Wer weiß, was im Hinterzimmerchen abgelaufen ist. Kleine Folterstunde mit Esther Krug.

Best TV to Watch in October: 'Westworld,' 'Walking Dead' and More
From HBO's robot-revolution epic to finding out "Who Negan killed?" — the scoop on this month's small-screen must-sees

By Charles Bramesco
2 hours ago
Everyone from the Big-Three networks to the basic-cable movers and shakers get their tentpoles and marquee projects up and running in September – by October, however, they're bringing back some under-the-radar favorites (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend) and trying out some ambitious one-off experiments. (Ready yourself for whatever a FOX-approved Rocky Horror Picture Show might look like!) Meanwhile, Epix, TBS, and HBO launch promising new series pretty much covering the breadth of genres, and oh yeah, some horror show called The Walking Dead lurches back onto television to let fans in on who, exactly, took that spiked bat to the cranium. It may be a spooky lead-up to Halloween, but at least you don't have to worry about the sheer terror of having nothing to watch.
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Berlin Station — Epix, 10/16
There's been a CIA leak out of their base of operations in Berlin, and the only hope of plugging it up is Hannibal's Richard Armitage as Langley analyst Daniel Miller. His new assignment: Go to Germany and ferret out the rat. Homeland meets The Departed in this taut espionage yarn of subterfuge and deception, hitting the usual man-undercover beats of conflicted identity, going native, and allegiance to the state. Reliable character actors Richard Jenkins and Rhys Ifans also star as Daniel's main suspect and CIA handler, respectively. We hope you like your "spy vs spy" thrillers on the tense side.

....

'Berlin Station': The Shocking True Story Of Conspiracies And Whistleblowing
September 29, 2016 at 04:04PM

Posted by Ricky Derisz @rickyd90
Staff Writer at MP. "Holy cow, Rick! I didn't know hanging out with you was making me smarter!"
Ricky Derisz
On December 1, 2012, journalist Glenn Greenwald received a mysterious email from an anonymous source asking him for an encryption key to share sensitive information. Greenwald initially turned down the request, but little did he know that source was Edward Snowden, a former CIA employee who was ready to reveal one of the biggest conspiracy theories of a generation.

Technology may've changed the means of whistleblowing — the act of a person exposing governmental or organizational wrongdoing — but it hasn't changed the motivation; revealing the immoral deeds of the seemingly untouchable. But what happens when those authorities are the authorities we should be able to trust?

See Also:


Upcoming series Berlin Station explores that concept. The premise of the show centers around an enigmatic whistleblower, known by the pseudonym Thomas Shaw, who is leaking information from within the CIA's Berlin base. The world of secrecy, classified documents and surveillance is far-fetched enough to be fabricated by the creative minds of Hollywood, but the show taps into a theme disturbingly close to reality.


How Whistleblowing Has Shaped History

Whistleblowing is nothing new. In fact, some of the biggest historical scandals were revealed by those with inside knowledge, who refused to turn a blind eye to actions they didn't agree with. From Daniel Ellsberg leaking the Pentagon Papers, to W. Mark Felt, a.k.a "Deep Throat" unveiling the Watergate Scandal, individuals have gone to great lengths to expose the truth.

In recent years, two big whistleblowing scandals have raised serious issues about the idea of truth, and security versus secrecy. In 2006, Julian Assange, a computer programmer and hacker, launched Wikileaks, a website dedicated to leaking information. Wikileaks operated on a fairly low scale until 2010, when Private Chelsea Manning use the site to leak a large volume of top-secret documents.


Manning provided 400,000 documents, referred to as the Iraq logs. The most destructive of which was a video, titled "Collateral Murder," depicting footage from 2007 of American forces in Baghdad firing on seemingly unarmed civilians, including Reuters photographers. Their cameras were mistaken for weapons.

The backlash from government was fierce. Manning was caught and sentenced to a hefty 35 years in prison for breaching the Espionage Act of 1917. Assange, for his role in leaking the information, was also sought by the U.S, as well as a separate case based in Sweden on allegations of rape. He was granted asylum by Ecuador, and has been located in the Embassy of Ecuador in London since 2012.

Edward Snowden And Mass Surveillance


While Manning and Assange sent shockwaves through the world with their revelations of wartime wrongdoings, Snowden explored a much more widespread and modern day threat. Following Greenwald's lack of action on his initial contact, Snowden contacted documentary maker Laura Poitras, encouraging her to partner with Greenwald. Six months, the wheels were in motion.

In 2013, Snowden leaked classified information on the National Security Agency (NSA), revealing that the Orwellian nightmare of global surveillance was a very real threat, with compliance from governments and telecommunication companies. Presented under the veil of counteracting terrorism, a report by The Washington Post revealed that 90 per cent of those under surveillance were ordinary citizens who had had personal information monitored.

In response, the U.S. Department of Justice have also charged Snowden under the Espionage Act of 1917. Currently, he is located in Russia, where he was granted asylum. This year, Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays the lead role in his biopic, Snowden. Interestingly actor Rhys Ifans, who plays a CIA agent in that movie, also stars as agent Hector DeJean in Berlin Station.


A Modern Depiction Of Conspiracies And Espionage

It's hard to ignore the similarities between Edward Snowden, and Berlin Station's fictional CIA whistleblower, Thomas Shaw. As with Snowden, Shaw is hailed as a hero by many civilians — he takes on a larger-than-life persona, also rich with references to activist group Anonymous. His identity remains unknown, yet with each leak, his support grows. Posters are seen around the world with the phrase: "I am Shaw" printed on them.


In many ways, Berlin Station is the Mr. Robot of espionage (coincidentally Anonymous Content co-produce both shows), accurately portraying the present day feeling of distrust and paranoia when it comes to authority and technology, and how the internet age has opened the door to both liberation and control.

