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 "excerpt": "Dogs of Berlin is a 2018 German Netflix crime thriller, the second German Netflix original after Dark, created by Christian Alvart: ten episodes about two mismatched detectives investigating the murder of a fictional German-Turkish football star.",
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 "markdown": "# Dogs of Berlin\n\n**Dogs of Berlin** is a German-language crime thriller series created, written, and directed by Christian Alvart for Netflix, and the second German Netflix original production after *[Dark](https://www.edgepedia.org/dark-tv-series)*.<sup>[1](https://about.netflix.com/de/news/dogs-of-berlin)</sup> Its ten episodes follow two mismatched Berlin police detectives investigating the murder of a fictional German-Turkish national football team star on the eve of an international match.<sup>[1](https://about.netflix.com/de/news/dogs-of-berlin)</sup> The series was released worldwide on Netflix on 7 December 2018.<sup>[2](https://uk.newonnetflix.info/info/80189522)</sup>\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Format | German-language crime thriller, 10 episodes of roughly 50 to 60 minutes each, one season<sup>[3](https://www.netflix.com/de/title//80189522)</sup> |\n| Creator | Christian Alvart, who wrote, directed, produced, and served as showrunner<sup>[1](https://about.netflix.com/de/news/dogs-of-berlin)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[4](https://www.rollingstone.de/dogs-of-berlin-showrunner-christian-alvart-man-schwimmt-jetzt-in-einem-viel-groesseren-teich-1597053/)</sup> |\n| Production | Netflix with Syrreal Entertainment GmbH; filming began in November 2017<sup>[1](https://about.netflix.com/de/news/dogs-of-berlin)</sup> |\n| Release | Worldwide premiere on Netflix on 7 December 2018<sup>[2](https://uk.newonnetflix.info/info/80189522)</sup> |\n| Lead roles | Felix Kramer as Kurt Grimmer, Fahri Yardım as Erol Birkan<sup>[1](https://about.netflix.com/de/news/dogs-of-berlin)</sup> |\n| Audience rating | 7.5/10 on IMDb from about 16,000 user ratings<sup>[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6839788/ratings/)</sup> |\n| Continuation | Netflix has never announced a second season<sup>[6](https://www.kino.de/artikel/dogs-of-berlin-staffel-2--78c4x5759f)</sup> |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Premise\n\nThe story begins with the murder of Orkan Erdem (played by Cino Djavid), a Turkish-German star of the German national football team, on the eve of a Germany-Turkey international match in Berlin's Marzahn district.<sup>[7](https://www.filmstarts.de/nachrichten/18522415.html)</sup> The case is politically explosive, and suspicion falls in turn on neo-Nazis from Marzahn, the victim's Turkish family clan, fanatical football fans, the Berlin mafia, and possibly officials at the highest levels of the capital.<sup>[1](https://about.netflix.com/de/news/dogs-of-berlin)</sup>\n\nThe investigation is led by an unequal pair of detectives. Kurt Grimmer (Felix Kramer) is an [East Berlin](https://www.edgepedia.org/east-berlin) police officer with connections to the neo-Nazi scene and private betting debts, which he tries to clear by concealing the murder and placing a wager on the match.<sup>[1](https://about.netflix.com/de/news/dogs-of-berlin)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[8](https://www.tittelbach.tv/kritiken/dogs-of-berlin/)</sup> Because of Grimmer's far-right ties, the police assign him Erol Birkan (Fahri Yardım), a gay Turkish-German colleague, as his partner.<sup>[6](https://www.kino.de/artikel/dogs-of-berlin-staffel-2--78c4x5759f)</sup> The Goethe-Institut described the pairing as the show's contribution to German television's long tradition of dual investigators.<sup>[9](https://www.goethe.de/ins/us/en/m/kul/oke/sef/21809855.html)</sup>\n\n## Production\n\nNetflix announced the series on 2 November 2017, when principal photography began, describing it as the streaming service's second German original and part of its investment in European content with national identity and global appeal.<sup>[1](https://about.netflix.com/de/news/dogs-of-berlin)</sup> It was produced with Syrreal Entertainment GmbH, with Sigi Kamml as producer.