she can never grasp the reality of another. In our homes we are used to rely on domestic staff to run our homes full-time or part-time as the case may be. We too are in positions of power as their employers. Some of us are willing to help them monetarily other than the salary we pay our domestic staff, but some keep a safe distance wary that once we lend a helping hand, the demands and requests won't stop. We also fear we will be taken advantage of by them. Some will go all the way to become a support system for their employees while others will firmly keep them at a distance. We can either treat them with a sense of entitlement which is what Katarina and her family display in the Danish series, with no personal investment in our hired help. Or we can be more discerning and humanise them as Cecilie exemplifies, yet is it the guilt of belonging to a superior socioeconomic class or sheer magnanimity that drives us to be kinder to them? Secrets We Keep casts an eye on this everyday reality in a very nuanced and compelling manner. The class divide is seen through the lens of racism and immigration in the show. When Cecilie has meltdowns in front of Angel due to her postpartum depression, it feels unbalanced in comparison to the struggles of a young Filipino woman who is living more or less at the mercy of European strangers in order to feed mouths at home. However, it is in Katarina that we notice the stark display of white women's tears. Many white women employ a victim complex to gain sympathy and avoid accountability by turning the tables and accusing their accuser. The trauma caused by such a tactic is termed as white women's tears. It dovetails Rudyard Kipling's infamous poem White Man's Burden, which framed the American acquisition of the Philippines as a moral imperative, advocating the colonial mindset of a superior race feeling the responsibility to civilize an inferior people. Katarina personifies the heartlessness and self importance of the elite. Her initial indifference about her missing nanny turns into an exhibition of white woman tears. She turns into a damsel in distress when she becomes a suspect in the case. Time and again she turns to Cecilie to bail her out of messy situations by feigning emotional weakness. For example, she forces Cecilie to go for Ruby's body identification when the police discover a body in the marina, even though it is her employee in question and therefore her responsibility. She manipulates Cecilie's support and makes her feel guilty by reminding her of how she has been there for her in the past. The plot twists in Secets are a descent into all that can be murky under the surface of a seemingly perfect life. When Cecilie finds a pregnancy test belonging to Ruby, she starts to suspect not only her best friend's husband - the high turnover rate of au pairs in their house is fishy - but even her own husband. The viewers learn through the police investigation, that her husband Mike has a previous misdemeanour - and it is a rape charge. Cecilie tries to defend her husband, convincing herself and the detective leading the case that it was long ago and Mike has changed his life completely since then. But the question hangs in the air. Neither she nor the viewer are fully convinced of Mike's innocence. Mike's ego-massaging of his shady boss doesn't help matters. Caught between getting to the truth behind a young girl's disappearance and keeping her own marriage and friendship intact, Cecilie's world loses all sense of security and nothing is black and white anymore, everything is a grey area. White feminism and its limits As the mystery unfolds, it becomes clear that Cecilie's awakening to the injustice around her is both belated and incomplete. At work, Cecilie has no qualms to push the strong woman image and put men in their place for being semester. But when justice demands personal sacrifice her white feminism comes into question — and it ultimately fails. White feminism is often critiqued for prioritizing the concerns of privileged, white, Western women while ignoring marginalized groups. Cecilie is, in many ways, the archetype: a woman who sees herself as progressive, empathetic, and fair-minded. When Ruby goes missing, Cecilie's initial instinct is to assume Ruby ran away. It's only through Angel's insistence and visible distress that she begins to take the matter seriously. This hesitation is telling. Cecilie, like many real-life white feminists, occupies a space where concern for marginalized women is more rhetorical than radical. Her compassion has boundaries; boundaries that maintain her comfort, her social status, and her emotional detachment. She only becomes truly involved when the consequences of her inaction brush up against her own family. Even then, her commitment to truth wavers as the implications grow more dangerous. As the layers of the mystery are peeled back, the viewer learns a horrifying truth about Ruby's end. Cecilie, who knows the truth by the end, stops short of pursuing justice. Here, the show turns its gaze on the complicity of liberal white women in upholding patriarchal and racialized systems of power. Cecilie doesn't commit the crime, but she benefits from the silence around it. She lives in the same protected suburb, employs a domestic worker whose legal and social vulnerabilities she only begins to understand too