Latest news with #Reservatet
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
Tom's Guide
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Tom's Guide
Netflix's new mystery thriller is one of the best binge-watches of 2025 so far — and it's already crashed the top 10
It's been a little while since a new original Netflix series has hooked me. But 'Secrets We Keep,' the streaming service's latest mystery thriller, has all the hallmarks of a binge-worthy series. And it's sure to delight Harlen Coben's fans. This Danish series (known as "Reservatet" in its native land) arrived on Netflix last week (on Thursday, May 15), and didn't take long to grip subscribers with its twisting tale that explores the darker side of an affluent suburb. Less than a week after release, 'Secrets We Keep' has not just entered the Netflix top 10, but it's making a real play for the No. 1 spot. Right now, 'Secrets We Keep' sits in third behind a pair of true crime documentaries, and I won't be surprised if its ascent up the streamer's most-watched charts continues over the next few days. This mystery thriller is the exact type of original series that Netflix subscribers love to watch, so it's no surprise to see it making an almost instant impact. But, if you don't want to click the watch button without more details, here's the full scoop on 'Secrets We Keep,' and why it's a Netflix series that manages to keep things pretty suspenseful even when walking some familiar ground. Set in one of Copenhagen's most affluent neighborhoods, 'Secrets We Keep' centers on Cecilie (Marie Bach Hansen), a high-powered exec and mother to a rebellious teenage son. When a neighbor's au pair, Ruby (Donna Levkovski), goes missing, Cecili finds herself compelled to investigate the disappearance, but as she continues to pull at various threads, she unearths dark secrets hiding just beneath the surface of this seemingly perfect suburb. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. More than just a mystery thriller series, 'Secrets We Keep' also explores the class divide in our modern society, and has even drawn comparisons with Netflix's critically acclaimed 'Adolescence' due to its ability to combine a gripping narrative with thoughtful commentary. 'Secrets We Keep' isn't exactly a trailblazing Netflix series. It's central hook of an increasingly concerned woman investigating the disappearance of a neighbor's live-in maid, while being told 'everything is fine' by those around her, screams Harlan Coben, and its exploration of the darker underbelly of a seemingly picturesque suburb is far from original. So, while this Danish series isn't going to win a load of points for originality, there's a reason so many Netflix shows follow this blueprint. It remains a highly compelling framework, and that's no different in 'Secrets We Keep.' As the name implies, there are plenty of secrets to be discovered here, and the show dishes them out at a steady enough pace to keep you watching. One of my favorite aspects of the series is its more manageable length. Comprised of just six episodes, with most chapters running around 35 minutes, 'Secrets We Keep' is an extremely easy binge-watch. Plus, such a relatively trim runtime means that the series doesn't have time to waste, and instead, (almost) all the focus is placed on the central mystery. Each episode manages to unspool just enough new details about the increasingly complex disappearance that you'll be reaching for the remote to press the 'play next episode' button within seconds of the closing credits. That's a sign of a good thriller. Though this isn't to say 'Secrets We Keep' doesn't have its faults. The performances aren't all that memorable, though Marie Bach Hansen does have her moments in the lead role of Cecilie. And while the dependable mystery formula is compelling enough to keep you watching, it does come uncomfortably close to being predictable on several occasions. If you need more reasons to watch 'Secrets We Keep,' the show's critical rating might just swing it. At present, it holds a perfect 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes. Though this comes from six reviews, so the sample size is small, and its score may drop as more reviewers offer up their takes. The show's early audience score stands at a solid, but largely unremarkable, 77%. 'Secrets We Keep' falls squarely into the overspilling category of international Netflix series that aim to replicate the success of the many streaming series inspired by the works of Harlan Coben. And to its credit, it gets a lot of things right in its pursuit of that goal. The central missing person's case is compelling in concept, and there's always a twist around the corner to keep you guessing. The show's exploration of class exploitation adds more substance to the mix, making it more than just a disposable thriller. If you like Netflix shows with an ominous tone and a slowly unfurling mystery, 'Secrets We Keep' should definitely be on your watchlist. What it lacks in originality, it makes up for in sheer watchability. Not in the mood for yet another Netflix mystery thriller? Here's a guide to everything new added to Netflix in May 2025, including all the movies and TV shows worth watching. Watch "Secrets We Keep" on Netflix now
Metro
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
You can now binge all 6 episodes of 'deeply unsettling' Netflix crime drama
