Berlin Station is an American drama television series created by Olen Steinhauer. The series stars Richard Armitage, Rhys Ifans, Leland Orser, Michelle Forbes, and Richard Jenkins. Bradford Winters had been showrunner for its first two seasons, with Jason Horwitch taking over for season 3. A ten-episode first season premiered on Epix on October 16, 2016. On November 17, 2016, Epix renewed Berlin Station for a second season, originally planned to contain ten episodes, which premiered on October 15, 2017 and concluded a nine-episode-season-run on December 3, 2017. On December 6, 2017, Epix renewed the series for a third season, which premiered on December 2, 2018. It was canceled on March 29, 2019 after three seasons.
Plot
The story follows Daniel Miller, who has just arrived at the CIA station in Berlin, Germany. In season 1, Miller has a clandestine mission: to uncover the source of a leak who has supplied information to a now-famous whistleblower named Thomas Shaw. Guided by veteran Hector DeJean, Daniel learns to contend with the rough-and-tumble world of the field agent: agent-running, deception, and the dangers and moral compromises. In season 2, four months after Miller was shot at the end of season 1, he recovered from his injuries sufficiently to be given a new clandestine assignment: to infiltrate a far-right German political party believed to be planning an act of terror right before an upcoming election.
Cast
Main
Richard Armitage as Daniel Miller, a cerebral CIA officer who shifts from working as an analyst at Langley headquarters in the US to serving as an undercover officer in Berlin and is tasked with finding a leak in CIA operations
Rhys Ifans as Hector DeJean, a disillusioned veteran CIA officer with dubious tactics and many secrets
Leland Orser as Robert Kirsch, a devoted and successful Deputy Chief who digs intelligence out of the city of Berlin through a mix of force, diligence, and cleverness
Michelle Forbes as Valerie Edwards, the no-nonsense administrator who serves as a Berlin Station Internal Branch Chief, and later Section Chief
Richard Jenkins as Steven Frost, a veteran of the Cold War, who serves as the CIA's Chief of the Berlin Station in season 1 and is retired at the start of season 2
Tamlyn Tomita as Sandra Abe, a quiet presence leading the efficient operation of Berlin Station while having an affair with her boss, Steven
James Cromwell as Gilbert Dorn, a retired CIA agent revealing old secrets via podcast
Robbie Gee as Kayode Adeyemi, Dove's scientist father
Dejan Čukić as Kolya Akulov, the head of Russian Intelligence SVR
Nikolai Kinski as Roman Platov, a Russian extremist working for Krik
Mikhail Boutchine as Vassily Krik, a Russian oligarch
Episodes
Series overview
Season 1 (2016)
Season 2 (2017)
Season 3 (2018–19)
Production
announced a ten-episode straight-to-series order on May 21, 2015. Michaël Roskam executive produced the series and directed the first two episodes. Olen Steinhauer wrote and executive produced the series. Production started in November 2015. Principal photography took place in Potsdam at Studio Babelsberg, which is co-producer of Berlin Station. The whole interior of the CIA Station, which includes a security entrance as well as the big windowless office space within, was built on stages at Babelsberg's studios. Other scenes were shot on locations in Potsdam and Berlin, Germany. On February 7, 2018, it was announced that Jason Horwitch would be joining the series as showrunner and executive producer. He will be replacing Brad Winters who had served in those positions for the show's first two seasons. For the third season, production moved to Budapest, Hungary.
Broadcast
A 10-episode first season of Berlin Station premiered on Epix on October 16, 2016. The series is exclusive to Netflix in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It is broadcast free-to-air and on-demand in Australia on SBS TV. It also is available in Israel. The series has been licensed to more than 150 territories worldwide.
Reception
Berlin Station has received generally positive reviews from critics. On Metacritic, the show holds a rating of 64 out of 100, based on 10 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".