By Michael Pickard
September 23, 2026

Nearly a decade after the Breitscheidplatz attack, six-part drama Breitscheidplatz 19/12 (Blindspot Berlin) unpacks the events that led to tragedy. Writer-director David Nawrath, co-writer David Marian and producer Simon Amberger speak to DQ about their research, the difficult road to financing and their refusal to offer simple answers.

On December 19, 2016, one of the worst terrorist attacks in German history took place when a truck was driven into the crowd attending a Christmas market at Breitscheidplatz in Berlin, killing 12 people and injuring dozens more. It was revealed in the aftermath that the suspected terrorist had been known to local authorities for more than a year.

A six-part drama titled Breitscheidplatz 19/12 now examines events leading up to the attack and the failings that allowed the 24-year-old suspect to ultimately carry out his plan despite being under surveillance.

In the show, detective Frank Laudin (Albrecht Schuch) is becoming increasingly concerned by activity reported through his network of informants, assisted by newly recruited Iraqi-born police officer and translator Isra Al-Husseini (Bayan Layla). Laudin then forms a special task force to investigate further and brings in Murat Cem (Tamer Tıraşoğlu), who embeds himself within a particular group of men – including one apparently willing to do anything he is asked.

David Marian

Produced by Neuesuper in coproduction with ARD Degeto Film and RBB, NDR and HR for broadcaster ARD, the show also stars Wael Alkhatib, Jeanne Goursaud, Bernd Hölscher, Dirk Warme, Jakob Geßner and many others. Beta Film is handling distribution of the series, which is known internationally as Blindspot Berlin and recently had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Behind the series are co-creators and co-writers David Marian and David Nawrath, who also directs. They had previously collaborated on Euer Ehren, the German adaptation of Israeli drama Your Honor (Kvodo), and were under no illusions about the task ahead of them when they signed on to develop Breitscheidplatz 19/12.

“From the get-go, we were confronted with the utter sincerity of the source material and of the things that happened, but on the other hand, we have to entertain. So what can we do?” Marian tells DQ. “We told ourselves we had to be authentic. That’s very important. We cannot let our imaginations roam wild. We just wanted to be true to the events as they unfolded.”

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