Beat is the second German-language Amazon Original Series following the cyber-thriller You Are Wanted.
The series portrays authentically, provocatively and directly without any filters and taboos the life of the Berliner techno promoter Robert Schlag aka BEAT, who all of a sudden is on the trail of an international organ trading ring.
Anyone who has been to a nightclub knows Hollywood’s interpretation of a night out can leave a lot to desire. While there are spot-on examples that capture the energy, uncertainty and emotion of nightlife, few are able to do it well. For the Amazon-only series, Beat, director Marco Kreuzpaintner’s uses the city of Berlin as another character on screen, using gritty locations to ensure authenticity. The unbridled enthusiasm, freedom and hedonism that the Berlin club scene thrives on are woven across the series, using the myth and mystery of clubs like Berghain, Tresor or Watergate to pace the episodes between the club and more traditional crime show scenes.
Weaving between the ongoing drama at the club after a ritual-style murder disrupts a busy night and the interconnected nightlife of the club’s resident DJ Robert “Beat” Schlag and lifelong friend and promoter Paul, who ends up working undercover for the Secret Service as a way to keep both of them out of jail.
It’s not all 24-hour party people in Beat, with a slowly unwinding second storyline that has more in line with a crime thriller than it does Studio 54, Eden or The Last Days of Disco.
Kreuzpaintner ultimately succeeds in placing the viewer into the vibe and energy of the club, using Schalag’s perspective to place you into the centre of the storm.
Beat is tailored for a late-night binge session, taking you deep into two worlds, and leaving you wanting more.
Despite being awarded the 2019 Grimme-Preis for fiction and a respectable 83% on Rotten Tomatoes, the series will not get a second season.