Netflix viewers have a new show to add to their watchlists, after the streaming service dropped a Danish crime drama that has left subscribers 'reeling'. Never one to leave you for even a moment without a dark new show to watch, Secrets We Keep – Reservatet in Danish – is the latest addition to the roster and follows a murky missing persons case in Copenhagen. In this six-parter, something is definitely rotten in the state of Denmark. Set in an affluent suburb of Copenhagen, the Danish drama follows the disappearance of a young Filipino au pair called Ruby (Donna Levkovski), working for an incredibly rich family. The family's neighbour Cecile (Marie Bach Hansen) begins to suspect something is afoot. The case of a missing woman from abroad ranks low in the police's list of priorities, so Cecile and her Filipino au pair Angel (Excel Busano) begin to investigate the rumours of foul play among other au pairs in the neighbourhood. While the show isn't based on a true story, it does attempt to lift the lid on a fact of Denmark society, that Filipino women represent the majority of the country's au pairs, with 2,165 granted a residence permit in 2009 stats. Wake up to find news on your TV shows in your inbox every morning with Metro's TV Newsletter. Sign up to our newsletter and then select your show in the link we'll send you so we can get TV news tailored to you. Although the show only dropped on Netflix this week, many TV viewers have already torn through all six episodes and took to X to share their thoughts. Several were impressed with the show's handling of Cecile's own biases and reassessment of how she is raising her children. @RamasScreen described it as a 'deeply unsettling' watch, writing: 'Secrets We Keep started out like a regular missing person case but it gradually unravelled into a tangled web of social & sexual controversy that went right for the jugular. More Trending 'The show compelled you to question your own prejudice & biases as well.' @MittalVineet added: 'Watched new series Secrets We Keep. Builds tension from the first frame and keeps it going. Also brings forth how different worlds co-exist and inequalities. Also a key takeaway is parenting cannot be outsourced.' @EmpressTashe simply wrote: 'I am hooked #SecretsWeKeep,' while @archisengupta chimed: 'Today was a great day, first watched Secrets We Keep which left me absolutely reeling and on-edge.' View More » Secrets We Keep is available to stream on Netflix. Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: 'Masterful' thriller finally completely free to stream after 3 years MORE: I want to like Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning more than I do MORE: Netflix makes major Bridgerton announcement – but there's a catch that's 'devastating' fans
Time Magazine
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Magazine
Breaking Down the Gripping Ending of Netflix's Danish Crime Drama Secrets We Keep
W arning: This post contains spoilers for Secrets We Keep. When young Filipino au pair Ruby Tan vanishes from one of Denmark's wealthiest neighborhoods, just north of Copenhagen, her neighbor Cecilie (Marie Bach Hansen) becomes convinced something is terribly wrong. Cecilie's own au pair, Angel (Excel Busano), begins digging into the rumors circulating in the gated community as suspicions of foul play mount. But the case of a missing foreign domestic worker is not a priority for local police, and newly minted investigator Aicha Petersen (Sara Fanta Traore) needs all the help she can get. Cecilie and Angel are ready to assist, and as they do, the social structures of privilege and power that govern the elegant homes around them begin to crumble. Cecilie's commitment to finding the truth is tested when Ruby's disappearance reveals ties to her own family, forcing her to confront her blind spots and reexamine the environment in which she's raising her children. That's the premise of Secrets We Keep (Reservatet, in Danish), a six-episode Netflix crime drama releasing on May 15. Below, we break down the gripping finale of a show that imagines the hidden darkness beneath Denmark's wealthiest enclave. Ruby's disappearance In Episode 1, Cecilie drives through her exclusive neighborhood and waves to a young Filipino woman throwing something in a dumpster. The woman ignores her and walks away. Cecilie's son Viggo invites his friend Oscar over for dinner that night, and Angel asks if Ruby, Oscar's family's au pair, can join too. During dinner, we realize Ruby is the woman Cecilie saw earlier, but she is puzzled when Ruby denies seeing her. Later that evening, Oscar's mother Katarina visits Cecilie, and the two chat. Before leaving, Ruby privately tells Cecilie she needs help and can't stay with Katarina's family, the Hoffmanns, anymore. Cecilie advises her to speak to her employers and insists she can't interfere in her neighbors' affairs. Ruby looks at her, pleading for help, but leaves with the Hoffmanns at the end of the evening. The next day, Katarina arrives at Cecilie's house and asks if she's seen Ruby. According to Katarina, Ruby has disappeared. She then asks Angel if she's spoken to her, but she hasn't talked to Ruby since dinner. Cecilie asks her friend if Ruby said anything to her after dinner, and Katarina says no—she doesn't understand why Ruby would do something like this right now, with Oscar's classes starting again. While taking Viggo to school and pushing Cecilie's young daughter, Vera, in the stroller, Angel runs into other Filipino au pairs from the neighborhood at the school gate. She asks her friends if they've seen Ruby and tells them she's gone missing, but they think—mistakenly, as we'll see—that she's exaggerating and Ruby will show up soon. What happened to Ruby? Over the course