User reviews

Sure, it's a different tone to '83 and '86 but it hits the mark. It also manages to highlight the chaos of the times and the hypocrisy of all parties and ideologies. Good fun.

Well what a series this is, interesting, light hearted, complex, captivating and truly a must see for anyone interested in Cold War, 80s music and some damn fine acting.

I can honestly say, the scenes with Sylvester Groth and Neil's Borman were excellent, and they had me play them over and over again. Outstanding actors and simply owned the screen when on.

It's a series that you should not miss, and do not view a dubbed version, watch with subtitles if you don't understand German.

Hoping there's gonna be more.

I just love this series. Depicted nicely the complex political situation in Germany (east and west) during the cold war era, and gave an idea how it had a huge impact on global politics. Of course there are some side stories, but they made the series more interesting.

The first part Deutschland 83 i watched withing 2 days. Brillant regisseur, the actors and the story. I was waiting of the other parts of story and I wasn't disappointed.

A great finale of the third season for me. By chance I saw today that the final season is online and I watched all the episodes straight away. well corona time. I've lived in Berlin since I was born and have often visited East Berlin with my father. always with the entrance fee of 20 D-Marks per person. The Berlin Zoo was cheaper! In the west everything is illuminated and modern, in the east of Berlin the smell of two-stroke engines and the houses sometimes looked as if they weren't renovated or renewed after the 2nd WW. Today it looks completely different. The actors, the script and the integration of the authentic film material are very successful. German productions are apparently only good if they are financed by Amazon or Netflix, see "Dark". It's worth watching the 8 episodes!

From Deutschland 83 on I have been hooked by this ten star series. I believe Amazon prime had 83 and 86, can't be sure. My German is pretty rusty, but the 83 and 86 subtitles were clear even if translations weren't always quite right. Sundance repeatedly had illegible white subtitles against bright backgrounds, losing especially the banking discussions not clarified by the action. The cast, the power of the story line, the action scenes, tender scenes, characters, all 10 in my estimation, so my 7 is not for Deutschland 89 but for Sundance

I thoroughly enjoyed watching all 3 seasons. I was a teen (from the UK) during these years, so I remember quite vividly the goings on & music from this period of the Cold War era.

These comments assume viewers have seen the previous two series, Deutschland 83 and 86, as it is necessary to watch those to fully enjoy this series. I watched in German with English subtitles.

Another three years have passed and things are about to change forever in the DDR; it is 1989 and various Warsaw Pact countries have opened their borders and let people out... in a matter of days the Berlin Wall, the very physical symbol of a divided Europe, is going to fall. Our protagonist, Martin Rauch, is once again caught up in the key events. These see various characters trying to plan for what happens next; making the DDR a fairer, but still socialist country, facilitating reunion with the Federal German Republic or just making money. For much of the time he is joined by Nicole, his son's teacher, who he becomes romantically involved with. This will inevitably lead to many dangerous situations and further confrontations with his aunt Lenora.

I found this to be an enjoyable conclusion to the Deutschland trilogy; it nicely incorporates real events and manages to be tense even when the target of an assassination attempt is a real person who famously was not assassinated. The cast does a fine job bringing the various characters to life. There are plenty of twists and turns which take Martin and Nicole across the wall to West Germany then on to Romania and Italy then back to East Germany. There are some flaws; it does feel as if it is trying to shoehorn rather too many events of the time into the story, such as the Romanian uprising, and the epilogue comparing the Berlin Wall the Trump's US-Mexico border wall was rather crass. That didn't spoil the series though; I'd certainly recommend it to those who enjoyed '83 and '86.

Due to the dynamism of the era and rapidly changing events (often chaotic) this Series may seem more hectic / less profound, but both BRD and DDR had such times in 1989... Decisions had to be taken rapidly, background information was limited, nobody knew how the USSR and West would react... I am sure there are no exaggerations in the script. Families, friends, relatives became involved in different opinions and activities plus the shadow of Stasi was around anyone - in spite of his or her former or current views.

The cast is strong here again, mostly familiar faces, with new angles and approaches. Again the mail characters and performers are more versatile here (as DDR was in fact a "male" society as all socialist countries - in spite of slogans), with Jonas Nay and Sylvester Groth most to my liking.

The ending scenes are somewhat peculiar, and it seems that Deutschland ´92 is not envisaged... Although I would not mind to see what happened to all these surviving personas in the unified Germany.

A relatively weak offering compared to the first two seasons. Feels superficial and contrived on all levels with little or development of the what feels like 100s of side-storylines and characters. A few genuinely funny moments (Sylvester Groth is great as always) and the odd moment of tension but mostly the lame tale of Martin trying to chase down his evil auntie all over Europe. Leaves you feeling like they really could have done so much more with this pivotal, explosive moment in German/European history. And the script writers obviously just called it in. The dialogue is so stilted at times, it feels like a high school play. A shout-out in particular to Lavinia Wilson who delivered a performance that, though barely possible, was even worse than the script. I thought my eyes would never be the same again, having rolled so often at her attempts at playing the femme fatale. Grauenhaft.

After a tank full of red herrings, the series comes to a deserved conclusion. It is nicely worked through, although some might say a little on the cheesy side.

Looking back at the production in its totality, almost every good quality that we could have wished for was there in abundance. A dynamite script, a relentless pace, and some very classy acting ... to mention just a few.

And almost as the credits begin to roll, we are served up one final treat. Footage of President Trump extolling the virtues of his wonderful new wall. History repeats, and lessons are not always learned. In such cases, poking fun is the prerogative of the filmmaker. - 8.8/10.