Daniel Miller (Richard Armitage) is a CIA agent tasked with going undercover to find the identity of Shaw, with hints at a wider conspiracy and links to Washington. His quest for the truth casts a gripping insight into the world of whistleblowing and espionage.

Considering the history of conspiracies revealed by those brave enough to stand against governments and mighty corporations, it may have more in common with reality than we'd like to imagine.

Berlin Station will premiere on Epix on October 16, 2016.

Serienale 2016 Musik und Serien

Christian Junklewitz am Samstag, 1.Oktober 2016 08.00 Uhr

Am Freitag wurde auf dem Berliner Serien-Festival Serienale über die Bedeutung von Musik in Fernsehserien gesprochen. An dem Panel nahmen unter anderem die Komponisten von Deutschland 83 und von Babylon Berlin teil.

Seit Donnerstag findet in Berlin die erste Ausgabe des Serien-Festivals Serienale statt. Dieses besteht nicht nur aus zahlreichen Serien-Screenings (für die der Eintritt kostenlos ist). An den ersten beiden Veranstaltungstagen gab es auch ein Fachprogramm mit mehreren Panels, auf denen unterschiedliche Themen (Synchronisation, Product Placement) erörtert wurden.

Das Panel am Freitagvormittag stand ganz im Zeichen der Filmmusik: Unter dem Titel „Musik und Serien“ diskutierten vier Komponisten über die besonderen Herausforderungen, die sich aus der Arbeit an Serien ergeben.

Gleich zu Beginn kam Komponist Hans Hafner auf die besondere Rolle zu sprechen, welche der Titelmusik von Serien zukommt. Er spielte dem Publikum verschiedene Clips von manchmal nur einer Sekunde Länge vor. Bei den älteren Titelmelodien hatte das - sonst überaus sachkundige Publikum - Schwierigkeiten. Bei den Melodien seit den 70er Jahren kamen die Antwortrufe jedoch meist wie aus der Pistole geschossen. Eindrücklicher hätte man die tiefgreifende Verbindung, die hier zwischen Melodien und Serien besteht, kaum demonstrieren können.

Die Komponisten stehen derweil gerade bei der Titelmusik unter einem besonderen Druck. Hafner selbst sprach in diesem Zusammenhang von der Erwartungshaltung, jedes Mal einen unverkennbaren Welthit zu schreiben.

Seine Kollegen wussten in der Praxis von unterschiedlichen Herangehensweisen der Produzenten an die Serienmusik zu berichten: Reinhold Heil, der per Videokonferenz aus Los Angeles zugeschaltet war, berichtete von seiner Erfahrung bei der neuen US-Serie „Berlin Station“, bei der sich die Produzenten frühzeitig auf David Bowies „I'm Afraid of Americans“ als Titelthema festgelegt hatten, so dass Heil, der den Score der Serie komponiert hat, in dieser Hinsicht gleich außen vor war. Überhaupt, meinte der Komponist, der hierzulande zuletzt für „Deutschland 83“ geschrieben hat, sei es oft so, dass Titelmusik und Score getrennt ausgeschrieben werden würden.

Mehrere seiner vorwiegend in Deutschland arbeitenden Kollegen haben dagegen die Erfahrung gemacht, dass derjenige, der die Ausschreibung für die Titelmusik gewinnt, dann in der Regel auch für die dramaturgische Musik (sprich: musikalische Begleitung der Szenen) engagiert wird.

Einigkeit bestand im Panel darüber, wie wichtig Themen für die musikalische Gestaltung von Serien sind - und zwar nicht nur das Titelthema, sondern auch etwa Themen, die einzelnen Figuren oder Handlungssträngen zugeordnet sind. Ausdrücklich betonte Heil, dass man sich als Komponist nicht davor scheuen sollte, Themen zu wiederholen. „Das ist keine Verbilligung der Musik. Im Gegenteil: Manchmal hilft es sogar dabei, komplizierte Handlungsstränge klarer zu machen. Selbst, wenn sich der Zuschauer das gar nicht bewusst macht, können allein über die Musik Verknüpfungen hergestellt werden.“ Dabei gelte, was die Wiederholung von Themen angeht, natürlich immer der Leitsatz: „Variation ist Dein Freund!“

Heil war es auch, der über die besondere Freude des Komponisten sprach, an Serien mit fortlaufenden Handlungssträngen zu arbeiten. Sein Kollege Moritz Denis wies jedoch auch auf eine besondere Schwierigkeit hin, die genau mit diesem Serientypus einhergeht: Oftmals wüssten die Komponisten am Anfang gar nicht, in welche Richtung sich die Figuren und Handlungsstränge entwickeln würden. Dadurch schwebten die Komponisten stets in der Gefahr, Themen zu komponieren, die zwar am Anfang sehr gut zu einer Figur passten, aber dafür später nicht mehr. Als Ausweg schlug Denis Themen vor, die über ein klares Motiv verfügen, dabei aber flexibel genug sind, um auf die Weiterentwicklung der Serie reagieren zu können.

