Binge Fever!

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Television “Made in Germany” is having a golden moment with the rise of international streaming services. German series that appeal to global audiences through smart and original writing, diverse themes, talented lineups and opulent productions have never received so much attention. In this dossier, we’ll highlight binge-worthy German serials and fill you in on where to watch them in India.

Streaming: German series in India, and where to watch them

Only a few years ago, German television was a strictly regional affair. The native dramas were mostly conventional procedurals made up of standalone episodes – the TV equivalent of comfort food. Certainly nothing that would inspire binge-watching in the manner of Breaking Bad. Few German-language series traveled beyond the borders of Germany, Austria and Switzerland – with that market of 100 million people, why would TV networks or producers have needed to think internationally, or change anything at all?

Fast-forward to 2020, and it’s a very different story, getting livelier by the minute. The competition for audiences and prestige from international series combined with the arrival of streaming services hungry for original content has transformed the German television industry. With a mandate to innovate, writers and showrunners are discarding the old formulas and discovering a new creative reach. New opportunities are luring big-name acting and directing talent to the TV medium like never before. Audiences are the clear winner with the debut of ambitious and sophisticated serials like Dark and Deutschland 83, to name just a few of the shows that are both critics’ darlings and a hit with viewers.

In this dossier, we highlight German serials that you can stream in India and clue you in on where to watch them. Caution: these series are addictive! If you’re not careful, you’ll catch some serious binge fever!

From Germany to India

The cast of the Netflix Series 1899 along with the creators Jantje Friese and Barab Bo Odar on the set

German Series in India
“1899”: Sailing Into the Dark Unknown

There was immense hype in the run-up to its release: The team behind the wildly successful hit “Dark” promised even more mystery, even more thrills and chills, and even more riddles. So, was all the hard work worth it?

German Series in India
TRIBES OF EUROPA

“Tribes of Europa” is a new Netflix miniseries produced in Germany that depicts a Europe in which society has broken down into tribal groups following an apocalypse. Can this dystopian Sci-Fi drama be interpreted as a declaration of love for the European ideal of a cohesive and united society?

Key Atrt from the Netflix series "The Billion Dollar Code"

German Series in India
The Billion Dollar Code

Based on a true story, the Netflix miniseries The Billion Dollar Code recounts how two German developers sued Google for patent infringement, arguing that Google Earth blatantly appropriated their own Terravision program from the 1990s. The show makes the case into an enthralling, if sobering courtroom drama, and also a kind of parable, using parallel timelines to contrast the utopian dreams of the ‘90s with the disillusionment surrounding ‘Big Tech’ today.

Werbeposter (Zuschnitt) der Netflix series "Queer Eye Germany" zeigt die Gruppe fab 5: Jan-Henrik Scheper Stuke, David Jakobs, Ayan Yuruk, Leni Bolt, Aljosha Muttardi.

German Series in India
Queer Eye Germany: Radical positivity makes for good TV

Queer Eye Germany offers a very different take on a binge-able series. The show is … nice. Charming. Inspiring, even. The premise is that a crew of host experts, all proudly queer, drops in on a different person each episode and helps them rethink their life, aided and abetted by a new wardrobe and a remodeled pad. But the true makeovers here happen on the psychic and emotional levels.

Still from the series "Oktoberfest 1900"

Watch now
Oktoberfest 1900: Beer and Blood - Two beer dynasties' fight for supremacy

"Oktoberfest 1900" tells the story of two beer dynasties fight for supremacy at the world's largest festival. The series takes the audience to a fantastic and mysterious Munich at the turn of the century and unfolds a modern myth about fateful love and the inexorable rise of capitalism.

Still from the series "The Last Word"

German Series in India
The Last Word

Death suits her. In “The Last Word” Germany’s most versatile entertainer Anke Engelke plays a eulogist, exploring the taboos that surround the subject of death. The result is a touching and bittersweet (family) story about lies, secrets, unexpected endings, and bumpy new beginnings.

Cut Biohackers Key Art

German Series in India
Biohackers

What if students secretly experiment with biohacking technologies that could change humanity? Biohackers tells a gripping story about friendship, love and revenge at a German University that is overshadowed by a revolutionary biohacking-technology and its ethical implications.

Still Frame from the TNT Series "4 Blocks" Toni, Vince und Abbas seen through the windshield of their car, with a handgun lying on the dasboard.

German Series in India
4 Blocks: Berlin is ours now!

