Richard Armitage ‏@RCArmitage

Review: ‘Berlin Station,’ the Hunt for a C.I.A. Whistle-Blower http://nyti.ms/2e4yL6k .

Richard Armitage ‏@RCArmitage

@nytimes @BerlinStation Ever worry that even the security services are kept in the dark? Never fear, the 'profundity' will come.

Review Spy thriller 'Berlin Station' deftly balances character and plot

Robert Lloyd, Television Critic

Created by spy-fiction novelist Olen Steinhauer, "Berlin Station," which begins Sunday on Epix, is a tense, terse thriller — good-looking but never fussy, balancing character and plot in satisfying proportions, a new suit cut to classic lines.

Though it begins in a burst of action, the storm before the flashback, its early hours are taken up mostly with talking and walking and lurking. (Two episodes of 10 were available for review.) It builds on the expectation, learned from growing up with movies, that bad things happen when we least expect them.

CIA agent Daniel Miller (Richard Armitage, who spent three seasons in this milieu in "MI-5") believes he has identified the go-between between an anonymous whistle-blower and the journalist publishing embarrassing-to-the-U.S. revelations in the German press. (I didn't question these bombshells having to be hand-delivered, but is that how things happen now?)

Sent to the agency's Berlin office undercover, Daniel finds himself in complicated company, including station head (Richard Jenkins), who is not quite ready to admit he's done with his job; administrator Valerie Edwards (Michelle Forbes, forbes-midable), who is ready to take his place; deputy chief Robert Kirsch (Leland Orser), whose constant abrasiveness would ordinarily mean he'll turn out all right in the end; and agent Hector DeJean (Rhys Ifans), an old associate of Daniel's who seems to be going to pieces.

The show requires attention, or at least a rewind button. There are many characters and story lines to keep straight, including domestic relations and after-hours friendships, and they may be related in ways that aren't always clear at first, or second.

Apart from the cases at hand, the underlying thrust of the series seems to be that whichever side you work for — be you agent, double agent, lone wolf, acting on principle or just for the pay — espionage will mess you up. Steinhauer doesn't overplay the point — no one's clinically ill here, just navigating the emotional downsides of double-dealing as a daily grind. But we are never completely sure whom to trust and whom even to like, whether to root for the moles or the spooks.

Berlin, old and new, pristine and vandalized, streets bustling with life, still makes a fine setting for this kind of tale, even now that the wall is down, Germany is one and the Cold War, for the next 20 minutes at least, is over.

'

Berlin Station': TV Review

4:16 PM PDT 10/16/2016 by Tim Goodman


Courtesy of Epix
Richard Jenkins in Epix's 'Berlin Station'
No real reason to care yet. TWITTER
10/16/2016

Trying to pop out in a crowded field, premium network Epix offers up a spy drama that's more familiar than intriguing.
Epix, a premium television network looking for viewers, makes its two biggest pushes into scripted content on Sunday, with the comedy Graves (which fellow The Hollywood Reporter critic Dan Fienberg was underwhelmed by) and the drama Berlin Station, which searches for something compelling and fails to find it in the first few hours.

That means that Epix will probably still be looking for viewers after Sunday; making something that's just OK or even pretty good is not good enough in the oversaturated world of television today.

Berlin Station is a 10-episode spy story about the CIA's "Berlin Station" in Germany and a series of damaging leaks from the fictional Thomas Shaw, whose name is tossed in next to Julian Assange and Edward Snowden as if those two were even similar, which is one of the first worrying things about the series. All we really know is that damning information is getting out and both the Americans and the Germans look bad, there's probably something spookier (spy joke!) going on and the mass of people we're introduced to have back stories we're supposed to care about and yet don't.

See, that's the thing — television shows have to be compelling enough to make us want to devote precious time to them and if viewers get a whiff of something that's off (like the inconsistent accents here) then interest will wane. I had trouble caring about anyone in Berlin Station because all the characters seemed to be blurry facsimiles of other characters from other series (or movies), and nothing in the first three hours that I watched set the hook.


