If you're a fan of FX's hit The Americans then the German series Deutschland 83 is the perfect show for you. It has a similiar Cold War setting (you can easily imagine Elizabeth and Phillip in the same period only in America and it wouldn't feel out of place), and to put you in more familiar territory Reagan's infamous "Evil Empire" speech that ends Season 3 of The Americans takes place at the start of Deutschland 83. It also follows spies from the East going into the West undercover. But the biggest difference is that it is not set in America, in fact, aside from a couple of American characters, it's its set almost entirely in Germany, starring Jonas Nay as a young East-German named Martin who experiences a culture shock when he's send over the Berlin Wall to West Germany in order to collect intelligence for the East German Secret Service.
However, Martin doesn't have much of a choice in the matter and after finding out his current location, he instantly runs away from his aunt Lenora Rauch (who is responsible for selecting him in the first place). He runs into a supermarket and finds himself in unfamiliar new territory - compared to East Germany, there's just so much choice available. It's not the first time that the differences in culture between the East and the West will confuse Martin, as this drama that also doubles as an effective coming of age story proves to be an effective and realistic look into the differences between the two societies. It's also not the first time that the differences will confuse the East German secret service as well, because after Martin retrieves a floppy disk, the show demonstrates its humor by having the East German intelligence left befuddled by the fact that it won't work on their computer, which is the latest model that they have. This is something that once again is a consequence of real-world events that factor quite heavily into Deutschland 83, which revolves around the Able Archer incident and borrows its eight episode titles from real-world NATO Military access from that year.
The performances are pretty good even if the cast themselves may not be that familiar particularly to American audiences, and that's understandable because they're not even well known amongst German audiences. For example, Nay himself has stated in an interview that he's actually more popular in Britain than his own country Germany, thanks to the fact that Deutschland 83 was a massive hit in the UK and the first episode was the most watched foreign drama in UK TV History. It also means that there are plenty of subtitles for you to follow, but you shouldn't be put off by them. The show even uses American characters as well who feature in prominent roles, meaning that there are times when subtitles aren't needed.
The soundtrack is one of the best parts of the show and if you love 80s music then this will be a real nostalgia trip. It's very on the nose but really helps set the mood of the show, for example, Eurythmics' "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" will be playing as Martin enters the supermarket for the first time in one of the series' strongest moments, and other songs include Nena's excellent 99 Luftballons, as well as Tears for Fear's Mad World. The show also manages to nail the period setting as well and the era itself, with counter-culture movements also being explored. Romance is indeed in the air as well, even if it doesn't play a big focus in the plot. There's both a variety of straight and same-sex relationships over the course of the series, with Martin himself caught in a difficult situation when he has to, despite having a girlfriend back in East Berlin, seduce an analyst's secretary in order to plant a bug. Regardless of any romantic developments the tension is always high and the drama is constant throughout, with several unpredictable moments where you never quite know what's going to happen next. Given the short eight episode length, Deutschland 83 is perfect for a quick binge over the weekend and thanks to its fast-moving pace and serialized storyline, the show fits the binge-watching model perfectly as you'll find it hard to turn away.
Deutschland 83 is currently one season long but there is currently a second season in development, entitled "Deutschland 86", which would switch the action to 1986 as opposed to 1983. Regardless of how long we have to wait before it airs, the first season has an ending that's satisfactory enough that can be watched as a standalone eight episode event, with no real cliffhanger even if the ending does feel a bit rushed. But if you put that aside - and it's only a minor flaw, the majority of Deutschland 83 is an engaging drama that really deserves your attention. If you haven't seen it already then it's something that comes recommended as essential viewing.
Deutschland 83 is currently available to stream in the USA on Hulu, having aired last year on SundanceTV, and can be watched on All 4 in the UK through Walter Presents.
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