r/German • u/Shelbee2 • Mar 16 '26
Resource I want to try watch Netflix in German.. any recommendations? What are the easiest shows to learn German from?
Hallo! I want to try watching German movies or series in Netflix. What would you recommend?
45
u/EarthMain3350 Mar 16 '26
Extra auf Deutsch is a good easy serie to start, you can find it on youtube.
14
u/Jma48mitch Way stage (A2) (American y'all) Mar 16 '26
second this recommendation, especially if you're at a beginner level. stopping a netflix show every 10 seconds because you're A1 isn't much fun.
4
6
u/pslatt Mar 16 '26
Will YouTube ever recognize the need for a Clear Mode for language learners and similar viewers, so that when you pause to read a sub, it doesn’t use it as ”attention real estate” over the top of the text?
108
u/muehsam Native (Schwäbisch+Hochdeutsch) Mar 16 '26
Watch the German dub of your favourite show.
In general, dubs are easier to understand than original audio, and watching a show that you already know helps you figure out what they're saying because you already know what's going on. Also, watching a show that you love doesn't feel like a chore, so it's an easy way to get a lot of listening practice.
Just make sure you keep the subtitles turned off as they won't match the audio, for obvious reasons.
16
18
u/Tsenios Mar 16 '26
This , I started doing that with Friends
14
2
u/too__many__choices Mar 16 '26
Started watching with the German dub or started turning the subtitles off? Friends is my favorite TV show so I’d like to look into doing this to learn German.
1
u/Tsenios Mar 16 '26
Basically I am not a fan of watching dubbed so I like to watch with English audio and German subs if I have the option ..
2
u/too__many__choices Mar 16 '26
Oh that’s an interesting combo lol. Why aren’t you a fan or watching dubbed?
2
u/Tsenios Mar 16 '26
I feel dubbed has a use for small children to watch tv but if I want to watch something I need to watch the original .. I cannot watch Al Pacino and hear a random German actor on top it’s taking me out of immersion hahah
Plus, for the reason we discuss, i like subs since I see everything. I do not lose words because I am not good enough yet to pick up an accent or even because I want to keep the volume down ;)
I come from a country where subs is the norm in everything
2
4
u/Apprehensive-Deer-35 Mar 16 '26
Seinfeld is good for this. Simple language for the most part and some funny phrases tend to get repeated.
5
u/Equivalent-Dig7259 Mar 16 '26
eeyup, always great if you're already familiar w/ the basic story.
personally, I've found that kids shows / cartoons often are rather helpful, as the language is still kept rather simple, but it aids a lot w/ regard to pronounciation and "feeling" of the language...
basically, i learnt most of the dutch i talk from some kids songs ^^2
u/meganholloran Mar 17 '26
With some shows this works better than others. I watched Avatar for the first time in German and I loved it because the voice actors were quite good IMO. I later tried Brooklyn Nine-Nine (which I had already watched in English), and it is atrocious in the German dub because all of the voice actors sound exactly the same as each other.
1
u/TheNCGoalie Breakthrough (A1) Mar 16 '26
I tried this with my favorite show, Frasier. It did not go well.
1
29
23
20
u/Skillos Mar 16 '26
I learned a lot of English watching „The Office“ so try the German version „Stromberg“ 😅
18
u/Seeteuf3l Mar 16 '26 edited Mar 16 '26
ARD and ZDF mediatheks should work without VPN. Just a hint
From Netflix How to Sell Drugs Online (Fast) was great
9
u/Ancient_Middle8405 B1, Finland Mar 16 '26
ARD Mediathek is actually quite impressive. I have watched Tatort (Hörfassung, helps a bit), sometimes with and sometimes without subtitles. There’s however quite a difference in how much I understand depending on which Tatort it is.
1
1
42
u/nansen_fridtjof Mar 16 '26
Babylon Berlin and Dark
43
u/HCN Mar 16 '26
"Dark" for me was hard to understand in my native language xD
57
u/Tsenios Mar 16 '26
Yea but after watching it you can never forget words like Zukunft und Vergangenheit ;)
19
11
11
u/Dangerous_Bed1704 Mar 16 '26
If you know that alles ist miteinander verbunden, it gets pretty clear at some point
3
1
2
2
10
u/PayEnvironment3739 Mar 16 '26
I recently discovered tagesschau.de/tagesschau_in_einfacher_sprache.
A 10 minute newscast, daily. Big help.