Well, in fairness, the opening credits featuring David Bowie's "I'm Afraid of Americans" interspersed with quick-cuts of Berlin hinted at something intriguing, which the series quickly fails to deliver on. Part of the problem with the show is that it gives viewers a possible "ending" and then reverts in time to tell its story, undercutting suspense while not convincingly selling the fact that what viewers saw was truly the end. It's essential at that point to care about, well, anyone, and despite a cast of familiar names, it just doesn't happen.

Some element of this might be due to the fact that successful American novelist Olen Steinhauer (The Tourist, The Cairo Affair), who created and wrote Berlin Station, is new to the TV game and unfolds the shady complexities of Berlin Station in a way that might have made sense on HBO years ago as a slow-build drama that eventually pays off — an exercise no longer allowed in this hyper-competitive landscape unless, say, you're HBO. It's a learning curve. And the first lesson needs to be that you can't eventually become compelling — you have to do it rather quickly. And if the story needs time to gather steam, then you'd better have characters that pop.

Berlin Station benefits from being shot in Germany so that it can at least stick out visually — and director Michael R. Roskam (The Drop, Bullhead) does an excellent job of keeping you visually entertained. But this is a spy series looking for someone or something to make you care.

The accent issues don't help. British actor Richard Armitage is playing the lead American undercover agent, sent to Germany to figure out who Thomas Shaw is, and the actor is mostly mumbling something that sounds vaguely American but could veer British if he put more oomph into it. Welsh actor Rhys Ifans also plays an American CIA agent but does a better job of it mostly because the character's drink-heavy, pansexual background is more intriguing. Richard Jenkins, an excellent American actor, is the head of Berlin Station and solidifies much of the series with his gravitas, even if he doesn't have much to work with early on.

As for the German actors, let's just say that the accents seem to vary in intensity. These issues crop up with international productions and are often overlooked if the show actually captures your attention. The fact this is such a glaring flaw in Berlin Station tells you something.

It's possible that the series will come together in its next seven hours (the first two you can stream for free) and at least find its narrative voice, but you'd have to have both a lot of hours to devote and a subscription to Epix — two things that are very unlikely.

Cast: Richard Armitage, Richard Jenkins, Rhys Ifans, Michelle Forbes, Tamlyn Tomita, Leland Orser
Created and written by: Olen Steinhauer
Directed by: Michael R. Roskam
Premieres: Sunday, 9 p.m., ET/PT (Epix)

Email: Tim.Goodman@THR.com

Twitter: @BastardMachine

THERE ARE NO FREE AGENTS IN EPIX' CIA DRAMA 'BERLIN STATION'

October 16, 2016 | By Ed Bark



Epix very much wants to be a player in a standing room only league of rival networks and streamers that already have made their marks with standout scripted programming.

It’s taken quite a while. But now come Epix’s first two original series of note -- Graves and Berlin Station. Preceded by a concerted promotional campaign, they arrive Sunday night at the close of a free preview weekend. Graves is the showier of the two, with Nick Nolte front and center as a former president seeking to atone for being the “worst ever.” Berlin Station has a better grip on itself, though, as a skulk-around spy drama set in contemporary times. Both have 10-episode first seasons.


In the case of Berlin Station, there’s lately too much of this going around -- not spy dramas per se, but the apparent killing of a principal character in the opening segment before a rewind to earlier events.

This time it’s “Two Months Earlier” in Panama, where CIA officer Daniel Miller (Richard Armitage) is traipsing through the jungle before finding something valuable. He’s soon reassigned to Berlin with a mission to track down a dangerous leaker of CIA secrets known as “Thomas Shaw.”

Everything that ensues in the two Berlin Station episodes sent for review isn’t always completely understandable in terms of following the bouncing storyline. But the basic task is clear enough. Shaw must be identified and then stopped by any means necessary.

The cast is first-rate, with Oscar nominee and Emmy Winner Richard Jenkins (The Visitor, Olive Kitteridge) in his usual fine form as station chief Steven Frost. Increasingly feeling undermined, he’s encouraged to retire by his wife, Kelly (Caroline Goodall) and encouraged in other ways during liaisons with his secretary, Sandra Abe (Tamlyn Tomita).

