The television sequel to the six-time Oscar®-nominated film premiered in the US on Monday, the day before the series won a key award at the Monte-Carlo Television Festival.
Nearly four decades after Das Boot held big-screen audiences in its grip, its sequel of sorts — the television series Das Boot — has kept viewers riveted to their smaller screens and been greenlit for a second season.
Like the film, the series is based on Lothar-Günther Buchheim‘s novel Das Boot, but with additional material from his novel Die Festung.
The first season opens in the fall of 1942, nine months after the ending of the film. Seconds after the 1-minute mark, the heart-pounding action starts. A German U-boat is under attack.
Three weeks later, Klaus Hoffmann (Rick Okon, Homicide Unit Istanbul) is assigned his first post as a newly-promoted Captain in the German navy: the command of U-612, a new, untested U-boat that workers are still putting the finishing touches on.
At about the same time, bilingual German loyalist Simone Strasser (Vicky Krieps of The Girl in the Spider’s Web, the newly-minted winner of the Monte-Carlo Television Festival award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama TV Series) arrives from Alsace to the port city of La Rochelle, where she starts her new job as a translator for Captain Gluck (Rainer Bock (1864), a senior naval officer of the Nazi regime, and by extension for Criminal Inspector Forster (Tom Wlaschiha, Game of Thrones) from the Gestapo.
Simone’s brother, Petty Officer Frank Strasser (Leonard Scheicher, The Silent Revolution), is already in La Rochelle, and the siblings are glad for their reunion. However, it gets cut short when First Lieutenant Karl Tennstedt (August Wittgenstein, Deadwind) assigns Frank to the U-612 crew to replace the radio operator. This unexpected and last-minute change to Frank’s plans compels him to get Simone to do something on his behalf — which puts her in quite a precarious and dangerous position.
That something, you see, involves members of the French Resistance, including Carla Monroe (Lizzy Caplan, Masters of Sex) and Émile Charpentier (Olivier Chantreau, Spiral).
At the same time, Simone has caught Forster’s eye.
Hours before U-612 sets sail for the first time, there are already signs of trouble amongst the 40-man crew — including indications of a power struggle between Hoffmann, the son of a revered U-boat commander and naval warfare book author, and Tennstedt, Hoffmann’s second in command and a more experienced naval officer.
Less than a day into U-612’s maiden voyage, Hoffmann receives new orders.
So, too, does Simone. From the Resistance.
Then enemy planes begin attacking over land and sea…
Costars in the first season include Thierry Frémont (Transfers), Franz Dinda (Babylon Berlin), Fleur Geffrier (The Chalet), Pit Bukowski (Babylon Berlin), Robert Stadlober (Line of Separation), Leon Lukas Blaschke (Perfume), Vincent Kartheiser (Mad Men), and James D’Arcy (Agent Carter).
Das Boot is a riveting drama and thriller with top-notch performances, intricate and well-crafted storylines, and a cinematic look and feel. It is quite binge-worthy, and with all eight episodes being available right now exclusively on Hulu, you could watch the entire season in one or two sittings. Check it out!
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