What makes it different from others?

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

A lot of fun.

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

This is simply one of the best crime tv series I've ever seen the last decade and one of the most brilliant European television productions airing today. ''Engrenages'' is a French word that can be loosely translated as a complex mechanism, and in the series context it refers to the French judicial system from the top ranks till the last patrol officer. All six seasons so far follow a central storyline which involves a grisly crime, mainly homicide or/and rape, and the pursuit of the guilty party from a team of the experienced Paris Homicide Unit. The main characters are Laure (Caroline Proust), the captain of the team, Gillou (Thierry Goddard in a magnificent performance) and Tin-Tin (Fred Bianconi) who, more than often, adopt a convenient interpretation of the legal procedures in order to nail the perpetrator(s). Apart from the Homicide Unit, the series focuses also on the professional and personal lives of a judge, a prosecutor, and a female barrister. The direction and acting are both exceptional and offer the chance for the spectators to learn a bit more about the mean streets of Paris, a metropolis which seems to be always in a flammable situation, facing major problems like drug abuse, extensive street prostitution, aggressive immigrant minorities etc. Actually, sometimes you may feel that you should stop watching ''Engrenages'' for a short while in order to take a breath of clean air, as the depiction of these issues offer no chance of optimism, but on the other hand you can never do that because the plot is so compelling that you are eagerly waiting for more. It is definitely not the usual stuff that the genre offers and you must have a strong stomach to get through the viewing experience, nevertheless, in the end, you realize the brilliance of ''Engrenages'' and wish that in the future we will have the opportunity to see more television productions of the same high-quality standards.

I've never written a review have no idea how to except I have to say something here... I've watched so many series over the years.... Spiral... is my favorite ever... it's the whole package done in excellence...Crime... Detectives... the Judicail system ... the character development.... these relationships ... are very real to life in that they are not glamorized... they're raw... the acting of the main cast... I feel like I know them in a way if they don't have season 7 I'll go into such a disappointment I'll never get over it!! Really give Spiral a chance to unfold before you, you'll be hooked soon!!

There are tons of police shows, and quite a few good ones, but this could be the best one.This show has been called "The French Law and Order," a reference to the iconic American police/legal show of the 90s and 00's. That is a fair comparison, although Engrenages is better.I called this a police drama as that is the more common expression, but that is technically incorrect.There are police shows, such as 19-2, Southland, etc. that focus on law enforcement officers, usually uniformed or patrol officers, or SWAT teams, etc. Although this show has that component, it is not a major part of the show.Then there are detective shows. Law and Order SVU, The Bridge, Luther, Line of Duty, True Detective. It's all about solving a mystery and catching a criminal.Then there are legal dramas. There's Silk, Suits, Boston Legal, The Night Of, etc.Engrenages is between the three. In that sense, it is similar to Law and Order (the original) but few other shows. But unlike Law and Order, the cases last more than one episode. This show is not a procedural, it is a serial, meaning, they don't get new cases and close them in 44 minutes. It takes them a season.This show shows all the layers of the cake. It takes the time to show us the criminals and their crime, the detectives and their investigation, the prosecutor and his case, the judge and his rulings and finally the legal defense team and their strategy. Other shows focus on one - starting with a dead body and ending with an arrest or starting with an arrest and ending with a trial. This one goes all the way, from crime to judgment. It's not just the scope of the show that makes it great, it's the interactions of all these cogs and gears. This show doesn't present these parts in slices, i.e. it's not "part 1, crime, part 2 investigation" - it's all interconnected. There are crimes committed during the investigation, suspects are arrested and released, cops dance on the grey area of the law and so do lawyers, private and public life get mixed, personal and professional gets blurry and there simply are no easy answers.It's funny, sad, thrilling and enraging. A must watch. This show is golden age quality.

Just finished season 4 of this cracking French Policier series. OK, it's not all totally realistic and you can pick holes in it if you want like everything else on TV (sometimes it's better to suspend disbelief a bit, even Breaking Bad was a bit silly in places and that is wonderful too). I often wonder why people watch shows like this if they expect exact realism and everything to be politically correct (check out a couple of reviews on here from people with strange expectations of a TV drama), this is a cop show and meant to entertain not a documentary to learn from that exactly mirrors the real world. Loved it, love Braquo too (check that out if you get a chance). Magnifique!