Also more or less working for Frost are ambitious internal branch chief Valerie Edwards (Michelle Forbes), officious deputy chief Robert Kirsch (Leland Orser) and veteran case officer Hector DeJean (Rhys Ifans), who turns out to be -- well, never mind.

ISIS (or ISIL as used in Berlin Station) also factors into these webs of intrigue. So there’s a lot at stake, and not a lot of laughs.

Filmed in Berlin and the Canary Islands, Berlin Station has both an authentic look and feel. As with most cloak-and-dagger dramas, there’s a lot of following around while the mind games escalate and the sound track remains stuck in the key of ominous. Berlin Station so far looks like a series worth riding out, with Jenkins, Armitage, Ifans and Forbes all making strong contributions to the cause.

15 OCT 2016

BERLIN STATION: "STATION TO STATION" REVIEW

BY JESSE SCHEDEEN Note: this is a spoiler-free advance review of the series premiere of Berlin Station, which will premiere on Epix on Sunday, October 16 at 9pm EST.
With the Peak TV phenomenon showing no signs of letting up, now isn't necessarily the ideal time for Epix to dip its toes into the sea of original scripted dramas. And judging from the first episode, Berlin Station will do little to help the network stand out alongside the likes of HBO, AMC, FX, Netflix or Hulu. This series may scratch an itch for those still left craving more globetrotting espionage in the aftermath of AMC's The Night Manager, but John le Carré this isn't.

The Hobbit's Richard Armitage stars in this espionage drama as CIA analyst Daniel Miller, who as the series opens is transferred from Langley to the Berlin field office. His mission - work undercover to track down a mysterious hacker who goes by the alias "Thomas Shaw" and who may be collaborating with someone on the inside to leak confidential CIA secrets. Miller's new co-workers (and potential culprits) include Chief Steven Frost (Olive Kitteridge's Richard Jenkins), Case Officer Hector DeJean (The Amazing Spider-Man's Rhys Ifans), Internal Branch Chief Valerie Edwards (The Killing's Michelle Forbes) and Deputy Chief Robert Kirsch (Leland Orser).

It's a solid cast, but apart from the always reliable Jenkins, rarely do any of these actors do much to stand out. The various Chiefs and Deputy Chiefs tend to blur together in this first episode, leaving you to wonder why the show needs so many CIA middle-management characters when the focus should ostensibly be on the hunt for Thomas Shaw. As the leading man, Armitage proves the most disappointing. This first episode paints him as an intelligent outsider with mixed feelings about returning to Berlin for the first time since his childhood, but there's rarely any sense of conflict or turmoil coming from the character. There's no sign that he's particularly bothered by taking on a job that requires him to deceive his colleagues and everyone else in his life. He makes for a surprisingly bland protagonist, all things considered.

There is something to the show's exploration of deception and double lives. Miller is hardly the only one in his office hiding secrets, be they extramarital affairs or questionable relationships with informants. It's easy to see that theme of deception paying off in a big way as the show unfolds and the Thomas Shaw mystery deepens. But for now, none of his packs the dramatic punch needed.


For the most part, Berlin Station is too generic for its own good. That sense of familiarity sets in from the very first scene, as the premiere opens in media res in the midst of a tense field operation before jumping back to the genesis of Miller's mission. Whether the scenes involve two trenchcoat-clad spies meeting on abandoned rooftops or Miller skulking about the background while he shadows his targets, there's a sense that we've seen it all before, and done better to boot.

There's also the fact that Berlin Station is basically inviting comparisons to Homeland given the many similarities to that show's Berlin-based fifth season. But to be fair, Homeland is hardly the first time Berlin has been the setting for spy drama. It's a fascinating city, culturally and architecturally, and the one thing the premiere does succeed at is showcasing the many sides of Berlin.

