Anyone looking for a timeout from the gender wars is barking up the wrong algorithm on Netflix. In Alpha Dudes (Alphamännchen), four men lose their old privileges and go searching for a role in the brave new world. The culture clash starts with holding hands with your best buddy and doesn’t exactly end at a kinky party attended by your parents. It’s refreshing when a wry smile replaces righteous outrage.

By Andreas Laux

The good old days really were better. Back in the ’90s, before anyone had invented “canceling” and before you risked being branded a Neanderthal macho, it was enough to poke fun at chest-hair toupees, souped-up Opel Mantas, and coconut-scented suntan oil. Herbert Grönemeyer was still belting out “When is a man a man?” through clenched teeth—and that pretty much settled it.

Of course, women still weren’t invited to the steaming pots of privilege. Alpha-leftists Gerhard Schröder and Joschka Fischer were getting married for the fourth time (not the last, mind you). And Thomas Heinze’s "Allein unter Frauen"(Alone Among Women) taught us that macho posturing might be passé, but deep down even the most uptight feminist commune allegedly wanted just one thing. Moral of the story: no “feminist cowboy” ever brought down a mammoth.

Fast-forward to today. Heinz Rudolf Kunze breaks out in hives over gender-neutral language. Cancel culture isn’t just a concept, it’s been fully binge-developed. In the gender wrestling match, it’s no longer about fairness but about justice. And the culture warriors can’t even agree on how many genders should be invited to the peace talks. Oh bother, it’s complicated!

Into this spooky zeitgeist hour steps Netflix with the eight-part series "Dudes" (Alphamännchen), aimed at escapists who just wanted a break from all the bickering. This German adaptation of a Spanish original follows four best friends in their mid-40s. Until recently, their position in the gender ecosystem was reliably defined by hairy-chested dominance. Suddenly, that currency is worthless.

Publishing exec Ulf (Tom Beck), or rather his cracked ego, quits his job when a woman is put in charge over him. Serial cheater and restaurateur Erik (David Rott) discovers his nesting instinct just as long-term partner Kim suggests switching to an open relationship. Buttoned-up Andi (Moritz Führmann) watches his equally buttoned-up wife rediscover her love of sex—just not within their marriage. And therapist Cem (Serkan Kaya), emerging from two years of post-divorce mourning, dares to reenter the dating pool, only to realize the world is no longer stuck in 1997.

So far, so realistic. None of the four has done anything that would earn them a cancellation stamp. The old badges of male power simply don’t buy much anymore. The once-mighty Adam’s apple has been collecting patina for years, Ulf and company just hadn’t noticed. Not long ago, social credit was basically hanging between your legs. Now they’re supposed to earn it through good behavior.

Watching the four friends scramble to catch up on 25 years they slept through is more than mildly amusing. Each in his own way, but all together, they’re chasing the same question: when exactly did being a man stop meaning being a good man? The occasional dive into cringe territory (anal-plug slapstick!) can be forgiven, the writers’ room of Arne Nolting, Jan-Martin Scharf, Tanja Bubbel, and Fabienne Hurst isn’t holier than thou. When the show leaps for low-hanging genre clichés (Andi’s wife has an affair, brace yourself ... with the fit-ness trai-ner), we’ll cut them some slack. The real achievement of Alphamännchen is its lack of moral smugness, a rare feat when outrage lurks around every corner. When Ulf briefly wanders into Andrew-Tate-style territory, hosting Tschakka seminars for sobbing masculinity bros, it would’ve been easy to toss the character under the bus of enlightened scolding. Instead, Ulf is allowed to remain human.

Also refreshing: it’s only Ulf and Erik, Andi and Cem, who’ve missed the memo. The rest of the world is basically fine. Not that long ago—Lord, forgive us—TV shows insisted that the woman who was “at fault” first had to straighten herself out so harmony could be restored.

Smart people wrestle daily with how to keep the global family from falling apart. Dudes suggests that sending a light, cheeky comedy series to the front lines of the culture war certainly can’t hurt.

DUDES / ALPHAMÄNNCHEN
Eight episodes, approx. 35 minutes each
Cast: Tom Beck, Moritz Führmann, Serkan Kaya, David Rott, Mona Pirzad, Franziska Machens, Marleen Lohse, Jaëla Probst, Valentina Leone
Directors: Jan-Martin Scharf, Tobi Baumann
Writers: Arne Nolting, Jan-Martin Scharf, Tanja Bubbel, Fabienne Hurst
Executive Producers: Hana Geißendörfer, Jan-Martin Scharf, Arne Nolting
Production: Hana Geißendörfer, Geißendörfer Pictures GmbH