VPRO

De Dierenwinkel (The Pet Shop) is a recurring sketch from the Dutch absurdist comedy show Jiskefet that aired between 1992 and 1995. It primarily features a pompous, eccentric shop owner (played by Herman Koch) and a polite, equally strange customer (played by Michiel Romeyn). Common plot points involve the customer seeking a specific or rare creature, only to be sold a completely different (and likely non-existent) animal described with bizarre biological "facts."

The 1992 crash of an Israeli Boeing 747 into an apartment building in Amsterdam remains a three decades mystery, fueled by unexplained illnesses, lost evidence, mysterious cargo, and one missing black box. An international thriller that chronicles how narratives are conceived and uncovers the hidden threads between business, politics, the military and us: the people.

China is playing an increasingly important role worldwide. Under President Xi Jinping, substantial investments are being made in communication and cooperation and industrious Chinese people are settling abroad in large numbers. Documentary maker and China expert Ruben Terlou visits them in the new VPRO travel series ‘The World of the Chinese’. Who are they, what do they want to achieve and what impact does their presence have on the local population?

Who are the winners and losers of Brexit? Former United Kingdom correspondent Tim de Wit returns to reflect on his own role as a journalist and to investigate what became of the Brexit promises. Has migration decreased? Has healthcare improved?

In Europa is a series of television documentaries on Europe in the 20th century, based on the book with the same name by Dutch writer and historian Geert Mak. The series had a budget of 4 million euro and was cofinanced by the Dutch Ministry of Interior Relations. Episodes are available for viewing on the official site. First broadcast on Nederland 2 from 2007 to 2009, quite a few locations important in European history are shown throughout the series, both historical and current. After two episodes the Flemish public channel bought the series, starting broadcasts on January 8, 2008. Swedish public channel Sveriges Television bought the series as well, starting broadcasts from January 2009. Croatian public television also bought the series and begun broadcasting from late 2011 through 2012. Although the series is mainly in Dutch, many of the episodes can be understood, as interviews with eyewitnesses or sons or daughters of contemporary figures tend to be in English.

Series about the life and work of Queen Beatrix, offering a meticulous dramatised interpretation of historical events. The series opens in the Royal tour bus, a few minutes before the attack on Queen’s Day 2009, and goes on to show other tough and fine moments in the monarch’s life. Is she really the business manager on the throne that the media often call her? What is she like as a mother and grandmother? How did she cope with her husband’s depressions and illness?

A six-part series in which photographer Ruben Terlou travels from Shanghai, the most westernized part of China, to the much more traditional Tibetan city of Shangri-La. Through the stories of people he meets along the 6,300-kilometre river, Ruben discovers the real China, forty years after Mao’s death.

Multilul is a satirical take on the advertising and media world by the Dutch absurdist comedy show Jiskefet. It aired in late 1998 on the VPRO network. It follows the staff of a pretentious marketing agency (Creative Advertising, Media and Communication Consultant Agency) as they brainstorm absurd campaigns. The series mocks corporate jargon, pseudo-creative processes, and industry narcissism.

How is it possible that in the Netherlands the gap between rich and poor still exists and is even widening? In the six-part VPRO series Sander en de gorge, Sander Schimmelpenninck has a mission: to expose wealth and opportunity inequality in our country.

Everybody is well into the apps, socials, videos, streams and games. All those online tools often seem to be free, but aren't. You not only pay with money, but also with data. How does that actually work? What happens with that data? Jard Struik investigates this.

Adriaan van Dis, child of a Brabant peasant and a Dutch-Indonesian father, after long hesitation, made ​​a television series about the country that such a large role in his life. 'In the Netherlands, I was never brown enough, but suddenly I heard that.'