4 Blocks is far more than just proof that joining forces with the German hip hop scene can result in a TV series that will appeal to the Instagram and Tik Tok crowd.

Robert Finster as Sigmund Freud in the Netflix Original Series "Freud"

German Series in India
To Hell with Dr. Freud...and back

Netflix teams and Austria’s ORF network have produced an eight-part series about Sigmund Freud. The diagnosis: Freud is no history lesson, more like a lurid graphic novel come to life.

Charité

German Series in India
Charité

Set during 1888 and the years following at Berlin's Charité hospital, the German miniseries brings to light the triumphs of several famous German physicians and scientists, while revolving around a young woman who must work as an assistant nurse to discharge her debts to one of Berlin’s most elite hospitals.

Title Image Netflix Series "How To Sell Drugs Online (Fast)"

German Series in India
How To Sell Drugs Online (Fast)

Drug dealers have enjoyed even more popularity on Netflix than they did in the world of TV in the 1980s. To date, such series have tended to revolve around billionaire cartel bosses. By contrast, the first German-made drug tale is about an 18-year-old from Leipzig who goes by the name of “Shiny Flakes” on the darknet and in whose bedroom the cops discovered 320 kilograms of narcotics. (Not) a tutorial.

Still from the Netflix series "We are the wave

German Series in India
“We Are The (Next) Wave”: Netflix series goes from Anti-fascist original to left-wing guerrillas

With their latest German production, the teen drama WE ARE THE WAVE that started airing early in 2020, Netflix is going daringly political.

Still frame from the Netflix Series 'Barbarians'

German Series in India
„Barbarians“ - Latin lessons on the battlefield

In the year 9 AD, several Germanic tribes unite to challenge the almost invincible Roman legions in a legendary battle: The battle in the Teutoburg Forest will change the history of Europe. At the center of this series about the bloody clash are three childhood friends who are linked by a tragic fate.

Unorthodox Netflix Image: A composite of the lead character Esty in front of the New York Skyline with an image of her jewish orthodox wedding superimposed on her chest.

German Series in India
Unorthodox - Escaping to a new life

The four-part “Unorthodox” not only tells the stirring tale of a young woman’s escape from New York to Berlin. Celebrated by TV fans and critics alike, it also offers a fascinating insight into the parallel universe that is an ultra-orthodox Jewish community, where life is cut off from the rest of the world.

Promobanner Deutschland 83 Sundance Channel

German Series in India
Deutschland 83

An original German-language drama, Deutschland 83 is a gripping coming-of-age story and spy thriller set in the divided Germany of the ‘80s.

Still photo ZDF series Perfume: Investigators Brettschneider (Marc Hosemann, first from right), Köhler (Juergen Maurer, 2nd from right) and public prosecutor Grünberg (Wotan Wilke Möhring, 3rd from right) investigate the crime scene and the victim with profiler Nadja Simon (Friederike Becht, 2nd from left)

German Series in India
“Perfume” - sweet scent of death

Is there any such thing as the ultimate fragrance? One whose aroma is so irresistible that it renders people powerless? Inspired by Patrick Süskind’s international bestseller “Perfume: The Story of a Murderer”, the six-part thriller series “Perfume” is about a monstrous killer and explores the question of whether humans are in fact capable of true love. Or will we inevitably be manipulated by our own sense of smell?

Holiday Secrets

German Series in India
Holiday Secrets

Three Christmases, three ladies, three generations: Grandma Vivi, daughter Sonja and granddaughter Lara. A story about three very different women and their experiences with love and life.

A young man wearing a yellow raincoat at the entrance of a cave in a forest

German Series in India
Dark

Sic Mundus Creatus Est... Creepy forests, sinister nuclear power plants, time-bending storylines and a host of stellar performances make DARK “Must see TV”.

Matthias Schweighöfer as Lukas Franke in "You Are Wanted“ Season 2, Poster from Amazon Prime

German Series in India
You Are Wanted: The story of a man on the run is a runaway success

The thriller series You Are Wanted became an overnight success. A hit all over the world, the series is more than just the proverbial game changer for Amazon.

Binge Fever Dogs of Berlin

German Series in India
Dogs of Berlin

On the eve of Germany’s World Cup qualifier, off-duty cop Grimmer spots police nearby at a fresh crime scene and is shocked to see who the victim is. What follows is the investigation by two cops who try to get to the bottom of this twisted case amidst controversy and underworld politics in Berlin.

Binge Fever Criminal: Germany

German Series in India
Criminal: Germany

Police interrogations set in the confines of an interview room is what the 4-part Criminal series is about. This stripped down, cat-and-mouse drama focuses on the intense mental conflict between the detectives and the suspects in question.

