Berlin Noir (TV series)

Lore & Background

The series was announced in April 2025 when Apple TV greenlit the adaptation of Philip Kerr's Bernie Gunther novels, with Peter Straughan set to write. In July 2025, Jack Lowden was cast to star as Bernie Gunther, and Tom Shankland was announced as a director. Colin Firth joined the cast in February 2026, with Jessica Gunning, Maxine Peake, Daniel Mays, Sam Riley, Roger Allam, Liz Kingsman, and Carys Daniels added the following month. Luke Snellin also joined as a director alongside Shankland, and Jacob McCarthy joined in April 2026.

Reader's Guide

Berlin Noir represents a major television adaptation of Philip Kerr's acclaimed Bernie Gunther novels, which blend historical fiction with noir crime. The series is set in 1928 Berlin, a period of social and political tension, and follows a police officer tracking a serial killer. The production began in February 2026, with scenes shot in the Neukölln borough of Berlin. The cast includes notable actors such as Jack Lowden, Colin Firth, and Jessica Gunning. As an Apple TV original, the series is positioned as a high-profile crime thriller, though its release date has not yet been announced. Its significance lies in bringing Kerr's popular book series to a new audience, with a focus on historical authenticity and period atmosphere.

Did You Know?

• The series is based on the Bernie Gunther book series by Philip Kerr.
• Jack Lowden stars as Bernhard 'Bernie' Gunther.

Premise & Setting

Berlin Noir is an upcoming crime thriller television series that places its story in Berlin in 1928. At the heart of the narrative is a police officer who has been assigned to the Berlin Murder Squad, a specialized unit dealing with the city's most serious violent crimes. His defining challenge is to track down a serial killer operating in the city, a hunt that forms the procedural spine of the show. The series is adapted from the Bernie Gunther book series written by Philip Kerr, a literary franchise that has built a devoted readership over the years. By bringing Kerr's detective to the small screen, the production aims to capture the atmosphere of 1920s Berlin while delivering the sustained tension of a serial-killer investigation. The show will be available on Apple TV, which greenlit the adaptation as part of its streaming slate. The combination of a period setting, a focused murder-squad premise, and a serial-killer antagonist positions the series as a tightly plotted crime drama rooted in a specific historical moment. The 1928 backdrop gives the investigation a distinct texture, grounding the procedural elements in a city and era that feel both familiar and foreign to modern audiences.

Cast & Characters

The cast of Berlin Noir assembles a striking ensemble of actors to populate the world of 1928 Berlin. Jack Lowden takes on the lead role as Bernhard "Bernie" Gunther, the police officer at the center of the murder-squad investigation. Colin Firth brings gravitas to the role of Paul Lohser, while Jessica Gunning portrays Bertha Herzner and Maxine Peake plays Mila Gilhausen. The supporting cast includes Daniel Mays as Hari Voss, Sam Riley as Robert Lanz, and Roger Allam as Ernst Gennat. Adding further depth to the ensemble are Liz Kingsman as Rosa Bauer, Carys Daniels as Dora Meysel, and Richard Goulding in the role of Becker Sergeant. Amir El-Masry rounds out the announced cast as Bruno Stahlecker. The breadth of talent suggests a production that treats its period crime setting with the same seriousness it brings to its central mystery, giving each character a distinct voice within the narrative. The casting choices span a range of well-known names, signaling that the series intends to draw audiences with both its story and the caliber of its performers.

Production & Filming

The road to bringing Berlin Noir to screens was marked by a series of high-profile announcements spanning roughly a year. In April 2025, Apple TV officially greenlit the series based on Philip Kerr's novels, simultaneously confirming that Peter Straughan would pen the adaptation. Just three months later, in July 2025, Jack Lowden was announced as the star, and Tom Shankland was named as a director for the project. The next major casting wave came in February 2026, when Colin Firth joined the cast alongside Jessica Gunning, Maxine Peake, Daniel Mays, Sam Riley, and Roger Allam. The following month, Liz Kingsman and Carys Daniels were added to the lineup, and Luke Snellin stepped in as an additional director working alongside Shankland. By April 2026, Jacob McCarthy had also joined the production team. On the ground, production was underway by February 2026, with scenes captured in the Neukölln borough of Berlin toward the end of that month. Filming in an actual Berlin neighborhood lends the production a tangible authenticity, grounding the 1928 story in real streets and local architecture.

Source Material & Creative Vision

Berlin Noir is built upon the Bernie Gunther book series written by Philip Kerr, adapting his fictional detective for a television audience. The project was greenlit by Apple TV in April 2025, placing the adaptation squarely in the hands of a major streaming platform. Peter Straughan was brought on to write the adaptation, tasked with translating Kerr's written world into a format suited to episodic television storytelling. The directorial bench features both Tom Shankland and Luke Snellin, who share the responsibility of shaping the visual and narrative tone of the series. This dual-director approach suggests a production that values varied creative perspectives in its execution. The fact that the series is based on an existing book series gives it a built-in narrative framework and a central character—Bernie Gunther—who already has a defined identity in Kerr's novels. For the production, this means the adaptation is not building a world from scratch but rather translating an established literary universe into a visual medium. The creative team, spanning writer, directors, and a major streaming studio, reflects a production with significant resources behind it.