Bad Banks

Being a Dutchman living in Hamburg, I am not a big fan of German TV-Drama. In many cases it means strange and artificial dialogs, "overacting" and a lot of melodramatic scenes. Bad Banks however is a fantastic series, I am truly amazed how good this German production is. Everything seems to fit: the acting, the scenario, the story in itself, the production design. And what is best, is that they skipped the crazy German synchronisation and let the actors speak in their own mothertongue or dialect. This series is just as good as comparable English or American TV-drama, like recently Billions or (some years ago) Damages, both with similar topics in the financial world. Desiree Nosbusch is great, so is Paula Beer and of course Barry Atsma, with an intensity and authenticity that I have rarely seen before. A good thing that ZDF immediately offered all 6 episodes on their website, because you should simply enjoy a terrific series like this in one long session. 10 out of 10. Excellent!

A tale of espionage, ruthlessness and one-upmanship in the finance sector.

Disenchanted employee, Jana Liekam (Paula Beer), has been sacked from her role in one of Luxembourg's top banks, after having corrected a mistaken fact uttered by her sales partner in a high level meeting with important clients. The correction made him look foolish and he is petty enough to use family connections to have her fired.

So begins her quest for a new job. It will involve a precarious ride through the most corrupt parts of the German banking sector. A journey that proves to be even more cutthroat than Jana's experiences thus far.

There are a few moments when the financial jargon can leave you cold, but generally, the drama is layperson-friendly and the real story revolves around aspects of the human condition; loyalty, betrayal, and greed. And by greed, we mean the lust for more money, more influence, more power, and ultimately, more control.

Jana has entered a world of secret underhand deals, barefaced lies, male machismo, and dangerous opportunism.

Season One is a complete delight. Violent, sexy, fast paced, and with great acting throughout. Season Two leaves things in a state of limbo, and perhaps dwells in the banking world's technicalities a little too much, but is still highly watchable. 8.4/10

I rated the first season as 10 out of 10, but unfortunately I am not so enthusiastic about the second season. The basic setting has changed from Frankfurt to Berlin and also from traditional banking to the startup scene, but it appears a bit over the top. The dialogues are poorly written and loaded with clichés, the actors limit themselves to stressful looks in the camera, and directing is chaotic. I know the financial world quite well and it is almost funny to see how most extras have been cast: they need to have colorful hair, strange habits, big piercings and tattoos, whereby the reality is that people who are looking like normal human beings also can work in the startup scene. I am under the impression that the writers and producers wanted to do their utmost to provide a realistic view of banking in the year 2020, but this is simply too much. It is really a pity, because the first season was excellent.

I really liked the first season 8/10. It had a nice concept, a beginning, an end and somewhat ironic moral and it can be taken seriously. The second season is completly different show 5-6/10. It feels like an after thought and desperate attempt to creat something new by borrowing heavily from the first season. It's completly ignoring what made the first season special and how audience was drawn into the exciting world of Bad Banks in a first place. It's more like a really bad remix of an original song that has no idea why it is remixing it in a first place. Basiclly the second season is a soap opera.

When my friend suggested me Bad Banks knowing I'm a finance professional who might like it, I reluctantly started watching it thinking of another traditional German TV-Drama; ended up binged all six episodes eventually! Bad Banks is another addition to the excellent German TV productions in recent times along with 'Dark', and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The acting is great, along with a perfectly paced story without stretching it too much like other TV shows. The production quality is top notch and one of the best in recent times, even better than 'Dark' IMHO. My only issue was the lead actress who appeared to be too young sometimes for this role (she's just 23 IRL), even though her acting was great. Overall, a highly enjoyable show and it's a 9.5/10 from me!