Netflix Sets Five New German Originals

Netflix is ramping up its investment in German content, announcing five new originals out of Germany—from epic tales of the past and future to contemporary crime dramas, coming-of-age stories and family sagas.

Among the projects, The Barbarians comes from Gaumont Germany. In the famous battle of the Teutoburg Forest, Germanic warriors in 9 AD halted the spread of the Roman Empire in their advance north. This bloody encounter of two worlds is interwoven with the destinies of three young people whose fate will lead them from innocence to guilt, from loyalty to betrayal, and from love to hate.

Tribes of Europa is set in 2070, when after a mysterious global catastrophe what remains of Europe is fractured into countless micro-states. Several so-called “Tribes” fight for dominance over the continent. The post-apocalyptic, adventurous saga tells of three siblings who set out to change the fate of this new “Europa.”

From BTF Productions, Don’t Try This at Home follows a high school student and his best friend who launch Europe’s largest online drug business from a teenage bedroom in an effort to win back the love of his life.

Skylines is set in Frankfurt, where a young and gifted hip-hop producer gets the chance of a lifetime when he signs with Skyline Records. But the worlds of music, organized crime and high finance collide when the label owner’s gangster brother returns from exile to claim his share.

There is also an untitled Christmas mini-series, about one family’s crazy and emotional Christmas holidays. The story centers on four generations of women who finally have to come clean about all the secrets they have been keeping from each other.

The projects will begin launching in 2019, and all titles will be available in over 190 countries where Netflix is available.

These five new series add to the current slate of German originals: Dark, Dogs of Berlin and The Wave.

Kelly Luegenbiehl, VP of original series for Europe, said: “At Netflix, we want to tell local stories with global appeal. We are excited to have found this in these five projects, which—each in their unique way—are both undeniably German and at the same time tell stories that are relevant to viewers all over the world.”

Luegenbiehl added: “This is a meaningful investment in the German market and we are looking forward to working with local creatives, talent and production companies. We want to continue to support our creatives in their vision and offer unique storytelling and premium quality to our consumers.”