Der ähnlich wie Denis vor allem im Bereich Kinder- und Zeichentrickserien tätige Stefan Maria Schneider („Ritter Rost“) wies darauf hin, dass Themen außerdem so etwas wie ein Eigenleben entwickeln könnten. „Auch wenn es etwas esoterisch klingen mag: Aber das Thema will dann einfach an dieser oder jener Stelle kommen.“ Mit dieser Erfahrung war Schneider nicht allein. Auch Heil pflichtete ihm bei - umgekehrt gesprochen: „Manchmal will ein Film ein Stück einfach nicht.“

Als wären die ästhetischen Herausforderungen bei der Komposition für Serien nicht schon groß genug, kommen dann bisweilen noch diejenigen hinzu, die sich aus der Auseinandersetzung mit den anderen Gewerken ergeben, allen voran der Regie. So wusste Hans Hafner, der aktuell zum Komponistenteam von „Babylon Berlin“ gehört, etwa von seiner Arbeit an „Danni Lowinski“ zu berichten, wo mit dem Wechsel der Regisseure häufig auch die musikalischen Ideen für die Serie über den Haufen geschmissen wurden - und es schließlich die Aufgabe der Komponisten war, für eine einigermaßen einheitliche Linie in der Musik zu kämpfen.

„Es ist blöd“, unterstrich Hafner, „wenn man auf einmal gegen die Regisseure ankämpfen muss. Das will keiner.“ In Deutschland, wo es bei Serien häufig immer noch so sei, dass die Regisseure ihre jeweiligen Folgen dann auch als „ihre“ Filme begreifen, gäbe es da jedoch stets ein gewisses Spannungsfeld, wenn es um die Kontinuität innerhalb einer Serie gehe.

Reinhold Heil verwies derweil auf die US-amerikanische Produktionsweise, in der den Regisseuren diese Macht nicht zukommt, weil die kreative Verantwortung - einschließlich das letzte Wort hinsichtlich der Musik - in der Hand des Showrunners läge. Diese Art, Serien zu produzieren, fasst in Deutschland nur allmälich Fuß. Als positives Beispiel hob Hafner die Ki.Ka-Serie „Allein gegen die Zeit“ hervor, an deren Musik er mitgeschrieben hatte. Dort hatte die Produzentin Ceylan Yildirim die Rolle eines Showrunners besetzt - und dabei insbesondere auch auf die Kontinuität der musikalischen Themen Acht gegeben.

Letztlich gelte, so Heil, jedoch sogar für den US-amerikanischen Markt, dass den Showrunnern die Bedeutung der Musik für das Branding der Serie nicht immer ausreichend bewusst sei. Mit der (falschen) Musik könne man so viel kaputt machen. „Es ist eine große Verantwortung.“

‘Berlin Station’ Trailer Teases An Intense CIA Manhunt

This exclusive clip gives you a look inside the new EPIX spy series.

09/29/2016 10:41 am ET | Updated 2 days ago

Leigh Blickley Senior News Editor of Entertainment, The Huffington Post

Get ready to add a new show to your must-watch TV list.

The Huffington Post is exclusively debuting the trailer for EPIX’s new drama series, “Berlin Station,” which follows undercover agent Daniel Miller (Richard Armitage) who has been tasked with a secret mission: to determine the identity of a now-famous whistleblower disguised as “Thomas Shaw.” After he arrives at the CIA station in Berlin, Germany, Miller is guided by jaded veteran Hector DeJean (Rhys Ifans) and learns to contend with deception, danger and moral compromises.

The show, which co-stars Richard Jenkins, Michelle Forbes, Leland Orser and Tamlyn Tomita, consists of 10 one-hour episodes created by New York Times best-selling author Olen Steinhauer (The Tourist, All the Old Knives, The Cairo Affair) and helmed by showrunner Bradford Winters (“Dig,” “The Americans,” “Boss,” “Oz”).

If you love “Homeland,” you’ll probably be into this series. Watch the trailer above.

“Berlin Station” premieres on EPIX Oct. 16.

Mina Tander: „Bei Instagram habe ich mich selbst überrascht“


„Promipool“ durfte während der Vorstellung des neuen Opel Mokka X in Schottland nicht nur mit dem schnittigen SUV die Landschaft erkunden, sondern auch mit Schauspielerin Mina Tander sprechen. Mina hat uns von ihrem spannenden neuen Projekt „Berlin Station“ und ihren Erfahrungen mit Instagram berichtet. Außerdem verriet sie uns noch, was sie am Mokka X besonders schätzt.

Erst vor Kurzem war Mina Tander (37) in der Komödie „Antonio ihm schmeckt’s nicht“ als Familienmensch „Sara“ auf der Leinwand zu sehen – in der Spionageserie „Berlin Station“ zeigt sie sich nun von einer ganz anderen Seite. Neben Hollywood-Star Richard Armitage („Der Hobbit“) spielt sie in der US-Produktion den Part der „Esther Krug“. Viel darf Mina über „Esther“ noch nicht erzählen, nur so viel verrät sie: „Es ist eine Frauenrolle, wie man sie selten angeboten bekommt.“ „Berlin Station“ startet am 16. Oktober im US-Fernsehen. Wann das spannungsgeladene Format zu uns kommt, ist noch ungewiss.

Unerwartet offen auf Instagram

Doch Mina ist für ihre Fans nicht nur im Kino und im TV zu sehen, auch auf Instagram postet sie regelmäßig Fotos aus ihrem Leben. Darauf angesprochen, wo sie dort in puncto Privatsphäre eine Grenze zieht, erklärt sie offen: „Bei Instagram habe ich mich selbst etwas überrascht. Ich habe viel aus meinem Urlaub berichtet - das hätte ich sonst eigentlich nicht gemacht. Aber ich hatte einfach das Gefühl: ‚Warum nicht?`Alles, was ich in einem Interview erzählen würde, ist für mich auch als Bild in Ordnung.“ Tabu sind für Mina aber auf jeden Fall Bilder ihrer Mutter und ihrer kleinen Tochter.