Perhaps the biggest flaw with Berlin Station is the show's unwillingness to explore the complicated moral landscape its conflict creates. As if it weren't already painfully obvious, this episode clunkily reminds viewers that the Thomas Shaw character is cut from the same cloth as Edward Snowden and Julian Assange. Or maybe it's more accurate to say that Shaw is Assange and his secret CIA partner is Snowden. The show seems intent on presenting the CIA characters as embattled heroes racing against the clock to prevent their critical secrets from being exposed. It downplays the idea that Shaw may have legitimate cause to expose them. It only occasionally acknowledges the fact that these agents use questionable, possibly illegal tactics in their operations, strain the political relationship between the US and Germany and leave ruined lives in their wake.

There's a late twist in this first episode that tries to paint Shaw in a more blatantly villainous light, but it just rings false. The stories of men like Snowden and Assange are important because they raise crucial questions about the boundaries between freedom and security. Is there a point where it becomes morally necessary for a government agent to risk their career in order to blow the whistle? Are sites like WikiLeaks justified in leaking classified documents when it puts actual lives in jeopardy or furthers a specific political agenda? These are the sorts of questions Berlin Station should be more interested in exploring, rather than spinning a conventional spy yarn.

The Verdict
Berlin Station may appeal to hardcore spy fanatics, but this first episode doesn't have much to offer we haven't seen done better elsewhere. Of the talented cast, only Richard Jenkins does much to stand out here. If this series is going to realize its potential, it needs to try harder to explore the moral ambiguities of its "spies vs. whistleblowers" conflict and less on traditional espionage tropes.

BERLIN STATION Review
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By Jerome Wetzel
Posted on October 16, 2016

Premium movie service Epix joins the original scripted world this weekend with two new shows. One, a drama, is called BERLIN STATION, a slow-burn spy drama set in the city of Berlin, Germany. Created by novelist Olen Steinhauer, the series has shades of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and hops onto the current trend of espionage television programs, but with more international flavor than most. It boasts a cast that includes many well-knowns, so it seems ripe for success, but is it good enough?

The plot will seem pretty familiar to anyone who pays attention to the news, though it’s not really based on a true story. An Edward Snowden-like man named Thomas Shaw is leaking the covert activities of the American CIA office in Berlin, exposing the identities of local sources. Agent Daniel Miller (Richard Armitage, The Hobbit, Robin Hood), who is from Berlin but has been working elsewhere, is called home to investigate. Knowing there is a mole in the CIA station itself, everyone is on edge as Daniel attempts to find and stop the leak, and early indications are he’s good enough at his job to do so.

Who is the mole within the organization? Is it station chief Steven Frost (Richard Jenkins, Six Feet Under, Olive Kitteridge), who is having an affair with his secretary, Sandra Abe (Tamlyn Tomita, Teen Wolf)? Maybe it’s the woman who brings Daniel in, Valerie Edwards (Michelle Forbes, The Killing, True Blood), trying to deflect attention, although she does seem awfully upset when one of her contacts is burned. Or perhaps it’s Daniel’s former partner, Hector DeJean (Rhys Ifans, Elementary, The Amazing Spider-Man), who likes the seedy night life of the city? Or even agent Robert Kirsch (Leland Orser, Ray Donovan, Taken), who gets less character development in the pilot than those above?

BERLIN STATION makes the interesting choice of not leaving the viewer in the dark very long. While many series in this genre would keep the identity of the turncoat for a season-long mystery that must be solved, this one doesn’t, at least for those following along at home; it’s less certain how long it will take Daniel to figure things out. Which is a bold decision that will change how many view the story.

But is it a good idea? That, I’m not certain of. Part of the draw of a spy series is the unanswered questions, putting together the clues, and the suspense of figuring things out. BERLIN STATION takes that away early on, so it must rely on other elements to keep the viewers tuning in.

There are some great elements in this show. The cast, as listed above, is terrific, and I like the other characters, too, the German counterparts and enemy agents. The setting is cool, as the show is actually filmed in Berlin. The quality of the production and direction is pretty high. The stakes are real enough, and the plot feels familiar without being repetitive.

