Kleo (2022)

Watchseries; This eight part German comedy-drama opens in 1987. Kleo, an assassin working for East German State Security, the Stasi, goes on a mission to West Berlin where she kills her target in a night club. The authorities there believe the dead man overdosed but a single policeman, Sven, who saw Kleo prior to the death believes it was murder and provides a sketch. Nobody takes him seriously but a copy of his sketch makes its way to the East. Here Kleo finds herself arrested on trumped up charges. She is jailed and remains there until the wall comes down two years later. Once released she is determined to get revenge on all those who betrayed her and determine why they did it. Meanwhile Sven sees her picture among files of recently released Eastern political pictures and it determined that he will arrest her for the 1987 murder.

I really enjoyed this series; it blended drama with humour successfully and is set at an interesting time in German history; the short time between the wall of the wall and reunification of the two Germanys. The humour doesn't get in the way of the drama; much of it is provided by Kleo's accidental housemate Thilo, a perma-stoned West German, who claims to be from the planet Sirius B, planning to introduce techno music to the East before returning home, and at other times is fairly subtle, like the squeaky footwear Kleo wears on one job. The drama works too; there are plenty of tense moments and even a degree of tragedy. The cast is solid; especially Jella Haase as Kleo, Dimitrij Schaad as Sven and Julius Feldmeier as Thilo. Overall I'd certainly recommend this.

These comments are based on watching the series in German with English subtitles.

This eight part German comedy-drama opens in 1987. Kleo, an assassin working for East German State Security, the Stasi, goes on a mission to West Berlin where she kills her target in a night club. The authorities there believe the dead man overdosed but a single policeman, Sven, who saw Kleo prior to the death believes it was murder and provides a sketch. Nobody takes him seriously but a copy of his sketch makes its way to the East. Here Kleo finds herself arrested on trumped up charges. She is jailed and remains there until the wall comes down two years later. Once released she is determined to get revenge on all those who betrayed her and determine why they did it. Meanwhile Sven sees her picture among files of recently released Eastern political pictures and it determined that he will arrest her for the 1987 murder.

I really enjoyed this series; it blended drama with humour successfully and is set at an interesting time in German history; the short time between the wall of the wall and reunification of the two Germanys. The humour doesn't get in the way of the drama; much of it is provided by Kleo's accidental housemate Thilo, a perma-stoned West German, who claims to be from the planet Sirius B, planning to introduce techno music to the East before returning home, and at other times is fairly subtle, like the squeaky footwear Kleo wears on one job. The drama works too; there are plenty of tense moments and even a degree of tragedy. The cast is solid; especially Jella Haase as Kleo, Dimitrij Schaad as Sven and Julius Feldmeier as Thilo. Overall I'd certainly recommend this.

These comments are based on watching the series in German with English subtitles.

Kleo watchseries. First of all, this show should be listed as a comedy drama. I started watching it thinking it would be a serious cold war thriller like the Americans. It's pretty much a ripoff of Killing Eve with a Cold War twist but it isn't a bad show.

I wasn't sure what to expect, I had hoped it would be along the line of Deutschland series but this is not anything like it. It is not to be taken seriously. Something kept me watching it through to the end though even if parts were far fetched, didn't relate to the main story and not needed. 6 episodes instead of eight and those parts trying to hard to be funny removed would have made it a 9/10 and a much better series.

As someone who has lived his coming of age years during the 1980s in the city of Berlin, I was instantly fascinated by the authentic sets, fashions and general "feeling" of what it was like to experience the final moments of the ever-present Cold War. Those parts were captured very realistically. High marks for that part of the production values. The opening episode is action packed and sets up the main theme: Our protagonist Kleo, a young "special forced agent" for the STASI (Secret Police) wants to know why she has apparently been "sold out" by her peers and left to rot in jail, just as she had completed another one of many successful missions (assassinations). After many months behind bars, Kleo is suddenly released, along with all other political prisoners, because the "Berlin Wall" has fallen, and the old GDR is no more.

Exciting introduction. The story quickly takes outrageously far fetched tangents. Several loopy supporting characters show up with their strange personalities and matching actions. A self-proclaimed "alien from another planet", who squats in one of many suddenly abandoned East German apartments is determined to open his own Techno-Disco. Another weirdo is Kleo's peer, a fellow graduate from the "special training school", who is holding a grudge for never quite matching Kleo's performance record. Kleo's Grandfather is a "higher up" in the Communist Party and a devout believer in the cause, to the point of having his own daughter, and eventually even Kleo arrested.

Without giving away more details, I do need to note that the constant and often completely gratuitous violence becomes tiresome; the fact that there never seems to be any consequences (or even acknowledgement) of arbitrary killings of human beings is unappealing. The many forced little jokes predicating and following a killing are almost cartoonish. "May I please kill just one more? Pretty please?" - Sorry, not funny! I also find it quite incredible, how this moderately attractive Kleo is able to instantly seduce any young man she decides to "toy with". That's not realistic. We are also made to believe how brilliant these "secret agents" are, then find that each and every one of them is constantly and repeatedly tricked and deceived by everyone else. As a fan of this genre and of movies in general, I'm just not buying it. There are also several scenes with prolonged partial nudity without logic or even dialog, adding nothing to the plot. Why was that necessary?

My favorite moment comes near the end, when "Aunt Margot" examines her precious suitcase. It's an "inside joke" that almost all Germans of my age will appreciate. - I binge-watched "Kleo". I was entertained, but not "thrilled" with this series. The "pay off" takes away some of the unpleasant taste, making the final product worthwhile.

Not always a fan of German drama, this was a wonderfully written story with the most charismatic lead assassin character since The Professional from years ago. Stunning performance from the lead, her compatriot, and her foils. This series was magical, with humor, with heart.

Went into this with no expectations, just the usual of Netflix's reprints of global content, hits and misses.

Off the first episode, I thought, Cold-War spy thriller, I'm still in. Then they started the real exposition. I definitely felt some, Villainelle, in the protagonist, but how else can you present a slightly sociopathic Eastern Bloc assassin on a revenge quest?

Well. With. Wit. Daft. Surreal. Nostalgia. Heartbreak. Quirk. Pathos. Spies. Misdirect. Socialist. Comedy.

Each episode raises the stakes in thriller AND dark comedy.

Worth a binge. Hopefully, Netflix won't pull this show from a second season--it's definitely setup for one.