the German words "Gegen" and "über" are separated by blue waves
the German words "Gegen" and "über" are separated by blue waves
Serienfieber Illustration einer Hand mit Fernbedienung © Colourbox / Image editing Goethe-Institut Los Angeles
© Colourbox / Image editing Goethe-Institut Los Angeles


Binge Fever!

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 the USA.
 
Life is good under the Californian sun: The Kaulitz brothers © Netflix

German series in North America Brotherly love in LA: Kaulitz&Kaulitz

Patrick Heidmann

Still Image from the Netflix Germany series Murder Mindfully © Netflix / Photo: Julia Terjung

German Series in North America Murder Mindfully

Josef Markus

I'm not a violent person, quite the opposite. For example, I've never been in a fight in my entire life, and I didn't kill my first person until I was 42.

Björn Diemel "Mindfully Murder"

Key art from the Disney+ original series 'Deutsches Haus' shows the protagonists of the series against the silhouette of a concentration camp. © Disney+

German series in North America
 Complicit Followers - “The Interpreter of Silence”

How can we help young people understand the horrors of the Holocaust? Award-winning series creator Annette Hess demonstrates this in her bestselling adaptation “The Interpreter of Silence”, which focuses on Nazi crimes and the start of the Auschwitz trials in 1963. 

Angela Zierow

Key art from the Netflix Germany Series "The Signal" showing Peri Baumeister in the ISS © Netflix, Photo: Anika Molnar

German Series in North America
 The Signal

How many people still believe in extraterrestrials today? The new Netflix Germany series The Signal, starring Peri Baumeister, Florian David Fitz, and Yuna Bennett, explores the possibility of non-human life in space—and aims to do much more. 

Sascha Ehlert

Key art from the Netflix original series “Kleo” shownig the title character portrait by Jella Haase in a red tracksuit jacket holding a pistol ©Netflix, Photo Svenja Terjung

German Series in North America
 Kleo

1987: Shortly after liquidating a businessman in West Berlin on behalf of a secret Stasi commando, top East German spy Kleo is arrested, denounced by the Stasi and even betrayed by her own grandfather.

Josef Markus

German series in the US
 The Empress: A Rebel in a Gilded Cage

Are you one of those people rolling their eyes at the never-ending “Sisi” mania? Don’t despair! Netflix has knocked the proverbial dust off the celluloid legacy of Elisabeth, Empress of Austria and Hungary with “The Empress”. The series includes plenty of intrigue, rebellion at the palace, and a glimpse of skin.
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Angela Zierow

Still image from the Amazon Original series "Luden Kings of the Reeperbahn" shows the title character Klaus Barkowsky portrayed by Aaron Hilmer in front of an Eros Center. © Amazon Prime Video

German Series in the USA
 The Pimp — No F***ing Fairy Tale

Loosely based on true events, the Prime Video series „Luden“ sets viewers loose in Hamburg’s infamous St. Pauli red-light district at its seedy late 1970s and ‘80s peak. Our entry point into this world is the young Klaus Barkowsky who forms the “Nutella gang,” an upstart band of pimps who take on the reigning cartel of flesh peddlers.

Mark Tompkins

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

German Series in the USA
 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. 

Josef Markus

Nahaufnahme von "Lena" (dargestellt von Kim Riedle als Protagonistin von "Liebes Kind"), die ihr mit Prellungen übersätes Gesicht unter einer Sauerstoffmaske zeigt. © 2023 Netflix, Inc.

German Series in the USA
 “Dear Child” — Devious Mind Game: The Kidnapper in Your Head

Disturbing plot twists, brutal cliffhangers, plenty of creepy atmosphere, and in the middle of it all, a mysterious little girl: For thriller series like "Dear Child," the term "binge-watching" was invented.

Angela Zierow

We changed how people view the world forever. Nobody knows our story. But that's about to change...

The Billion Dollar Code

Hanno Koffler as Hans Fittko, Deleila Piasko as Lisa Fittko, Cory Michael Smith as Varian Fry and Amit Rahav as Thomas Lovegrove in Transatlantic, Courtesy of Netflix © 2023 © Anika Molnar / Netflix

German Series in the USA
 Transatlantic

The series “Transatlantic” was inspired by the true story of American journalist Varian Fry and the Emergency Rescue Committee, which, during the time of the Vichy regime in France, aided over 2000 refugees, including numerous artists and intellectuals, in escaping from the Nazis.
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Friedel Schmoranzer

Key art from the Disney+ original series "Sam - A Saxon" feature the title character Samuel Njankouo Meffire portrayed by Malick Bauer. © The Walt Disney Company

German Series in the USA
 “Sam — A Saxon” — From Cop to Convict

It took long enough, but now even Disney+ is investing in "Made in Germany" original productions – and is entering the scene with a hard-hitting story: "Sam - A Saxon" narrates the rise and fall of the first black police officer in East Germany.

Angela Zierow

Blum (Anna Maria Mühe) prepares the body of Eberhard Pichler (Robert Sadil) for burial. She holds a bone saw in her hand. © Mona Film/ Barry Films/ Stephan Burchardt

German Series in the USA
 Woman of the Dead

A picturesque mountain town conceals a criminal underworld that takes rich-guy privilege way past corruption into grotesque depravity, while the heroine is something of a sociopath herself, more comfortable communing with the dead than with human interaction. In this kind of crime thriller, trauma and psychoses make the world go round.

Josef Markus

Karl Lagerfeld, played by Daniel Brühl, is seen in a close-up. © Disney 2024

German Series in North America
 Double Vision: Stars becoming Stars

In the new streaming series “Becoming Karl Lagerfeld”, the fashion icon is brought to life by Daniel Brühl, a Marvel superstar. Their star-to-star biopic treatment is only one of many on the scene.

Jutta Brendemühl

This is my generation: Generation Z. Every single one of us has the entire knowledge of humankind in their pocket. We can get famous with one click, or we can change the world from our bedrooms. Limitless technological possibilities. And what do we do with it? Face-Swap.

Moritz Zimmermann in How to Sell Drugs Online (Fast), Season 1 Episode 1

Titelimage Netflix series "How To Sell Drugs Online (Fast)" © Netflix

German Series in the USA
 ​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.  
Portraitfoto Sascha Ehlert

Sascha Ehlert