Apple TV+ continues to be one of the most over-looked streaming services on the market and it’s a real shame because the quality of the programming it’s putting out has been consistently stellar. Everyone knows about ‘Ted Lasso’ but where’s the love for the fantastic ‘Slow Horses’ (currently in the midst of its fourth season), the delightfully sweet ‘Shrinking’ starring Harrison Ford and Jason Segel, and the intriguing ‘Sunny’ featuring a career-best performance from Rashida Jones?
The streamer has been busy building up its non-English language content too and this week see’s the launch of its first Original German series ‘Where’s Wanda?’. A quirky black comedy based on a story by Zoltan Spirandelli (‘Vaya con Dios’), who is also the co-creator, the series is a deliciously intricate mystery centred on Dedo (Axel Stein) and Carlotta Kratt (Heike Maskatsch), the parents of the tech-savvy teenager Ole (Leo Simon) and 17-year-old daughter Wanda (Lea Drinda).
On a seemingly normal day, Wanda leaves the family home after a row with her mother Carlotta, and doesn’t return home. Days pass and there’s no sign of Wanda, leaving Dedo and Carlotta frustrated with the slow-moving police investigation. That’s when they decide to take matters into their own hands, leading to an initial comedic disaster after the hapless duo storms a house they believe their daughter may be being held in. Of course they’re wrong, but it puts the idea into their heads to pretend to be an electrical company so they can gain access to the homes of their neighbours. That kicks off a chain of events as they bug their neighbours and enlist their son Ole to keep watch on surveillance equipment, in a bid to find their missing daughter.
I don’t want to reveal any more about the plot as the series works best if you don’t know much more than the basic premise. The first episode does a fantastic job of acquainting viewers with the characters and setting up a mystery that will have you chomping at the bit after each episode ends. I can’t recall seeing anything like it on UK TV before and ‘Where’s Wanda?’ feels incredibly fresh. It’s also very, very funny. Despite the dark subject matter, and the hint that things are going to get a lot darker, the dialogue is fast-paced and witty. The interactions between Dedo and Carlotta is sparky, with Stein and Maskatsch delivering stellar performances.
If you fancy trying something a bit different, I can highly recommend ‘Where’s Wanda?’. It’s dark, it’s funny and it’s incredibly intriguing. The show will have you hooked as the mystery unwinds and the events leading up to Wanda’s disappearance are revealed. If mysteries and dark comedies are your thing, this will be right up your street. Even if you’re not particularly a fan of sub-titled content, you should still give it a go as it’s one of the most original shows I’ve seen all year.
‘Where’s Wanda?’ launches on Apple TV+ on Wednesday 2nd October 2024 with the first two episodes. New episodes will arrive weekly.