Mina über den Mokka X

Um ihre Kleine vom Kindergarten abzuholen, sitzt Mina wieder mehr – und vor allem lieber – hinterm Steuer. „Ich fahre wie ein Verantwortungsvoller Familienvater“, so Mina. Kein Wunder also, dass sie am neuen Opel Mokka X großen Gefallen gefunden hat. „Er fährt sehr elegant und sehr smooth“, beschreibt sie das Fahrgefühl, das auch auf steiniger und rutschiger Straße nicht verloren geht. „Ich finde die erhöhte Fahrposition super – das ist sehr angenehm. Er ist innen erstaunlich geräumig, hat einen guten Kofferraum und ist von außen dennoch kompakt“, beschreibt sie die Statur des Fünftürers. An der Marke Opel schätzt sie zudem, dass sie „Qualität und Bodenständigkeit verbindet.“

Why Premium Cable Network Epix Is Leaping Into the Crowded Scripted Series Field It's looking for its version of Mad Men

By Jason Lynch

October 13, 2016, 8:00 AM EDT
Television

Peak TV—as many as 450 scripted series will air this year—is about to get even more crowded, thanks to Epix.

The premium cable network, which launched in 2009 and is jointly owned by Paramount, Lionsgate and MGM, is debuting its first pair of scripted series on Sunday: Spy drama Berlin Station, about a CIA agent trying to find out who leaked information to a whistleblower, and political comedy Graves, starring Nick Nolte as a former U.S. President who decides to reclaim his political legacy 25 years later.

Epix president and CEO Mark Greenberg spoke with Adweek about why his network needed to try its hand at scripted TV, the impact of co-owner Lionsgate acquiring one of Epix's competitors, and whether his scripted shows will end up on Hulu and Amazon alongside Epix's theatrical titles.

Adweek: Why was it important for Epix to branch out into scripted?

Greenberg: We get great value to our consumers by the movies that we get from Paramount, Lionsgate and MGM and then Roadside Attractions and [Samuel] Goldwyn supplement. But I think you really do need original series to define your brand.

How did you decide what to search for?

You have to say, what's your filter for that brand? And authenticity is an important part of it. So when we looked at Berlin Station, it's really easy to do a spy thriller that blows them up every other week right. It's 24 all over again. But our decision on that show was we think the storytelling was a little bit smarter. For our brand, for our audience, that will reflect our attitude to what we do. And if you take that and you take Graves, which is an opportunity to take on a lot of social issues in an entertaining way, those are brand definers.

Are you debuting both a drama and a comedy at the same time so you're not pegged as being just one thing or the other?

You've seen that out of other networks. They seem to be the same kind of iteration with a different window dressing. And even what we did with [upcoming series] Get Shorty, which is sort of a hybrid of the two. We really wanted to make sure that we can create range. But Get Shorty was one that we liked the best and we think for all the right reasons. For us, that's going to be the method to which we go into. It isn't like we're looking for a procedural. We will find what we think are great shows and I think the filters based on our audience of what we need to deliver. I think in this environment today, when you have a more authentic voice in anything you do, you're better off.

Your shows will debut on Sunday, which is the same night all the other premium cable shows debut. Is that because Sunday is considered TV's prestige night?

One of our competitors [Starz] used to be on a different night and they moved to Sunday. Why? Because if you can't play prime time, don't play. We have an amazing conviction to what's there. We'll take [docuseries] American Divided which will premiere on Friday nights, but we will rebroadcast a second play of that on Sundays at 8 p.m., [after] 60 Minutes, 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. I think that might get some audience flow that helps build Berlin Station—compelling, gritty, interesting—going to Graves at 10 p.m.


Given what a divisive figure Rudy Giuliani has become in this election, especially in recent weeks, was there any thought given to removing his cameo in Graves, which now has a much different connotation than it did when it was filmed?

While the cameo appearances of Rudy Giuliani, Michael Steele, Barney Frank and others introduce fun notes of reality into the story, recent events have not led us to consider changes in the show or to remove any segments. We do continue to be amazed, however, at how life is imitating art in today's political climate, surpassing even some of the most outrageous themes of our fictional former President and his family.

You did a streaming output deal with Netflix a year into your run, and now have deals with Hulu and Amazon to stream your theatrical content. Would you consider expanding your streaming deal and putting your original series on Hulu and Amazon as well?

Maybe. We're still [feeling], let's get the launch out and see how that works. Our original deals never contemplated that.

Lionsgate, which is a part owner, has acquired Starz. Does that change anything for Epix now that Lionsgate owns a competing premium cable network?

For the moment, we're in a good place with them. We have their theatrical output until the end of the decade. That's a long way away. We're in business with them on original series, and that will continue. We have other things in development with them. They still have a 31 percent equity interest to see this thing be successful. I think we have a lot of unanswered questions, and that's out of my pay grade level. I don't see anything changing materially in the near term. And then as we go on we'll evolve. But we're talking about extending their output agreements, despite the fact that they had this. So for us, it's business as usual.

Whenever a network branches into scripted, it's not an overnight success. So what's your barometer for success in the first year with scripted shows?

It's sort of this reservoir of goodwill: Are we getting good reviews? Are we getting people watching? Are we getting people who are talking about the show? So if you look at what Mad Men did for AMC, it that helped begin the process for them. It never delivered great ratings, but it did hit the zeitgeist of people in the marketplace, then Breaking Bad comes on the heels of that. We know one show isn't going to make this, but we want to make sure we start out with what we hope is our version of Mad Men. We hope we get a little better rating than they did, but if it doesn't, it still creates value.

You have a lot of shows in premium TV that are on our competitors that are not highly rated either, but have a patina to that. So that's why I come back to the reservoir of goodwill. That's somewhat subjective. There are shows that just don't play out, and you'll know that. As that [Supreme Court Justice] once said, "Pornography, I know it when I see it." And I think success, for us, we'll know it when we see it.