However, I also found the show boring. I like a good spy drama; The Americans is probably my favorite currently on the air, and Homeland is good, too. But I didn’t care for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy because I found the film too slow, not really holding my interest. BERLIN STATION seems to follow that format, and without even leaving the identity of the bad guy a secret, I really don’t have any interest in continuing past episode one.

If you’re a fan of this particular subgenre, though, and enjoyed the Gary Oldman-fronted movie, then this is likely to give you what you’re looking for, a regular weekly show in a particular format.

BERLIN STATION premieres tonighton Epix, and the network is allowing anyone to sample the first two hours free of charge on its website now.

Wenn ein relativ obskurer US-Pay-TV-Sender wie Epix plötzlich im Business der Qualitätsserienhersteller mitmischen möchte, muss er das schon mit einigem Aplomb versuchen - sonst nimmt ja keiner Notiz. Zeitgleich mit der Polit-Comedy "Graves", für die man den 75-jährigen Haudegen Nick Nolte verpflichtete, startet Epix deshalb nun auch noch "Berlin Station", ein zunächst auf zehn Folgen verteiltes, hochkarätig besetztes Spionagedrama über Agenten und Whistleblower mit Schauplatz Berlin. Berlin ist derzeit eine beliebte Wahl fürs Genre: Nach der fünften Staffel von "Homeland" und Steven Spielbergs "Bridge of Spies" ist die deutsche Haupt- und ehemalige Mauerstadt (wieder einmal) dick auf der Agentenlandkarte des audiovisuellen Erzählens verzeichnet; gerade das US-Publikum assoziiert Berlin ohnehin mit düster-eisiger Kalter-Kriegs-Folklore. Passenderweise ließ Epix "Berlin Station" denn auch in der kalten Jahreszeit drehen: Ohne Laub am Baum sieht Beton noch trostloser aus.

Für die Stories über US-Agenten eines Berliner CIA-Außenpostens hat Epix mit Olen Steinhauer einen echten Profi verpflichtet. Der Amerikaner ist einer der renommiertesten neueren Autoren von "Spy Fiction" in der John-le-Carré-Traditionslinie, das Spiel mit Täuschung und Verrat beherrscht er bestens, als Osteuropa-Kenner gilt er obendrein. Ein weiteres Plus dieses ansonsten nicht unbedingt allzu originellen Projektes ist der erlesene Cast: Neben dem charismatischen Richard Armitage, den die meisten als Thorin Eichenschild aus den "Hobbit"-Filmen kennen dürften, spielen noch diverse Charaktermimen der A-Liga mit. Richard Jenkins etwa, im Kino ("Jack Reacher") wie im Fernsehen ("Six Feet Under", "Olive Kitteridge") bewährt, spielt den Chef der titelgebenden CIA-Abteilung, Rhys Ifans ("The Amazing Spider-Man"), Michelle Forbes ("The Killing") und der bewährt grantige Leland Orser (Dr. Dubenko aus "Emergency Room") geben, sehenswert differenziert, Millers Kollegen. Und unter den gar nicht mal so wenigen deutschen Schauspielern in überraschend wichtigen Rollen glänzen etwa - als deutscher Spionageboss im Kohl-trifft-Honecker-Look - der langjährige Schlingensief-Mitstreiter Bernhard Schütz, Mina Tander als Femme Fatale oder der hohlwangige "Ludwig II"-Darsteller Sabin Tambrea, der als spirreliger Gothic-Assassine durch den Viktoriapark schleicht und dabei "Thin White Duke" genannt wird.

