Watch Caliphate

Caliphate is a Swedish thriller television series that premiered on Netflix in 2020. The show follows the story of a young Muslim woman named Pervin, who goes missing, and her friends and her family's desperate search to find her, uncovering an intricate web of events that lead to a terrorist plot threatening Sweden. The first season of Caliphate consists of eight episodes, all of which are around 45 minutes long. The show features an ensemble cast of actors, including Gizem Erdogan as Pervin, Amed Bozan as Fikret, Aliette Opheim as Fatima, Nora Rios as Sulle, and Simon Mezher as Hussein, among others. The show takes place in Sweden, following the lives of a group of young people, mainly women, who have embraced their Muslim faith, and their struggle to balance their religious beliefs with modern, secular society. Pervin is a bright, ambitious woman who hopes to become a journalist and contributes to a podcast about the Muslim community in Sweden. Her boyfriend Hussein is a police officer, who has been tasked with investigating a potential terrorist cell in his region. Meanwhile, Sulle, another of Pervin's friends, has run away to join ISIS in Syria, and Fatima, another friend, is struggling with her own demons, including a drug addiction. As the series progresses, the group becomes embroiled in a complex web of events that expose them to the terrorist threat. It quickly becomes clear that this is an international conspiracy that stretches across several countries, and the characters must work together to prevent the attack. The show deals with themes of radicalization, trust, loyalty, and family, and offers a unique perspective on what motivates people to become involved in extremist organizations. It offers a close look at the process of radicalization and the methods used to manipulate young people to join terrorist groups. The show runs at a slow pace for most of its runtime, allowing the story and characters to build in complexity with each episode, leading to a gripping finale. The acting in Caliphate is strong, with standout performances from Gözem Erdogan as Pervin and Allette Opheim as Fatima. The cinematography is bleak and uncompromising, with Sweden's wintry landscapes lending the show a cold and somber atmosphere. The score by Carl-Johan Sevedag is haunting and adds to the show's tense and foreboding atmosphere. Overall, Caliphate is an intense and engaging thriller that will leave viewers on the edge of their seats. The show's strong performances, excellent direction, and intriguing storyline make it one of Netflix's standout international releases in recent years, and the unique insight it offers into the process of radicalization and the fight against terrorism make it a must-see for fans of the genre.