<sup>[1](https://about.netflix.com/de/news/dogs-of-berlin)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[10](https://www.filmdienst.de/film/details/562307/dogs-of-berlin)</sup> Alvart, previously known for the thriller *Antikörper* and the [Til Schweiger](https://www.edgepedia.org/til-schweiger) *Tatort* films, served as writer, director, and showrunner.<sup>[4](https://www.rollingstone.de/dogs-of-berlin-showrunner-christian-alvart-man-schwimmt-jetzt-in-einem-viel-groesseren-teich-1597053/)</sup> The writing team included Jan Cronauer, Georg Hartmann, Ron Markus, and Michael Proehl, with cinematography by Frank Lamm and Christoph Krauß.<sup>[10](https://www.filmdienst.de/film/details/562307/dogs-of-berlin)</sup>\n\nAlvart said in interviews that he deliberately avoided modeling the fictional clan on any real Berlin family, saying he wanted no clan to be able to think it was meant, while acknowledging that real Berlin streets belong to real clans.<sup>[11](https://www.watson.de/leben/interview/936292787-dogs-of-berlin-regisseur-wollte-keinen-clan-denken-lassen-dass-er-gemeint-sein-koennte)</sup> The Goethe-Institut noted that Alvart took the public controversy around former national team player [Mesut Özil](https://www.edgepedia.org/mesut-ozil) as a springboard, adding a neo-Nazi association, match-fixing, blackmail, and crime clans to the mix.<sup>[9](https://www.goethe.de/ins/us/en/m/kul/oke/sef/21809855.html)</sup>\n\n## Cast\n\nFelix Kramer, an East Berlin-born actor, plays Kurt Grimmer, and Fahri Yardım plays Erol Birkan.<sup>[1](https://about.netflix.com/de/news/dogs-of-berlin)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[12](https://www.berlinale.de/de/presse/pressematerial/presseheft-download-action.html?file=Wettbewerb%2FAlle_Filme%2F202511266_en_1_What_Mariel_Knows.pdf)</sup> The ensemble includes Katharina Schüttler as Grimmer's wife Paula, Anna Maria Mühe as the Marzahn welfare mother Sabine \"Bine\" Ludar, Katrin Sass as a grandmother who joins a far-right comradeship, Hannah Herzsprung as the calculating lawyer Trinity Sommer, Mišel Matičević as Tomo Kovač of the betting mafia, Urs Rechn as Gert Seiler, and the rapper Haftbefehl in a guest role.<sup>[1](https://about.netflix.com/de/news/dogs-of-berlin)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[13](https://www.bravo.de/dogs-berlin-warum-hassen-alle-diese-serie-380244.html)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[14](https://www.hna.de/kultur/tv-kino/serie-dogs-of-berlin-ist-besser-als-ihr-ruf-10952309.html)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[8](https://www.tittelbach.tv/kritiken/dogs-of-berlin/)</sup>\n\n## Reception\n\nGerman critics received the series harshly at its December 2018 release. Deutschlandfunk called it \"trash TV for half-grown-ups,\"<sup>[15](https://www.deutschlandfunk.de/netflix-serie-dogs-of-berlin-wuff-wuff-jaul-100.html)</sup> DWDL.de judged it about as credible as old RTL disaster films,<sup>[16](https://www.dwdl.de/meinungen/70070/dogs_of_berlin_hunde_die_bellen_reissen_nichts/)</sup> and *Spiegel Online* dismissed it as a \"crime mishmash without heart or brain.\" Recurring criticisms targeted overloaded clichés about Arab clans, the neo-Nazi scene, and welfare recipients in East Berlin, along with widely mocked CGI football sequences in the Germany-Turkey match scenes.<sup>[13](https://www.bravo.de/dogs-berlin-warum-hassen-alle-diese-serie-380244.html)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[17](https://m.tvspielfilm.de/serien/dogs-of-berlin/)</sup> The comparison with the TNT series *[4 Blocks](https://www.edgepedia.org/4-blocks)*, set in a similar milieu, was common but contested, since the two shows differ in casting, narrative style, and tone.<sup>[13](https://www.bravo.de/dogs-berlin-warum-hassen-alle-diese-serie-380244.html)</sup>\n\nAudience and international responses diverged from the press. The series holds a 7.5/10 rating on IMDb from about 16,000 users, with the final episodes scoring highest at 8.3.<sup>[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6839788/ratings/)</sup> A later German commentary argued the series was better than its reputation, crediting the two leads and Frank Lamm's cinematography, and noting that English-language bloggers responded more positively than German critics.