What is happening: Psychiatrists too – gladly in America shrinks called – are in need of therapy, for example Jason Segel and Harrison Ford, and then sometimes ignore their professional rules. Ford has a powerful self-tested fifteen-minute music tip for depression.
Secret Star: A whole series of patients with tricky problems and unusual tics, led by Heidi Gardner, a young woman who is experiencing new freedom and yet is always good for a surprise.
Not suitable for: All those who are already gearing up for the new “Indiana Jones” that opens in cinemas this year and in which Harrison Ford, at the age of eighty, hears the call of fate. Fritz Goettler
Ten episodes, Apple+.
The campaigner
Two in the election campaign: Jean-Pascal Zadi as Stéphane Blé (left) with his spin doctor Éric Judor.
(Photo: Gael Turpo/Netflix)
What is happening: After gaining unexpected notoriety through an internet clip, Stéphane Blé (Jean-Pascal Zadi), a suburban kid and amateur rapper, wants to become France’s first black president. An election campaign begins that tells a lot about the country. Or as Stéphane’s wife (Fadily Camara) would say: “This isn’t the USA, this is France. Here you only like black people if they make you laugh, if they bring home the world championship title or if they sing gospel .”
Secret Star: Comedian Éric Judor as a spin doctor who quotes Aimé Césaire and Frantz Fanon and organizes right-wing votes for his candidate.
Not suitable for: despisers of the cultivated cliché. The series is not without stereotypes, but that can be forgiven. Kathrin Müller-Lance
Six episodes, on Netflix.
The Last of Us
Joel (Pedro Pascal) and “Fracht” Ellie (Bella Ramsey) are hiding from fungus-ridden zombies.
(Photo: HBO)
What is happening: Civilization is collapsing again and humans are becoming zombies – but this time not by a virus, but by parasitic, rather disgusting fungi. Twenty years later, surviving bootlegger Joel (Pedro Pascal) must embark on a journey through post-apocalyptic ruins where nothing but danger lurks.
Secret Star: Bella Ramsey, who plays his traveling companion Ellie, is rudely called “cargo” by Joel. With courage and humor she wins his – and our – heart.
Not suitable for: People who are afraid of mushrooms or too much shooting. The series is an adaptation of a Playstation game. Tobias Kniebe
Nine episodes on Sky and Wow.
asbestos
Momo, played by young rapper Xidir aka Alian Koder, actually wanted a quiet, middle-class life. Now he’s in jail.
(Photo: Mirza Odabasi/obs)
What is happening: Aspiring soccer player Momo is embroiled in a robbery by his cousins and ends up in prison. Because it’s pretty hard, he has to quickly choose a survival strategy. In the ingeniously cast series, it is decided whether Momo can become anything but a gangster at all.
Secret Star: Momo Ramadan, the real-life son of Kida Khodr Ramadan of the same name as the main character, who is in asbestos has a small role as a drug smuggler. “Nobody controls a ten-year-old.”
Not suitable for: Crime fans who endure robbery and murder only from the investigator’s perspective. Aurelie von Blazekovic
Five episodes in which ARD media library.
The lying life of adults
Riddles about life and what the adults do in it: Giordana Marengo (centre) as Giovanna with her friends.
(PHOTO: EDUARDO CASTALDO/NETFLIX)
What is happening: “You have to watch your parents very closely, otherwise you’re lost”: 13-year-old Giovanna grows up and discovers her parents and their secrets. Based on the novel by Elena Ferrante, the Netflix adaptation is similarly dark – and has two great leading actresses.
Secret Star: Valeria Golino plays Giovanna’s loud and boisterous aunt Vittoria, who first of all explains to her that life is only worth living when sex is just as loud and boisterous.
Not suitable for: action fans. Many scenes are unnecessarily long. Caroline Gasteiger
Six episodes, on Netflix.
Bernie Madoff: The Wall Street Monster
Runs his machinations in Manhattan: Bernie Madoff.
(Photo: Netflix)
What is happening: The financial mogul Bernard Madoff builds – in the slipstream of legal activities – over decades a gigantic fraud system that flies up in the financial crisis of 2008. In four episodes, the docuseries examines the largest financial fraud in US history, which has killed more than three million people.
Secret Star: Financial analyst Harry Markopolos, who has been impressively persistent in providing evidence of Madoff’s fraud to the financial regulator.
Not suitable for: Contemporaries who are critical of capitalism and who get their pulse dangerously high just thinking about Wall Street. Philip Riessenberger
Four episodes, on Netflix.
Further Series recommendations can be found here.