Berlin Station (TV series)

Berlin Station is an American drama television series created by Olen Steinhauer. The series stars Richard Armitage, Rhys Ifans, Leland Orser, Michelle Forbes, Richard Jenkins, Keke Palmer, Ashley Judd, John Doman, Tamlyn Tomita, and Ismael Cruz Córdova. Bradford Winters had been showrunner for its first two seasons, with Jason Horwitch taking over for season 3.

A ten-episode first season premiered on Epix on October 16, 2016. On November 17, 2016, Epix renewed Berlin Station for a second season, originally planned to contain ten episodes, which premiered on October 15, 2017 and concluded a nine-episode-season-run on December 3, 2017. On December 6, 2017, Epix renewed the series for a third season, which premiered on December 2, 2018.

It was canceled on March 29, 2019 after three seasons.

In 2021, all three seasons were released on DVD from Paramount Home Entertainment.

Plot
The story follows Daniel Miller (Richard Armitage), who has just arrived at the CIA station in Berlin, Germany. In season 1, Miller has a clandestine mission: to uncover the source of a leak who has supplied information to a now-famous whistleblower named Thomas Shaw. Guided by veteran Hector DeJean (Rhys Ifans), Daniel learns to contend with the rough-and-tumble world of the field agent: agent-running, deception, and the dangers and moral compromises. In season 2, four months after Miller was shot at the end of season 1, he recovered from his injuries sufficiently to be given a new clandestine assignment: to infiltrate a far-right German political party believed to be planning an act of terror right before an upcoming election.

Main

 * Richard Armitage as Daniel Miller, a cerebral CIA officer who shifts from working as an analyst at Langley headquarters in the US to serving as an undercover officer in Berlin and is tasked with finding a leak in CIA operations
 * Rhys Ifans as Hector DeJean, a disillusioned veteran CIA officer with dubious tactics and many secrets
 * Leland Orser as Robert Kirsch, a devoted and successful Deputy Chief who digs intelligence out of the city of Berlin through a mix of force, diligence, and cleverness
 * Michelle Forbes as Valerie Edwards, the no-nonsense administrator who serves as a Berlin Station Internal Branch Chief, and later Station Chief
 * Richard Jenkins as Steven Frost (seasons 1–2, guest season 3), a veteran of the Cold War, who serves as the CIA's Chief of the Berlin Station in season 1 and is retired at the start of season 2
 * Tamlyn Tomita as Sandra Abe (season 1), a quiet presence leading the efficient operation of Berlin Station while having an affair with her boss, Steven
 * John Doman as Richard Hanes (season 2), the new American ambassador to Germany and an old friend of Steven's
 * Keke Palmer as April Lewis (seasons 2–3), the new young case officer assigned to Berlin Station
 * Ashley Judd as BB Yates (season 2, recurring season 3), Berlin's new Chief of Station, nicknamed "The Station Whisperer"
 * Ismael Cruz Córdova as Rafael Torres (season 3), an officer for the Special Activities Center of the CIA, previously in the military

Recurring

 * Mina Tander as Esther Krug, a German BfV agent and later the head of the BfV
 * Mark Moses as Jason Wolfe, Berlin Station's supervisor at the CIA (seasons 1 and 3)

Season 1

 * as Jemma Moore, Steven's superior at the CIA
 * Caroline Goodall as Kelly Frost, Steven's wife
 * as Hans Richter, an old-world spy who has risen to the highest ranks of the BfV
 * as Ingrid Hollander, a German reporter
 * Sabin Tambrea as Julian De Vos, a courier funneling information from "Thomas Shaw" to Claudia Gartner
 * Sylvia Hoeks as Claudia Gartner, the courier between De Vos and Hollander
 * Claudia Michelsen as Patricia Schwarz, Miller's cousin
 * Antje Traue as Lana Vogel, aka "Joker", a freelance agent
 * Zahra Ahmadi as Clare Itani, an American agent and DeJean's girlfriend
 * Daniela Ziegler as Golda Friedman, a Mossad agent

Season 2

 * Thomas Kretschmann as Otto Ganz, a German alt-right extremist
 * Emilia Schüle as Lena Ganz, Otto's daughter
 * Natalia Wörner as Katerina Gerhardt, head of the far-right party Perspektive für Deutschland (PfD, “Perspective for Germany“)
 * Heino Ferch as Joseph Emmerich, the #2 leader of the PfD
 * Jannis Niewöhner as Armando, an undercover agent for the BfV
 * Scott William Winters as Nick Fischer, a CIA agent
 * Brandon Spink as Noah Kirsch, Robert Kirsch's son

Season 3

 * Katarina Čas as Sofia Vesik, a controversial Estonian tech CEO
 * Mikhail Boutchine as Vassily Krik, a Russian oligarch
 * Nikolai Kinski as Roman Platov, a Russian extremist working for Krik
 * Adi Kvetner as Rodion Volkov, a Russian Spetsnaz soldier working for Krik
 * Julian Kostov as Sergei Basarov, a Russian Spetsnaz sniper aligned with Volkov
 * Ladi Emeruwa as Dove Adeyemi, an asset that April is cultivating
 * Robin Weigert as Jamie Hudson, Valerie's friend from college
 * Anja Antonowicz as Nina Bartek, Kirsch's neighbor
 * James Cromwell as Gilbert Dorn, a retired CIA agent revealing old secrets via podcast
 * Robbie Gee as Kayode Adeyemi, Dove's scientist father
 * Dejan Čukić as Kolya Akulov, the head of Russian Intelligence SVR

Production
Epix announced a ten-episode straight-to-series order on May 21, 2015. Michaël Roskam executive produced the series and directed the first two episodes. Olen Steinhauer wrote and executive produced the series. Production started in November 2015.

Principal photography took place in Potsdam at Studio Babelsberg, which is co-producer of Berlin Station. The whole interior of the CIA Station, which includes a security entrance as well as the big windowless office space within, was built on stages at Babelsberg's studios. Other scenes were shot on locations in Potsdam and Berlin, Germany.

On February 7, 2018, it was announced that Jason Horwitch would be joining the series as showrunner and executive producer. He will be replacing Brad Winters who had served in those positions for the show's first two seasons. For the third season, production moved to Budapest, Hungary.

Broadcast
A 10-episode first season of Berlin Station premiered on Epix on October 16, 2016. The series is exclusive to Netflix in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It is broadcast free-to-air and on-demand in Australia on SBS TV. It also is available in Israel. The series has been licensed to more than 150 territories worldwide.

Reception
Berlin Station has received generally positive reviews from critics. On Metacritic, the show holds a rating of 65 out of 100, based on 12 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". In a season 1 review for Variety, Maureen Ryan attests the series "an outstanding cast that takes its reasonably solid storytelling and raises it a few notches through sheer talent and charisma", praising especially Richard Jenkins, Michelle Forbes and Rhys Ifans. The New York Times' Mike Hale called season 3 a "well-made but not hugely original mix of spycraft, action and sexy office intrigue" and noticed that "Berlin Station is elevated by the surprising, and relatively unnoticed, quality of its core cast", mentioning particularly Leland Orser whose "shifty, nervous energy still carries the show".