Babylon Berlin: Season One – Review

“Babylon Berlin: Season One” is the beginning of a complex political crime period drama that has run for four seasons in Germany, with a fifth yet to come. It’s won a scheisse-load of awards and nominations for the series and many of its components, and is best appreciated by concentrated viewing – preferably in binges – rather than casual or background entertainment.

It’s set in 1929. Gereon Rath (Volker Bruch) is an honest, intelligent cop who has just moved to the titular city. He’s paired with Burno Wolter (Peter Kurth), a brutish fellow detective of questionable virtue. The former looks like mellowed version of Tim Roth; the latter somewhere between Gert Frobe and Simon Oakland. The crimes they’re assigned to cover seem local, but lead quickly down the rabbit hole of international intrigue, overrun with individual and group conflicts, misdirection and betrayals, spanning from Russia to Germany and beyond. It’s the era in which Stalin was brutalizing his own people to solidify his grip on the country. That led some to try ousting the beast and replacing him with Lenin, who was hiding in exile.  All the plots hover around a trainload of something being smuggled from Russia to Turkey via Germany. Enough about that. We don’t do spoilers here. 

Adding to the burdens of our hero, he’s periodically stricken with disabling flashbacks due to what we now call PTSD from what we now call WW I. He has to keep this secret, because it would get him kicked off the force… or worse if discovered. Wolter resents the new guy anyway, so he looms as a threat to the good guys besides his other sadistic and/or corrupt tendencies. Quibbling Commies and nascent Nazis make what could be a city enjoying a hedonistic nightlife that makes our own Roaring 20s seem uptight, spawn a superb array of sets and costumes – especially for small-screen fare.  Violence is moderate. Nudity is periodic, but not lurid. Among the supporting players, Severija Janusauskaite contributes a femme fatale turn played to the hilt, and Charlotte Ritter brings heroine vibes to the grimly ominous proceedings.

The eight-episode season ends with some degree of resolution, but plenty of intrigue yet to cover. The next three seasons (32 more episodes) are slated to follow this opener to stream here in the next few months, so no need to worry about anything resembling cliffhangers. Strap in folks. I’m anticipating a long and engrossing journey.  

“Babylon Berlin: Season One”, mostly in German with subtitles, streams on MHzChoice starting April 16, 2024.

3 Out Of 4 Stars