TV & Screen

Belgian television and the broadcast moments a whole country watched at once, cult TV, the news anchors, reality and the clips that became national in-jokes.

Part of Belgium

30 moments in this segment.

1. 1960-01-01 - VRT & RTBF. The two public broadcasters across the language line, the shared and separate screens of Belgium.
2. 1985-01-01 - Strip-Tease. The legendary fly-on-the-wall RTBF documentary series, unscripted, unnarrated Belgian human comedy.
3. 1986-01-01 - Jambers. Paul Jambers’ blunt, immersive human-interest reportages, the godfather of Flemish documentary TV.
4. 1986-01-01 - Sandra Kim wins Eurovision (1986). Belgium’s only Eurovision win, 13-year-old Sandra Kim with "J’aime la vie".
5. 1991-01-01 - "Toto le héros". Jaco Van Dormael’s 1991 Caméra d’Or winner, a landmark of surreal Belgian cinema.
6. 1992-01-01 - "Dag Sinterklaas". Bart Peeters & Hugo Matthysen’s deadpan children’s series, quoted by Flemish adults to this day.
7. 1995 - "Wittekerke". The long-running coastal soap (1993–2008), a Flemish living-room institution for fifteen years.
8. 1999-01-01 - The Dardenne Brothers. Two-time Palme d’Or winners, the social-realist face of acclaimed Belgian cinema.
9. 2000 - The Flandrien Weatherman. Belgian TV weather, a national fixation, delivered deadpan over endless grey skies.
10. 2001-01-01 - The TV Formats Belgium Exported. A small market that punches far above its weight inventing globally-licensed TV formats.
11. 2006-01-01 - Bye Bye Belgium (RTBF hoax). In 2006, public broadcaster RTBF faked Flanders declaring independence, panic, then a nation in on the joke.
12. 2009-01-01 - "Van Vlees en Bloed". Tom Lenaerts’ acclaimed butcher-family dramedy, "Ik zen nogal ne kèrel è!" became a national quote.
13. 2011-01-01 - "De Ronde". Tom Lenaerts’ ensemble drama set on the day of the Tour of Flanders, cycling as national tapestry.
14. 2012-01-01 - "Salamander". The 2012 Flemish conspiracy thriller that travelled the world, the rise of Belgian prestige TV drama.
15. 2013-01-01 - "Safety First". Jonas Geirnaert & co.’s absurd security-guard sitcom, early Flemish online-comedy crossover.
16. 2013-01-01 - "Eigen Kweek". The West-Flemish farmer-comedy with subtitles for the rest of Flanders, cult dialect TV.
17. 2013-01-01 - Jean-Claude Van Damme - The Epic Split. The "Muscles from Brussels". The 2013 Volvo Trucks epic split became one of the most-shared ads ever.
18. 2013-10-16 - Belgian Cult TV. The home-grown soaps and sketch shows that became national in-jokes across the language line.
19. 2014-01-01 - "De Buurtpolitie". VTM’s daily neighbourhood-cop series, a ratings juggernaut and kids’-TV spin-off machine.
20. 2014-01-01 - JCVD - "I am aware" interview. Van Damme’s gloriously rambling philosophical interviews, a meme genre of their own.
21. 2014-01-01 - Alloo bij de Wegpolitie. Luk Alloo riding shotgun with the Flemish highway police, a cornerstone of Belgian observational TV.
22. 2015-11-25 - The Flemish Soap Operas. "Thuis" and "Familie", the daily Flemish soaps that have run for decades on VRT/VTM.
23. 2016-01-01 - "Beau Séjour". The eerie 2016 supernatural-murder series, Flemish TV noir picked up worldwide.
24. 2016-01-01 - "Callboys". Jonas Geirnaert & Jeroen Perceval’s pitch-black male-escort comedy, Flemish prestige raunch.
25. 2016-12-02 - Man Bijt Hond. The cult VRT human-interest show finding poetry in everyday Flemish life.
26. 2019-01-01 - "Undercover". The Flemish–Dutch drug-bust thriller that became one of Netflix’s first Belgian global hits.
27. 2019-01-01 - "The Twelve" (De Twaalf). The Flemish courtroom drama (2019) that became one of Netflix’s first Belgian global hits.
28. 2020-01-01 - Martine Tanghe’s Last Journaal. The nation’s news anchor for 42 years signs off, a collective televised goodbye in 2020.
29. 2021-01-03 - FC De Kampioenen. The beloved Flemish sitcom about a hopeless amateur football club, a national institution.
30. 2022-06-24 - Reality TV from the Low Countries. Belgian-Dutch production created Big Brother and reshaped global reality television.