What would have become of the world if the Nazis had won the war? This question was the starting point for the six-part Mini-series “SS-GB” by the RBB on Saturday and Tuesday as German Free TV Premiere. While Amazon Prime Video has expanded the scenario by using the novel “The Man in The High Castle” by Philip K. Dick (“Blade Runner”) in three seasons for the United States, is based in 2017 for the BBC-produced series is based on a literary model of the Englishman Len Deighton. He describes in his historical fiction, what would have happen if Hitler would have won the battle of Britain. Both authors come from the same era. Dick was born in 1928, Deighton a year later, the Second world war, both experienced in their youth.

In the centre of “SS-GB”, Douglas Archer, the brash Detective Superintendent of Scotland Yard. Sam Riley (“On the Road – on the Road”) plays the Patriotic British people, carries the burden of collaboration with the Okkupatoren only to prevent worse. The upright Inspector has a punch at the women, his Secretary Sylvia Manning (Maeve Dermody) is at the same time, his beloved, who joins the resistance. What is the role of the beguiling “New York Times”reporter Barbara Barga (Kate Bosworth), has to be seen.

At the Archer’s side of the Yard warhorse Detective Sergeant Harry Woods (James Cosmo), the pay no attention to the fact that Archer does not come under the wheels of the occupying power. Archer and Woods has to solve the murder of Antiques dealer Peter Thomas, who could get anything up to drugs and prostitutes for the air force. A cable and an antenna suggest that this case has larger dimensions.

Also: Rainer Bock, August Zirner and Lucas Gregorowicz

From Berlin, Standartenführer Oskar Huth is summoned to the crime scene. Lars Eidinger looks as a cold-blooded Mr man with a leather coat and Skull cap, in fact, to be Afraid of, Dr. Huth is also in the core not a good person. Group leader, Fritz Kellermann (Rainer Bock), the London-based NS-Governor, he is a little, prefer a noble English thread as a Uniform. As a German actor August are also Zirner and Lucas Gregorowicz (“Polizeiruf 110” from Brandenburg).

Director Philipp Kadelbach (“perfume”) has implemented the series to a screenplay of the James Bond writers Neal Purvis and Robert Wade in a predominantly dark Film noir atmosphere. But also in terms of content, there are significant differences to the Amazon series. While in “High Castle” since the end of the war, one and a half decades have passed, in Deighton in 1941, between the lost battle of Britain, and “SS-GB” is only 14 months. Accordingly, the Nazis have had much less opportunity to the crew area to put your stamp on. A bombastic SS-highrise castle, as in “High Castle” is not there, a bomb half-destroyed Buckingham Palace, the Spanish rider at the Trafalgar Square and many oversized swastika flags.

For the RBB SS-GB “is” after “saboteurs in the ice” to Easter already the second foreign Mini-series. “The RBB does not want to leave the series trend of the streaming services. We want to impress our audiences with great programmes, including international productions such as SS-GB‘,“ says program Director Jan Schulte-Kelling house, the purchase of a license.

The current legal structure does not allow the RBB, however, the series is also available in the library. It is different, if a public broadcaster acts as a co-producer, as the ZDF series “The bridge”. In such cases, it is even possible to watch movies or series prior to the TV broadcast in the media library. In the case of “SS-GB” is the name of it, live or by means of a hard disk recorder.

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Kurt Sagatz

“SS-GB”, RBB, follow 1-3 on Saturday from 22 clock, the consequences of 4-6 to run on Tuesday, also starting at 22 PM.