Germany is one of the pioneers when it comes to television with one of the first-ever public television stations in the world. When it comes to specific genres, German media has a long-standing history of comedy stretching back to the 1950s.
Many of these initial comedies find their origins in cabaret and radio while in the current market, they have produced a much wider variety of content for the streaming landscape. Here is a list of 10 German comedy series that you must watch:
1. How to Sell Drugs Online (Fast)
Available on: Netflix
Cast: Maximilian Mundt, Danilo Kamperidis, Lena Klenke, Damian Hardung, Leonie Wesselow, Roland Riebeling
In a bid to win back his ex-girlfriend, Moritz (Mundt) gets involved with drug dealing as a means to look cool. When he gets the idea to improve the operation using his technical knowledge of coding and the help of his genius best friend, the situation is blown out of the stratosphere and beyond.
An outrageous premise that is based on real-life events, this German series truly has it all and more. Watching a bunch of high school kids do extraordinary things as online druglords is an absolute hoot.
2. Andere Eltern (Other Parents)
Available on: HBO Max
Cast: Lavinia Wilson, Jasin Challah, Nadja Becker, Sebastian Schwarz, Daniel Zillmann, Rebecca Lina
A group of well-meaning, hip parents decide to get together and start their day-care centre complete with a parents association. Nina (Wilson), one of the parents, decides to document the growth of this venture as she interviews all the people involved in this project.
Shot in a mockumentary style very much in the ilk of ‘Parks and Recreation’ or ‘The Office’, this German series explores the lives of fresh and expecting parents and all the exciting events and realisations they have to go through.
3. Der Tatortreiniger (Crime Scene Cleaner)
Available on: Prime Video
Cast: Bjarne Mädel
A building cleaner who specializes in crime scene cleaning takes care of all the crime scenes in Hamburg and the surrounding area. While he removes all traces of these heinous events, he gets to interact with a wide variety of characters from the victim’s acquaintances to the culprits and sometimes even the ghosts of the victims themselves.
A series of isolated episodes where the actual crimes take a back seat and the chamber-play scenes focus solely on the cleaner the people he meets which puts a comedic spin on such a gruesome occupation.
4. ÜberWeihnachten (Over Christmas)
Available on: Netflix
Cast: Luke Mockridge, Seyneb Saleh, Cristina do Rego, Lucas Reiber, Johanna Gastdorf, Rudolf Kowalski
When struggling musician Bastian (Mockridge) returns home for the holidays, he’s in for a very depressing time. His parents have some bad news for him, while his brother is dating his ex-girlfriend. Even his best friends have made great strides in their professions while he is still facing difficulties.
This sweet German mini-series set around the holidays has a lot of uplifting moments to it for those who are struggling and looking for a ray of hope that things will eventually get better.
5. Hindafing
Available on: Prime Video
Cast: Maximilian Brückner, Andreas Giebel, Katrin Röver, Petra Berndt, Heinz-Josef Braun, Michael Kranz
A corrupt mayor makes plans to improve the overall image of his small town by opening up an organic shopping centre with the help of his friend. However, to achieve this goal, he must dive into the depths of the slush that is state politics. Add to that his problems with debt and drug abuse and Zischl’s (Brückner) job are made so much harder.
A satire about German politics, this series is described as a ‘German Fargo’ which is high praise. Especially since it lives up to that moniker with its magnificent storytelling.
6. Das letzte Wort (The Last Word)
Available on: Netflix
Cast: Anke Engelke, Thorsten Merten, Johannes Zeiler, Nina Gummich, Juri Winkler, Claudia Geisler-Bading
A recent widower discovers on the way to her husband’s funeral that he had a very big secret he was keeping from her. This revelation leads to her giving a very impassioned and scathing eulogy for him. She is then inspired to speak at other people’s funerals in a professional capacity, giving the sombre occasion a shot of adrenaline and humour.
There is a nice balance of humour and despair in this series that deals a lot with death and yet keeps the spirits up with the actions of the many members of the cast.
7. Altes Gold (Old Money)
Available on: Netflix
Cast: Udo Kier, Sunnyi Melles, Nicholas Ofczarek, Edita Malovcic, Manuel Rubey, Nora Waldstätten
A rich old patriarch is at death’s door and requires a new liver. He’s willing to hand down all of his inheritance to any member of his family who’s able to provide the organ. Thus follows a tale filled with greed, lies and deception as everyone scrambles to obtain a viable liver and be named the next heir.
This dramedy has got some brilliant and colourful imagery alongside the wonderful performances by the cast. It is a thoroughly entertaining watch.
8. Arthur’s Gesetz (Arthur’s Law)
Available on: HBO Max
Cast: Jan Josef Liefers, Martina Gedeck, Nora Tschirner, Michael Klammer, Cristina do Rego, David Bredin
Arthur is a loser who has trouble holding down a job, his marriage is down in the dumps and has lost his hand thanks to a stupid accident of his own doing. When he plans to kill his wife and use her life insurance money to elope with his mistress, things go just you’d expect with the situation spinning wildly out of control.
This noir comedy is a very unique concept not often found in German media and is favourably compared to the Fargo, given its premise and storytelling techniques.
9. Türkisch für Anfänger (Turkish for Beginners)
Available on: Netflix
Cast: Josefine Preuß, Anna Stieblich, Elyas M’Barek, Adnan Maral, Pegah Ferydoni, Arnel Taci
16-year-old Lena is on a new journey as her mother falls in love with an officer of Turkish descent, moving in with him which means she has new step-siblings to get along with. She documents her daily troubles and narrates the story to send it to her best friend who is on an exchange program abroad.
This series was quite popular in both local and foreign markets, with the third season being ordered mostly based on fan demand. It speaks about many teenage issues as well as cross-cultural topics.
10. Der Lack ist ab (The Glory is Gone)
Available on: Prime Video
Cast: Bettina Zimmermann, Kai Wiesinger, Luise Befort, Benjamin Stein, Diana Amft, Linda Gegusch
An old couple and their teenage children have some of the most intriguing and random conversations throughout the day, usually triggered by a guest visiting them on that particular day. With topics ranging from self-care and physical appearances to more adult-oriented discussions, this series is bound to have you chuckling at the dinner table.
Enhanced the real-life chemistry of the lead couple, this series moves along briskly with its short run time and immense reliability.
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