<sup>[14](https://www.hna.de/kultur/tv-kino/serie-dogs-of-berlin-ist-besser-als-ihr-ruf-10952309.html)</sup> Reviewers repeatedly singled out the two leads as the series' strongest asset; TVSpielfilm wrote that \"the great detective duo saves a lot.\"<sup>[17](https://m.tvspielfilm.de/serien/dogs-of-berlin/)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[8](https://www.tittelbach.tv/kritiken/dogs-of-berlin/)</sup> Academic work has treated the series as a case study in how German crime television constructs ethnic-minority detectives and stages debates about integration and national identity.<sup>[18](https://riviste.unimi.it/index.php/cinemaetcie/article/download/16392/14748/50117)</sup>\n\n## Second season\n\nNetflix has never officially announced a second season. Lead actor Fahri Yardım said in a since-deleted Instagram post that he did not know whether or when the series would continue, and Sinan-G, who played Hakim Tarik-Amir, said in 2021 that he had no information about a continuation.<sup>[6](https://www.kino.de/artikel/dogs-of-berlin-staffel-2--78c4x5759f)</sup> Tracking services accordingly list the show as ended after one season.<sup>[2](https://uk.newonnetflix.info/info/80189522)</sup>\n\n## References\n\n1. [Dogs of Berlin production announcement, About Netflix (2 November 2017)](https://about.netflix.com/de/news/dogs-of-berlin)\n2. [Dogs of Berlin on Netflix UK, New On Netflix UK](https://uk.newonnetflix.info/info/80189522)\n3. [Dogs of Berlin title page, Netflix](https://www.netflix.com/de/title//80189522)\n4. [\"Dogs Of Berlin\"-Showrunner Christian Alvart interview, Rolling Stone (10 December 2018)](https://www.rollingstone.de/dogs-of-berlin-showrunner-christian-alvart-man-schwimmt-jetzt-in-einem-viel-groesseren-teich-1597053/)\n5. [Dogs of Berlin ratings, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6839788/ratings/)\n6. [\"Dogs of Berlin\" Staffel 2: Wird die Netflix-Serie fortgesetzt?, Kino.de](https://www.kino.de/artikel/dogs-of-berlin-staffel-2--78c4x5759f)\n7. [\"Dogs Of Berlin\" neu bei Netflix, FILMSTARTS.de (7 December 2018)](https://www.filmstarts.de/nachrichten/18522415.html)\n8. [Dogs of Berlin review, tittelbach.tv](https://www.tittelbach.tv/kritiken/dogs-of-berlin/)\n9. [Berlin crime dramas make for 'Must-See' TV, Goethe-Institut USA](https://www.goethe.de/ins/us/en/m/kul/oke/sef/21809855.html)\n10. [Dogs of Berlin, Filmdienst](https://www.filmdienst.de/film/details/562307/dogs-of-berlin)\n11. [Dogs of Berlin-Regisseur interview, watson.de (7 December 2018)](https://www.watson.de/leben/interview/936292787-dogs-of-berlin-regisseur-wollte-keinen-clan-denken-lassen-dass-er-gemeint-sein-koennte)\n12. [Berlinale press material on Felix Kramer](https://www.berlinale.de/de/presse/pressematerial/presseheft-download-action.html?file=Wettbewerb%2FAlle_Filme%2F202511266_en_1_What_Mariel_Knows.pdf)\n13. [\"Dogs of Berlin\": Warum hassen alle diese Serie?, BRAVO](https://www.bravo.de/dogs-berlin-warum-hassen-alle-diese-serie-380244.html)\n14. [Die Netflix-Serie \"Dogs of Berlin\" ist besser als ihr Ruf, HNA (3 January 2019)](https://www.hna.de/kultur/tv-kino/serie-dogs-of-berlin-ist-besser-als-ihr-ruf-10952309.html)\n15. [Netflix-Serie \"Dogs of Berlin\": Wuff, wuff, jaul, Deutschlandfunk (6 December 2018)](https://www.deutschlandfunk.de/netflix-serie-dogs-of-berlin-wuff-wuff-jaul-100.html)\n16. [\"Dogs of Berlin\": Hunde, die bellen, reißen nichts, DWDL.de (7 December 2018)](https://www.dwdl.de/meinungen/70070/dogs_of_berlin_hunde_die_bellen_reissen_nichts/)\n17. [Dogs of Berlin, TVSpielfilm](https://m.tvspielfilm.de/serien/dogs-of-berlin/)\n18. [Constructing Ethnic Minority Detectives in French and German Crime Television Series, Cinema et Cie](https://riviste.unimi.it/index.php/cinemaetcie/article/download/16392/14748/50117)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Scripted television and comedy series › Drama and prestige series (individual series) › Crime and thriller series › Police and detective procedurals*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n",
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 "speakable": "Dogs of Berlin is a 2018 German Netflix crime thriller, the second German Netflix original after Dark, created by Christian Alvart: ten episodes about two mismatched detectives investigating the murder of a fictional German-Turkish football star."
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