A child disappears in a small German town and the parents cannot explain what happened. This seems to be a secret recipe for strong thrillers in this country that even gain traction abroad. At least if we remember series like Dear Child or Dark on Netflix. But
Where’s Wanda?, the very first German-language series from Apple TV+takes a different approach despite its seemingly dark, familiar subject matter.
Where’s Wanda starts off as a brilliant thriller with a genre twist
Where’s Wanda could easily get lost among all the October 2024 series starts, but the great new series absolutely doesn’t deserve that. Because here German entertainment shows itself to be internationally competitive and anything but outdated: Welcome to the (fictional) sleepy town of Sundersheim, somewhere in Germany. The town’s biggest unique selling point is probably the local legend of “Nuppelwocken”a horned monster that steals young women.
Once a year the monster is celebrated at a folk festival and on this very day 17-year-old Wanda Klatt disappears (Lea Drinda) without a trace. The police can’t find anything other than a T-shirt in the used clothing container, so mother Carlotta (Heike Makatsch) and father Dedo Klatt (Axel Stein) decide to launch their own search within the radius of the site. If necessary, even using illegal methods.
Only when son Ole (Leo Simon) teaches mom and dad which hidden cameras are best suited to secretly monitor their neighbors’ housesthey find serious clues.
Sounds exciting and dramatic. And that’s it – but not only. Because the first German Apple series is a self-declared one “dark comedy”which lightens up the actually serious topic of kidnapping with unbeatable humor.
Where’s Wanda impresses with its humorous ensemble
The way the Klatt parents knock on doors with their made-up electrical company to inspect smoke detectors, even though they have no idea about technology, is wonderful to see. Heike Makatsch and Axel Stein shine as a married couple who, after all these years, know each other’s quirks very well, but have not lost their affection for each other because of it. If they do so with a mixture of luck and daring charming amateur lawbreakers to find their daughter again, one can only cheer for them.
The German series doesn’t even skimp on supporting roles stars in good spirits: Whether Carlotta’s headstrong brother Rüdiger (Devid Striesow) is suspected or whether we can understand only too well that Wanda’s brother Ole sometimes removes his hearing aid in order to block out the hysterical parents. And when the committed neighbor’s wife Katarina (Palina Rojinski) overzealously offers her help to organize a “Wandafest” for the disappeared and her husband Jonas (Kostja Ullmann) guides his ballet-dancing preschool children with strict dedication, not a single eye stays dry anyway.
Of course, in the course of their unauthorized investigation, Dedo and Carlotta uncover many secrets that have nothing to do with their daughter’s disappearance. But while they’re stumbling through other people’s gardens, getting bitten by snakes and making up outrageous excuses for showing up in the most unlikely places, it’s more about them anyway convincingly written and acted characters grow fond of.
The first German Apple TV+ series is a complete success
Where’s Wanda is also convincing visually and narratively: when the moped-riding Wanda whizzes through the dense forest in her bright coat in flashbacks, she is like a modern-day Little Red Riding Hood. At the same time it is The trick of the series is to jump back and forth in timeis extremely beneficial to the tension – and can easily transform a barely full café into an almost empty one by constantly counting up or down the number of days.
With tricky plot, always new suspects as well as an unusually designed, round small town with a monster statue towering over the roundabout, it’s easy to let yourself be carried away by the series along with Wanda.
The successful and at the same time unusual fusion of a thriller plot with a bizarre ensemble ends up being a genre mix: Where’s Wanda? is one of the most impressive German series of the year –
engaging, playful, surprising series fare. Entertainment from Germany can learn a lesson from this in the future.
This series check for Where’s Wanda was based on all 8 episodes of the 1st season. Episodes will be released weekly on Apple TV+ starting October 2, 2024.
Podcast with Where’s Wanda: The 20 best series starts in September on Netflix, Apple TV+ and Co.
Do you need more fresh streaming tips? We present the most exciting series in October, which start on Netflix, Amazon, Disney+ and Co., in the monthly overview:
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In addition to horror, fantasy and Tomb Raider, the 20 series highlights in October include LOL replenishment on Amazon as well as Netflix’s own Yellowstone replacement Territory, season 3 of Heartstopper and of course the thriller fun of Where’s Wanda.