BringBackAlice

{{Infobox television

| native_name =

| image = BringBackAlice Poster.jpg

| caption = Polish HBO Max poster

| genre = {{Plainlist|

}}

| creator = {{Plainlist|

Marcin Kubawski
Miłosz Sakowski
Caleb Ranson

}}

| writer = {{Plainlist|

Marcin Kubawski
Miłosz Sakowski
Caleb Ranson
Danuta Krasnohorska

}}

| director = Dawid Nickel

| starring = {{Plainlist|

Helena Englert
Sebastian Dela
Bartłomiej Deklewa
Katarzyna Gałązka
Vitalik Havryla
Marcel Opaliński
Mila Jankowska

}}

| composer = Ádám Balázs

| country = Poland

| language = Polish

| num_episodes = 6

| executive_producer =

| producer =

| cinematography = Mikołaj Syguda

| editor = {{Plainlist|

Agata Cierniak
Kamil Grzybowski
Jakub Tomaszewicz
Mateusz Wojtyński

}}

| runtime = 49–55 minutes

| company = {{Plainlist|

Telemark
HBO Max

}}

| network = HBO Max

| released = {{Start date|2023|04|14|df=y}}

}}

BringBackAlice (also known as #BringBackAlice and Bring Back Alice) is a 2023 Polish crime drama television miniseries. It was released on Max on 14 April 2023.

Premise

Alicja Stec, a popular social media influencer in Tri-City, goes missing. A year later, she reappears, but with no recollection of the previous year. Tomek Bielecki, a local drug dealer, suspects that Alicja's disappearance may be connected to the disappearance of his sister, Weronika.

Cast

Helena Englert as Alicja Stec
Sebastian Dela as Tomek Bielecki
Bartłomiej Deklewa as Patryk Kubicki
Katarzyna Gałązka as Monika Lenart
Vitalik Havryla as Janek Wojda
Marcel Opaliński as Michał Czapski
Mila Jankowska as Paula Czapska
Marieta Żukowska as Sabina Stec, Alicja's mother
Jowita Budnik as Inspector Marta Werner
Stanisław Linowski as Luka Czapski
Natalia Iwańska as Weronika Bielecka, Tomek's sister
Marcin Stec as Alicja's father
Adam Cywka as Oskar Czapski
Małgorzata Biela as Sergeant Laura Bartos
Wojciech Ziętek as Łukasz
Sandra Drzymalska as Oliwia Górska
Anita Szepelska as Sonia Smolikowska
Małgorzata Szczerbowska as Tomek and Weronika's mother
Sandra Korzeniak as Milena, Janek's mother and a psychotherapist
Rafał Kowalski as Kamil
Feliks Szajnert as Flis

Episodes

{{Episode table

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 1

| Title = Episode 1

| NativeTitle =

| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|2023|10|25|df=yes}}

| Aux1 = 55 min

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor =

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 2

| Title = Episode 2

| NativeTitle =

| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|2023|10|25|df=yes}}

| Aux1 = 49 min

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor =

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 3

| Title = Episode 3

| NativeTitle =

| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|2023|10|25|df=yes}}

| Aux1 = 52 min

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor =

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 4

| Title = Episode 4

| NativeTitle =

| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|2023|10|25|df=yes}}

| Aux1 = 49 min

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor =

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 5

| Title = Episode 5

| NativeTitle =

| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|2023|10|25|df=yes}}

| Aux1 = 52 min

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor =

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 6

| Title = Episode 6

| NativeTitle =

| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|2023|10|25|df=yes}}

| Aux1 = 50 min

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor =

}}

Production

The series was filmed in Gdańsk, Gdynia, and Sopot—also known as Tri-City ({{Langx|pl|Trójmiasto}}) in Poland.{{cite web |last1=Zacharczuk |first1=Tomasz |title=Trójmiasto w nowym młodzieżowym serialu HBO Max |url=https://rozrywka.trojmiasto.pl/Trojmiasto-w-nowym-mlodziezowym-serialu-HBO-Max-n175552.html |website=Trojmiasto.pl |access-date=7 November 2023 |language=pl |date=22 February 2023 |archive-date=11 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231111094524/https://rozrywka.trojmiasto.pl/Trojmiasto-w-nowym-mlodziezowym-serialu-HBO-Max-n175552.html |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last1=Mindykowski |first1=Marcin |title=Trójmiasto w nowym serialu HBO Max "#BringBackAlice". Politechnika Gdańska jako elitarne liceum i imprezy na stoczni |url=https://trojmiasto.wyborcza.pl/trojmiasto/7,35612,29658300,zakochani-w-gdanskiej-politechnice-trojmiasto-zagralo-w-serialu.html |website=Trójmiasto.Wyborcza.pl |access-date=7 November 2023 |language=pl |date=14 April 2023}}{{cite web |last1= |first1= |date=15 April 2023 |title=#BringBackAlice. Nowy serial kręcony w Gdańsku już do obejrzenia na HBO Max |url=https://www.gdansk.pl/wiadomosci/BringBackAlice-Nowy-serial-HBO-powstawal-w-Gdansku-W-obsadzie-Jowita-Budnik-i-Helena-Englert,a,239496 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231117014159/https://www.gdansk.pl/wiadomosci/BringBackAlice-Nowy-serial-HBO-powstawal-w-Gdansku-W-obsadzie-Jowita-Budnik-i-Helena-Englert,a,239496 |archive-date=17 November 2023 |access-date=7 November 2023 |website=Gdansk.pl |language=pl}}

Reception

Natalia Nowecka, writing for Radio Eska, considered the series overly derivative of American teen dramas and called it "masochistic entertainment" made by "creators [that] are almost ashamed of their Polishness and try to hide it at all costs".{{Cite web |last=Nowecka |first=Natalia |date=13 April 2023 |title="#BringBackAlice" to takie polskie "Słodkie kłamstewka" |url=https://www.eska.pl/cinema/news/bringbackalice-to-takie-polskie-slodkie-klamstewka-recenzja-aa-1tjN-hLmT-GuUu.html |access-date=19 February 2025 |website=Radio Eska |language=pl}} Małgorzata Major of Wirtualnemedia.pl praised the show's casting, but found the show formulaic.{{Cite web |last=Major |first=Małgorzata |date=15 April 2023 |title=Czym są szczęśliwe zakończenia? Recenzja "#BringBackAlice" HBO Max |url=https://www.wirtualnemedia.pl/artykul/serial-bringbackalice-hbo-max-opinia-recenzja-obsada-zwiastun-fabula |access-date=19 February 2025 |website=Wirtualnemedia.pl |language=pl}}