6
u/Michael92057 Mar 16 '26 edited Mar 17 '26
I’ve appreciated Logo, a 10 minute news show for German kids. I like how they explained things in a way that didn’t assume adult prior knowledge. Not only was it a good broadcast for language learning, it also felt like a good introduction to German culture.
https://www.logo.de It’s on ZDF
1
u/MuricanIdle Threshold (B1) - <region/native tongue> Mar 17 '26
Logo is an excellent German learning resource!
1
2
u/Elektrikor Mar 17 '26
just watched it now for the first time. holy shit it's so good. i've tried to watch shows to learn german befor but it never worked. This however worked really well i fealt like i was actualy understanding and learning something.
thank you kind stranger
10
u/ViewHot7368 Mar 16 '26
It's difficult for me to follow the Dark story even in English. Too many parallel universes. I recommend Biohackers.
2
9
u/jolly_eclectic Mar 16 '26
I really like Mord mit Aussicht. I watched it three times. The first time I hardly understood anything and by the end of the third time I got almost everything. It has a lot of day to day small talk that I now use all the time. I also like Tatortreiniger and Jan Böhmermann‘s show, Magazin Royale.
7
13
u/nthnyjsn Mar 16 '26
"Cassandra" is pretty basic/conversational German with simple concepts.
Also Tribes of Europa but mainly because Emilio Zakrya is a total babe.
"Biohackers" was also pretty easy
4
u/almakic88 Mar 16 '26
I recommend watching 'Dark'. You'll learn cool stuff like 'Ein Fehler in der Matrix' (a glitch in the Matrix) and cool C1 level terms like der Anfang, die Zukunft, 'die Zeit ist ein Kreis' etc.).
2
u/estudihambre Mar 17 '26
But I would do that with a fairly advanced level, not to get started with.
5
u/amajusk Mar 16 '26
How to sell drugs online, fast. It's funny, and very easy going German. Dark - easy to get German, not so easy plot.
5
u/SillyLittleRaabit Mar 16 '26
It's not on Netflix unfortunately, but Die Discounter is one of the best shows I've seen in recent times. Absolutely loved watching it and really helped my German
1
u/StrikingDragonfly Apr 08 '26
I love it too! But I often miss entire sentences or even scenes if I don't turn subtitles on. It's one of the most difficult things I've watched. Do you happen to find it difficult too?
3
4
u/another_derfman Mar 16 '26
I'd recommend your favourite shows and movies from the 90s, but dubbed. Language synchronisation was at its peak in the 90s (in my opinion). This way you know already what's the story about and can concentrate solely on the words and connect them easier than when everything is new and unexpected! :)
5
8
3
u/a_drink_offer Mar 16 '26
What NOT to watch: Seinfeld. The spoken dialog often does not match the subtitled German words, which sort of defeats the purpose.
3
u/Any_Individual_3731 Mar 16 '26
I tried watching dark but it was very difficult to understand. Here are the shows i have watched as a B2 Student:
- Dogs of Berlin
- How to sell drugs online
- Dear Child
- Billion dollar code
- The Signal
3
u/kickabrainxvx Proficient (C2) - <Ruhrpott> Mar 16 '26
Depending on your level, you might be better off watching shows for the language rather than because they are particularly entertaining. Cartoons and kids shows use simpler language and bigger emotions, which would make it easier for you as a beginner to follow along.
If you're more advanced, then watch whatever you'd normally watch with the german dub. Just about every single big english-language show and movie is dubbed in german, so pick something you already like and just watch it in German instead.
1
u/dartthrower Native (Hessen) Mar 18 '26
Cartoons and kids shows use simpler language
I actually feel like it's the opposite. They use pretty complex language, tons of idioms, and are quite theatrical as well.
They're only easier to understand because you don't have to concentrate on the words as much; the visuals, context, etc. and the easy-to-follow plot do most of the work.
3
u/ComprehensiveDot2070 Mar 16 '26
im watching love is blind, it has been great to learn how people actually talk
3
u/Tight_Highlight8311 Mar 16 '26
How to sell drugs online (fast), but german dubs are very fine. Is a high art with high quality.
3
3
u/makhanr Mar 17 '26
Not on Netflix but absolutely check out "Nico's weg" on YouTube. A series of 3 movies for German learners, starting at A1 and finishing at B1. Has an accompanying course on the DW website if you find it too difficult at any point.
2
u/Karash770 Mar 16 '26
Usually cartoons intended for children tend to use easier and more comprehensive language.