Start Writing

Ricky Derisz
#BerlinStation
From Smashing Stereotypes To Unconventional Spies, 'Berlin Station' Deserves Your Attention
October 14, 2016 at 04:25PM



The downside of the Golden Age of TV is the agonising deliberation over what to watch next. The market quality has never been so high yet so saturated, with new shows every week vying for our attention. Sometimes a helping hand in choosing a worthwhile show is required. This article is that helping hand.

While big-budget shows such as Westworld have been well publicized and the likes of American Horror Story are returning with ready-made fanbases, certain series can fall under the radar. Berlin Station is one of those series, a surprise hit located on cable channel Epix, thrilling enough to part with your precious time.

The premise in itself isn't unique: Set in the titular city, CIA agent Daniel Miller (Richard Armitage) has been sent on a clandestine mission to the German capital to try and uncover the identity of Thomas Shaw, a mysterious CIA whistleblower. However, a lack of uniqueness in premise is outweighed by the show's subversive nature.

The term espionage sounds outdated, but Berlin Station repackages the spy genre with a metaphorical finger on the metaphorical pulse. It taps in to modern, post-Snowden paranoia with pinpoint accuracy, highlighting the lack of trust in governmental organizations — particularly with the rise of technology — as well as the moral questions raised over surveillance versus security.

A Espionage Thriller With A Modern Twist

Far too often, espionage storylines can flirt with polarized views, creating an us versus them mentality. However, the show distinctly avoids being pro-American, instead portraying a balanced depiction from both sides of the argument. The CIA are both victim and perpetrator, a double standard that adds to the undertone that no one can be trusted.

Whistleblower Thomas Shaw himself is a combination of conspiracy exposing revolutionaries Julian Assange and Edward Snowden, with the added omnipotency and public support of hacktivist group Anonymous. The fast pace of the show, helped by strong direction and quick edits, fits this world perfectly.

One of Berlin Station's great strengths is how it encapsulates the impact that events have on individuals as well as the ripple effect that has on those around them. It doesn't lose sight by focusing on the overarching conspiracy — instead it takes time to develop a collection of compelling and nuanced characters.

While Armitage proves himself effortlessly magnetic and commanding in the lead role, the entire cast oozes charisma. Oscar nominee Richard Jenkins is excels as CIA's Chief Steven Frost. Rhys Ifans also particularly stands out in his role as Hector DeJean, an enigmatic and maverick agent with questionable motivations.

DeJean is also an refreshing LGBT depiction; he's a typical, no nonsense alpha male who also develops a sexual relationship with a male informant and makes no qualms discussing this with his superiors. Infusing the eccentricity and excitement of Berlin, DeJean indulges in the unique nocturnal life of electronic music and debauchery, one of the many facets of the city that is accurately captured.

A Worthy Opponent To Misrepresentation In The Media

LGBT isn't the only theme that is handled in a way that deserves a mention for smashing the through the glass ceiling of unfortunate misrepresentation that still exists in mainstream media.

When it comes to a depicting a potential threat from the East, a 2007 study by the Islamic Human Rights Commission found "crude and exaggerated" stereotypes to be widespread. In particular, similar series Homeland faced controversy for its depiction of Muslim areas, with commissioned graffiti artists scribing "Homeland is racist" in protest. In an interview with The Guardian, artist Heba Amin said:

“We think the show perpetuates dangerous stereotypes by diminishing an entire region into a farce through the gross misrepresentations that feed into a narrative of political propaganda.“It is clear they don’t know the region they are attempting to represent. And yet, we suffer the consequences of such shallow and misguided representation.”

In a commendable deviation from the type of misrepresentation Amin refers to, Berlin Station features a scene involving a potential terror suspect who is visited at a Mosque. The religion of Islam is depicted in a positive light, while also humanizing the suspect in question rather than paint him as a fictional pantomime villain.

Furthermore, in what the BBC discovered to be a surprising and widespread taboo in the entertainment industry, Cold War veteran Frost engages in sexual innuendo with his wife, instantly dispelling the myth that anyone over the age of 35 instantly becomes a born again asexual.

All in all, Berlin Station is an exciting, up-to-date espionage thriller that effortlessly breaks boundaries while maintaining the attributes that make spy fiction so compelling. It could be one of the hidden gems of the year and a worthy contender to win the battle of "what to watch next."

Berlin Station premieres on Epix on October 16, 2016.

R.I. actor Richard Jenkins plays it cool in 'Berlin Station'
Thursday
Posted Oct 13, 2016 at 9:30 PM

The Emmy-winning character actor plays a CIA veteran with trust issues in post-Cold War Berlin in the Epix spy drama, debuting Oct. 16 at 9 p.m.
By Andy Smith
Journal Arts Writer

Rhode Island actor Richard Jenkins' newest role finds him in present-day Berlin, trying to negotiate the twisting, treacherous world of post-Cold War espionage in "Berlin Station," which debuts on premium cable channel Epix on Sunday at 9 p.m.

Jenkins plays Steven Frost, a CIA veteran who is chief of the Berlin station. In the first episode, CIA officer Daniel Miller (Richard Armitage) is sent to Berlin with the hidden mission of tracking down a whistleblower who calls himself Thomas Shaw, an Edward Snowden-like character who is very publicly leaking CIA secrets.

Frost is being kept in the dark about Miller's mission — at least at first.

"He's a Cold War guy. He's been doing this for a long time," Jenkins said of his character, who's keeping a few secrets of his own. "He's kept in the dark — so far. But he's not a fool."

"It's fascinating to watch Frost work through several tricky situations, and along the way ponder just how cutthroat he's willing to be in pursuit of a promotion," wrote Variety in a review of the show. "His performance is all the more impressive given that he's playing a character who is often reactive and watchful, qualities that can be difficult to illuminate and sustain. But making Frost magnetic is easy for the intensely gifted Jenkins."

