Netflix series “Kleo” with Jella Haase: when German history becomes trash TV
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Netflix series “Kleo”
When German history becomes trash TV
By Ronny Ruesch
08/29/2022, 10:13 AM (updated)
The German Netflix series “Kleo” aims to be many things: comedy, cop story, revenge thriller, and drama. But the bottom line is that it’s just a rough mix with no charm or substance. German history could not be told any worse.
Kleo (Jella Haase), the title heroine of the German Netflix series of the same name, works in 1987 as a hitman for the East German Ministry of State Security. However, after a successful assassination attempt in West Berlin, the young woman is arrested and imprisoned by her own people. Kleo was not released until 1990 after the fall of the Berlin Wall. From now on, she is on a vendetta to find and kill the people who betrayed her.
What sounds like a promising starting point for a suspenseful series soon turns into colorful chewing gum-waste TV. Because the creators of “Kleo” are not interested in German history, nor in credited characters. The history of the GDR only serves as a backdrop for a crude mix of black pseudo-comedy, agent story and revenge thriller that lacks humor, charm or substance. “Kleo” is a great example of not telling history.
A detailed review of “Kleo” by Ronny Rüsch and Axel Max – now in a new episode of the ntv podcast “Oscars & Raspberry”. Also included: the HBO series House of the Dragon and the seafaring series Sin Limits.
“Oscars & Raspberry” – the ntv podcast – where every Friday everything revolves around streaming services such as Netflix, RTL+, Amazon Prime & Co.
Every Friday Ronny Rüsch presents “Oscars & Raspberry”, the ntv podcast about streaming. Informative. Entertaining. Compact. In the ntv app, on Audio Now, Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
(This article was first published on Friday, August 26, 2022.)