Thin White Duke - das war auch mal der Name einer der zahlreichen Bühnen-Identitäten von David Bowie, und dessen chamäleongleiches Spiel mit den Selbstbildern passt bestens in diese Produktion, schon weil Bowie selbst mal ein paar Jahre in Berlin lebte, in den Siebzigern, einer mythischen Zeit, die auch für viele Briten und Amerikaner das Bild von der Stadt prägte. Für Olen Steinhauer gilt das ganz bestimmt. Das sieht man schon am Vorspann der je einstündigen Episoden: Bahnhof Zoo, Oberbaumbrücke, Gedächtniskirche, Fernsehturm, Siegessäule, Brandenburger Tor, Hauptbahnhof, Reichstag, Street Art, U-Bahnen. Schnellen Schnittes wird einmal quer durchs touristische Berlin geskippt, an allen Sehenswürdigkeiten vorbei. Auf der Tonspur ist dazu natürlich Bowie zu hören, dessen Song "Afraid of Americans" unmissverständlich klar macht, dass dies nicht unbedingt eine Serie sein wird, die die dubiosen Umtriebe des amerikanischen Geheimdienstes im Ausland kritiklos feiert.

Stattdessen tun die ersten Folgen sehr viel dafür, um das in der Jetztzeit spielende Geschehen möglichst nah am Zeitgeschehen zu bauen, zu einem Zeitpunkt mithin, an dem der Ruf der amerikanischen Geheimdienste in Deutschland arg gelitten hat, nicht zuletzt durch Leaks über angezapfte Kanzlerinnen-Handys und Abhörskandale. Der Vorspann endet bezeichnenderweise mit Aufnahmen der US-Botschaft, von deren Dach der Lauschangriff ausgeführt worden sein soll.

In der Botschaft befindet sich auch die "Berlin Station" der CIA, wo Chef Steven Frost (Jenkins) alle Hände voll zu tun hat, den Imageschaden zu beheben und seine Untergebenen in Schach zu halten: Die zielstrebige Valerie Edwards etwa (Forbes) wird zur Konkurrentin, Robert Kirsch (Orser) ist ewig unzufrieden, und mit Sekretärin Sandra (Tamlyn Tomita aus "Law & Order: Los Angeles") betrügt er zur Entspannung seine Frau. Das Schlimmste: Ein unbekannter Whistleblower, der sich "Thomas Shaw" nennt, leakt seit einiger Zeit in Edward-Snowden-Manier sensible bis hochnotpeinliche Geheimdienst-Interna. Zuletzt deckte er beispielsweise auf, dass die CIA Maulwürfe in Flüchtlingslagern einschleuste und ein Mitarbeiter des Bundesamts für Verfassungsschutz für die Amerikaner spitzelte.

Hier kommt Dennis Miller (Armitage) ins Spiel, ein in Berlin aufgewachsener CIA-Agent mit schlimmen Kindheitserinnerungen, der an die Spree zurückversetzt und beauftragt wird, "Shaw" zu enttarnen. Dabei erwartet ihn offenbar nichts Gutes, wie die Eröffnungsszene antriggert: Da wird er nämlich von Schüssen niedergestreckt, das Geschehen entfaltet sich als Rückblende. Dass er selbst eventuell noch eine eigene Agenda haben könnte, lässt eine Rückblende anklingen, die ihn im panamaischen Dschungel zeigt, wo er einen USB-Stick aus dem Gebüsch klaubt. In Spionagepausen trifft er sich mit seiner - angeblichen - Cousine (Claudia Michelsen, "Der Turm") und deren Sohn. Ganz sauber wirkt das nicht.

Das Vorgeben respektive Verstecken von biografischen Identitäten ist ein gängiger Topos des Agentenfilms. Steinhauer münzt das auch in anderer Hinsicht auf Berlin, eine Stadt, die auch als Zentrum fluider (Sexual-)Identitäten gilt: Während der deutsche Spion Hans Richter (Schütz) ganz selbstverständlich in einer schwulen Partnerschaft lebt, hält US-Spion Hector DeJean (stark: Ifans), ein Weggefährte Millers, seine nächtlichen Streifzüge durch das queere Nachtleben (und seine Gefühle für einen saudischen Informanten) geheim. Dass DeJean ein - genretypisches - Doppelspiel spielt, wird am Ende der Pilotfolge offengelegt. Mit der frühen Enthüllung eines Sachverhalts, den Miller erst noch aufdecken muss, ist klar, dass Steinhauer hier weniger den herkömmlichen Whodunit-Thrill als ein charaktergetriebenes Agentenstück mit melancholischem Subtext im Sinn hat: Die Agenten wirken allesamt desillusioniert, träumen vom Aufhören, wechseln die Seite, jagen einen Whistleblower, der aus anderen Perspektive ein Guter ist. Die Berliner Journalistin, die Shaws Enthüllungen druckt (Victoria Mayer aus "Kommissar Stolberg"), klagt Miller einmal an: "Amerikanische Außenpolitik hat mehr Leute auf dem Gewissen als sämtliche Terroranschläge zusammen!"

