Channel 4’s ‘dynamic’ 8-part thriller Ultimatum is perfect for fans of Slow Horses

Slow Horses has won dozens of fans thanks to its suspenseful storylines and examination of institutional dysfunction, and Channel 4 has just added a drama perfect for fans of the show.

First broadcast back in 2022, Czech and Slovakian drama Ultimatum has just landed on the streaming service courtesy of Walter Presents, which selects some of the best dramas from across Europe that UK fans might not have been able to stream beforehand.

The eight-part thriller follows a grieving former soldier who storms a hospital ward, taking several staff and patients hostage as he seeks answers over a military plane crash that claimed the life of his son.

The synopsis for the show reveals: “Police negotiator Daniel Andrik is drawn into the crisis while his pregnant partner is trapped inside. As doctors fight to save a powerful minister and a summit of European leaders unfolds nearby, Daniel begins to uncover signs that the official investigation into the crash may have been covered up.

“With political pressure mounting and lives at risk, the siege becomes a desperate race to expose the truth before more people die.”

Who stars in Ultimatum?

The drama stars the likes of Jan Kolenik (The First Republic), Milan Bahul (Pirates: Blood Brothers), Ester Geislerova (The House), Matyas Valenta (The Labyrinth), Alena Mihulova (The Zookeeper’s Wife), Svätopluk Malachovský (Invalid) and Pavel Simun (Zoo).

Ultimatum also features Natalia Germani (The Devil Conspiracy), Anna Siskova (Divided We Fall), Diana Morova (Oktopus), Kamil Mikulcik (Behind Enemy Lines) and Dusan Cinkota (Gypsies Are Found Near Heaven).

What did critics make of Ultimatum?

Writing in Kinobox, Martina Krejzlova said: “Ultimatum is a very pleasant surprise for me. From the opening moments of the first episode, the show is very exciting and maintains the set dynamics throughout. And the overall dense atmosphere is not only helped by the great orchestral, dynamic and sometimes sinister music, but also by the suffocating hospital environment and the emotions of everyone present.“

However, Reflex’s Vojtech Rynda complained: “The story of a political-negotiation crisis in a cardiac surgery department struggles to find the right way to tell the story, and is strongest in intimate, one-on-one dialogue moments.”

Fans were similarly divided, as one said: “I haven’t seen a more tense series on Czech (Slovak) screens for a long time,” while a second posted: “Desperate and above all futile play on worldliness & a collection of genre clichés & completely burned-out footage & typically co-produced, sterile act = boring serial thriller.”