This is my generation: Generation Z. Limitless technological possibilities. And what do we do with it? Face-Swap.
Moritz Zimmermann in „How To Sell Drugs Online (Fast)"
The good thing is, bad conscience and fear have one thing in common: you get used to it.
Adam Pohl (Bad Banks)
A New Genre
Streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Video or Google allow unrestricted access to a large number of German films and television programs in subtitled versions in Canada.
Providers give subscribers of these services unlimited access to new movies and series that would seldom have made it into Canadian theatrical distribution, standard cable networks or traditional commercial broadcasting networks. The internet is becoming more and more the standard method by which television is consumed.
These new distribution channels have not only changed the user behavior dramatically (linear television gives way to the “binge” behavior) but also the quality and formats of the productions created under these new parameters. International streaming services and German production companies as well as regional broadcasters have understood the sea change and are currently generating a lot of attention to German television with series that appeal to global audiences through intelligent and original writing, diverse themes, talented lineups and opulent productions. Conversely, this development means decidedly more high-quality productions developed in Germany, which, in turn, enriches the domestic market and promotes German talents.
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Das Boot
If you suffer from claustrophobia, then this series might cause some anxiety. Das Boot retells the events that took place aboard German Kriegsmarine U-612 submarine in 1942, and realistically recreates the oppressive atmosphere on board. The price tag is not for the faint of heart either: the 2018 series sequel to Wolfgang Petersen’s 1981 film cost 26.5 million euros. So Das Boot was even more expensive per episode than pay-TV channel Sky’s mammoth Babylon Berlin. -
Weissensee
Weissensee is a series about the decline of the GDR and two East Berlin families who could not be more different: while one is loyal to the regime and works closely with the Stasi, the other is part of the dissident underground. It’s a story of love between members of two warring families, of betrayal, greed, struggle and power. But Weissensee is also a political thriller in which German history plays an important role before, during and after reunification. -
Charité
At the end of the 19th century, doctors, nurses and researchers worked under tough conditions at Charité Hospital in Berlin. Simple infections were often fatal and half of all newborns did not survive. In 1888, the year of the Three Emperors, the Charité is fighting diseases such as syphilis, diphtheria and tuberculosis. The story is densely atmospheric, and today’s Charité board praised the historical accuracy director Sönke Wortmann used to tell the story of doctors like Rudolf Virchow and Robert Koch, who were making medical history at the time. -
Deutschland 83 / 86
Like Weissensee, Deutschland 83 is the story of a divided Germany. The focus here though shifts away from the personal to the political: espionage, the Cold War and the possible outbreak of a third world war. In Deutschland 83 viewers watch as the world powers play a tricky game of chess. A sequel has since been released: Deutschland 86. The follow-up explores whether the practicality of capitalism could be used to save communism. -
Ku’damm 56/ 59
Another series with a simple title: Ku’damm 56 and 59. Strictly speaking, it is more a three-part TV mini-series about emancipation in the 1950s. It reflects on German society in the post-war period and during the economic miracle illustrated through the family-run Galant dance school on the famous Ku’damm, where guests go to sound out the limits of prudery and live out their sexuality.