of the episodes, with the police already investigating Ruby's disappearance, Cecilie starts to suspect that Rasmus Hoffmann, Katarina's husband, may have something to do with the disappearance of his family's au pair. She goes to the trash bin where she saw Ruby throw something away—notably far from the house where she worked—and finds a pregnancy test on the ground. This leads her to wonder if Rasmus had gotten Ruby pregnant. She shares her suspicions with police officer Aicha Petersen, who tells her that Ruby had spoken with a couple in Holte over the summer and was supposed to start working for them after the holidays. However, that family never heard from her, so contacted the police after seeing the alert about her disappearance. But another suspect emerges after police find Ruby's purse in a bush: Mike Winther-Jensen, Cecilie's husband. Inside Ruby's purse, police find a key card from a luxury hotel in the area. Aicha discovers that Ruby had been there with a man driving a Porsche Taycan Turbo. Very few people in the area drive that model, and only one of them has a prior rape conviction—Mike. Aicha goes to speak with the pastor of the church Ruby used to attend, convincing him that the urgency of the matter supersedes the confidentiality of Ruby's confessions. He says Ruby had come to him suspecting she was pregnant as the result of a rape. Ruby had considered having an abortion but felt she couldn't go through with it because of her faith. The pastor's questionable advice: to speak to the father of the baby, her rapist. Ruby's body is finally found at the end of Episode 4 at a marina. At the beginning of Episode 5, Katarina asks Cecilie to identify Ruby's body in her place, saying she's not strong enough to do it. As she leaves the house, Cecilie is stopped by her son Viggo, who says he has something to tell her. She asks him to talk to her later. At the police morgue, Cecilie identifies Ruby's body, which is bloated from drowning. The coroner confirms Ruby was indeed pregnant, between five to eight weeks along, and that her body had been in the water for as long as a week, meaning she could have died the same night she ran away. Despite no clear signs of a crime, the police could still attempt to identify Ruby's rapist through DNA testing, which is exactly what Aicha sets out to do. Aicha tries to contact Mike, to no avail, so she visits him at work. Mike claims he was at the office the night Ruby disappeared and insists he never touched her, let alone raped or impregnated her. Aicha suggests that if he wants the police off his back, he should take a DNA test, and he agrees, claiming he's innocent. Cecilie, who had also begun to suspect her husband was involved in Ruby's disappearance, reminds him after the negative results he doesn't get to play the victim—the only victim was Ruby, and she was dead. With no new leads, Aicha's boss, Carl, begins to believe that Ruby may have committed suicide. She was raped, likely tried to speak to the baby's father, didn't want an abortion, and couldn't go back home pregnant. But Aicha doesn't believe it was suicide—the same faith that prevented Ruby from having an abortion would likely have kept her from taking her own life. Dissatisfied with the direction of the case, Aicha visits the Hoffmann home and speaks to Rasmus, who offers to pay for Ruby's body to be sent back to the Philippines. He also asks the police to publicly state that he had no involvement in the case and volunteers to take a DNA test. In the final episode, Aicha discovers that Rasmus Hoffmann's DNA tested positive for paternity—but he's not the father. The match was only 24.1%, meaning the father was a close family member. The father of Ruby's baby was Oscar Hoffmann, the underage son of Rasmus and Katarina. The message group and Oscar's videos In parallel with the case of Ruby's disappearance and death, another storyline gains prominence and becomes directly connected to the au pair's fate. Oscar, Viggo, and other classmates have a messaging group where they share disturbing and pornographic content. In this group, every member is required to post something or else be kicked out. This seems like an easy task for Oscar, who is frequently seen in the series flying his drone, often filming Cecilie at home—sometimes with her noticing, other times without her knowledge. What at first appears to be 'innocent childish behavior' turns out to be deeply unsettling. Viggo clearly dislikes it but is encouraged by the other boys to share inappropriate content. He ends up filming his family's au pair, Angel, as she bends down to organize things in a cupboard. That seems to be the only time Viggo contributes to the group, and afterward, he appears weighed down by guilt. Every time he tries to talk to someone in the family, everyone is too busy to listen. In Episode 5, Viggo's teacher asks all the students to put their phones away during class, but Viggo keeps his in hand. The teacher approaches him, takes the phone, and her tone turns serious. The boy had been watching something he wasn't supposed to, but he seems relieved that an adult is finally paying attention. Cecilie goes to the school after receiving a call from the teacher. According to the teacher, Viggo filmed his au pair naked and shared it in a group that included Oscar and other friends. He says he called the parents of the boys involved for a meeting, and at Cecilie's request, he lets her watch the video. In the recording, which is set to a remix of a song, the au pair is seen changing clothes after a shower. But the bedroom shown isn't Angel's, and