Critic Reviews

Sometime toward the end of the first episode, the show hits critical mass and turns mesmerizing and addictive. With Showtime's Homeland and its bipolar spook Carrie Mathison AWOL until next year, Berlin Station has a temporary corner on the dysfunctional-spy market. Buy in.

Berlin Station fares better in mining hot-button issues for drama, but it’s still a slow burn. Olen Steinhauer’s put together another spy thriller with a faded template (does the sun ever shine in Germany?) that still has plenty of bright spots in the cast and story.

Berlin Station is not quite as cerebral as “The Americans” or “Rubicon,” and it occasionally cuts corners in its rush to create narrative momentum, but the Epix series has an outstanding cast that takes its reasonably solid storytelling and raises it a few notches through sheer talent and charisma.

It’s the TV show as page-turner, if you have room on your night stand.

Berlin Station is a tense, terse thriller--good-looking but never fussy, balancing character and plot in satisfying proportions, a new suit cut to classic lines.

A well-made but not hugely original mix of spycraft, action and sexy office intrigue, Berlin Station is elevated by the surprising, and relatively unnoticed, quality of its core cast.

Berlin Station so far looks like a series worth riding out, with Jenkins, Armitage, Ifans and Forbes all making strong contributions to the cause.

Consider it John le Carre fan fiction that le Carre himself might enjoy. [4 Nov 2016, p.57]

Alas, the ineffective introduction of characters combined with a general lack of visceral energy drag down the show long enough for viewers to lose interest. Things pick up a bit later on, but it’s not enough to redeem the series.

This is a spy series looking for someone or something to make you care.