The Other Side of the Wall: Deutschland 83

A new series premieres this evening on Sundance that is different from most of the programming you will see this year, and the fact that it will be shown in German is just the start.  Unlike The Americans and other shows about imbedded spies in these United States, this series covers a German spy within the German ranks, though we are still dealing with the same East versus West dynamics.

The new show, Deutschland 83, sounds like a fascinating mix of history and espionage to keep everyone interested.  While it is fictional, it too can bring a historic period and a struggle to life.  Set in the 1980s in East and West Germany (remember those "two" countries?), the show puts us deep in the Cold War as two great powers continue to face off against each other on the eastern flank of Europe.  Here is Sundance's summary (and the trailer):

DEUTSCHLAND 83 is a gripping coming-of-age story set against the real culture wars and political events of Germany in the 1980s. The drama follows Martin Rauch (Jonas Nay) as the 24 year-old East Germany native is pulled from the world as he knows it and sent to the West as an undercover spy for the Stasi foreign service. Hiding in plain sight in the West German army, he must gather the secrets of NATO military strategy. Everything is new, nothing is quite what it seems and everyone he encounters is harboring secrets, both political and personal. 

And while all this historic context should make for a terrific show, The Hollywood Reporter calls it a "glossy soap opera," noting: 

Like most high-gloss TV miniseries, Deutschland 83 is not exactly subtle. The political complexities of the Cold War's final decade are sanitized and simplified into very broad strokes. The background chorus of cigar-comping military hawks, malevolent enemy agents, sexy female assassins and tree-hugging hippie idealists struggle are mostly cartoonish cyphers. Between the pop hits, the strident orchestral score is intrusive and bombastic. 

I expect "broad strokes" in most television drama, so we will be okay.  You can always flip over to another channel if you need a documentary.  As always, you be the judge.