Berlin Station is an American drama television series created by Olen Steinhauer. The series stars Richard Armitage, Rhys Ifans, Leland Orser, Michelle Forbes, Richard Jenkins, Keke Palmer, Ashley Judd, John Doman, Tamlyn Tomita, and Ismael Cruz Córdova. Bradford Winters had been showrunner for its first two seasons, with Jason Horwitch taking over for season 3.
A ten-episode first season premiered on Epix on October 16, 2016. On November 17, 2016, Epix renewed Berlin Station for a second season, originally planned to contain ten episodes, which premiered on October 15, 2017 and concluded a nine-episode-season-run on December 3, 2017. On December 6, 2017, Epix renewed the series for a third season, which premiered on December 2, 2018.
It was canceled on March 29, 2019, after three seasons.
In 2021, all three seasons were released on DVD from Paramount Home Entertainment.
The story follows Daniel Miller (Richard Armitage), who has just arrived at the CIA station in Berlin, Germany. In season 1, Miller has a clandestine mission: to uncover the source of a leak who has supplied information to a now-famous whistleblower named Thomas Shaw. Guided by veteran Hector DeJean (Rhys Ifans), Daniel learns to contend with the rough-and-tumble world of the field agent: agent-running, deception, and the dangers and moral compromises. In season 2, four months after Miller was shot at the end of season 1, he recovered from his injuries sufficiently to be given a new clandestine assignment: to infiltrate a far-right German political party believed to be planning an act of terror right before an upcoming election.
Epix announced a ten-episode straight-to-series order on May 21, 2015. Michaël Roskam executive produced the series and directed the first two episodes. Olen Steinhauer wrote and executive produced the series. Production started in November 2015.
Principal photography took place in Potsdam at Studio Babelsberg, which is co-producer of Berlin Station. The whole interior of the CIA Station, which includes a security entrance as well as the big windowless office space within, was built on stages at Babelsberg's studios. Other scenes were shot on locations in Potsdam and Berlin, Germany.
On February 7, 2018, it was announced that Jason Horwitch would be joining the series as showrunner and executive producer. He replaced Brad Winters who had served in those positions for the show's first two seasons. For the third season, production moved to Budapest, Hungary.
A 10-episode first season of Berlin Station premiered on Epix on October 16, 2016. The series is exclusive to Netflix in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It is broadcast free-to-air and on-demand in Australia on SBS TV. It also is available in Israel. The series has been licensed to more than 150 territories worldwide.
Berlin Station has received generally positive reviews from critics. On Metacritic, the show holds a rating of 65 out of 100, based on 12 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". In a season 1 review for Variety, Maureen Ryan attests the series "an outstanding cast that takes its reasonably solid storytelling and raises it a few notches through sheer talent and charisma", praising especially Richard Jenkins, Michelle Forbes and Rhys Ifans. The New York Times Mike Hale called season 3 a "well-made but not hugely original mix of spycraft, action and sexy office intrigue" and noticed that "Berlin Station is elevated by the surprising, and relatively unnoticed, quality of its core cast", mentioning particularly Leland Orser whose "shifty, nervous energy still carries the show".