What if your every move was watched, rated, and used to decide where you lived, what job you got — even who you were allowed to be? Welcome to Walter Presents: Arcadia, the chillingly brilliant Belgian drama that’s here to mess with your head in the best way.
This Walter Presents dystopian gem is unlike anything you’ve seen before — especially if you haven’t dipped your toes into European dramas before. Arcadia isn’t your standard European crime drama — it’s smarter, darker, and way too close to home. Imagine Black Mirror had a European cousin with perfect lighting and a lot to say about society. Yep, that’s this. Whether you're a Walter Presents newbie, a long-time fan, or even if you’re just curious about the world outside your algorithm, this is one drama you can't afford to scroll past.
What is Arcadia about?
Set in a near-future society where citizens are constantly monitored and scored based on their behaviour, Arcadia explores what happens when loyalty to the system is rewarded — and stepping out of line can cost you everything. At the heart of it all is a seemingly perfect family whose world starts to unravel when the father is caught cheating the system. With their scores plummeting, the family is thrown into a high-stakes spiral of suspicion, secrets, and survival. Think: a world where Big Brother isn’t just watching — he’s also deciding your future. Blending sci-fi, political thriller, and emotional family drama, Arcadia asks the big questions: What would you sacrifice for comfort? And how far would you go to protect the people you love? (Goosebumps? We’ve certainly got them!)
Walter Luzzolino on all things Arcadia
We caught up with Walter Iuzzolino, the man behind Walter Presents, to talk all things Arcadia and why the show is such a bold release for the platform.
Arcadia is set to drop very soon. What are your thoughts on the show? Does it feel like something entirely new for Walter Presents, or does it echo anything you’ve released before?
Arcadia is a different tonality from some of our shows, and I liked it because of that. If you look at our slate, probably 70 to 75% of it is mainstream crime — whether it's a political thriller or a crime thriller. But every once in a while, I like to throw in slight bombs that go: “OK, this is totally different.”
Arcadia is a dystopian thriller. It’s unlike anything we’ve shown on Walter Presents. But if I were to group it, I’d say it’s not unlike Sløborn, where it’s an island and there’s a virus coming, etc. It’s one of those slightly epic, dystopian, Orwellian thrillers, — which still retain the quality of a very good Scandi or European noir, but takes the narrative elsewhere.
What I found really compelling about Arcadia was that it’s a high-adrenaline crime thriller, with beautiful quality. The setups are amazing — very, very beautiful. I’ve always loved Belgian drama anyway, and this has an absolutely impeccable cast of Belgian stars. I think Belgium is a real hot place for exciting concepts, and this is one of them.
It definitely sounds like more than just a crime drama. The themes feel pretty close to home too…
Exactly, yes. It’s crime — but it’s also about what society is, and what makes a society. At this point in our lives, the news is so shocking, the politics is scary, and there are wars everywhere. It’s so interesting to look at a world where they’ve created an artificial Arcadia — where good behaviour is constantly monitored. You’re under surveillance all the time, but if you comply, you get a safe life of privilege.
That feels quite close to the world we live in now. You walk into a bar with a friend, and five minutes later your Instagram publicises the drink they serve there. It says: “You may want to connect with this,” or “this person was in that club.” You feel monitored. On the one hand, technology has brought ease and sophistication and customer-friendliness to life — but you also feel watched all the time. And that does something strange to the human brain.
That idea of “scoring” and surveillance really feels like a modern anxiety.
Yes — the idea that if you score right, you're privileged to stay, and if you don’t, your life becomes a lot harder. Within that society, there are tensions, and enemy factions, and an Extinction Rebellion-kind of activism. It felt like the world today — but heightened into a slightly different vision.
So I'm hoping it really resonates with viewers. And if nothing else, it's a real change of gear for us. I think every four or five shows, we should always take a chance and say: “Here’s something really different.”
Where can I watch Arcadia?
Arcadia will be available to stream in the UK on Channel 4 (via Walter Presents) from Friday 11th July 2025. The series will also launch on Channel 4 on Sunday 13th July at midnight.
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