For viewing in Germany

We are kind of lucky to get our hands on some of the most amazing German series in India. However, there are a few that cannot be accessed from here. But, if you happen to be in Germany, here's a quick collection of some binge-worthy shows for you check out!

Photo (detail): © picture-alliance/dpa/Nestor Bachmann
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.
Photo (detail): © Nik Konietzny/Bavaria Fiction GmbH, 2018
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.
© ZDF und Sammy Hart
Bad Banks
Money makes the world go round... and down the tubes. How much are your morals worth? What would you be willing to sacrifice to be a player in the male-dominated banking world? Your relationships, your values, your health, your loyalty? The series Bad Banks is about the European financial market, but its relevance is global. An open question throughout the series is whether Jana, the lead, has to “act like a man” to survive in a cutthroat environment, and only at the close of the series does she form an alliance that strikes a redemptive note.
© Frédéric Batier/X Filme
Babylon Berlin
In the current boom in German TV dramas, no show has drawn more rave reviews worldwide than Babylon Berlin. Based on Volker Kutscher’s bestselling novels, the first season follows a police detective into the nightlife and political turmoil of Weimar Berlin. The series’ lavish budget is all there on the screen, but critics are swooning over far more than the extravagant production values.
© picture alliance/dpa-Bildarchiv
Tatort
Since the very first episode in 1970, Tatort has been a Sunday evening ritual for many Germans and a ratings darling for broadcasters that draws a loyal viewership of around ten million viewers each week. The series follows a number of crime detecting duos in various locations, and viewer favourites like Chief Superintendent Thiel from Münster and his moody partner Professor Boerne, or tough detective Lena Odenthal from Ludwigshafen, can drive ratings even higher.

Binge Fever animated Illustration of a hand holding a remote control

“TV has cracked. A symmetry of consumption has given way to a minefield of choice.”

– Jason Parham / Wired Magazine

On topic: German TV series

Booth for Netflix’s “Dark” series at the 2019 Gamescom computer game exhibition in Cologne.

Streaming services
On demand

From Netflix and Apple TV to RTL Now, Germans are streaming more and more series and films. Public broadcasters are jumping on the bandwagon and making their own series looking to conquer the international market.

Im Angesicht des Verbrechens

TV Series
High Quality or High Viewing Figures?

Sophisticated TV series are considered to be one of the most interesting narrative formats. Up to now Germany has had a hard time keeping up with it, but things are about to change.

Screenwriter Annette Hess has been writing plots for feature films and TV series for about 20 years – especially on historical topics.

Annette Hess
Series success

While the German television audience is unlikely to recognize her name, her stories move millions: she penned the “Weissensee” series set among East Berlin’s artists and Stasi loyalists, along with the “Ku’damm 56/59” TV series. Author Annette Hess has more than proven her impressive versatility throughout her career.

Serienfieber Animierte Illustration einer Hand mit Fernbedienung

“Streaming TV Is not just a new way to watch. It's a new genre.”

– James Poniewozik / NY Times

Babylon Berlin: ambitious police typist Charlotte Ritter.

TV Series
A fascination with the past

German television shows tend to have a bad reputation for poor writing and cheap productions not suited for an international market and audience. Now series like “Deutschland ‘83” and “Babylon Berlin” are putting a new shine on that tarnished image.

Deutschland 83

Deutschland 83: Interview with producer Jörg Winger

In the lead-up to the UK season finale of Deutschland 83, we had the chance to speak to Jörg Winger, creator and producer of the hit TV series.

Bad Banks (2017)

Berlinale Bloggers 2018
Is the cinema-versus-TV debate still relevant?

In the past couple of years, there has been an ongoing debate about whether the status of cinema has been hijacked by TV series. In my opinion, this is framing the question in the wrong way.

Serienfieber Spotify Playlist Illustration einer Hand mit Fernbedienung

BINGE FEVER! Spotify Playlist

Binge this! Soundtracks and original scores from streaming German TV series in this “Binge Fever!” Spotify playlist. Play it on shuffle for sublime binge-listening pleasure!

Watch this! German Film Trailers

Binge Fever animated Illustration of a hand holding a remote control

BINGE FEVER! Youtube Trailer Playlist

Bonus trailer feast! Binge away: trailers, clips, and interviews of the series we showcase in the “Binge Fever!” dossier, all neatly sorted in this YouTube playlist.

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