Novelist Olen Steinhauer, who created "Berlin Station," said he was influenced by the great British spy writer John le Carré, whose characters were often spiritually corroded by living their secret lives.

"It's really that way," said Jenkins. "You can't trust anyone, and you have to live your life like that. ... The CIA, who are these guys? They're just people, people who have really strange jobs."

Jenkins spoke by phone from Toronto, where he is filming a new movie by Guillermo del Toro called "The Shape of Water." Before that, he spent six months in Germany shooting "Berlin Station."

"I loved Germany. Berlin is a great city, like no other city I've ever been in," Jenkins said.

He hopes "Berlin Station" gets picked up for another season. "At the end of six months, I really would like to see what happens to all these people," Jenkins said.

As for "The Shape of Water," Jenkins (and everyone else) is being very secretive. All anyone will say is that it's set in 1963 America and that there is (probably) some sort of otherworldly creature. "I'm working with a very interesting dude," Jenkins said of director del Toro.

Jenkins, who lives in Cumberland when he's not on a set, won an Emmy in 2015 for his performance in the HBO miniseries "Olive Kitteridge."

"That was incredibly surprising," Jenkins said. "It was great for a lot of reasons, but I was mostly happy for Fran [Frances McDormand]. She bought the book rights, hired the writer, hired the director. It was her baby. She's not big on awards, but that night she was so happy."

At 69, Jenkins is a highly respected character actor with an enormous list of roles, both large and small, to his credit. How does he pick his parts?

"When I'm reading a script, I ask myself: 'Do I like it? Do I understand it? Do I like the writing? Is there something I think I can bring to the role?' Sometimes it's just a visceral thing; I'll read a script and say 'I really want to play this part.' Or 'I really don't want to play this part,'" Jenkins said.

But once a production is under way, Jenkins said, it's difficult to tell how the final product will turn out.

"You can't tell if it's going to be good or bad. If you could, nothing would ever be bad. But so many different people touch movies or TV shows, they go through so many machinations and changes," he said. "No one ever goes into anything thinking it will be bad."

Jenkins is particularly enthused about a 2015 movie he made called "Bone Tomahawk," a horror/Western mashup starring Kurt Russell that went almost directly to video.

"It's a fantastic movie that's becoming a cult hit," Jenkins said. "It's brutal, and they didn't know what to do with it. It was absolutely the movie that the director [S. Craig Zahler] wanted to make. I will be forever proud of that until the day I die. ... I've seen it four times, and I seldom watch my own movies."

— asmith@providencejournal.com

Michelle Forbes, Thanks to Peak TV, Is No Longer a ‘Commitment-Phobe’

From playing crazy to space battles to the spy game, the versatile actor is enjoying a new range of opportunities in the modern TV era.

Liz Shannon Miller

3 hours ago


Epix

“Homicide: Life on the Street.” “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” “24.” “Battlestar Galactica.” “The Killing.” Any fan of great television has loved at least one show featuring Michelle Forbes, who’s been a memorable on-screen force for over 25 years.

That said, relatively early in her career the talented actress earned a bit of a reputation for being reluctant to sign onto series full-time, mostly sticking to recurring roles that didn’t require a serious commitment.

But one of the benefits to the age of “Peak TV” is that Forbes no longer finds herself in situations where people want to “own” her, and she’s able to dive into a variety of projects. For example, the new Epix series “Berlin Station,” in which Forbes gets to play in the realm of spies and intrigue, as the internal branch chief of a CIA office in Berlin.

READ MORE: Epix CEO Mark Greenberg on Why His Channel is Getting into the Original Scripted Series Game

When IndieWire sat down with Forbes at the Television Critics Association press tour, it was clear that she was thrilled about the show. From getting to shoot in Berlin (“one of my favorite cities,” she declared) to working with an ensemble including Richard Armitage, Richard Jenkins and Rhys Ifans (“I saw this cast and lost my mind. I love them to bits. I’d take a bullet for them”), everything about doing the series made sense to her.

“I always say there are so many different reasons you choose something,” she said. “It could be actors you want to work with, or the material. [“Berlin Station”] was just all of those things together. Everything about it felt right.”

But it’s just one in a variety of roles that Forbes has gotten to explore of late, because what matters to her the most is variety. Something she’s gotten a fair amount of in recent years.

You’ve had such a long run in television. How have you seen things change since the earlier days?

I mean, when I think, I’ve been doing television for 25 years, so that’s two and a half decades. [jokingly gasps] No, I’m happy, I’m happy about that. But it used to be the ugly step-child in the basement, didn’t it? Movies were the thing and then you had “Miami Vice.”

I was really fortunate because the first series I ever really signed on for was “Homicide: Life on the Street,” and that was on network television but obviously way ahead of its time, the way it was shot, the writing. It was the godfather to “The Wire.” I was really fortunate to have that trajectory, with such amazing writing and phenomenal cast. I guess that was unusual at the time, we didn’t really have cable.

Now, I don’t really go to the cinema anymore. There’s too much good stuff on television and to really be able to sit and live with these people for 10 hours at a time, for years at a time. To go on these longer journeys with them, I find it a little gift. It’s like creating a Gabriel García Márquez novel as opposed to a short story. You know?

Oh, absolutely. When you talk about the first show you really signed on for, what goes into deciding to sign on for a show and make that commitment?

I know, I’m such a commitment-phobe.

I didn’t want to say, but I did read a few things…

Because you don’t know, unless you know the people involved — it can be an arranged marriage. You just don’t know and then you’re wed for seven years, and it could be in some far-flung place where you don’t have your friends and your family. So it’s a real crap shoot. I would say that Hollywood is just like one never-ending night in Las Vegas — no oxygen, no clocks.

