Unfamiliar

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Susanne Wolff as Meret Schäfer and Felix Kramer [de] as Simon Schäfer

I know in this day and age, where we get our entertainment in 3 minute videos, it's not easy to watch a foreign series with closed captions. But, there are some great ones out there.

Unfamiliar is one of them. It's a German TV thriller series about Meret and Simon Schäfer, two former German intelligence agency spies who have assumed new identities. They have a daughter, Nina (16), who knows nothing about her parents or her past. When a Russian GRU agent Josef Koleev turns up in Berlin, with his wife Vera having been appointed Russian ambassador, the past has a head on collision with the present.

Released on Netflix in early 2026, the series quickly became one of the highest rated foreign series in the US.

British scriptwriter Paul Coates created and wrote the six part limited series (He also co-wrote the screenplay for 2021 Swedish spy drama series Red Election as well as a number of British drama series).

The German Intelligence Agency (Bundesnachrichtendienst or BND for Americans) played a crucial role in the creation of the series, lending it a level of authenticity you don't often get with entertainment about classified organizations.

Strong plot. Strong writing. Difficult sometimes to understand nuance, but a great watch. Five out of Five stars.

Cast (Main)

• Susanne Wolff - Meret Schäfer

• Felix Kramer [de] - Simon Schäfer

• Samuel Finzi - Josef Koleev

• Andreas Pietschmann - Jonas Auken

• Henry Hübchen a- Gregor Klein

• Seyneb Saleh - Julika Ritter

• Maja Bons - Nina Schäfer

• Genija Rykova - Vera Koleev

• Natalia Belitsk - Katya Volkova

• Aaron Altaras - Mark Sinclair

• Laurence Rupp - Ben Krüger

• Sina Martens - Alice Belmont

• Anand Batbileg Chuluunbaatar - Yul Batbaatar