the woman in the video isn't Angel either. When the woman turns toward the camera, Cecilie shocked: that is not her family's au pair. At the parents' meeting, Katarina Hoffmann sits next to Cecilie. Another of the parents present is Dorte, the mother of Mille, a minor who was secretly filmed by Oscar. One of the other mothers accuses Viggo of filming his au pair, and Cecilie clarifies that it was Oscar's au pair in the video. After Katarina asks to see the video and watches it, she tries to minimize the situation. However, according to another mother, it's clear that Oscar is the ringleader, and the parents demand that he be expelled. In the woods near their home, Viggo runs while Oscar chases him. When they fall to the ground, Oscar chokes Viggo and tells him not to say anything about the video he showed him—a video that wasn't shared in the group—and even threatens him: if he tells anyone, he'll die. When Cecilie gets home, she searches for Viggo until she finds him in the forest and asks what's going on. Viggo says Oscar showed him a video, one no one else saw, and that he threatened to kill him if he told anyone. Is Oscar punished? After Cecilie reported Oscar, the police went to the Hoffmanns' house to seize the devices Oscar had access to. However, the search turned up nothing—Katarina had already disposed of anything that could incriminate her son. In a conversation between Mike and Rasmus at Cecilie's house, the two friends discuss the legal situation, as Mike is a lawyer and Rasmus is one of his clients. Since Oscar is under 15, he cannot be interrogated, but if the police find him guilty, it will become a case for the juvenile court. Rasmus believes the police have no grounds to charge his son with rape and that they need to make it clear to the authorities that they reject the insinuations, based on a video of Ruby undressed that he shared on the Internet. Cecilie joins the conversation, adamant that Oscar raped Ruby, but Rasmus argues that they don't know that for sure, and Viggo might be lying. In Rasmus' view, if Ruby chose to have sex with a minor, she committed the crime, and while they might have moral responsibility for what happened in their house, in this case, Oscar is the victim. Oscar admits to Cecilie what he did to Ruby when he entered her house through the broken glass door of the kitchen. He said that he controls Ruby, that she can't say no, and that she is paid to like him. When she tells her husband Mike, the lawyer points out that without evidence of rape, the blame might fall on Ruby for having had a relationship with a minor. Officer Aicha still tries to move forward with the case, asking if Cecilie's son, Viggo, could testify against Oscar, but Cecilie refuses to put her son in that situation. From Aicha's perspective, if the neighbors were able to destroy evidence of the rape their son committed, what else might they be capable of? Still, Cecilie's response remains no. In the final minutes of the last episode, Mike informs Cecilie and their son Viggo that Oscar will be going to a boarding school in a few days, and the Hoffmanns ask them to say goodbye to the boy. The boy, in addition to not being punished for the crime due to lack of evidence, would be going to a new school to stay away from the 'problems.' Oscar's privilege led him to believe that his au pair was practically his 'personal maid,' as his parents paid her to take care of him. And it was these privileges that resulted in Ruby's death. Who is responsible for Ruby's death? Just as Oscar isn't punished for raping Ruby, the person responsible for her death is also not captured, as the police continue to believe she committed suicide and have no evidence of murder. When Cecilie goes to the Hoffmanns' house before Oscar's departure, the boy appears and asks if she has heard that he's going to the boarding school. Oscar says he knows Cecilie hates him – which she denies – but claims it wasn't his mother's fault and shares that he overheard an argument between Katarina and Ruby before the latter disappeared. With her husband and the neighbors, Cecilie decides to go to Katarina, who is on a bridge at their property. Cecilie says she thought her friend hadn't spoken to Ruby on the night she disappeared, and Katarina asks what that matters now. Cecilie wants to know if Ruby told Katarina about the rape, but Katarina simply says that they are two different kinds of mothers: while Cecilie teaches her children the importance of clearing the table after dinner, Katarina teaches her son to fight for his privileges and everything he has. When Cecilie asks how Ruby died, Katarina questions whether she's asking because she believes Katarina killed Ruby. "What if I did?" asks Katarina, adding that "those men think everything sorts itself out." The series' finale makes the audience question who the real culprit is and whether Ruby committed suicide or was murdered. Katarina's statement only highlights the kind of mother she is, one who fights to protect her son and the family's privileges, even though her 'invisible work' is often unrecognized by her husband. The impression is that Katarina killed Ruby, but this is never confirmed in Episode 6, and it remains just a suspicion of the public – and Cecilie. Secrets We Keep was announced as a six-episode miniseries from the start, so it's not clear whether the series will have a new season to answer the questions that remain unresolved. We'll have to wait to find out whether Netflix will announce more episodes to address Oscar's crime and the person responsible for Ruby's death.