Well, these days, it’s not quite the commitment it used to be. And it seems like you’ve been able to do a bunch of different things at once?

I was. Like last year, I did two series at the same time. Commuting between Atlanta and Vancouver.

Oh, that’s a fun commute.

There’s no direct flight. So it was a full day of traveling. It was like another full day of work. But yeah, it’s not 22 episodes a year now. It’s not nine months, seven years, it’s 10 episodes, maybe a year or two. They let you do other things, as well, because it’s a shorter period. Because we’re only shooting, say, five months out of the year — if you want to do another great show, you can. Or, as in my case, I could be a regular on two shows at once. It’s great that they opened that up.

That is great. Is there something contractually about it? Do you make sure to say I’m not exclusively on this show or..?

No, I think it used to be that people wanted to own you and I think now everybody understands that it’s better for everybody if you’re on two successful shows. You know what I mean? You kind of feed off each other. I think thinking more like a community is better for everybody.

But there’s no contractual thing where you say, “I’ll do your show, but you have to let me be a series regular on another one if it works out.” I think people just try to work it out. They’re just not as into their ownership as they used to be.

How important, these days, is variety to you?

It’s everything, and I’ve been super fortunate. I mean, you remember I did that show last summer, “The Returned,” we only got one season but my friend Raelle Tucker, who wrote it, she wrote that role for me. And it was like this crazy woman of the town muttering to herself and you couldn’t figure out why she was there. And I was like, “Oh that’s so nice, you wrote that for me… Why is she crazy?” But she knew that I would have fun, and so it was great to be able to do that.

Then Maryann in “True Blood” and Kate on “In Treatment,” which was one of my absolute favorites… Oh, and all the ones in space. There was Saddam Hussein with bangs in space in “Battlestar Galactica.” So yeah, I’m really lucky, you know. I’ve always been so scared of being pigeon-holed, and I constantly kick against that.

I mean honestly, the only thing I can think about you getting type-cast as is a powerful woman, and there are worse things in life than that.

There are worse things in life than that, but that’s why I fight to play the ones who aren’t powerful, too. You know, like the woman wandering around going, “I’m over here.” Or Kate [of “In Treatment”], Kate wasn’t powerful. She was confused and she was hurt.

But even if you’re pigeon-holed into that, I mean look, I’m 5’10” and nobody’s going to cast me as a wallflower. But I just feel like I’ve been so lucky because in that one place of powerful woman, there are all these shades of wrath, in all different professions and all different everything.

“Berlin Station” premieres Sunday on Epix. Below, check out an exclusive behind-the-scenes clip about the making of the show.

US-Agentenserie „Berlin Station“ läuft in den USA an
Von Marcus Weingärtner, 16.10.16, 07:45 Uhr

Hamburg/Berlin - Hamburg am frühen Morgen. Erkältungswetter. Victoria Mayer sitzt im Wintergarten eines Fünf-Sterne-Hotels und streicht sich über ihre kurzen braunen Haare. Sie ist 40 geworden dieses Jahr und hat damit ein Alter erreicht, von dem immer behauptet wird, es sei ein schwieriges für Schauspielerinnen. Eine Zäsur in der Karriere. Die Angebote werden dann weniger, die Rollen reduziert auf Klischees von patenten Hausfrauen, trunksüchtigen Müttern und verbitterten Kommissarinnen. Victoria Mayer muss nichts davon spielen, auf sie trifft diese Behauptung nicht zu. Im Gegenteil – ihre Karriere lief nie besser.


Journalistin der Berliner Zeitung

An diesem Sonnabend startet in den Staaten die zehnteilige Agentenserie „Berlin Station“, in der Mayer eine Journalistin der Berliner Zeitung ist. Mit „Berlin Station“ will der Pay-TV-Sender Epix ins Seriengeschäft einsteigen, offenbar motiviert vom Erfolg der aufwendigen Eigenproduktionen anderer Sender wie HBO oder Netflix, die seit ein paar Jahren mit Serien wie „The Wire“, „Game of Thrones“ oder „House of Cards“ weltweit Millionen Zuschauer erreichen.

Wenn diese Rechnung für Epix aufgeht, könnte Victoria Mayer international bekannt werden. Sie, die sich als toughe Reporterin eine Fehde mit dem CIA-Agenten Daniel Miller, gespielt von Richard Armitage, liefert. Um Wahrheit geht es in der Serie, um Verrat und einen mysteriösen Whistleblower namens Thomas Shaw.

Gedreht wurde unter anderem in Berlin – an Orten, die das Bild der Stadt nach außen hin geprägt haben. Es gibt Aufnahmen vom Brandenburger Tor, dem Berliner Dom und anderen Sightseeing-Punkten. Und natürlich vom Haus des Berliner Zeitung am Alexanderplatz, deren Journalistin Mayer ja spielt.

Eine Rolle, von der sie an diesem Morgen im Hamburg sagt, dass sie sie unbedingt wollte. Die Journalistin Ingrid Hollander sei eine Frau voller Wut und Aggression, erklärt Victoria Mayer: „Ingrids Kämpfernatur hat mich wirklich sehr gereizt. Diese Frau hat klare Prinzipien, sie ist offensiv und sehr, sehr wütend.“

Die Stadt als Star

Den Alexanderplatz kannte Victoria Mayer, die in einer Kleinstadt am bayerischen Ammersee lebt, schon, bevor die Dreharbeiten begannen. Natürlich sei das etwas anderes als München, sagt Mayer, aber ihr gefalle die etwas raue Atmosphäre rund um den Berliner Verlag und überhaupt die Stadt, die auch ein Star der Serie ist. Es gibt eine Szene in „Berlin Station“, in der der Agent Daniel Miller seine Chefin fragt, was mit ihm passieren würde, wenn er den Whistleblower nicht aufspüre. Er solle dann schon mal anfangen, Berlin zu lieben, antwortet sie.

