Deutschland 89 is the final part of the trilogy that began with Deutschland 83 and continued with Deutschland 86, following former East German border patrol guard Martin Rauch (Jonas Nay) in his new life as a spy for the foreign intelligence arm of the Stasi.
The third series sees Martin living back in East Berlin and facing an uncertain future as the Berlin Wall opens up — will there be a place for him in the reunited Germany? Or will the famous 'Kolibri' be snapped up by another intelligence agency?
Here's everything you need to know about Deutschland 89.
Deutschland 89 release date
In the US, Deutschland 89 is available now to stream in full on Hulu.
In the UK, Deutschland 89 starts Friday March 5 at 9pm on More4. The full series will be available to view as a box set on Walter Presents via All4 after the first episode transmits, and both previous series are already available to stream on catch-up.
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What's going to happen in Deutschland 89?
The series begins with Martin working as a salesman for an East German electronics company, while raising his son Max as a single father. He is doing low-level jobs for the HVA (the East German intelligence service) but is blackmailed into taking on a high-stakes assignment when Max's mother Annett threatens to have him brought to Moscow with her.
"Because of the era and the coming revolution, it doesn't take very long until the Stasi gets him back in the game to deliver some secrets," says Jonas Nay, who plays Martin. "He's back in the game very soon and struggling to get out of it."
Meanwhile, Martin's aunt Lenora, who recruited him, is in prison in West Germany — and while the two of them are currently on opposite sides of the Wall, it seems inevitable they will meet again.
"That was the billion dollar question during shooting — are Lenora and Martin going to meet again or not?" says Jonas. "I think it's fortune that they meet again. There's betrayal on both sides, but they're still family, and that's an intense combination. There's idealism on Martin's side, and on Lenora's, this ideology that she's following everywhere — these two characters are combined in this parallel way."
Who stars in Deutschland 89?
Jonas Nay reprises his role as Martin Rauch, alias Agent Kolibri. Maria Schrader also returns as Martin's aunt and former handler Lenora, with Svenja Jung joining the cast as Nicole Zangen, Max's teacher. Other cast members include Ari Kurecki as Max, Sylvester Groth as Martin's father Walter, and Carina Wiese as Martin's mother Ingrid.
Is there a trailer for Deutschland 89?
Yes! You can get a teasing glimpse of the series here:
What happened previously in Deutschland 83 and Deutschland 86? (Contains spoilers!)
In Deutschland 83, Martin was taken out of his job as a border patrol guard in East Germany by his aunt Lenora, to infiltrate West Germany under the alias of murdered soldier Moritz Stamm.
While in the West, Martin discovered that the things he had been told about life on the other side of the world weren't entirely true, and used his position to ensure that his mother received treatment for kidney disease.
After receiving news from East Germany that a planned NATO conflict simulation exercise was being viewed as a legitimate act of war, Martin broke cover to warn the West German authorities, ultimately preventing a nuclear attack.
In Deutschland 86, Martin was in protective exile in Angola when Lenora tracked him down to assist her with a weapons sale to the South African Army — which Martin sabotaged when he realised people he knew would be harmed in the planned attacks. Martin attempted to placate Lenora by arranging a sale to Angola instead, but the operation went wrong, leading to Martin getting shot by a sniper and Lenora leaving him for dead.
Martin was taken to Paris by West German intelligence officer Brigitte Winkelmann, who attempted to recruit him as a double agent. When he finally agreed, he was assigned to abduct Lenora — and after arranging transport for himself and Lenora across the border from East to West Germany, Lenora was arrested.
