The Spectacular
The Spectacular is a 2021 Dutch-Irish crime television series directed and written by Willem Bosch together with Pieter Kuijpers and produced by Kuijpers's production company Pupkin. The series is set in the Dutch province of Limburg in the late 1980's when a series of attacks were carried out by the Provisional Irish Republican Army. Dramatization 
The character Fiona Hughes is based on the terrorist Donna Maguire, who, like brother Malachy Maguire, was a member of the Provisional IRA. Hughes left husband and children in the series to fight for the IRA, but in reality she didn't have children until later, with Leonard Hardy, another IRA activist. She was arrested a number of times and eventually convicted in Germany but was released by the court due to a lengthy preliminary imprisonment. The role of Jeanine Maes is based on Cees Verhaeren, who in reality led the investigation team. In addition to explosives scout, this police officer was also a negotiator-coordinator for hostage situations and specialized in intelligence work. He worked as Chief of the Regional Intelligence Service Limburg. The cooperation he manages to establish between neighboring countries and the Northern Ireland police has been faithfully portrayed. Production
 Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, production company Pupkin could not film in multiple countries as intended, so the decision was made to recreate all foreign sets in the Netherlands. Episodes

Awards

Cast 

 Hadewych Minis - Jeanine Maes
 Aoibhínn McGinnity - Fiona Hughes
 Carina de Vroome - Leonie van Hartog
 Jacob Derwig - Frank Maes
 Michel Sluysmans - Martin de Waard
 Jochum ten Haaf - Joris
 Porgy Franssen - Sjuul Livestro
 Kenneth Herdigein - Boudewijn de Rondt
 Ian Beattie - Corey O'Keefe
 Kerr Logan - Patrick Lynch
 Cillian Lenaghan - Paul O'Keeffe
 Declan Conlon - Declan Moore
 Michael Patrick - Robin
 Gary Crossan - Michael Handler
 Torsten Colijn - Andrew Garrison
 Fred Goessens - Joep Henriks
 Karen Sibbing - Hedwig
 Nevajo Rezai - Danny Maes
 Mitchell Havelaar - John Habets

Reception
Walter van der Kooi, writing for De Groene Amsterdammer, said the show lived up to its name. He praised every aspect of the show, including its scope, its international cast, its production, and its ambition. References

External links 

 

Dutch television series
Provisional Irish Republican Army