ACCEPTABLE RISK: SERIES 1

I liked the series which is a thriller a lot. Without giving away anything that isn’t already mentioned in the Description, the show is about an ordinary woman in extraordinary circumstances. She’s dealing with the death of her husband. He was an American living with her in Ireland and working for a Swiss based Pharmaceutical giant (worth billion and billions) who was killed in Montreal, Canada and arose the interest of the German Intelligence, truly a multinational thriller. Not to be left out of the fray is the US Embassy and the FBI’s involvement in the entire affair.By US standards British/Irish/Australian series are short. This one wrapped up the first Series (Season) in 6 episodes. I hope there is a 2nd series, but if there isn’t at least the first series left things somewhat tidy. As I watched each disk there were many “I didn’t see that coming” moments & cliffhangers that were resolved or that only raised additional questions.The producers did a nice job with the show and the acting was as good as a series produced in the US.

This is a very strong miniseries (6 episodes, each just under an hour). It is an Irish/Canadian production, with scenes in both Montreal and Dublin. The genre is the ‘husband I never really knew’ story. Sarah’s husband is the principal sales rep for humongous international deals by a major pharmaceutical company. He goes to Montreal to meet with a ‘minister’ there but instead turns up dead in a shady part of the city. His nonplussed wife (who worked for the same Big Pharma company) lost her first husband—another company employee-- under mysterious circumstances. Something is not right there and the unctuous, cryptic, sleazoid branch director, Dr. Hoffman, is a major suspect in the foul doings. With the help of a spunky female detective in Dublin and a somewhat wizened detective from Montreal, the wife strikes out to get to the bottom of things. Tensions rise as she proceeds at great personal risk.This is a common story line but the ‘normal’ person rising up to and meeting the abnormal threat is a mainstay since Hitchcock perfected it. The resolution of the case (mini-SPOILER), involving a dark, brick or stone abandoned building housing abominable secrets has become a British television commonplace. I wish I had a pound or euro for each such show that I have seen.Bottom lines: attractive acting, good characters, decent use of setting, engaging plot and good production values. Four and a half stars all the way, but no writing (with the exception of two or three scenes) that rises above the ‘very good’. Strong overall but not exceptional, distinguished or unforgettable. Don’t miss it, but don’t expect ‘Endeavour’ or ‘Foyle’s War’ or ‘Line of Duty’.

Lee Manning, sales rep for the Irish office of the giant pharmaceutical firm Gumbiner-Fischer (G-F), is in Montreal, Canada. At the Hotel Sofitel, he waits to see a minister. While waiting, he calls his wife, Sarah, back home in Dublin, Ireland. He has time to make plans for a romantic weekend, before the security guard arrives to drive him to the minister. Except Lee never arrives.Dublin Detective Emer Byrne visits Sarah at home to give her the awful news that her husband was killed, execution style, in Montreal. By the end of episode 1 you've learned several items of importance. Sarah was once a high level in-house attorney at G-F herself, and knows the company like the back of her hand. And Lee was her 2nd husband. Her first husband, Ciaran, also worked for G-F in public relations. And he accidentally drowned in a city canal three years before. Really.Sarah tells the G-F Head of Security, "What I do know is that I'm going to get to the bottom of it. Where ever it goes. What ever it costs." The cost is going to be high.I enjoyed "Acceptable Risk". It might have gotten 5 stars from me, except that it is a little drawn out for the first 5 episodes and then rushed at the end. Acting is superb. I recommend the first two Bonus Extras. They have spoilers, so you won't want to watch them before you've seen the full series. But I thought they added to the show, especially in how they delineate the conflicts suffered by characters."Acceptable Risk" first aired in 2017. It is an Ireland-Canadian co-production. The 6 episodes have no titles, and total 322 minutes. English SDH subtitles are available on the episodes and on the Bonus Extras:...A... "The Making of Acceptable Risk" (23 minutes) One of the commentators, screenplay author Ron Hutchinson, says, "I was working in Los Angeles with an ex-CIA guy on another project, and I said, 'I'm doing this project maybe abut skullduggery in the pharmaceutical business. Is that possible?' And he said, 'Ron, lots of my guys,' his buddies from the CIA, special forces, black ops, 'when they leave government service, they work for the pharmaceutical industry because they're used to going to pretty marginal places and keeping their nerve and they can keep their mouth shut.' "...B... "Beyond the Themes of Acceptable Risk" (8 minutes) Kenneth Glenaan, director, is one of the commentators, and he says, "What really interested me was the people who live and work in the shadow of these multinationals [corporations]. Where does your level of acceptable risk lie? You know, don't bite the hand that feeds you. Where your moral barometer stops."...C... "Thrillers: The Heightened Story" (10 minutes)...D... "On Writing Acceptable Risk" (5 minutes)...E... "Filming in Dublin" (6 minutes)...F...through ... J... Separate interviews with 5 actors on their characters and the show. They range from 2 – 5 minutes each: Elaine Cassidy, Lisa Dwyer Hogg, Angeline Ball, Morten Suurballe and Kate Moran.A good show, complex, with unexpected turns in the plot.Happy Reader

It starts out well with high stakes but the stakes keep falling, at least for guys.It's women coming to be in charge against men in charge, with some dull stereotyping of how men work, and how important everything women feel is. So it can tend to drag for you, in the last half. Or perhaps not, if you're a woman.

I watched this on ACORN TV and decided I had to own it. Just watched it again with my husband months later and enjoyed it just as much. It is suspenseful, unpredictable, well written and the performers are really great. I loved it and so did my husband!! Really entertaining.

Telegraphs itself long before the end. As a result, it seems too long for its content. Also, the ending was kind of weak with no real resolution shown on screen.

EnjoyableA bit twisted

...it got annoying how often she said "He had a gun". Besides, it was very slow moving at the beginning until it picked up a little speed towards the end.

This series started out as a very gripping and well acted storyline. Each episode built up more and more suspense. However by the third episode, it was pretty clear as to who the villain was although there were still some question marks to keep the viewer going. After that point, I felt the story began to go downhill. The main character Sarah did not develop beyond an increasingly frustrated and shrill woman who was determined to vindicate her husband or at least find out what had happened to him...fair enough - but her script was so repetitive! Threads and sub-plots were all over the place (still interesting) but the finale was a huge disappointment. Without spoiling anything, I will point out that the final 'explanation' was not realistic in any way. The bad guys used governments, police departments and lots of dirty tricks throughout the series to keep us guessing but in the end, the 'mystery' lay in something very crude and easily detectable. The female detective was excellent...the bad guy got his acting lessons from watching too many gangster movies. The beginning of this story pulls it up to four stars. Overall...good but ultimately a disappointing finale.

Didn't know what to expect from this storyline. There were a small number of times when the story line for me dragged a bit but on the whole, it was exciting.

Well acted, and taut dramatic plot set in Ireland.Big Pharma power, and corruption...

Not entirely predictable. Well acted & Ireland backdrop interesting

good movie