Sankt Maik

Loved it Funny Miracles Lifechanging for those who believe nomatter who you were in the past, if you come to the good path and do good for others good things will happen to you:)

Daniel Donskoy is amazing and charismatic as a young hip and intelligent low-level thief who needs to hide out and is thus unexpectedly forced to assume the identity of a priest in a German village. But as things turn out, he discovers he likes helping people and becomes fond of the community and being part of it.

The supporting characters and cast are terrific, the storylines and situations are fresh and intriguing and the German village landscape is lovely.

Also worth noting - the English subtitles are well done, reflecting where appropriate the formality of German and German culture. Too often English language subtitles improperly and inaccurately are done as casual American speech.

The plot description comes across like the garden variety blueprint for a show for bored housewifes: A(n attrative) con man (can't go without the crime element) poses as priest and while hiding out in a small town solves a lot of problems and even finds some romance (hello Thorn birds and Thorn birds-fans among the housewifes). Not only does it sound cheesy, to a certain extent it is. It basically is a cheesy, clichéd, run-of-the-mill show, but it has enough charm and provides so much harmless fun, that you do not mind too much. In its best moments it even reminds of the New British Cinema flicks - and not just because of the occasional redheads. The problem-solving is a bit easy and ideal, but it seems that the authors gave it enough thought to come up with charming and helpful solutions to the many human/everyday problems Maik encounters. So even if you usually react allergic to cheesy housewifes- or past-retirement - entertainment (like I usually do), give this nice little show a chance, it might paint a smile on your face - and who can say no to that?

The first episode is entertaining, but then with each following episode the story becomes more and more predictable and the scenario is childish. Still enjoyable in small doses. (season 1)

While the premise is lacking in originality (think Grantchester meets Sneaky Pete meets Ballykissangel), Daniel Donskoy is so wildly charismatic that it's absolutely worth it. Can't wait until the next seasons are released in the US.