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

This show is a thrilling fiction based on the financial districts of Germany.

I've been working for several banks in recent years and I very much feel at home when I watch the show. From my perspective, people in Frankfurt - despite the fictional story - behave very much like the characters depicted in Bad Banks.

Camera, lighting, post-edit, costumes, dialogs, screenplay, actors ... all crafts have been performed excellently by great staff members.

However, from my perspective, for some of the main cast members I suggest to further attend acting school soon or to go performing on a live stage to drastically improve their pronunciation. Being a native speaker for decades I often find myself rewinding the show because I didn't understand a word.

If you are familiar with international finance then you will know that the setting is unrealistic but the characters are all too recognizable. The twists and turns that swirl around the plots and counter plots can be dizzying but very fun to watch. There are no good or bad people, just winners and losers.

The series gives an interesting picture of how the elite divide the jobs and how they go to their limits to achieve their goal. The first episode was exciting until the end.

Viewed in the Dutch version. No problems with the dubbing. It just seemed like a Dutch series, only the acting was of a higher level.