Das Berlin, das die Serie zeigt, ist eines, das man lieben könnte. Viele berühmte Orte sind zu sehen, der Dom, der Alexanderplatz, die Spree und natürlich das Kottbusser Tor, das Synonym für das härtere Berlin. Einmal sieht man den Agenten mit Frau und einem Kind, dem er offenbar Spielzeug gekauft hat.

Dass die Idee, einem Kind in dieser Ecke Kreuzbergs Spielzeug zu kaufen, jeden Berliner grinsen lässt, spielt aus amerikanischer Sicht sicher keine Rolle. Man will Berlin so zeigen, wie Berlin in der Welt schon bekannt ist. Darin unterscheidet sich „Berlin Station“ sicherlich nicht vom deutschen „Tatort“. Wenn der in der Hauptstadt spielt, wird auch unentwegt auf der Karl-Marx-Allee hin- und hergefahren. Und doch: Das etwas düstere, ewig an die Zeiten des Kalten Krieges erinnernde Bild passt zu „Berlin Station“; schlussendlich handelt es sich um eine Agentenserie.

Exotisch und rätselhaft

Könnte sein, dass die Serie ein Erfolg wird. Könnte sein, dass Victoria Mayer ein Star wird. Ist sie wenigstens ein bisschen aufgeregt? Victoria Mayer nippt an ihrem Cappuccino und sieht so unbeeindruckt aus, wie man nur aussehen kann angesichts der Tatsache, in einer US-Produktion mitgespielt zu haben, die gerade in New York mit großen Plakaten beworben wird. Sie ist bodenständig, und das dürfte ein Grund dafür sein, warum die Produzenten sie für die Rolle der Journalistin Hollander ausgewählt haben.

Der andere Grund vermutlich: die kühle Ausstrahlung natürlich, die Amerikaner an Europäern exotisch und rätselhaft finden. Victoria Mayer legt an Distanz noch zu, wenn ihr eine Frage nicht behagt. Dann kann sie das Gegenüber sehr eingehend mustern, was durchaus einschüchternd wirkt. Sie weiß das, und sie mag das. Ihr ist diese Art von Schutz wichtig, und so weiß man nur wenig über sie, obwohl sie seit 20 Jahren im Geschäft ist und in großen Produktionen mitgespielt hat.

Vom „Berlin Station“-Projekt erfuhr Victoria Mayer über die Berliner Casterin Simone Bär, die als eine der einflussreichsten der Branche gilt. „Die Rolle gefiel mir sofort und ich habe mich mit einem kurzen Film, einem Selftape, beworben“, erzählt sie. „Mein Mann, der auch Schauspieler ist, und ich spielten eine Szene aus ‚Berlin Station‘ in unserem Wohnzimmer und nahmen rund drei Minuten mit der Kamera auf.“

Das Band ging an Epix, die Zusage kam kaum zehn Tage später. „Ich glaube, das wirkt von außen glamouröser, als es ist“, sagt Mayer mit dem für sie typischen Understatement. Zwölf Drehtage hatte sie während der fünfmonatigen Drehzeit ab November 2015 in Berlin. „Vor Drehbeginn gab es eine große Leseprobe, alle Darsteller waren da. Aber ich bin nicht regelmäßig in die Staaten gejettet, um dort am Set zu sein“, erklärt sie. Ihre Ingrid Hollander ist dennoch in immerhin sieben der zehn Folgen zu sehen.

Bloß keine Homestory

Dass die Agentenserie „Berlin Station“ ihr Durchbruch zu einer größeren Karriere sein könnte, das sei ihr weder wichtig noch entspräche es ihrer Berufsidee. „Ich bin Schauspielerin, weil es mir um die Geschichten und die Figuren geht. Die Vermutung, alle Schauspieler wären Rampensäue, die nur auf Ruhm und Geld aus seien, ist ein Klischee“, sagt Mayer und blickt nun ein wenig angestrengt nach draußen in den trüben Hamburger Morgen.

Am Nachmittag wird sie nach München fliegen, nach Hause an den Ammersee, zum Mann und den beiden Kindern, um am Donnerstagabend wieder in Hamburg zu sein, wo sie gerade den Episodenfilm „Was uns nicht umbringt“ an der Seite von Christian Berkel und August Zirner dreht. Wegen dieser Arbeit mit anderen Menschen, das betont sie oft, sei sie Schauspielerin geworden.

Victoria Mayer ist nicht leutselig und würde nie zu einer Homestory an den Ammersee laden. „Nein, ganz bestimmt würde ich das nicht tun“, sagt sie. Und dass sie nie auf der Straße erkannt werde. Leute kämen zwar auf sie zu, würden sie aber in der Regel für die Freundin einer Freundin halten oder für jemanden, dessen Namen ihnen partout nicht einfällt. Der Schauspielerin ist das gerade recht, und zu einem guten Teil mag es auch daran liegen, dass sie eben nicht in Hamburg oder Berlin lebt, wo es Fernsehsender und Produktionsfirmen, Magazine und Tageszeitungen.

Einen deutschen Sendetermin gibt es für „Berlin Station“ noch nicht, aber wenn die Serie ihren Weg ins deutsche Fernsehen finden sollte, dann wird Victoria Mayer den amerikanischen Zuschauern schon ein vertrautes Gesicht sein. Es wird sich zeigen, ob sie auf der Straße immer noch für die Freundin einer Freundin gehalten wird.