Spy-11

So, the love story between chief inspector and pathologist is already over? That's a shame. Maybe Sarah Bauerett wanted to leave this production in which she was merely a minor character. Maybe the show runners did not want to give her more space. Whatever, the show looses its best actress. They never knew what to do with her. Jasmin Gerat is star material and charismatic, but her range is limited. A sparkling relationship would have done her good. Plotwise and due to the fantastic landscape and the historical background, this is still the best "thursday crime show" on ARD. We'll see for whom Stascha Novak falls next time.

This is basically a scandalous production. Anke Retzlaff is one of the best actresses of her generation. Here she's given the lead part in a sloppy written kitschfest. The story is entirely constructed from used parts that have bored us before. How many tough female cops with severe - not to say: pathological - daddy issues are there on German tv alone? Half a dozen, I would say. How many of them actually talk to their dead fathers? I remember at least two. (The others are usually sleeping with their superiors, which is not the case here. Somebody should investigate this. There is a pattern not only in German crime shows. Not a feminist one.) Even Retzlaff has done the "cop's-daughter-hunts-his-killer"-stuff before. The series "Über die Grenze" was much better. The cases in this mini series are forgettable. The main story arc is implausible. So why not 2 stars? Because Anke Retzlaff, Lana Cooper and Michael Roll grace the most ridiculous scenes with undeserved skill and their considerable charisma. The rest is silence.

This thriller does not break new ground. Plotwise there are quite a few things to frown upon. But this is well made and directed. And above all it is a showpiece for two of the best german language acting talents of their respective generations. Justus von Dohnnányi doesn't miss a beat in this duel. The star, of course, is Julia Koschitz, elfin, vulnerable, brilliant and unstoppable. This Austrian/German tv production from 2019 is way above average. Not surprisingly, it reached the number 1 spot after its streaming release on Netflix.de. The story reminds of a german language series that was also numero uno for weeks on Netflix just a few weeks ago, also with Dohnányi. Won't tell you, which one. Don't want to spoil anything. Sad to say, the second case of Julia Koschitz as troubled psychiatrist from 2023 is not as good, as far as I remember (Im Schatten der Angst - Du sollst nicht lügen).