Noticias

A scene from the German TV series “Professor T.” Courtesy of MHz Choice

Fans of European mystery series may find the “Professor T” title familiar. That could be because the Belgian original which began in 2015, has spawned French, Czech, British and German versions. This review covers the third season of the last of those listed.

It seems as if ever since the huge success of Tony Shalhoub’s “Monk,” the idea of crime-solving cops or consultants with major psychological issues has blossomed globally. He wasn’t the first damaged-goods sleuth but probably the most popular, here and abroad. Professor T (Matthias Matschke) teaches criminology and regularly assists Cologne’s homicide unit despite massive emotional problems and a painful history that gradually unfolds during the series. He’s brilliant but somewhere on the Autism Spectrum. That, plus severe Ocd and recurring flashbacks and/or psychotic hallucinations, makes our Adrian Monk and...

Brilliant but eccentric crime-fighting psychologist “Professor T.” started out in Belgium, proved popular in Germany, and is now headed for the U.S., Italy and Denmark.

The drama series hails from Belgium, where it airs on Vrt. German pubcaster Zdf’s remake was a hit locally. As the second season of the Rowboat Film-produced German version gets ready to launch Friday, a raft of international buyers have acquired the German series.

Mhz has acquired it for the U.S., while pubcaster Rai has bought it for Italy and Dr for Denmark. German drama is in vogue, but unlike “Babylon Berlin,” “Das Boot” or “Four Blocks,” “Professor T.” runs on a mainstream free-tv channel, not an edgy pay-tv channel.

Beta Film sells the German version and struck the new international deals for the eight-part German series. It stars Matthias Matschke (“Grand Budapest Hotel”) as the titular professor, who teaches criminology and...