Groundbreaking German period drama Babylon Berlin has wrapped shooting on its fifth and final season. Over 48 episodes, the neo-noir series, adapted from Volker Kutscher’s best-selling Gereon Rath novels, traces life in Berlin from the roaring 1920s to the collapse of the German Weimar Republic and rise of the Nazis.
The final season is an 8-episode arc set during the last days of the republic, from February 1933, just after Adolf Hitler was appointed Reich Chancellor of Germany, through March 5, when, following a violent and murderous campaign against his political opponents, he held elections that would secure his absolute power.
The plot of the season 5, adapted from Kutscher’s The March Fallen, reunites police detective Gereon Rath (Volker Bruch) and Charlotte Ritter (Liv Lisa Fries), a flapper-turned-investigator, for a final case.
A first look image from the final season, provided exclusively to THR, shows the pair dancing at the iconic 1933 press ball, the last big social event in Berlin before the Nazis took power.
“We now end with the final season during the last days of this crumbling republic, in February 1933, perhaps the most dramatic month in German history,” said series co-creators Tom Tykwer, Henk Handloegten, and Achim von Borries. “All our characters are now finally called upon to show their true colors in a system that is being turned upside down before their eyes. They fight, dance, implore, betray, sing, scream, hate, and love as if there was no tomorrow. And the series finds its most dazzling moments in its darkest hour.”
When Gereon disappears suddenly, without explanation, Charlotte is drawn into an investigation of a series of murders targeting former front-line soldiers, a case that will eventually link to Gereon’s past and to the country’s new fascist leadership.
Alongside Bruch and Fries, returning for season 5 are a who’s who of German acting talent, including Lars Eidinger (Jay Kelly) as the tycoon and weapons manufacturer Alfred Nyssen; Christian Friedel (The Zone of Interest) as police photographer Reinhold Gräf; Hannah Herzsprung (The Reader) as Helga Rath, Gereon’s former lover; Karl Markovics (The Counterfeiters) as investigative journalist Samuel Katelbach; Matthias Brandt (Afire) as police chief August Benda; and Fritzi Haberlandt as the resourceful pension owner Elisabeth Behnke.
80s music fans will spot British pop star and Roxy Music frontman Bryan Ferry in a couple of the dance hall scenes. Ferry re-interpreted some of his and Roxy Music’s songs in the Babylon Berlin 1920s jazz style for the series soundtrack. His 2018 solo album, “Bitter-Sweet,” was heavily inspired by his work on the show.
Babylon Berlin debuted in 2017, and was, at the time the most expensive German-language series in history. It’s combination of crime drama, historical re-creation and period flair, particularly the 1920s fashion and music, gave it a global appeal, with the show selling to more than 140 territories worldwide.
Season 5 of Babylon Berlin will premiere on public channel ARD in Germany and will go out in the U.S. on streamer MHz Choice.
