This series is a big disappointment for me, especially after being hyped up for so long with so much money and resources being invested to make it. Not even the money is enough to save the series however, as it is not spent properly as seen in the first episode with massive budget cuts to scenes filmed in Serbia (one actor playing both the husband of the main character and a guest at the funeral). However, scenes filmed in America suffer from different problems, namely, everything in the plot once the main character arrives there feeling like it is forced. In the American scenes, there are numerous errors in the plot such as the grandchildren of the main character speaking perfect Serbian and having incredibly coherent and adult-like dialogue even though they having been living in America for their entire lives.
Also, as a side point, it is mentioned in the series that the son of the main character (who has an American sounding nickname for no reason) hired a housekeeper from Serbia so that the kids could remember their native language. However, this comes across as incredibly stupid, seeing as how he and his wife communicate with their kids in Serbian. How could the kids possibly forget Serbian? Also, if the son of the main character loves Serbia so much, why do his kids have American names?
Acting in the series ranges from hardly believable and fake (grandchildren) to incredibly over-the-top and fake (housekeeper, neighbor) to simply boring (main character). Instead of picking the right actors for the right roles, the producers cast the most famous (or most well-connected) actors in lead roles, leading to a disproportional amount of money wasted on the wrong thing.
While the money could have been spent on the audio quality (which is very bad), scene transitions (which are very abrupt), a total rework of the plot, and the right actors, it was not to be. The result of these wrong decisions is this series.
Also, as a side point, it is mentioned in the series that the son of the main character (who has an American sounding nickname for no reason) hired a housekeeper from Serbia so that the kids could remember their native language. However, this comes across as incredibly stupid, seeing as how he and his wife communicate with their kids in Serbian. How could the kids possibly forget Serbian? Also, if the son of the main character loves Serbia so much, why do his kids have American names?
Acting in the series ranges from hardly believable and fake (grandchildren) to incredibly over-the-top and fake (housekeeper, neighbor) to simply boring (main character). Instead of picking the right actors for the right roles, the producers cast the most famous (or most well-connected) actors in lead roles, leading to a disproportional amount of money wasted on the wrong thing.
While the money could have been spent on the audio quality (which is very bad), scene transitions (which are very abrupt), a total rework of the plot, and the right actors, it was not to be. The result of these wrong decisions is this series.