This was really interesting for me. I was 18/19 when these events unfolded and I was a student of German, studying The Cold War.

I was really interested in the human side of that era and it was fascinating watching this from a German perspective alone, whereby each side became a pawn in the East vs West battle. There were no good or bad guys. Good and bad behaviour was depicted on both sides and, in the East, in particular, quite ordinary people were sucked into the politics, pitted against their families and embittered and corrupted. I really felt for Martin with his personal struggle to achieve a normal life and how the situation he found himself in changed him.

I know some people didn't like the ending with Trump and the comparison with his Mexican wall to the Berlin Wall, but I don't know if the filming occurred before or after January 2021. Whenever it was, it serves a stark reminder that democracy is more fragile than we think and we should not become complacent because it can easily be snatched from under our noses. America was a near miss.

Amazing performances.

Responsible handling of the material with a contemporary lense.

Work that Hollywood gives awards to, but are too afraid to make.

Entertaining series. Music was a lot better in 83, 86 seasons. Good wrap up for 89. However, there was no need for the last 10 seconds of political visual commentary. Comparing the Berlin Wall with the United States southern border is asinine.

Brilliant acting, fantastic sets/locations, lots of tension and intrigue throughout. The inter weaving plots and characters give rise to a very atmospheric experience and showcase perfectly just how warped, frightened and cloudy some parts of the world were through the 80's. D89 is a fitting end to a trio of exceptional series.

It's boring, poor character development, boring plot. First season was great, I am not sure if I'll watch till the end

A wonderful conclusion to this trilogy about the cold war. Lots of loose ends and storylines are resolved....in a way. But are they really? These people who are all pawns in a political chess game can't really escape their past.

And that is what is so great about this series. There is really no clear villain or hero here, all are just doing their jobs. Shown here in a brilliant way imo.

A lot of reviewers were critical about the last 10 seconds (especially certain Americans), but I think that was a great montage of pictures of where we are going...or might be going. History will reoeat itself unfortunately.

And as an outsider being to the US a lot, and know some about American politics, I can say that I am worried where we are now. The country hasn't been this politically divided since the civil war.

There is an unmistakably authentic atmosphere about this story which makes it different from period dramas in general. Characters and plot are organically created. Such a different take on the world of spies. East Germany and terrorism episodes of those days are well mixed in the operations of the government. And there is no doubt that this story resonates more vividly in the minds of europeans. The tension is always present, even in apparently common exchanges of dialogue. Very compelling.

Save the best for last! Sequel to Deutschland 83 & 86, 89 takes up the story with the events leading to the collapse of the Berlin Wall. Probably like 'The Crown', what with my lack of historical knowledge I'm never quite sure if what I'm seeing is a 'recreation' or 're-imagining' of history? Whatever, creators Anna & Jörg Winger again impressively combine drama, history and old news archive footage of the time to show the unravelling of the East German State (DDR) and its infamous Stasi and spy agency HVA in what is obviously a critical moment in German history. For the last installment of the trilogy, new characters appear alongside the regulars, like the excellent Svenja Jung playing Nicole, Martin's latest love interest, and Raul Casso as Valdez an underhand CIA agent in Berlin trying to recruit Martin. The series remains pretty faithful to its origins, so clear 'threads' run throughout this 3 year update. Spy Martin Rauch played by Jonas Nay, Maria Schrader as Lenora Rauch his cousin and HVA handler and Sylvester Groth her boss Walter Schweppenstette are outstanding as usual, and well supported by the rest of the cast, no weak links really. The production qualities make Deutschland exciting to watch, exquisitely shot mostly in and around Berlin with some lovely attention to detail like the typically garish & kitsch 80s decor and quaint ancient-looking computers, all of which add up to a wonderful hit series.

Deutschland 89's remembered history looks rather dated admittedly, but isn't that the point as it loses nothing of the power and dynamism that gripped the first 2 series? This one has the odd quirks of characters adjusting to the new realities, intelligence agencies aware of what's coming down the tracks who then try to disappear into civilian life and not leave any trail behind them. There are some quite funny moments, for example where leaders of HVA relocate to a villa in Sorrento, Italy, and plot their re-entry into capitalist society, hilarious. Other agents try to infiltrate Western Germany and prepare for unification, Martin & Nicole even find themselves in Timisora, Romania, on the cusp of revolution. Lots of good 'moments' in amongst its 8 episodes.

At heart though, there's a darker side to Deutschland 89 with its impending social upheaval, terrorist threats and the undoubted soul-searching of a country about to reinvent itself for the 4th time in the 20th Century. Which might explain why a German series took off in other countries before it became a hit at home. Originally relayed by Sundance TV and Germany's RTL, it was picked up by Amazon Prime for 86 and 89 and is now rightly one of the most popular foreign language spy dramas ever. Paula Milne & Oliver Hirschbiegel mini-series 'The Same Sky' follows a similar storyline of an agent being posted in West Berlin, and is also worth a look.

And doesn't Deutschland 89 have one of the best endings in a drama series ever, even if it's a bit make believe? Particularly, with the timely reminders that the end of the Cold War, or 'The End Of History' as it came to be known, doesn't mean the end of the world's problems. We can but dream ... highly recommended.

I really like the main character but this season is such a waste. The auntie-nephew conflict is dragged painfully out again; totally unbelievable, annoying and just boring. Also the other story lines are quite unoriginal and uninteresting. Huge disappointment is the last episode where everything is in the open, again. So we'll done for another season which I am not going to watch.