Going Dutch (TV series)

Main

• Denis Leary as Colonel Patrick Quinn,^[8] a high-ranking United States Army officer assigned to Stroopsdorf
• Taylor Misiak as Captain Maggie Quinn,^[9] Col. Quinn's estranged daughter and Stroopsdorf's former commanding officer
• Danny Pudi as XO Major Abraham Shah,^[9] Col. Quinn's loyal second-in-command
• Laci Mosley as Master Sergeant Dana Conway,^[9] a Stroopsdorf supply sergeant
• Hal Cumpston as Corporal Elias Papadakis,^[9] an undisciplined, overweight, and long-haired Stroopsdorf cyber operations specialist^[10]

Recurring

• Dempsey Bryk as Private Anthony "BA" Chapman,^[9] a serious but accident-prone Stroopsdorf soldier
• Arnmundur Ernst Björnsson as Jan, a civilian translator employed at the base
• Catherine Tate as Dr. Katja Vanderhoff,^[11] a local woman in whom Col. Quinn becomes interested. She is initially presumed to run a brothel, but she actually works at an immigration office for sex workers.
• Kristen Johnston as General Martin, a Canadian Army officer and romantic interest of Col. Quinn^[12]

Guests

• Joe Morton as Brigadier General (later promoted to Major General^[10]) Gerald^[13] Davidson,^[11] an officer who assumes command of the German base where Col. Quinn initially plans to take charge.
• Milana Vayntrub as Captain Celeste Shah, Major Shah's wife and an officer requesting a transfer to Stroopsdorf in an attempt to salvage her marriage with the Major.
• Lisa Edelstein as Nina Quinn, the Colonel's estranged wife
• Parker Young as CIA Special Agent Rick Silver

Series overview

Season 1 (2025)

Season 2 (2026)

Critical response

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an 80% approval rating with an average rating of 7/10, based on 10 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "A vehicle for Denis Leary's cranky charm that generously spreads the wealth amongst its likable ensemble, Going Dutch could use more discipline but shows plenty of potential."^[29] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 63 out of 100 based on 6 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.^[30]

Tania Hussain of Collider rated the series a 9 out of 10 and said, "With a terrific pairing of irreverence and spirit, Going Dutch is an unpretentious must-watch for anyone looking to laugh hard this season."^[31] Daniel Fienberg of The Hollywood Reporter gave the series a mixed review and wrote as the bottom line: "Great cast, solid premise, but could have used some cable edge."^[32] Alison Herman of Variety also gave the series a mixed review and described it as "easily amuses" yet "Like a wheel of aging gouda, other elements of Going Dutch may need more time to mature."^[33] Cristina Escobar of RogerEbert.com gave the series a negative review and stated, "There certainly aren't a lot of jokes—nothing that made me so much as smile in its first two installments."^[34] Robert Lloyd of the Los Angeles Times gave the series a positive review and stated, "I was a little doubtful to begin with but really did enjoy it…"^[35] Tara Ariano of Cracked.com also gave the series a positive review and commented, "But as an accidental quasi-sequel (to Enlisted), Going Dutch is already satisfying in many of the same ways."^[36]

Depiction of the Netherlands and Dutch culture

The series has been criticized for its inaccurate depiction of the Netherlands, Dutch culture and the Dutch language.^[37][38][39] The Dutch public broadcaster NOS criticized the show for portraying the Netherlands through a barrage of exaggerated clichés and distortions, relying heavily on stereotypical imagery. According to NOS, the production made little effort to portray the Netherlands accurately, noting that elements of Dutch culture are casually and erroneously mixed with German ones (for example in national costumes and fictional place names) and that there was virtually no Dutch involvement in the series, which was largely filmed in Ireland with non-Dutch actors portraying Dutch characters.^[39] The Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf described the series as an afront to Dutch culture.^[38]

The Dutch language and Dutch accents portrayed in the series have been described as plain wrong, a mishmash or comically incorrect, with British actress Catherine Tate, playing local character Dr. Katja Vanderhoff, employing a hissing, slisping accent and most other characters speaking English or Dutch with stereotypically Scandinavian or German-sounding accents rather than authentic Dutch ones.^[37] The base name Stroopsdorf notably combines "stroop" (from the Dutch stroopwafel, a popular delicacy) with the German word for village. Critics further noted the general absence of genuine Dutch input or actors, with the production opting for the only major Dutch character to be portrayed by Icelandic actor Arnmundur Ernst Björnsson, whose accent in both Dutch and English has been described as German.^[38][37]

The series was shot entirely in Ireland using an Irish Army base as the primary location, with additional villages for exterior shots. No on-location filming in the Netherlands occurred, resulting in scenery, architecture, and daily life elements that do not match the Netherlands.^[39][37]

Ratings