30 best German and Austrian TV shows to follow if you are learning the language

Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash

The first show in German I used to watch was about a policeman and its partner, a dog named Rex. When I went to university and started to learn German in my second year, I started to search for series that I could watch in order to learn more and improve my knowledge. Over the years, I came up with a list that I want to share with you. You can find some of them on Netflix, Amazon Prime, or Youtube. Grab some snacks, get comfortable, invite some friends, and enjoy.

Alarm für Cobra 11 – Die Autobahnpolizei

The tasks of the Cobra 11 team consist primarily of solving crimes and catching the perpetrators. Two police inspectors and their team from a Bonn-Koeln precinct fight all sorts of criminals they encounter daily on major highways in Germany.

Babylon Berlin

Gereon Rath, a police inspector on assignment from Cologne  who is on a secret mission in Berlin  to dismantle an extortion ring, and Charlotte Ritter, police clerk by day, flapper  by night, who is aspiring to become a police inspector.

Biohackers

A thriller following Mia, a medical student, and her roommates, who discovers the use of biohacking technology. She is also investigating the cause of her brother’s death.

Charité

It follows the accomplishments of German physicians and scientists at Berlin’s Charite hospital at the end of 19^th century.

Dark

Children start vanishing from the German town of Winden, bringing to light the fractured relationships, double lives, and the dark pasts of four families living there, and unfurling a mystery that spans four generations.

Das Letze Wort

Suddenly a widow, a woman rekindles her thirst for life by becoming a eulogist.

Das Adlon: Eine Familiensaga

A miniseries about the Adlon hotel in Berlin, its construction and life, seen through the eyes of the youngest member of the wealthy family Schadt.

Das Sacher: In Bester Gesellschaft

A mini-series about the history of Hotel Sacher in Vienna in the 1900s. The story begins with Anna’s tough decision to take over the management of the hotel after her husband’s death. The series is based on real events of the time and also the life of Anna Sacher and mixes them with fictional stories of the upper and lower classes.

Der letzte Bulle

As a result of this headshot in the 1980s, homicide detective Mick Brisgau was in a coma for 20 years. He is allowed to return to his old job but he doesn't know about modern technology and deals with modern world homicide cases in his 1980s-style manner, thus making him a unique officer. 

Deutschland 83

An East Germany native is sent to West Germany as an undercover spy by the HVA. He constantly puts his cover at risk and therefore his agency must take extreme measures.

Die Rettungsflieger

The series is about a team of Air rescue from Hamburg, always ready for action whenever there are serious casualities to be rescued.

Dogs of Berlin

A Turkish-German soccer player is murdered and two cops are to investigate this political sensitive crime. The chain of evidence may even lead to the highest offices of the capital. In order to uncover the truth, the two police officers have to venture deep down into the Berlin underworld.

Familie Dr. Kleist

This series follows a German doctor named Christian Kleist and his family.

Freud

While investigating several disappearances and murders in Vienna, young Sigmund Freud, and a psychic medium become entangled in an occult conspiracy.

In aller Freundschaft

The daily lives of the doctors and nurses revolve around their patients, while dealing with their own personal challenges.

Kommissar Rex

A recently divorced cop adopts a police dog, Rex, who lost his former companion, together they solve crimes in and around Vienna. This is my all times favorite.

Ku'damm 59

The show follows a woman and her three daughters in the 1950s. The daughters want more from life and their mother is strict, so they become part of Rock and Roll culture.

Lindenstraße

A weekly soap opera that focuses on the lives of normal people. Beside the typical storylines like love, marriage, and death, there are also a lot of controversial issues like homosexuality, drug abuse, domestic violence, prostitution and AIDS.

Medicopter 117 – Jedes Leben zählt

The show is centered around the very hazardous job of two rescue teams. Equipped with a rescue helicopter the emergency doctors of Medicopter 117 fly to the most difficult jobs, where every second counts. Rescuing people comes first, even if they must risk their own lives.

Notruf Hafenkante

Stories from the day-to-day work of the 21st Hamburg Police Commissariat and the doctors of the hospital Elbkrankenhaus.

Pastewka

A show about the fictional everyday adventures of real-life comedian Bastian Pastewka. He experiences funny, strange and embarrassing moments often caused by his lies.

Schnell ermittelt

Angelika Schnell is a chaotic policewoman. She trusts her inner voice more than facts which leads to curious conclusions as well as discussions with her ex-husband, medical examiner Stefan Schnell, and her two team-assistants.

SOKO Donau

This show follows the work of a special task force on the Danube River, in Vienna city.

SOKO Kitzbuhel

This Austrian crime series centered on police detectives. The team usually has to solve unusual and complicated murder cases occurring in and around Kitzbühel. Often enough, they involve members of the high society, Kitzbühel is a popular destination for the rich and the powerful.

Tatort

Long-running police procedural drama with the action switching between police teams and crimes in their respective cities. Every Tatort episode features a different team of inspectors in a different city. 

Türkisch Für Anfänger

Worlds collide when a German woman with children moves in with a Turkish man and his children. This comedy-drama series show their everyday lives and particularly on the eldest daughter, Lena, who narrates the show.

Um Himmels Willen

This is a light-hearted comedy about nuns who are constantly dodging attempts by the mayor to take over their cloister in order to create business opportunities for his party supporters.

Vier Frauen und ein Todesfall

Four women friends live in a small Austrian village and visit every funeral there. They always have their own theories about how people died and start investigations themselves because of the incompetence of the village police. With that, they often make enemies among the other village's inhabitants.

Weissensee

The history of two families from behind the Iron Curtain in 1980s East Berlin.

Wilsberg

Georg Wilsberg, a passionate book antiquarian in Münster, also works on a sideline as a private detective. Both jobs mix very well. Wilsberg has a business card which gives away his side job, so if there are any doubts concerning the circumstances of the death, the relatives are inclined to employ him.