The final season of Babylon Berlin is finally a-go. Cameras are rolling on Season 5, with the first picture teasing more action for Volker Bruch’s police inspector Gereon in the German drama.
According to Beta Film, which produces and sells the show, the story is set to reunite [Gereon] with Liv Lisa Fries’ Charlotte for a final investigation, driven by a glimpse of hope to avoid Germany’s darkest period.”
The season is set to the backdrop of Adolf Hitler becoming Reich Chancellor in January 1933 as the end of Germany’s Weimar Republic looms. Two months later, new elections will give Hitler’s party complete power, but in the five weeks preceding, every German is faced with difficult decisions: to adapt, to risk open opposition, or to flee.
Gereon has disappeared, but Charlotte digs deep into a mysterious case of a series of murders of former front-line soldiers. There are growing signs that there is a direct link to Gereon’s past – and that of the new Reich Chancellor, the synopsis notes.
Writer/director trio Henk Handloegten, Achim von Borries and Tom Tykwer have adapted the scripts for the final eight episode season from Volker Kutscher’s fifth novel of his series, The March Fallen. Speculation about when the season would move ahead has been rife since Sky Deutschland pulled out of original content in July 2023.
In a statement, Tom Tykwer, Henk Handloegten and Achim von Borries, said they were “working non-stop to make the new season as spectacular as possible in terms of the look, locations and one of the most integral parts of the series: the music.”
“Nightclubs, Carnival and the changes throughout society are the base for a soundtrack that will set the new season apart,” they added. “We put a magnifying glass on the five weeks at the beginning of 1933, which will turn the country upside down and find an ending the series and, most importantly, its fans deserve.”
Season 5 was given an official green light in July last year, with ARD Degeto the sole German broadcaster after Sky pulled out. Shooting had been scheduled for the fall, but pushed into this year.
Beta-backed X-Filme Creative Pool is producing in co-production with ARD Degeto, SWR, WDR, Radio Bremen and Beta in collaboration with RBB, funded by Film-und Medienstiftung NRW, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg as well as the German Motion Picture Fund.
Beta Film has sold the series to more than 140 territories since its launch, and has been considered one of the most influential high-end TV dramas out of Germany in recent times.
Christoph Pellander and Carolin Haasis from ARD Degeto are producing alongside, Manfred Hattendorf and Monika Denisch from SWR), and Alexander Bickel and Caren Toennissen-Brand from WDR. Executive producers for X-Filme are Stefan Arndt, Uwe Schott, and Michael Polle, and co-producers for Beta Film are Jan Mojto, Dirk Schürhoff, and Moritz Herzogenberg.
