Series Review: "Close to Home: Murder in the Coalfield" ("Lauchhammer - Tod in der Lausitz") (2022).

From Germany and Netflix comes Close to Home: Murder in the Coalfield (Lauchhammer - Tod in der Lausitz). This German crime mystery series directed by Till Franzen and written by Frauke Hunfeld and Silke Zertz. When a grisly murder brings Detective Maik Briegand back to his small hometown, he finds himself dredging up bodies, clues and his own past traumas.

By late July 2021, Misel Maticevic, Odine Johne, Marc Hosemann, Ella Lee, Jacob Matschenz, Lucas Gregorowicz, Petra Kelling, Julischka Eichel, Hilmar Eichhorn, Christian Grashof, Uwe Preuss, Kai Ivo Baulitz, Martina Schöne-Radunski, Arnd Klawitter, and Ramona Kunze-Libnow were cast in a German crime mystery series with Franzen as director and penned by Hunfeld and Zertz. At the same time, principal photography commenced and wrapped in early November. Filming took place in Berlin, Germany.

Most of the characters are very unlikable and seem either weak or downright cruel. Either that or they just annoy you because you feel like they should do better for themselves. In other words, the series features characters that are realistic and therefore flawed. And I for one really like this. Otherwise, it would all be too easy. I like these huge grey areas as opposed to black and white. Let me decide for myself how I feel about these characters. From the very beginning, I’m especially intrigued by the Annalena Gottknecht character portrayed by Johne. She’s a young detective with the German police, which means she’s our guide through the search for our killer. I also really like the police detective Maik Briegand portrayed by Maticevic. He’s so laidback and admits this case is out of his league. Still, he gets clues by doing good old police work. While the characters might challenge you, it all works thanks to a brilliant cast. We get to know these characters and while we might not grow to like them more, we do understand them better.

The series delivered an impressively tense and disturbing tale. While the content within may be more than some casual viewers will expect, the series uses its concepts and elements to great effect. The series is a pretty straightforward thriller, but with a spectacular backdrop and a lead character with a tragic backstory and some personality quirks, it’s definitely worth a look. The series is realistically grim, but also offers the simple satisfaction of watching smart professionals bring some order to a chaotic world, one case at a time. However, with an unlimited number of TV shows available to viewers, who has time for well made, yet unremarkable shows? That thought is what I kept coming back to while working my way through the series. The series unflinchingly tackles some sensitive and challenging contemporary issues. Surrounding and running through these are Annalena and Maik’s own stories. Fair to say that this show is noir and most definitely not a bundle of laughs; characters are generally dour (perhaps typical of the area in which it is set…) The main cast are really strong with many guest actors adding to the mix. There is some clever, complex and thoughtful writing.

Simon says Close to Home: Murder in the Coalfield (Lauchhammer - Tod in der Lausitz) receives: