Dogs of Berlin

I generally do not like gang-themed stories. I find them boring. What made me watch Dogs of Berlin is my love for the city of Berlin. Because of the content, I expected to last only half an episode before turning it off. But I got sucked right in. I finished the last episode just now and I hope to god there is a second season planned! All the pieces are surely there for another round, but you never know. The two main characters are both complex and relatable. It was a wild ride watching them navigate the dangerous situations they ended up in! More please!

I have visited Berlin several times, have read about its history and present day, including Muslim immigrants, but still - this series depicts a parallel realm, issues often directly associated with erroneous decisions in the past. Lots of segregation, exercise of power, wrong understanding of sense of community - and you find yourself in the middle of problems as shown in Dogs of Berlin.

For an outsider like me, everything seems realistic, including the characters, performances, environment, and the overall uneasiness is dominant throughout the season. The script included some nice twists, mainly related to the cop Grimmer; as for the cast, Fahri Yardim and Katrin Sass were more memorable, but, as mentioned above, they all did their good, yet difficult job.

Thus, another good German series, recommended to all them willing to know all faces of Berlin - one can easily do it via TV, visiting those places by yourself is often not a good idea...

The only criticism is that the series takes too long time to introduce the characters. Yes, they have depth and complexity but more time could've spent on entertainment meaning action.

Other than that happy that I was able to binge watch it, good story, lots of twist and turns and excitement until the end. Worth to spend a rainy Sunday with it.

I really liked it. It's very gritty and the characters are fairly complex. That said, the viewer really needs to know a bit about the politics and issues currently facing German society. Netflix did a good job on including a lot of these issues. A previous review on here mentioned the ban of Nazi symbols. Yes, it's true, but the symbol that the Nazi club uses is actually not an "N" (for "Nazi") but rather an "M" which stands for the borough of Marzahn, where the club is based out of. The series also does a good job in characterizing impoverished east Germans & their attitudes against wealthier west Germans. There's really a lot going on that might appear random for someone not accustomed with current events in Germany. The biker gangs, the criminal clans, the police corruption, etc. were all portrayed very accurately I thought. I hope there's a second season. I don't usually write reviews, but this is a pretty cool show.

The production values and the acting are quite high. Not just for a german production but in general. Some things may feel a bit added on (like a sexual orientation of a main character) and a bit overcrowded. But overall the show walks the thin line and makes it through.

Actually even when some crazy stuff happens, which may seem out of touch with "reality", it still stays true to the overall vibe of the show. It also explores gray areas and not everything is good or bad. Just because one character does something bad, does not mean they are evil overall.

It's really a shame this seems to not be getting a second or more seasons. But as it is, it is a testament that there can be really good german tv shows.