Posted in: TV | Tagged: Angela Merkel, european crime shows, Mhz Channel, Miss Merkel, streaming

Miss Merkel: Fictional Angela Merkel Solves Crimes in New TV Series

Ever wondered what it would be like to watch former German Chancellor Angela Merkel solve murders? You'll get your chance with Miss Merkel.

Here's something new: a European cozy crime series called Miss Merkel, which features former German Chancellor Angela Merkel solving murders in her retirement. That's right, this new TV series reimagines Angela Merkel as a small-town detective – and it has found a U.S. home. Sounds an awful lot like Murder, She Wrote only a former world leader instead of Angela Lansbury as a nice little old lady who stumbles on murders and then solves them, as nice little old ladies are wont to do, or so books and TV shows would have us believe. And why not? The only drawback is the series' Miss Merkel is not played by the real Angela Merkel but by Katharina Thalbach. Yeah, we're disappointed too. 

Now Kino Lorber's MHz Choice streamer has picked up Miss Merkel from Fremantle, which comes in the form of two 90-minute tongue-in-cheek mysteries, with a third planned. Fremantle has produced its share of British crime series and murder mysteries, so it's as if this is their first ride in that rodeo. The series stars vet German actress Katharina Thalbach (The Tin Drum). The RTL series, which has sold to a number of European networks, is based on the books by writer, humorist, and actor David Safier (Berlin, Berlin). It imagines the former German chancellor moving to a small town with her husband and her pug, Helmut, as she discovers a new calling as an amateur detective.

Safier pens the adaptations with Stefan Cantz (Tatort, Nord Nord Nord), with Christoph Schnee (Homicide Hills, Tatort) directing.  Lance Schwulst, EVP Content Strategy, MHz Choice, said he had "committed to the series before my sales agent had finished her pitch." He added, "It's such an idiosyncratic premise that I knew it had to be right. 'Miss Merkel' will be another comedic gem from Germany on MHz Choice, and I'm delighted that a third episode is planned."

MHz Choice is the U.S. streaming home of Babylon Berlin, the neo-noir Sky/Ard Degeto series that was recently dropped by Netflix in the States. The streamer was formed via a JV between Kino Lorber's MHz Choice and Topic and carries series like The Killing (the better, original Scandinoir version, not the mediocre AMC US remake), The Bridge (again, the better, original Scandinoir version), Detective Montalbano, The Sea Beyond and Pagan Peak. The streamer is the premiere outlet for European dramas and crime series, and Miss Merkel will be one of the more lighthearted shows. The real-life Angela Merkel has a doctorate in Quantum Chemistry. Seriously, this series missed a beat – they should have made her a ninja! Ninjas make everything better!

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