He glides through the window and slips down the rain gutter. On the day of his art school entrance exam, Matty climbs across the roof to reach his closest friends and promise that they’ll stay “BFFs forever.”
But, of course, things take a turn: The 16-year-old (played by Antonio Opóski) is seized by anxiety at the thought of failing the exam, and he ends up vomiting in front of the school. Half-amused, this is witnessed by his new crush Radek (Adam Buš), who is also facing a school transition. In the Czech Republic, teens transition from nine years of elementary school to a secondary school.
In the Czech mini-series “Filter,” fortunately, some gay tropes are sidestepped in a refreshing way: the laid-back production does not turn Matty’s coming-out into the central issue. From the very first episode, he is openly gay within his school and family circles. Radek’s interest in Matty becomes clear fairly quickly—though with a weight that differs from what Matty had hoped. The series does not linger on the (unreciprocated) crush of a heterosexual boy.
Teenage Confusion of Love, Sex, and Intimacy
The six episodes, each running about 20 to 30 minutes, are a breezy watch that follows a boy on the cusp of elementary school giving way to a newer, larger world, caught in a pubescent whirlpool of love, sex, and intimacy. The title nods to the fictional app “Filter,” which in design and function strongly resembles popular apps like Romeo and Grindr. It also points to the filtering logics these platforms enable.
Matty’s big problem: Radek has a girlfriend, Nikola (Elen Kratochvílová). Over the course of the series, Matty resolves to force Radek to come out by posting photos of the two of them online. Social media holds a central place in teen life: a single careless post can have far-reaching consequences. It also explores early sexual experiences via apps that Matty does not enjoy and that leave him feeling used. Added to this is a diagnosis of syphilis, which is depicted with strong stigma but also fills a notable gap in representation for young viewers in streaming content.
The show also sees a hesitant turn toward Jonas (Matyáš Chochola), a supervisor on a trip to get to know the new class, whom Matty finds attractive, bringing a palpable sexual tension into his life. That intensifies Matty’s already intense emotional chaos amid Radek and dating apps. It’s a pity the series doesn’t chase this thread further!
Although Matty’s behavior at this age is understandable and the story centers on the uncertainty of sexual and ethical choices as well as personal priorities, it’s disappointing to see how little solidarity or accountability there is when dealing with Radek’s problematic actions.
A Short, Lightly Entertaining Series
At home, Matty’s life unfolds with a mother (Martha Issová) who has a new boyfriend—a handyman who is kept busy fixing everything—and a grandmother who noses into everything, bugs everyone, and even tries to pair Matty up with people. She pushes him toward his classmate Alice (Iva Zahran), whom Matty initially treats with disdain and indifference. But behind Alice lies a strained dynamic within the group: she was bullied by Radek. When Matty learns this, the already fragile, idealized world around Radek collapses for him—a breach of trust with consequences that ripple outward.
And, of course, Matty cannot keep his promise of “BFFs forever.” His elementary-school friends Tonda and Klára (Daniel Šíp and Julie Louthanová) remain more or less one-dimensional: Tonda is already moonlighting as a sex worker to earn extra money while working at a café, and Klára is dealing with a bothersome boyfriend. The relationship between Matty and the two feels defined by mutual indifference. The promise of lifelong friendship lingers, without the series fully exploring what it means when people drift apart.
Direct link | Original trailer for the series
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Thus, “Filter” comes across as a breezy, though not particularly deep, series that gives many debuting actors a chance: the casting drew on social media calls, and many performers faced a professional camera for the first time. Matty’s interest in art remains largely superficial amid recurring school moments. Yet “Filter” remains entertaining across its short run—partly because the series lets its teenage lead move through emotional chaos without making his sexuality the main problem.
All six episodes of the series are available to stream for free with English subtitles on the Czech Television website.
