First German Apple series “Where’s Wanda?”
Is streaming worth it?
In “Where’s Wanda?” their desperate parents look for the title character played by Lea Drinda.
© Apple TV+
A missing girl brings “Where’s Wanda?” the events get rolling. The German Apple series can do that.
“Dear Child”, “Kleo”, “The Discounters” or, a little less well-known, “Pauline” and “One Billion Dollar”: International streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video have released German series, so-called “Originals”, in recent years. presented. Also the streaming service Apple TV+, which only launched in 2019, has now followed suit and is presenting the dark comedy series “Where’s Wanda?” his first German original series. Is streaming worth it?
That’s what “Where’s Wanda?”
Teenager Wanda (Lea Drinda, 23) has been missing without a trace for months. In a very typical German small town in many ways, Wanda’s parents Carlotta (Heike Makatsch, 53) and Dedo Klatt (Axel Stein, 42) do everything they can to find the 17-year-old again.
At first clumsily, then becoming more and more sophisticated, they begin to bug the neighborhood and monitor it with the help of cameras that are barely visible. The worried parents, supported by their nerdy, technology-loving son Ole (Leo Simon), discover numerous dark secrets of their fellow citizens. But will they also manage to track down their missing daughter?
German large-scale production
The renowned streaming service Apple TV+ primarily shows self-produced, high-quality series and films. The first German Apple original “Where’s Wanda?” now also maintains the high quality of productions such as “Ted Lasso”, “The Morning Show” or “Silo”.
The series creators Oliver Lansley (creator, 43) as well as Christian Ditter (47), Tobi Baumann (50) and Facundo Scalerandi (all directors, 38) effortlessly manage to create the tranquil town of Sundersheim before the eyes of the audience. With a noticeably high production budget, a mixture of German cosiness and US suburban series such as “Desperate Housewives” or “Little Fires Everywhere” is created here.
“Where’s Wanda?” especially from the formidable ensemble of actors around the main actors Makatsch and Stein as well as numerous well-known faces who can be seen in smaller and larger supporting roles such as Devid Striesow (51), Kostja Ullmann (40), Palina Rojinski (39) or just recently Young actress Harriet Herbig-Matten (21), who became known for her leading role in the teen series “Maxton Hall”.
Is “Where’s Wanda?” worth it?
“Where’s Wanda?” tells one of those stories in which normal people are faced with great challenges and ultimately surpass themselves to a certain extent. Dedo and Carlotta, who are not particularly tech-savvy, gradually become spies in their neighborhood and, in the process, discover not only some of the illegal activities of their fellow citizens but also a lot of bizarre things.
One of the highlights in the first episodes of the series is Rüdiger, played by ex-“Tatort” detective Devid Striesow. The series brother of main character Carlotta is probably reminiscent of “Tiger King” with his peroxide blonde hair, leather vest and extremely tasteless home furnishings “-Star Joe Exotic (61).
Some viewers may only be bothered by the tone of the new Apple series. Because “Where’s Wanda?” mixes the quite serious story of a missing girl, which can be seen in so many crime novels, with sometimes crude slapstick humor.