Colin Firth Teams Up with Jack Lowden for New Apple TV Series Inspired by ‘Berlin Noir’ Novels with Peter Straughan
Oscar Winner Colin Firth Joins Jack Lowden in Apple TV’s Untitled Drama Based on ‘Metropolis’
Oscar-winning actor Colin Firth has been cast alongside Jack Lowden in Apple TV’s upcoming untitled drama series, which adapts Philip Kerr’s acclaimed Berlin Noir book series, starting with Metropolis. The adaptation is penned by Oscar winner Peter Straughan and directed by Tom Shankland.
Currently filming in Berlin, the series is produced by Bad Wolf and PlayTone, the production company founded by Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman. This project reunites Firth and Straughan, who previously collaborated on the 2011 film Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, based on John le Carré’s novel.
The Berlin Noir series encompasses 14 books featuring detective Bernie Gunther. Apple TV’s adaptation begins with Metropolis, focusing on Gunther’s origin story in 1928. In this narrative, Bernie (played by Lowden) navigates the challenges of being a newly promoted officer in the elite Berlin Murder Squad, tasked with investigating a potential serial killer targeting society’s marginalized individuals. The storyline unfolds against a backdrop of political and social upheaval, with the looming presence of the Nazis as a distant threat.
Firth will portray Paul Lohser, a brilliant yet difficult detective within the Berlin Police. Lohser’s meticulous and antisocial personality contrasts sharply with Bernie’s, making him an unlikely mentor. As Bernie’s partner, Lohser becomes essential in the quest to apprehend the elusive killer.
Executive producers include Jane Tranter, Dan McCulloch, and Ryan Rasmussen for Bad Wolf, along with Straughan and Shankland. Hanks and Goetzman join as executive producers for PlayTone. Jane Thynne, the widow of Philip Kerr, serves as a consulting producer, representing the copyright of the Bernie Gunther novels through her company, Thynker Ltd.
Firth’s upcoming projects include the Young Sherlock series by Guy Ritchie, slated to premiere on Prime Video on March 4. He is also set to appear in Steven Spielberg’s forthcoming UFO film Disclosure and will reprise his role as Harry Hart alongside Taron Egerton in Matthew Vaughn’s Kingsman: The Blue Bloods. Firth is represented by Independent Talent and CAA.
