# 4 Blocks
**4 Blocks** is a German crime drama television series about a Lebanese-Arab crime family in the Berlin district of Neukölln, produced by Wiedemann & Berg Television for the pay-TV channel TNT Serie and broadcast from 2017 to 2019.[1](https://amp.dw.com/en/berlin-gangster-tv-series-4-blocks-debuts/a-38775009) Across three seasons and 19 episodes it follows Ali "Toni" Hamady (Kida Khodr Ramadan), the head of a clan controlling organized crime in Neukölln, who wants to leave the business for his wife and daughter but is repeatedly pulled back in.[2](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/4-blocks) • [3](https://www.fernsehserien.de/vier-blocks) It was TNT Serie's third in-house production, after *Add a Friend* and *Weinberg*, and it won the Grimme-Preis, German Television Awards, and a Golden Camera.[1](https://amp.dw.com/en/berlin-gangster-tv-series-4-blocks-debuts/a-38775009) • [4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5754602/awards/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Original run | German TV premiere 8 May 2017 on TNT Serie; 3 seasons, 19 episodes, ending December 2019[5](https://www.grimme-preis.de/archiv/2018/preistraeger/p/d/4-blocks-tnt-serie/) • [6](https://www.epguides.com/4Blocks/) |
| Setting | The four blocks around Sonnenallee and Hermannstraße in Berlin-Neukölln[7](https://plus.rtl.de/4-blocks-p_10454?msockid=302780e2a61f667839e09635a7116751) |
| Main character | Ali "Toni" Hamady, clan leader, played by Kida Khodr Ramadan[1](https://amp.dw.com/en/berlin-gangster-tv-series-4-blocks-debuts/a-38775009) |
| Created by | Hanno Hackfort, Bob Konrad, and Richard Kropf with director Marvin Kren; produced by Wiedemann & Berg Television and TNT Serie[8](https://press.wbd.com/pk/emea/media-release/tnt-serie/4-blocks/ab-8-mai-verteidigen-die-hamadys-auf-tnt-serie-ihre-4-blocks) |
| Episode length | About 50–60 minutes[5](https://www.grimme-preis.de/archiv/2018/preistraeger/p/d/4-blocks-tnt-serie/) |
| Major awards | Grimme-Preis 2018; German Television Awards 2018 for Best Directing (Marvin Kren) and Best Actor (Kida Khodr Ramadan); Golden Camera 2018 for Best Miniseries[5](https://www.grimme-preis.de/archiv/2018/preistraeger/p/d/4-blocks-tnt-serie/) • [4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5754602/awards/) |
| Prequel | *4 Blocks Zero*, an 8-episode series set in 1990s Berlin, premiered 25 September 2026 on HBO Max[9](https://www.comingsoon.net/tv/news/2197650-4-blocks-prequel-tv-show-crime-drama-hbo-max-today) |
## Spoilers
### Premise and title
The series centers on Ali "Toni" Hamady, who has lived in Germany for 26 years, has a wife, Kalila (Maryam Zaree), and a daughter, and wants to leave organized crime to invest in real estate as a respectable businessman.[5](https://www.grimme-preis.de/archiv/2018/preistraeger/p/d/4-blocks-tnt-serie/) Two forces block him. German law does the first: Toni and his wife hold no [German passport](https://www.edgepedia.org/german-passport) and are not permitted to work, a situation the series presents through the position of stateless refugees from Lebanon who can be deported or detained but not employed.[5](https://www.grimme-preis.de/archiv/2018/preistraeger/p/d/4-blocks-tnt-serie/) • [7](https://plus.rtl.de/4-blocks-p_10454?msockid=302780e2a61f667839e09635a7116751) His own family does the second: his brother-in-law Latif is arrested with nine kilograms of cocaine in his car, his unpredictable brother Abbas wants the leadership, and a rival biker clan moves in on the Hamadys' territory.[5](https://www.grimme-preis.de/archiv/2018/preistraeger/p/d/4-blocks-tnt-serie/) Toni's old friend Vince (Frederick Lau) reappears as a trusted ally; he is in fact working for the police.[5](https://www.grimme-preis.de/archiv/2018/preistraeger/p/d/4-blocks-tnt-serie/)
