Posted in: Anime, TV | Tagged: Berlin Noir, Philip Kerr

Berlin Noir: Jack Lowden Set as Bernie Gunther for Apple TV+ Adapt

Jack Lowden will play Philip Kerr's hardboiled detective Bernie Gunther in the upcoming Apple TV+ adaptation of the "Berlin Noir" novels.

Published Thu, 17 Jul 2025 07:35:03 -0500

by Adi Tantimedh

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Article Summary

Jack Lowden is set to star as Bernie Gunther in Apple TV+'s "Berlin Noir" series adaptation.
The show adapts Philip Kerr's "Metropolis," exploring the detective's 1928 Berlin origins.
Oscar winner Peter Straughan serves as showrunner, with Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman executive producing.
Filming will take place in Berlin, with Bad Wolf and Playtone co-producing the anticipated noir drama.

Slow Horses star Jack Lowden looks to be starring in another Apple TV+ series as a private eye in 1930s Germany in an adaptation of Philip Kerr's Berlin Noir crime novels, one of the streamer's more anticipated upcoming series. The so-far untitled series will be based on the bestselling Metropolis, Kerr's final book in the series, which was a prequel that introduced the hero's first story. It is believed that BAFTA nominee Tom Shankland will direct and executive produce the Apple TV+ series.

The Berlin Noir book series revolved around iconic detective Bernie Gunther. The series adaptation begins with Metropolis and his origin story in 1928. Gunther is a police officer, newly promoted to the intimidating and elite Berlin Murder Squad, and must investigate what seems to be a serial killer targeting victims on the fringes of society. His Berlin is a city of unprecedented freedom and dizzying turbulence, the Nazis just a distant nightmare waiting in the wings. With the political and social world shifting to a new norm, we see Bernie fighting for truth, whatever the cost. The series follows noir tropes but transposed to Weimar, then Nazi Germany, as Bernie Gunther has to navigate crimes in the rising shadow of Nazism. Readers and fans came to call the series "Berlin Noir" for obvious reasons.

Peter Straughan, who won the Adapted Screenplay Oscar for scripting Conclave, will serve as showrunner as well as adapt the script and executive produce. Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman will also exec produce through their Playtone banner. Playtone and Apple most recently co-produced the World War II series Masters of the Air. The new series will be filmed in Berlin. Jane Tranter, Dan McCulloch, and Ryan Rasmussen are executive producing for Bad Wolf, once again reminding everyone they have more on the boil than just Doctor Who.

Philip Kerr wrote 14 Bernie Gunther (or should we call them "Berlin Noir"?) novels that became bestsellers in the U.S. and the UK and were translated into many languages. He finished Metropolis shortly before he died from cancer in 2018, so it is both the first and last Bernie novel. His widow, the novelist Jane Thynne, owns the copyright to the books through their company Thynker Ltd c/o United agents. The rest of the cast will be announced once pre-production is underway.

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