Der Tonfall ist also grimmig, das Tempo eher langsam, doch natürlich erfindet Steinhauer das Genre keineswegs neu. Die Plot-Bausteine sind bekannt, mitunter allzu abgegriffen: Miller spioniert Shaws Kurierin (Sylvia Hoeks, "The Best Offer") hinterher, kommt alsbald einem angeblich geläuterten georgischen Islamisten auf die Spur, wird dazwischen selbst observiert und möglicherweise zum Opfer eines falschen Freundes. Die Dialoge der rein deutsch gesprochenen Szenen sind schlicht missglückt, zudem wirken Dekodierungsszenen (mit Tarotkarten und Rätselheften) an den Haaren herbeigezogen. Das Spannende an dieser Serie, das wird schnell klar, ist nicht das Was des Plots, sondern das Wie des Settings.

Und in dem Punkt macht "Berlin Station" viel richtig, schon weil die richtigen Leute dafür engagiert wurden: Neben dem belgischen Kino-Regisseur Roskam ("The Drop") und Tom-Tykwer-Komponist Reinhold Heil war sicher auch Kameramann Hagen Bogdanski (der mit "Das Leben der Anderen" einen der großen neueren Berlin-Filmklassiker fotografierte) dafür verantwortlich, dass der detailverliebte Blick auf den Schauplatz Berlin hier so gut funktioniert. Die Art, wie sich die Serie topografisch und erzählerisch in der Stadt verortet, ist den Versuchen in "Homeland" deutlich überlegen - obgleich sich die Wahl der Schauplätze vor allem an den Insider-Tipps in Lonely-Planet-Reiseführern zu orientieren scheint. Da wird im Weddinger Kiezladen Gemüse eingekauft, in der Kreuzberger Szene-Bar "Möbel Olfe" Kaffee getrunken, im "Maroush" nebenan Falafel gemampft, im Plattenladen "Space Hall" konspiriert, wie sich überhaupt viel rund um das neuerdings von besorgten Boulevardmedien zur No-Go-Area ausgerufenen Kottbusser Tor abspielt. Es geht von der "Monkey Bar" in Charlottenburg über die Aussichtsplattform am Potsdamer Platz bis in Neuköllner Moscheen (wo der Imam auf Deutsch von Liebe spricht), es hagelt Namedropping von Merkel bis Union Berlin, und die Chefspione speisen natürlich im "Borchardt". Warum Miller auf dem Weg vom Alexanderplatz nach Kreuzberg am Reichstag vorbeiradeln muss, bleibt zwar ebenso ungeklärt wie die Frage, warum sich Spione in Berlin-Serien zum klandestinen Meet-and-Greet grundsätzlich in der (streng bewachten) Ex-Abhöranlage auf dem Teufelsberg treffen müssen, oder warum sich ein Whistleblower von Format ausgerechnet die Berliner Zeitung als Publikationspartner suchen sollte. Ansonsten aber dürften selbst Nicht-Berliner mehr von der Stadt mitbekommen als durch so manchen Spree-"Tatort". Ganz unabhängig also von der noch nicht klärbaren Frage, ob die in den ersten Episoden akribisch in Gang gesetzte Spionagegeschichte ausreichend Substanz hat für ganze zehn Folgen, so machen zumindest dieser stadtatmosphärische Unterbau und die erfreulich facettenreich angelegten Rollen Lust darauf, der Serie über die volle Distanz zu folgen.

Dieser Text basiert auf der Sichtung der ersten beiden Episoden von "Berlin Station".

