Confirming Germany’s importance as a growth market, Netfix on Wednesday announced 17 new and returning shows and movies produced by some of the country’s leading producers, including docuseries “Kaulitz & Kaulitz,” about the Tokio Hotel popstar siblings, and sci-fi drama “Cassandra,” about an overzealous electronic household helper.
Netflix presented 17 feature films, series, documentaries and reality shows at a special event in Berlin.
“We have seen again and again how local stories can captivate viewers here and around the world,” said Katja Hofem, Netflix’s VP of content for Germany, Austria and Switzerland. “We aim to continue this successful journey together with our partners, sharing a common goal of creating exceptional entertainment that moves and inspires people.”
Produced by Constantin Entertainment and premiering in June, “Kaulitz & Kaulitz” accompanies Tokio Hotel frontmen Bill and Tom Kaulitz, twin brothers from Magdeburg, Germany, on tour with their band and in their new home in Hollywood.
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“Cassandra,” which stars Lavinia Wilson, Mina Tander and Michael Klammer, centers on Germany’s oldest smart home, which has remained empty since its owners perished under mysterious circumstances over 50 years ago. When a family finally moves in in the present day, the electronic household helper Cassandra awakens from her decades-long slumber determined to use every single resource at her disposal to ensure she is never left alone again. Constantin Film subsidiary Rat Pack Filmproduktion is producing the series.
Among its forthcoming movies is “Brick,” from writer-director Philip Koch (“Tribes of Europe”), who is also producing via his Nocturna Productions along with Leonine Studios’ W&B Television.
Set for release in 2025, the film, which stars Matthias Schweighöfer, Ruby O. Fee and Frederick Lau, centers on a couple whose apartment building is suddenly surrounded by a mysterious brick wall and who must work with their neighbors to find a way out.
Likewise produced by W&B Television is “Crooks,” which premieres in April. Created by Austrian showrunner Marvin Kren (“Blood Glacier,” “4 Blocks”), the series follows two crooks on the run after a major heist goes sour and who end up having to face off against criminal clans in Berlin, Vienna and Marseille. Frederick Lau, Christoph Krutzler and Svenja Jung star.
Another feature from W&B Television is “Blame the Game,” a comedy-thriller starring Dennis Mojen, Janina Uhse and Edin Hasanovic about a young man wanting to make a good impression when he meets his new girlfriend’s friends for the first time, only for her ex to show up as well.
W&B Television is also producing “Shirin David,” a documentary series set to bow in 2025 about Germany’s most successful female rapper as she goes on tour for the first time.
Leonine’s documentary production unit Beetz Brothers Film Production, meanwhile, is producing the documentary series “Pinzner: German Hitman.” The show explores the story behind contract killer Werner “Mucki” Pinzner, who pulled out a gun at Hamburg police headquarters on July 29, 1986, and shot the public prosecutor, then his wife Jutta and himself, in what became one of the biggest scandals in German police history.
The Thursday Company is producing another docuseries on a real-life killer, “Jack Unterweger,” about a man who was viewed as a prime example of the “rehabilitated murderer” despite the fact that he continued to kill undisturbed.
In Constantin Film’s series “Murder Mindfully,” Tom Schilling stars as a top-flight lawyer who unexpectedly becomes a murderer. Emily Cox and Britta Hammelstein also star.
Likewise from Constantin Film is Christian Zübert’s feature “Exterritorial,” starring Jeanne Goursaud, Dougray Scott and Lera Abova, about the disappearance of the young son of a former special forces soldier while on a visit to the U.S. consulate in Frankfurt.
In Nele Mueller-Stöfen’s film “Delicious” from Komplizenfilm, the seemingly perfect life of a German family spending summer vacation in their French villa is disrupted when they have to take in an injured young woman.
Netflix’s unscripted series also include “Fight for Paradise: Who Can You Trust” from Banijay Productions Germany. The show pits contestants against one another as they maneuver their way into a luxury paradise and out of a hellish jungle camp.
Also debuting is Redseven Entertainment’s “Love Is Blind,” a German version of the dating show, which brings together 30 singles looking to find the right partner, first by meeting in small booths where they can hear but not yet see each other.
Returning series, meanwhile, include:
Season 2 of “Kleo,” the Zeitsprung Pictures thriller about a former East German spy determined to retrieve the vital contents of a red suitcase sought after by both the KGB and CIA;
Season 2 of “The Empress,” Sommerhaus’ period show about Empress Elisabeth of Austria;
Season 4 of “How to Sell Drugs Online (Fast),” Bildundtonfabrik’s hit show a former drug dealer trying to go legit by taking over a successful startup launched by his former friends;
Season 2 of Seapoint Productions’ dating show “Too Hot to Handle Germany.”
