Best German series on Netflix for keen learners (2024)

What are the best German series on Netflix for keen learners in 2024? In this post you’ll discover ten strong contenders: what they’re about and why they’re useful and fun. Plus, at the end, two useful tips to help you find the shows and get the most out of watching them.

Unsure of the value of learning German by watching TV? Well, many learners seriously underestimate the sheer amount of listening practice that you need to get good at understanding – and speaking – a foreign language. We’re talking hundreds and hundreds of hours here. Watching Netflix shows in German provides an enjoyable way to get some of that essential exposure to real German (including regional accents). Plus, when you’re watching as well as listening, you have the pictures and (if you want) subtitles to help.

Sometimes you could do some intensive watching and listening. Here, the aim is to go deep and understand everything. Play an episode (or even a scene) over and over to understand as much as you can. If you can get hold of a full transcript you could try out the powerful technique of listening/transcribing as well.

Other times, you may just be ready to flop onto the sofa, tired after a busy day. That’s the time for extensive practice: put up your feet, don’t worry about not understanding everything, just let yourself get drawn into a cracking story.

OK, los geht’s mit der Liste of your must-watch German Netflix shows (in no particular order)

1. Biohackers

Biohackers is a fast-paced, six-part techno-thriller. Mia Akerlund is in her first year at the prestigious medical school of Freiburg University in south west Germany. She has a mission: to uncover the link between a family tragedy, a biology professor and the world of bio terrorism.

This is university life so (learners may be relieved to hear), people are speaking standard German. If you’re learning because you plan to move to Germany to study, this show lifts the lid on German university life. During my first stint in Germany (1990) I was a student at this very university (East European Studies, not medicine). My time there was exciting but, I have to admit, not as dramatic as this! Each episode: 45 mins.

2. Freud

An eight part biopic crime series that reimagines the life of the young Sigmund Freud in neurotic pre-First World War Vienna. It starts with a séance but we’re quickly into conspiracy, “a string of bloody mysteries” and the seemingly supernatural. This one can really help you get to grips Austria’s distinctive accent. Each episode: 1 hour.

3. Dark

Time travel is central to international sci-fi sensation Dark. Many people will tell you it’s the best German series on Netflix (“masterpiece”, “gripping”, “insanely good”, “incredible”, “mentally exhausting”…you get the idea). Centre-stage are four families in a small German town. People start to go missing but this is not going to be a crime drama. It’s creepy and dramatic, weird and, well… Dark. It’s slow-paced to begin with but you won’t get bored.

This is a great German series to watch when you just want a chill evening on the couch. However the plot is a bit intricate, so you do need to pay attention. No point just having this one on in the background when you’re cooking or cleaning. It can be somewhat difficult to understand the speech, but… sometimes that’s how people talk. Maybe start this one with the subtitles switched on (in German, mind, you intermediate + learners!). 3 seasons. Each episode: 50 minutes.

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4. Charité

Set in Berlin’s Charité hospital, this German show is a wonderful way to practise your language and also to learn about Germany’s past. The first season was set in 1888 and following years. Controversial historical themes such as abortion and colonialism are handled well. We meet such greats as Robert Koch (the German microbiologist) and Emil von Behring (the first ever winner of the Nobel Prize in Medicine). The second series is set in 1943 to 1945. In the first series, around the disturbing “eugenics” practices of the Third Reich are a theme. 2 seasons Each episode: 45 minutes.

5. Oktoberfest 1900

On English Netflix, the subtitle of this lavish costume drama is “Beer and Blood”. That gives you an inkling of what to expect. Oktoberfest is set at turn of the last century is based (very loosely) on true events. The plot is fun and dramatic. Plus, you get some German history in there, too. Mmm, history is a becoming a bit of a theme in this selection of top German shows. Curt Prank is an ambitious brewer with a tragic past, arrives in Munich to shake things up at the famous beer festival. That will upset vested interests but Curt is ready to ruffle feathers and use all his ruthless cunning.
You’ll get a belly full of the Bavarian accent with your beer. Bayerish can be quite strong but you need to get familiar with it. There are a lot of Bavarians and Freistaat Bayern is one of Germany’s economic powerhouses. Each episode: 50 minutes.

7. Weißensee

Weißensee is set in East Berlin during the last ten years of the Communist regime (1980 to 1990) with all its brutality and petty corruption. The two families at the centre of this authentic-feeling drama couldn’t be more different. The one: stalwart supporters of the regime; the other: dissidents. They are united by an unexpected romance. 4 seasons. 24 episodes. Each episode: 50 minutes.

6. Babylon Berlin

It’s 1929. German society is traumatised, riven and heading for disaster. The action takes place Berlin, its glamour and squalour lavishly recreated. Its epic scope, plots, characterisation and acting make Babylon Berlin one of the most celebrated German series on Netflix. A Soviet freight train full of gold is hijacked, a policeman traumatised by his time in the First World War and a poor young secretary uncover a political conspiracy… Season 1: 8 episodes; season 2: 8 episodes, season 3: 12 episodes. Season four: coming. Each episode: 45 minutes.

8. Neumatt / New Heights

Set in Switzerland, this is the story of a family feud between three very different siblings. At issue is the fate of Neumatt, the family farm (and maybe the central character of the piece). Neumatt checks all the boxes for German learners. Be warned, though, this show is mainly in Swiss German which is a separate (though closely-related) language to standard German. You (and native standard German speakers) will need the Hochdeutsch subtitles to follow it. It’s fascinating to see how characters switch to German when speaking to non-Swiss. One season. 8 episodes. Each episode: 50 minutes.

9. Queer Eye Germany

The format is from the US. As the trailer to the German remake says, Queer Eye Germany aspires to be more than just a makeover show: “We come to your house and help you to see your life from a new perspective”. The “Fab Five” are experts in fashion, beauty, lifestyle, health and design. In each episode, there’s a new candidate for makeover. There’s lots of laughing here but the Five treat the individuals with heartwarming sensitivity too. It’s easy to follow, even if you don’t get all the dialogue or understand all the jokes. One season. Each episode: 50 minutes.

10. Tribes of Europa

If you want to ease yourself into best of German series on Netflix, how about a show that’s primarily in German but with some of the characters at times speaking English? It’s 2074. In Tribes of Europa, the micro-states of a dystopian post-apocolyptic Europa are at war. An even greater threat looms as three siblings struggle for survival. In this series, German could save your life! Switch on those German subtitles for the whole thing, so that you’re practising even for the English bits. This is a ton of fun and you’ll soon get through all the episodes. Here’s hoping for more! One season. Six episodes. Each episode: 45 minutes.

Discover how YOU can use Dr P's free Weekly Workout Routine to get ready for more confident German conversations in a matter of weeks. Click here to get the training !

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Two tips for watching the best German series on Netflix

If you can’t get the series where you are, try using a VPN to change location and set your country settings on the platform accordingly.

To help with comprehension, check out the Language Reactor (formally called Language Learning with Netflix. It’s Chrome browser extension that lets you pause to takei in the dialogue line by line. You can have subtitles in German and English up on the screen at the same time and there’s an pop-up dictionary (just hover the cursor over the word in the sub-titles that you’re stuck on).

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Do you find viewing helpful in your German learning? Are there shows that should be in the list for 2024 or do you think that some of them should be thrown off it? Share your thoughts in the comments below and we hope you have a much fun with some at least of these shows a we did. Auf Wiederlesen!