Fantastic German show

Deutsch
#1

Post edit: I have just realised kgeisl1 mentioned this in my original post for TV shows, so thanks to kgeisl1 for bringing it up 1st!

Hello everyone,

A found an absolute belter of a German TV show called “Dark”. It’s on UK Netflix.
It has lots of different accents so it’s quite advanced for German listening but it has subtitles (English and German) and it is seriously interesting. I am only half through A2 on Chatterbug (still a beginner) so I think it should be fine for any levels to to jump in.

I’m on the 3rd season now and getting used to the accents and I get really excited when I hear words or phrases and already know them.

Hopefully this will be something others here can watch to help with their listening.

Cheers,

Thomas

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#2

I’ve been meaning to start this show - I remember seeing it called the German “Stranger Things”. Thanks for the reminder!

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#3

It’s always a pleasure to see mentions of this show. Especially here.
I’m currently somewhere between B1 and B2 and can confirm that it’s good for listening.
I’ve watched this show in English and then watched it in German and with its original sound its atmosphere is a little bit different.

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#4

When I read the post title, I knew immediately it was gonna be Dark :slightly_smiling_face:

I started season 3 but felt super lost because I hadn’t watched the previous episodes since they came out. I just started it again from Season 1 and watch it in German with English subs. I definitely agree that it’s a great way to passively study Deutsch!

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#5

The show is already quite confusing in itself, so watching the first two seasons is critical! I highly recommend switching from English subs to German subtitles. It might be hard at first to follow along depending on your level, but I’ve heard that watching with a different language subtitles is minimally beneficial.

I also just started watching Bad Banks on Netflix. I think there are only 6 episodes available, but it’s another great one to help with learning.

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#6

Oohhh I never thought to watch with both German audio and subtitles. To be honest, I don’t think I’m at that level yet. I’m still only A1 :pensive:

I’ll have to give it a try this week. Maybe with a childrens show :slightly_smiling_face:

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#7

I will give it a try! Thanks :slight_smile:

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#8

I finally got on the Dark bandwagon - really into it so far. And, I agree with @cheharvey, that watching with German subs is the best way to learn. I do agree that the show is quite confusing though, so my plan is to first watch with English subs then re-watch with German subs. Then hopefully I’ll be able to follow it better :smiley:

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#9

Die Sendung mit der Maus!

exciting topics and easy language

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#10

This is how I watched it :grinning: The plot gets less confusing after re-watching it multiple times

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#11

I agree, “Dark” is totally confusing, but … you could always go to Wikipedia and read up about the episodes. They even have a family tree and a “Logic of story” with a special family tree diagram. I sometimes go to Wiki, if the movie I have been watching is too confusing. All movies have a short write up on Wikipedia. Happy watching :bear_happy:

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#12

There is an official site for Dark. Here you can find info without being afraid of spoilers as they give you a chance to select a season and an episode. Hope it helps anyone

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#13

Hi to all,

my husband, who is a german learner also, absolutely loved to watch Dark in German with subtitles! But I need to admit, the story is very confusing and also as a native speaker I needed to watch it twice to understand!

For those of you who have a Netflix Account I also can reccomend some other series which are originally German.

  • How to sell drugs online (fast): a super funny and not too complicated series about a school boy who starts a huge drug business out of his room in his dad’s house (who works as a policeman)
    https://res.cloudinary.com/chatterbug/raw/upload/v1601959893/community/qgwyqljtm87qktsk8ddj

  • Dogs of Berlin: My husband loved this series, I don’t really like the genre. But maybe one of you likes it! In Dogs of Berlin, two very different investigators are supposed to solve the murder of a soccer player. The Netflix series is set in Berlin and includes Fahri Yardim, Felix Kramer, Anna Maria Mühe and Katrin Sass, among others. Dogs of Berlin is action-packed and fast-paced, but unfortunately also full of clichés.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skda_9Lbr84

  • Biohackers: this is my favourite show because it was produced in my homecity Freiburg! The Netflix production takes place at the University of Freiburg and tells the story of the medical student Mia. The young woman is very interested in biohacking technologies and soon immerses herself in the world of illegal gene experiments.
    https://res.cloudinary.com/chatterbug/raw/upload/v1601960237/community/l2srkuajqvzsg9zo5t7w

Have fun watching!

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#14

Hi,

I have tried to watch the Dark for improving my German but unfortunately the tv show was already super complicated and hard to understand even in my native language.

I have recently just watched the “Das letzte Wort” with German subtitles and German audio on Netflix. I do like Anke Engelke and the tv show was so smooth to watch while enjoying the humor in it.

I’d suggest to give it a try if you are looking for a tv show that you can learn new words and daily conversations.

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#15

Hello there,

for the more advanced german-learners I would recommend trying to watch some “Tatort” Episodes, which are an absolute german classic crime production! Some of them are actually very intense and they have been publishing episodes for nearly 50 years now! It could be quite a challenge to understand the different dialects (due to the change of the settings) but maybe it’s worth a try :smile:

They’re all available on the official page: https://www.daserste.de/unterhaltung/krimi/tatort/videos/index.html
(you might need to be located in Germany to access, or try using a VPN in the worst case)

Greetings,

Can

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#16

My wife and I are also watching “Tatortreiniger” on Netflix (and I believe it’s also on Amazon Prime). Not to be confused with the neverending “Tatort” :upside_down_face: It’s a comedy and every episode is stand-alone. Every time you get to know new characters (except for the protagonist), so the contents of the dialogues change a lot.

Sometimes the language is a bit difficult for me but I still enjoy it and the episodes are short enough for it to feel fun every time, rather than exhausting :smiley:

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