Munich/Berlin, 25 August 2026. One of the most successful and influential international drama series of the last decade is coming to an end: Writer-director trio Tom Tykwer, Henk Handloegten, and Achim von Borries reunite for the return of Babylon Berlin, whose fifth and final season will premiere on Germany’s ARD on September 10. Sold to more than 140 territories across Europe, North and South America, Asia, Africa, and Australia, Babylon Berlin season 5 will air internationally in the following months; in the U.S., the series is expected to premiere next year on MHz Choice.

The writer-director trio Tom Tykwer, Henk Handloegten, and Achim von Borries on the final season: “From the very beginning, our ambition was to explore the world of Babylon Berlin through the eyes of our characters, and now their journeys reach a meaningful conclusion. All of them are ultimately called upon to reveal their true character in a system that is being turned upside down before their eyes. During the darkest period in German history, the series finds some of its most dazzling moments; the characters fight, dance, plead, betray, sing, scream, hate, and love as if there were no tomorrow. The series has accompanied and shaped us through a significant part of our professional lives, and we are deeply grateful for this extraordinary journey. The final season is also about the importance of defending fragile systems like democracies.”

Dirk Schürhoff, co-producer for Beta Film: „With gratitude and a touch of sadness, we are bringing Babylon Berlin's extraordinary journey of almost a decade to a close. The series redefined the scope and ambition of European television and became a global benchmark for German premium drama. Our thanks go to the visionary creatives Tom Tykwer, Henk Handloegten and Achim von Borries, to the entire team at X Filme, to our production partner ARD Degeto – and, of course, to audiences around the world."

Inspired by motifs from Kutscher's novel Märzgefallene, the fifth season sets off in January 1933, when Hitler’s appointment as Reich Chancellor opens the darkest chapter in German history. Detective Charlotte Ritter investigates a series of murders targeting former front-line soldiers. The connections and motives reach back to 1918. An explosive file has disappeared, one that casts Hitler’s time as a soldier in the First World War in a new light. Politically incendiary material – and those involved seem willing to stop at nothing to get their hands on the file… even murder. When investigator Gereon Rath suddenly vanishes without a trace, Charlotte does not know whether she will ever see him again.

Alongside starring actors Volker Bruch and Liv Lisa Fries, many familiar faces from previous seasons rejoin the cast, such as Hannah Herzsprung (Four Minutes, The Reader), Karl Markovics (The Counterfeiters), Lars Eidinger (The Light, Dying), Fritzi Haberlandt (From Hilde, With Love), and Christian Friedel (The White Ribbon), among others, while notable new cast members, including Clemens Schick, Ulrich Noethen, and Devid Striesow, are introduced.

Praised by critics around the world for its visual ambition, historical authenticity, and outstanding performances, the series became one of the most widely recognized non-English-language dramas ever produced and established a global appetite for premium European storytelling. Hailed by The Wall Street Journal as "one of the best things ever in long-form television", "fabulous and stunning" by The Guardian, "dark, flashy, and addictive" by NPR, and "the most bingeable new drama since The Crown" by Vogue, Babylon Berlin has collected numerous awards, among them the inaugural European Achievement in Fiction Series Award at the European Film Awards, multiple German Television Awards, the Grand Prize at the Seoul International Drama Awards, an Ondas Award in Spain, the Magnolia Award of the Shanghai TV Festival, and many more.

Babylon Berlin is a production of X Filme Creative Pool in co-production with ARD Degeto, WDR, SWR, HR, Radio Bremen and Beta Film in collaboration with RBB. The series is co-produced by Christoph Pellander and Carolin Haasis (ARD Degeto Film), Alexander Bickel and Caren Toennissen-Brand (WDR), Manfred Hattendorf and Monika Denisch (SWR), as well as Jörg Himstedt (HR). Producers for X Filme are Uwe Schott, Tom Tykwer, Stefan Arndt und Michael Polle, co-producers for Beta Film are Jan Mojto, Dirk Schürhoff und Moritz Herzogenberg. The fifth season of Babylon Berlin is funded by the Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, by Film- und Medienstiftung NRW, as well as the German Motion Picture Fund.