Meine Wertung
3,5/5

Er wird als stilles Wasser präsentiert. der sein eigenes Süppchen zu kochen hat .

Oh ja. Dieses stille Wasser ist sicher noch tief.

BERLIN STATION REVIEW: “LIGHTS DON’T RUN ON LOYALTY”OCTOBER 24, 2016
berlin station banner

“You want to do the right thing? Join the f***king Peace Corps.”

With writing like this, we might as well give BERLIN STATION all the Emmys right now. That’s sarcasm, of course, and perhaps it’s a bit unfair.

After all, the Epix series has done a lot right in its first two episodes, and this week’s installment was a marked improvement from the pilot.

“Lights Don’t Run on Loyalty” finds Richard Armitage’s Daniel Miller hot on the trail of the reporter who has been working with the crafty (and murderous) Thomas Shaw. Plus, his friend, case officer Hector DeJean (in an increasingly impressive performance by Rhys Ifans) tries to cover up the mess left by Shaw, who he is secretly working with, and Valerie (Michelle Forbes) turns up the heat in her ongoing feud with everyone’s boss, Steven Frost (Richard Jenkins).

It was a great episode for all of the actors involved, though Ifans’ sulky DeJean is carving out a niche as the show’s premier player.


Even though the pilot outed him as a “bad guy” in league with the thorn-in-the-side of the CIA known as Thomas Shaw, I couldn’t help but feel more and more attached and empathetic to his character. It always feels like he’s trying to do the right thing, even when he’s clearly not.

In this week’s episode, his asset and on-and-off lover leaves Berlin for Riyadh after the CIA doesn’t move to protect him from the potential enemies closing in all around him. Take that and add the Berlin Station’s general dysfunction and apparent malpractice, and it’s not hard to see why a damaged man like DeJean would turn on his country.

Speaking of which, “Lights Don’t Run on Loyalty” started to delve into the fragile psyches of our “heroes,” and what we saw was not pretty.

Some of them, like Leland Orser’s unapologetic Robert Kirsch, seem like paper pushers who have little regard for the consequences of the agency’s various dangerous actions.

Others, like Miller, DeJean and Valerie, appear to be at least in part driven by their conscience, and try as best they can to rise above the bureaucracy and do what needs to be done for the betterment of Americans abroad and at home.

Corny lines aside, writer-creator Olen Steinhauer is cleverly setting up a battle of ideals within this Berlin office, and director Michaël R. Roskam is complementing that bleak set-up with some visuals that are at once equally bleak but also captivating. Still, the show’s best asset (pun intended) is the relationship between Miller and DeJean, of which I think and hope we are only just scratching the surface.


The duo didn’t share much screen time in this episode, but the scene they have together showcases both the performers and Steinhauer at the top of their games.

If Berlin Station is about the battle between decency and patriotism, Miller and DeJean personify that conflict both internally and in their friendship.


Miller’s job is to find and put an end to Thomas Shaw, but Armitage does an excellent job at revealing the complexities underneath this agent’s tough, stoic façade. Beneath the tough guy veneer is a conflicted man who at least partly believes the reporter who tells him that the CIA is an evil entity up to no good. Of course he wants to catch Shaw and end his games before he hurts anyone else, but the weary Miller also understands the whistleblower and his motives better than most. Perhaps that’s why he’s the perfect man for the job.

Similarly, DeJean reprimands Shaw for his murder of a courier that could’ve brought him down, but he doesn’t exactly cut off ties with him completely. Their work (whatever it may entail) will continue, in part because DeJean is in too deep, but also because he believes in the work that Shaw is doing. He’s fed up with the system that compromises innocent lives more than it saves them, and to save his soul, he has to get it a little dirty.

The fact that Miller is unknowingly chasing DeJean is the cherry on top of the Berlin Station sundae. Their rapport is what will keep the show lively in spite of the dreary Berlin setting and frequently dreary writing.

TB-TV-Grade-B+

Season 1, Episode 2 (S01E02)
Berlin Station airs Sunday at 8PM on Epix

Read all of our reviews of Berlin Station here.

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Tyler Hicks | Contributor