The title has a double meaning stated by the show's own promotional material. It names the four blocks around Sonnenallee and Hermannstraße that the clan controls, and it stands for the four pillars of the family's income: prostitution, casinos, drugs, and protection money (Mädchen, Casinos, Drogen, Schutzgeld).[10](https://www.filmstarts.de/serien/21996.html) • [11](https://www.tittelbach.tv/kritiken/4-blocks/) In the first episode, Toni and his wife sit in an immigration office expecting to receive German passports; at that moment the plot shifts and the fight for the clan's territory begins.[11](https://www.tittelbach.tv/kritiken/4-blocks/)
## Production and broadcast
The series was developed by Wiedemann & Berg Television, TNT Serie, and the screenwriting trio Hanno Hackfort, Bob Konrad, and Richard Kropf, together with director Marvin Kren, who also directed the first season.[8](https://press.wbd.com/pk/emea/media-release/tnt-serie/4-blocks/ab-8-mai-verteidigen-die-hamadys-auf-tnt-serie-ihre-4-blocks) Shooting ran from 21 July to 28 September 2016 over 50 days in Berlin, with funding of 250,000 euros from Medienboard Berlin-[Brandenburg](https://www.edgepedia.org/brandenburg).[12](https://www.crew-united.com/en/4-Blocks__215126.html) The world premiere of the first two episodes took place on 15 February 2017 in the "Berlinale Special Series" section, and the German television premiere followed on Monday, 8 May 2017, at 9 p.m. on TNT Serie.[8](https://press.wbd.com/pk/emea/media-release/tnt-serie/4-blocks/ab-8-mai-verteidigen-die-hamadys-auf-tnt-serie-ihre-4-blocks) The free-TV premiere followed on ZDFneo on 28 November 2017 in double episodes.[13](https://www.presseportal.de/pm/105412/3797575)
The cast drew on the German rap scene: the rappers Veysel Gelin (Abbas) and Wasiem Taha, known as Massiv (Latif), play central clan members, and the title music "Nb4" comes from Hasan, K, and Gringo.[1](https://amp.dw.com/en/berlin-gangster-tv-series-4-blocks-debuts/a-38775009) • [11](https://www.tittelbach.tv/kritiken/4-blocks/) Later seasons were directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel (3 episodes, 2018) and Özgür Yıldırım (episodes in 2018–2019).[14](https://www.goethe.de/prj/geg/en/klm/srf/27241613.html)
## Reception and awards
Critics compared the series to *The Sopranos* for its inside view of a family crime syndicate; *Berliner Zeitung* praised its realistic portrayal of the Neukölln scene, while *Zeit Online* called it "brutal and imaginative."[1](https://amp.dw.com/en/berlin-gangster-tv-series-4-blocks-debuts/a-38775009) The Grimme-Preis jury, which awarded the 2018 fiction prize to Marvin Kren (direction) and to Kida Khodr Ramadan and Maryam Zaree (acting), noted that it debated the entry longer than any other, with some jurors seeing a glorification of violence and illegality and others a landmark series.[5](https://www.grimme-preis.de/archiv/2018/preistraeger/p/d/4-blocks-tnt-serie/) The 2017 German Television Academy awards went to the series for Best Director, Best Leading Actor (Frederick Lau), Best Score, Best Casting, and Best Producer.[4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5754602/awards/)
The audience grew between seasons. Turner reported that the second season reached over 60 percent more viewers than the first, and a third, final season of six episodes was ordered on 14 December 2018, with shooting scheduled for spring 2019.[15](https://press.wbd.com/dk/media-release/third-and-final-season-4-blocks-ordered?language_content_entity=en) The second season was also distributed internationally on Amazon Prime Video in more than 150 countries from 15 December 2018, with dubs and subtitles in numerous languages and an English dub of both seasons following in January.[15](https://press.wbd.com/dk/media-release/third-and-final-season-4-blocks-ordered?language_content_entity=en)
