Latest news with #TheBreakthrough
Metro
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Metro
All four episodes of 'excellent' true crime drama available to stream on BBC
A new German true crime drama, The Black Forest Murders, has arrived on BBC iPlayer. The synopsis for the four-episode series reads: 'The clock is ticking… When a woman is bludgeoned to death, detectives face mounting pressure to crack the case and catch a killer.' And is described as an 'intense crime drama inspired by real-life cases.' The show is based on the non-fiction Walter Roth book which follows a 2016 police investigation into the mysterious murders of two young women in the south of Germany. In the show we see Senior Detective Barbara Kramer (Nina Kunzendorf) of the Lauburg police and her team, including Thomas Riedle (Tilman Strauß), embark on an investigation to apprehend the perpetrator. But as they hit dead-end after dead-end and little success through talking to witnesses and gathering evidence, the police face 'mounting pressure' to provide answers. Sue Deeks, Head of BBC Programme Acquisition, called the show an 'authentic and compelling crime series focussing on the work of a meticulous investigative team.' She added: 'As well as being a gripping murder mystery, the series offers a detailed look at the challenges of solving complex crimes, and the psychological toll on those involved in such high-stakes investigations.' 'I watched the entire series in one sitting and thought it was excellent. The meticulous investigation was amazing. Nina Kunzendorf was at her best as a fair and likeable boss in a strong team,'Sylvia Strobl praised on Google reviews. 'I found this four-part series extremely good. It was exciting, with good dialogue… and a very good portrayal of a real series of murders. The actors did a very good job, especially Ms. Kramer, who acted convincingly. It was a glimpse behind the scenes of a special investigation unit,' Karen Sabine Feuerhahm added. 'A wonderfully authentic and unpretentious narrative, a crime story like you'd only wish for, not cluttered with ridiculous subplots and overly contrived action. A fantastic team around Nina Kunzendorfer, who always remains believable,' Rike Straub echoed. The Guardian has a slightly cooler, but still praiseworthy, take, writing: ' Its attention to every single moving part means that the drama itself moves very slowly, and it is not so much a thriller as a satisfying puzzle, steadily coming together. Not a bad drama, then, but not a revolutionary one, either.' More Trending Elsewhere, The Sydney Morning Herald praised the drama as 'outstanding.' 'There are no grand deductive leaps, no cat-and-mouse interviews with a prime suspect. This is a gripping procedural founded on detail and diligence,' the publication added. Both also compared the show to Netflix's Swedish drama The Breakthrough, which also follows the story of a 'shocking double homicide which goes unsolved for 16 years.' View More » The Black Forest Murders is available to stream on BBC iPlayer. Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you.
Sydney Morning Herald
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
Murder dramas are everywhere, but this meticulous German one is outstanding
The Black Forest Murders ★★★★ There are no sirens. Adapted from real-life events, this German crime drama operates with a quiet urgency. The momentum is constant, as detectives in the country's rural south attempt to solve the horrifying murder of a young woman, even as circumstances escalate, but the focus is their meticulous, unrelenting investigation. There are no grand deductive leaps, no cat-and-mouse interviews with a prime suspect. This is a gripping procedural founded on detail and diligence. 'The odds are in our favour,' reasons police detective Thomas Reidle (Tilman Strauss) to his senior partner, Barbara Kruger (Nina Kunzendorf), after they have begun investigating the murder of Stefanie Burghoff (Lara Kimpel), a jogger who never returned from her weekend run through the village's rolling hills and vineyards. But his optimism is difficult to maintain, and this show emphasises the tenaciousness – to spot gaps, make difficult requests, motivate tiring officers – that is required. The case is like the jigsaw on Kruger's dinner table: 1000 tiny unsolved pieces. Loading The four episodes of this limited series were adapted from Soko Erle, a 2016 non-fiction book by police officer Walter Roth, who worked as the media liaison officer on a taskforce assembled to investigate a prominent murder. The show's writers, Robert Hummel and Martina Mouchot, have changed names and circumstances from the book, to avoid directly reminding the victim's family and their community of what transpired, but they have kept the granular steps the police went through. Early on, as the case's scope widens after there's no immediate resolution, database scans are assigned. But a junior officer points out a problem they have to get around: the various German states use different IT systems, and they're not all readily compatible. At various points the authorities have nothing new to work on, so they have to go back and redo previous steps, hoping something was overlooked. You watch as officers examine a hedge with magnifying glasses, looking for minute traces. Given the literally microscopic detail, when progress is made it's thrilling. Murder dramas are ubiquitous on our screens, but as with Netflix's outstanding Swedish series The Breakthrough, the day-to-day persistence here is fascinating. Kruger and Reidle take shape through the prosaic reality of their work: professional, but never impersonal. Their outside lives seep in via unorthodox but plausible means. At one point Reidle, who has a growing family, casually asks Kruger if her widowed father is looking to sell his house.
The Age
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Age
Murder dramas are everywhere, but this meticulous German one is outstanding
The Black Forest Murders ★★★★ There are no sirens. Adapted from real-life events, this German crime drama operates with a quiet urgency. The momentum is constant, as detectives in the country's rural south attempt to solve the horrifying murder of a young woman, even as circumstances escalate, but the focus is their meticulous, unrelenting investigation. There are no grand deductive leaps, no cat-and-mouse interviews with a prime suspect. This is a gripping procedural founded on detail and diligence. 'The odds are in our favour,' reasons police detective Thomas Reidle (Tilman Strauss) to his senior partner, Barbara Kruger (Nina Kunzendorf), after they have begun investigating the murder of Stefanie Burghoff (Lara Kimpel), a jogger who never returned from her weekend run through the village's rolling hills and vineyards. But his optimism is difficult to maintain, and this show emphasises the tenaciousness – to spot gaps, make difficult requests, motivate tiring officers – that is required. The case is like the jigsaw on Kruger's dinner table: 1000 tiny unsolved pieces. Loading The four episodes of this limited series were adapted from Soko Erle, a 2016 non-fiction book by police officer Walter Roth, who worked as the media liaison officer on a taskforce assembled to investigate a prominent murder. The show's writers, Robert Hummel and Martina Mouchot, have changed names and circumstances from the book, to avoid directly reminding the victim's family and their community of what transpired, but they have kept the granular steps the police went through. Early on, as the case's scope widens after there's no immediate resolution, database scans are assigned. But a junior officer points out a problem they have to get around: the various German states use different IT systems, and they're not all readily compatible. At various points the authorities have nothing new to work on, so they have to go back and redo previous steps, hoping something was overlooked. You watch as officers examine a hedge with magnifying glasses, looking for minute traces. Given the literally microscopic detail, when progress is made it's thrilling. Murder dramas are ubiquitous on our screens, but as with Netflix's outstanding Swedish series The Breakthrough, the day-to-day persistence here is fascinating. Kruger and Reidle take shape through the prosaic reality of their work: professional, but never impersonal. Their outside lives seep in via unorthodox but plausible means. At one point Reidle, who has a growing family, casually asks Kruger if her widowed father is looking to sell his house.
