8 promising TV series to check out in 2020
The Berlinale became the first A-list film festival to showcase TV series back in 2015. From a documentary on Hillary Clinton to series about Freud and sex, here's a pick of titles from the 2020 festival selection.
'Hillary'
The four-part doco series veers between Hillary Clinton's youth and her political career. It captures how she dealt with her husband's infidelity, went on to be a New York Senator, and lost her campaign for US President to Donald Trump. It's released on Hulu on March 6 — in the middle of a primary season during which, four years earlier, she looked destined to become the first female president.
'The Eddy'
Even though the official release date in 2020 has not yet been revealed, fans of Oscar-winning director Damien Chazelle ("La La Land") have already marked this eight-episode series on their Netflix viewing list. It stars Andre Holland ("Moonlight") in the role of Elliot, an American musician who runs a jazz club in Paris called The Eddy.
'Freud'
The young Freud tracks a serial killer with the help of a medium and a war veteran policeman. This German-language series promises crime, mystery, horror and cocaine-fueled nights with Vienna's high society. Fans of "4 Blocks" will be even more excited to find out that the first Austrian Netflix production is also directed by Marvin Kren. It's out on March 23.
'Trigonometry'
To help pay their expensive London rent, a couple takes on a flatmate. They all fall in love with each other and develop a modern three-way relationship, which feels perfectly natural to them even though friends and family are quick to predict that it will fail. Smart and funny, this take on polyamory starring Thalissa Teixeira, Ariane Labed and Gary Carr will be released on BBC Two later in 2020.
'Dispatches from Elsewhere'
Pitched as a "visual adventure poised somewhere between a new-age fairy tale and a trip into hilarious absurdity," the series is set in a mysterious institute that allows four participants to accept a challenge that will open their eyes to a world magic and beauty. Created by and starring Jason Segel ("How I Met Your Mother"), the debut season will be available on Amazon Prime.
'Sex'
After Catherine kissed her colleague Selma, things with her libido-less boyfriend get complicated: This Danish drama centers on the entangled relationships and feelings of a group of young twenty-somethings. With each episode under 15 minutes, the new web series is for a generation on the go. "Sex" will be launched on Danish streaming network TV 2 Play shortly after its Berlin premiere.
'Stateless'
A depressed flight attendant, a young Afghan father fleeing persecution, a warden in a refugee camp and an ambitious bureaucrat: In "Stateless," the lives of these four characters intersect in an immigration center in the Australian desert. The six-part Australian series was co-produced by Cate Blanchett, who also performs. After the Berlinale premiere, 'Stateless' debuts on ABCTV on March 1.
'Happily Married'
While their children are at summer camp, two couples try to sort out their marital problems — but things quickly get violent. Set in Quebec in 1974, the French-language black comedy has rising nationalism, feminism and trade unionism as a backdrop. It will first be released on Canadian streaming platform Tou.Tv, but the subtle irony of the series is bound to lead to international sales.