late, and ultimately chooses family over justice — just as Katarina does. Secrets We Keep offers no absolution for her tears or her torment. Her moments of outrage do not absolve her of earlier indifference, and her proximity to the truth does not guarantee courage. In this way, the series offers a sharp, necessary critique of white feminism's emotional investment in "doing good" without engaging in the structural change or risk-taking required to actually disrupt systems of oppression. This critique echoes real-world patterns, where women from wealthier countries employ women from the Global South to care for their children, clean their homes, and carry the emotional labour of daily life, often for low wages and under precarious visa conditions. These relationships are frequently framed as 'feminist' acts enabling career-minded women to "have it all". However, rarely does that ensure any empathy, let alone justice, to the migrant women whose lives are invisibly entangled with their own. In one particularly telling scene, Cecilie asks Angel why she didn't tell her about Ruby's pregnancy. Angel responds with a look that says more than words could: a mixture of pain, mistrust, and quiet knowledge that Cecilie wouldn't have done anything anyway. Angel also omits to share that she too is a mother and has left her child behind in the Philippines, with her sister. Incel culture among young teens Reminders of the recent Netflix hit Adolescence run through Secrets as we get a glimpse into the secret lives of the two boys under the care of au pairs. Whereas the au pairs are devoted in their duties of looking after their wards, both preteen boys each have weird attachments to their nannies. Both boys spend more time with the au pairs more than their own mothers. In the absence of his mom, Viggo grows attached to the nurturing Angel, sleeping next to her at nights, even stealing cash to help her when he sees her request for help being dismissed by Cecilie. The neighbour's boy Oscar is clearly a troubled teen. He films questionable videos of girls and women and posts them online. Viggo is pressured by other boys to do the same. Unbeknownst to either set of parents, they have circulated intimate content videos of Ruby, too. Secrets is a slow burn thriller with unpredictable plot twists and there's many of them. The first episode will give you the misperception of a quietly paced domestic drama. It gathers speed and drops shocking revelations in such a well orchestrated points that you willing yourself drawn quickly into the mystery. The biggest bombshells in Cecilie's life, including the last reveal, are dropped noiselessly and that is perhaps the success of this show which maintains an understated tone. Despite its foreign context, it imitates real family life and the dark corners of a woman's interior world that she navigates alone.
Forbes
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Netflix's Best New Mystery Show Has A Perfect 100% On Rotten Tomatoes
Secrets We Keep Well, I seem to have a good one for you today. Netflix's new #2 show is actually Danish, something we don't see every day, and a good old fashioned mystery that as of now, has a perfect 100% score from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. The show is Secrets We Keep, not based on a book, though there is one called that which is unrelated to this project. Rather, the story is about a rich Danish woman, her neighbors and a missing woman in their employ. Here's the synopsis of the series: 'When her neighbor's au pair goes missing, Cecilie is compelled to personally investigate but as she uncovers the truth, her perfect world falls apart.' I have started this show and so far, I find it both intriguing and deeply unsettling. There are beautiful houses and model-like women and yet the vibes here are just all wrong, in a good way. I feel like the show is herding us in a specific direction when it comes to the culprit, but my guess is that like many of these shows, that will prove to be a red herring. There series at the moment has a good, but not incredibly 78% score from the viewers that have rated it. Still, that indicates a good amount of interest, and I'm certainly hooked after the first episode. Secrets We Keep Netflix is home to a large amount of fantastic foreign mysteries, so it's not the biggest surprise this is doing well. However, this is doing very well for a foreign language show, at #2 only behind an Osama Bin Laden documentary, but ahead of big Netflix series like Forever, The Four Seasons and a new season of All American, which always does well on the service. So, this is doing well. Does that mean a season 2? Probably not. Even though this is not based on a book with a conclusive ending, this is presented as a limited series that is not meant to go past this. What could happen is that the same creator could be greenlit for another Netflix project in the future. That would be Ingeborg Topsøe, where this is easily her most high-profile show, and she also wrote all six episodes of the series (with co-writers on two). So far I'm impressed. An original mystery without novel source material. A foreign language series performing this well even in the US. Really solid work. Follow me on Twitter, YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram. Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.