The series also intersected with public debate. According to the Goethe-Institut, the German discussion of so-called clans, extended Muslim families of Lebanese origin controlling parts of the nightlife economy, gained national traction only after *4 Blocks* became popular, even as the show itself was criticized for drifting toward action-drama cliché by its later seasons.[14](https://www.goethe.de/prj/geg/en/klm/srf/27241613.html) A Berlin Times piece placed it, alongside *Dogs of Berlin*, among the series profiting from pop-culture interest in Neukölln clan crime.[16](https://china.diplo.de/blob/2145360/4f69c0fb5c4ac0903e5566e27428796f/publikation-german-times-data.pdf)
## Legacy and prequel
A prequel, *4 Blocks Zero*, returned to the Hamady family in 1990s Berlin: after fleeing Lebanon and being accepted only as tolerated refugees, the family struggles against bureaucracy and social exclusion while the father, Malik Hamady (Rami Fadel Khalaf), works as a cook.[17](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/89896/4-blocks-zero) • [18](https://prasa.wbdpoland.pl/post/juz-dzis-premiera-serialu-4-blocks-poczatek-w-hbo-max) The eight-episode HBO Original began streaming on 25 September 2026 with weekly releases through a finale scheduled for 13 November.[9](https://www.comingsoon.net/tv/news/2197650-4-blocks-prequel-tv-show-crime-drama-hbo-max-today) A making-of documentary, *Inside 4 Blocks*, had aired in 2019.[3](https://www.fernsehserien.de/vier-blocks)
## References
1. [Berlin gangster TV series '4 Blocks' debuts, Deutsche Welle (9 May 2017)](https://amp.dw.com/en/berlin-gangster-tv-series-4-blocks-debuts/a-38775009)
2. [4 Blocks – watch tv show streaming online, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/4-blocks)
3. [4 Blocks, fernsehserien.de](https://www.fernsehserien.de/vier-blocks)
4. [4 Blocks (TV Series 2017–2019) – Awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5754602/awards/)
5. [4 Blocks (TNT Serie) – Preisträger, 54. Grimme-Preis 2018](https://www.grimme-preis.de/archiv/2018/preistraeger/p/d/4-blocks-tnt-serie/)
6. [4 Blocks (a Titles & Air Dates Guide), epguides.com](https://www.epguides.com/4Blocks/)
7. [4 Blocks Staffel 1 bis 3 streamen, RTL+](https://plus.rtl.de/4-blocks-p_10454?msockid=302780e2a61f667839e09635a7116751)
8. [Ab 8. Mai verteidigen die Hamadys auf TNT Serie ihre „4 Blocks“, WarnerMedia Pressroom (13 February 2017)](https://press.wbd.com/pk/emea/media-release/tnt-serie/4-blocks/ab-8-mai-verteidigen-die-hamadys-auf-tnt-serie-ihre-4-blocks)
9. [HBO Max's Beloved Crime TV Show Has a New Prequel, ComingSoon.net (25 September 2026)](https://www.comingsoon.net/tv/news/2197650-4-blocks-prequel-tv-show-crime-drama-hbo-max-today)
10. [4 Blocks, FILMSTARTS.de](https://www.filmstarts.de/serien/21996.html)
11. [4 Blocks, tittelbach.tv](https://www.tittelbach.tv/kritiken/4-blocks/)
12. [4 Blocks, Crew United](https://www.crew-united.com/en/4-Blocks__215126.html)
13. [Free-TV-Premiere in ZDFneo: „4 Blocks“, Presseportal/ZDFneo (24 November 2017)](https://www.presseportal.de/pm/105412/3797575)
14. [4 Blocks, Gegenüber, Goethe-Institut](https://www.goethe.de/prj/geg/en/klm/srf/27241613.html)
15. [Third and final season of 4 Blocks ordered, WarnerMedia Pressroom (14 December 2018)](https://press.wbd.com/dk/media-release/third-and-final-season-4-blocks-ordered?language_content_entity=en)
16. [The Berlin Times, October 2019 (Federal Foreign Office publication)](https://china.diplo.de/blob/2145360/4f69c0fb5c4ac0903e5566e27428796f/publikation-german-times-data.pdf)
17. [4 Blocks Zero, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/89896/4-blocks-zero)
18. [Premiera serialu „4 Blocks: Początek” w HBO Max, Warner Bros. Discovery Poland Pressroom (25 September 2026)](https://prasa.wbdpoland.pl/post/juz-dzis-premiera-serialu-4-blocks-poczatek-w-hbo-max)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Crime, thriller, and mystery films (individual works) › 2015–2019 films › Crime drama and neo-noir films*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license