Babylon Berlin
Berlin, 1929. Inspector Gereon Rath, a war veteran from Cologne with a morphine habit, arrives on a secret mission to break an extortion ring. He crosses paths with Charlotte Ritter, a police clerk from the slums of Neukölln who works nights at the Moka Efti cabaret and wants to become the city's first female homicide detective.
Where to watch
- Stream MHz Choice
- Buy Apple TV
- Stream MHz Choice
- Buy Apple TV
- Buy Prime Video
- Stream Entertainment Membership
- Buy Apple TV
- Buy Prime Video
- Buy Apple TV
Babylon Berlin isn’t streaming, or for rent or sale, on any service we track here right now.
Checked 25 Oct 2026. Services change their catalogues often; the service’s own page has the final word.
Our take
Berlin, 1929. Inspector Gereon Rath, a war veteran from Cologne with a morphine habit, arrives on a secret mission to break an extortion ring. He crosses paths with Charlotte Ritter, a police clerk from the slums of Neukölln who works nights at the Moka Efti cabaret and wants to become the city's first female homicide detective.
Why watch It is historical drama with real momentum, setting a twisty crime story against the slow collapse of the Weimar Republic and the rise of the Nazis. The production design is lavish, and the Moka Efti nightclub sequences are a spectacle in themselves. It won the Rose d'Or and a European Film Awards prize for fiction series. Best for viewers comfortable with subtitles and a large cast.
What to know
Tom Tykwer, Achim von Borries and Hendrik Handloegten created, wrote and directed the series together, loosely adapting Volker Kutscher’s Gereon Rath novels. It premiered on Sky 1 on 13 October 2017 with a continuous run of 16 episodes, counted as the first two seasons. The third season followed in January 2020, the fourth in October 2022, and the fifth and final season premiered in Germany on 10 September 2026.
The story tracks history closely: the first two seasons concern a conservative plot against the Republic, the third reaches the eve of the Great Depression, the fourth moves to 1931 and the fifth reaches 1933. It has been called the most expensive non-English language drama series ever produced.
Where to start
Begin with the first episode and treat the first 16 as a single story; they were made and released that way. Volker Bruch and Liv Lisa Fries anchor every season, so the cast changes later on are easy to absorb.
Seasons & episodes
- Season 1
- Season 2
- Season 3
- Season 4
- Season 5
Cast & crew
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Volker Bruch
Gereon Rath
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Liv Lisa Fries
Charlotte Ritter
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Lars Eidinger
Alfred Nyssen
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Hannah Herzsprung
Helga Rath
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Benno Fürmann
Oberst Gottfried Wendt
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Fritzi Haberlandt
Elisabeth Behnke
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Karl Markovics
Samuel Katelbach
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Mišel Maticevic
Edgar der Armenier
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Christian Friedel
Reinhold Gräf
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Leonie Benesch
Greta Overbeck
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Ronald Zehrfeld
Walter Weintraub
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Meret Becker
Esther Kasabian
More like this
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Quick answers
- Where can I watch Babylon Berlin?
- In the UK: Entertainment Membership, Apple TV (buy) and Prime Video (buy). In Canada: MHz Choice and Apple TV (buy). In the US: MHz Choice, Apple TV (buy) and Prime Video (buy). In Australia: Apple TV (buy).
- What is Babylon Berlin about?
- Berlin, 1929. Inspector Gereon Rath, a war veteran from Cologne with a morphine habit, arrives on a secret mission to break an extortion ring. He crosses paths with Charlotte Ritter, a police clerk from the slums of Neukölln who works nights at the Moka Efti cabaret and wants to become the city's first female homicide detective.
- Who is in the cast of Babylon Berlin?
- Babylon Berlin stars Volker Bruch as Gereon Rath, Liv Lisa Fries as Charlotte Ritter, Lars Eidinger as Alfred Nyssen, Hannah Herzsprung as Helga Rath and Benno Fürmann as Oberst Gottfried Wendt.
- When did Babylon Berlin start?
- Babylon Berlin premiered on 13 October 2017 and ran until 2026, with 5 seasons.
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