10/04/2026 - Nicolas Boucart and Olivier Tollet have created a science-fiction series that raises interesting philosophical questions about humanity's relationship with death

Before the new Belgian science-fiction show Ethernel, created by Nicolas Boucart and Olivier Tollet, airs on La Une on 16 and 23 April, viewers have the opportunity to watch the first two of the series' six episodes at a special screening at the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFFF) on 13 April. Although it is already available to genre-craving viewers on RTBF's Auvio platform, this visually intriguing show, set in a futuristic Brussels where special devices enable the living to communicate with the dead, is certainly worth experiencing on the big screen.

Ethernel is not the first television show to attempt to resurrect the dead in one form or another, possibly motivated by a genuine human desire to communicate with the deceased or to find peace of mind in the idea of an afterlife. As such, it is reminiscent of series such as The Returned (France, 2012-15) and Australia’s Glitch (2015-19). However, Ethernel gives this kind of plot a new twist by connecting the living and the dead through a device that enables users to call those who have passed on with the help of the deceased person’s transitional object.

This technological marvel also provides some comic relief because it resembles a standard portable Bluetooth speaker and even makes it possible to call arguably Belgium’s greatest songwriter, Jacques Brel. The problem with the device, however, is that it only supports audio calls, which means that a lot is said but not shown on screen.

The show focuses on the troubled Novack family, with a particular emphasis on David Novack (Michaël Abiteboul), a police officer who is still grappling with the unsolved murder of his wife, Ann. Novack works for the Etherna police unit, which uses transitional objects to investigate homicides. During one investigation, he meets mysterious Italian police officer Lara di Angeli (Edwige Baily) and discovers that his wife's murderer, the man with the port-wine stain (Tibo Vandenborre), is still at large. The two investigators embark on a murder hunt that could have implications far beyond Brussels and shake up the Catholic Church.

The show has guts, but also squanders some of its potential by cramming the equivalent of several seasons' worth of plot lines into just six episodes, likely owing to a low budget. Nathan Novack (Jean-Pierre Baudson), the grandfather, has been diagnosed with dementia and is contemplating suicide; Elsa, the mortician aunt (Alexia Depicker), is deeply lonely and finds solace in a love affair with a deceased school friend; Lara di Angeli tries to find Jesus’s transitional object and blackmail the Pope; and David’s dead wife harbours several secrets…

Six episodes are simply not enough to cover all of this in depth. Given the fascinating philosophical and ethical questions it poses, audiences would likely be willing to stick around longer and become fully immersed in this story. This area is where Ethernel excels. The afterlife it envisages seems to be one of eternal loneliness, as if the deceased were stuck in a void, prisoners of both the afterlife and the living they cannot hang up the phone on. It instils an uncomfortable feeling in viewers, making them question their own beliefs and also raising some thorny dilemmas: who would we call? Would we want our own peace to be disturbed in the afterlife? Is it ethical to try to control and market the dead?

Ethernel was produced by Belgium’s Hélicotronc, with the support of Proximus and RTBF. It is distributed by APC Studios.