Netflix continues to embrace foreign media and filmmakers to find the best stories from around the world. Now, the streamer is taking us to 1980s Amsterdam to witness the bizarre yet true tale of Europe's first erotic phone line in Dirty Lines. The six-episode Dutch series looks to guide viewers through the rise of Teledutch and their novel creation, which changed how many Europeans see and experience anonymous sex. The show premieres exclusively on the streamer on April 8.
Dirty Lines takes place amidst a cultural revolution in Europe as the Cold War finally draws to a close. With a newfound optimism for the future, the new generation learns to truly live life, leading to the emergence of the dance music genre and the popularity of XTC. Behind the scenes, Teledutch, a company started by brothers Frank and Ramon Stigter, is looking to capitalize on the desire for sex. Psychology student Marly Salomon takes a side job with the company recording audio for their erotic sex lines. They achieve overnight success thanks to the lines' ability to offer anonymous sex to anyone with a phone and Marly is caught in the thick of it all. This wild new experience shifts the cultural morality around sex for both the consumers and those behind the revolution.
With the trailer, we see the whole arc of Marly and Teledutch play out. Initially, the idea of playing an erotic recording of a woman over the phone is seen as absurd, but the company continues its plans anyway, bringing the sexually uninformed Marly in to do the lines. The immediate success makes Frank and Ramon rich and soon, their lines are asked to expand from twenty to three hundred. Along with the company, Marly's knowledge and morality regarding sex completely change as she learns what people want to hear and why they desire it, turning her into the expert of the company who proposes new kinks and ideas for different phone lines, much to the chagrin of her parents. What follows is a very 80s-tinged montage of the high life, from fancy cars, parties, and champagne in hot tubs to disputes over cash and threats to the phone sex empire.
Dirty Lines features Joy Delima in the starring role as Marly with Minne Koole and Chris Peters as brothers Frank and Ramon. Also on board for this naughty historical piece are Charlie Chan Dagelet, Joes Brauers, Julia Akkermans, Abbey Hoes, Benja Bruijning, Eric van Sauers, and Andre Dongelmans. The series hails from Dutch filmmaker Pieter Bart Korthuis who previously worked on Penoza, a show that would later be adapted into ABC's Red Widow.
See the full story of the Stigter brothers' sex line and the cultural and sexual revolution surrounding it in Dirty Lines on April 8. For now, check out the trailer below.