This six-episode subtitled miniseries from French TV is far more complicated than most, but worth investing the requisite degree of concentration. It's perfect for bingeing, since that makes it easier to stay with all the characters and subplots unfolding before you. It starts as cops vs. Bank robbers, from the vantage of detective partners Julie and Raphael (Maiwenn and Malik Zidi, respectively) as they figure out which bank will targeted next. They nail it, but most of the thieves manage to escape into Paris' elaborate underground systems of tunnels. Julie dashes into the dark ahead of her partner and inexplicably vanishes.
The hunt for her is on, but subterranean Paris (at least in this presentation, if not in fact) is three levels of spider webs under the entire city, with the lowest dating back to the Roman Empire's occupation. No one has explored all of them. Some parts are closed. Others are rarely visited, holding centuries of secrets. Some parts shelter the homeless; others provide cover for all sorts of criminal activity. This explanation is needed because much of the action and the major plot drivers are based there, making the labyrinth more of a central character than a menacing setting.
Julie's mom (Catherine, played by Nathalie Baye) is a disgraced former detective with a personality that's a force of nature. She pushes her way into the effort, variably pissing off everyone while alternately helping or hindering their efforts. Raphael is guilt-ridden due to his closeness to Julie and his being the last to see her; Catherine's withering finger-pointing does nothing for his morale, either.
Along the way, many possibilities are dangled for Julie's fate. Alive or dead? Underground or living abroad? Captive of criminals, or perhaps even some supernatural entity? Not only that, are all the cops involved trustworthy? The search becomes even more complicated when they discover the remains of many bodies encased in the walls. Perhaps this mysterious force or some plain ol' mortal felons have been bumping off untold numbers of Parisians for decades.
There's a lot of plot to unpack, but you're best left on your own for the rest of the premise and paths the players follow. NOX is gritty and gruesome, but never gratuitous. You may not like or empathize with the leading figures much of the time, but the twisty story arcs should certainly engage the minds of the attentive. Performances are excellent from everyone in this large cast on both sides of the law, and in between. Visually, it's often more akin to a horror flick than to crime dramas, given the time spent underground, not knowing who or what to expect at each turn. Director Mabrouk El Mechri makes excellent use of his many settings within the dank labyrinth, keeping a boatload of story elements from six credited writers suspenseful, and relatively tight for multi-episode TV fare.
