Apple TV’s upcoming detective drama has added beloved British actor Colin Firth to its cast opposite Jack Lowden. Based on Philip Kerr’s Bernie Gunther book series, the untitled show sees Tom Shankland direct from a script adapted by Peter Straughan.
Currently filming in Berlin, the upcoming series follows Berlin detective Bernie Gunther, a police officer, who has been promoted to Berlin’s Murder Squad.
Set in 1928, the drama will follow Bernie as he investigates the crimes of a serial killer who has been murdering victims from the fringes of society.
The show is based on the final book in Kerr’s Bernie Gunther series, which serves as an origin story for the titular protagonist and ex-cop turned private detective.
According to Deadline, Firth, who previously worked with Straughan on 2011’s Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, is on board to star as Paul Lohser, who is described as “a brilliant but prickly Murder Detective with the Berlin Police”.
Apple TV
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The description continues: “Meticulous, anti-social and well-educated, he’s everything Bernie isn’t. And as his partner and unlikely mentor, Lohser is Bernie’s best and only hope of catching the killer.”
The series is produced by Bad Wolf alongside Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman’s PlayTone, as well as Straughan and Shankland.
In his review of the book, author Lee Child, best known for his Jack Reacher novel series, described Bernie as “one of the greatest anti-heroes ever written”.
“Kerr leads us through the facts of history and the vagaries of human nature,” said Hanks.
HBO
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“If you’ve yet to discover Bernie Gunther and love an intelligent thriller then you’ve got a world of joy waiting for you… Bernie remains a shining example of [Kerr’s] unique and much-missed talent,” penned Stylist Online.
The Times said of the book: “Once again we are reminded of how wonderful were Kerr and his creation, the German detective Gunther.”
The Financial Times described Kerr’s book as “as vivid and pungent as anything he ever wrote”.
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Harriet is a freelance news writer specialising in TV and movies at Digital Spy.Â
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In her spare time, Harriet paints and produces mixed-media art. She graduated from the University of Kingston with a BA in fine art, where she specialised in painting. She also has an MA in journalism from Birkbeck University.