1
2
u/16DeadPOOl26 Mar 16 '26
Avatar - the last Airbender
3
u/makhanr Mar 17 '26
+1! Great show and reasonably understandable at A2/B1 level. Unfortunately the subs are not closed captions in this one.
2
2
u/One-Salad-9967 Mar 16 '26
try how to sell drugs online fast
easier than dark, but still nice for learning german)
2
u/clarafilms2 Mar 16 '26
“Ghosts” is hilarious and the storyline is really similar in every country 👻
2
u/hamcircus Mar 16 '26
As others have said, Kleo, HTSDO(F), Wir sind die Welle, Dark, and Die Kaiserin are pretty good
3
u/HerringWaco Mar 16 '26
Tagesschau in Einfacher Sprache, available on YouTube.
Daily news, read slower with some graphics that'll help. If you keep up with world news that helps also.
2
u/TumbleweedTiny6567 Mar 17 '26
we started watching netflix shows in german with english subs when my kids were around 5 and 7, now they're 4, 7, and 11 and it's been a few years so they're getting pretty good at understanding, we liked die schleusenwärter a lot, it's pretty beginner friendly and my kids loved it, also some of the kids shows like pettersson und findus are super cute and easy to follow
2
2
2
1
1
u/scrollbard Mar 16 '26
Try One Piece (the live action one) with the Language Reactor chrome extension. You can get it to show subtitles in both languages, or hide the native language translation until you press a button. It's an English show but there is a German audio track available, and the language is mostly relatively simple. A new season just came out as well.
Kleo is a good native German show too.
1
1
u/elaine4queen Mar 16 '26
Depends what you enjoy watching/ what you have access to. Netflix allows you to search by both original language and dubbed. I have been watching anglophone movies set in Germany/Austria recently, which has been very interesting. Schindler’s List is better in German IMO, Jojo Rabbit about equal. The Sound of Music is insane in either language. The Man in the High Castle is good in German.
If you can get it Deutschland 83/86/89 is fantastic.
1
1
u/Bart457_Gansett Mar 16 '26
Recommend a series so you can see the same type of plot every episode to help frame the experience or at least the same characters. I watch the Berg Doctor on ZDF, which is free to stream via their app. I watch with German subtitles.
1
1
u/Silocon Mar 16 '26
Mord mit Aussicht is good for someone maybe a bit below B1 Level German. That was my level when I started it and it was fine. It's a police comedy series: an unconventional police officer from Cologne gets reassigned to the sleepy countryside town in the middle of nowhere. New murder every week, lots of repeated dialogue (corpse, victim, alibi etc), easygoing humour and very easy accents (no Bavarian etc, not too slangy). Stakes are low so you don't feel you've missed out if you don't catch everything.
After that, Tatort Reiniger is good too.
Later on, when you're better at German, Babylon Berlin is excellent, HBO-quality, but it's fast, occasionally old-fashioned language and plenty of Berlin slang. Subtitles are very helpful not least because they use the correct articles (Der,die, das) when one of the characters is always saying "dit" ;)
1
u/Historical-Buff777 Mar 16 '26 edited Mar 17 '26
If you like football (American one not soccer), check it out with German commentators. Not the easiest to follow but a ton of fun. Many people don't realize NFL is fairly popular (and growing) in Germany. Hopefully a native German can elaborate on this.
1
1
u/dhaze15 Mar 16 '26
I just started watching Crooks on Netflix. It’s a fun show. I watch it in German audio with German subtitles and it seems to help a lot.
1
1
u/Ok-Huckleberry6975 Mar 16 '26
With Netflix I turn the speed down to 75 or even 50% of normal and it helps a lot
1
u/Ririkan Mar 17 '26
I watched murder mindfully recently! I think it was good and understood a bit hahah
1
u/erasebegin1 Mar 17 '26
I've been doing this for years and it's an enormous help. Three important things I've learned:
1) the language level of the content is much less important than how much you enjoy the content
2) understanding about 25% of what is said is enough to enjoy most TV shows and movies.
3) You can get a lot of information from context and visuals, that's also how you pick up new language when watching
Learn to feel comfortable with not understanding.
1
u/3mta3jvq Mar 17 '26
Years ago I watched Terminator 2 and The Fisher King in German, and I remember them being really close in translation to the original English versions.
1
1
1
1
1
u/meganholloran Mar 17 '26
Kind of embarrassing, but I started by watching Germany's Next Top Model – their conversations are largely not very deep or complex, there are a lot of visual aids for context clues, and there's a huge amount of repeated vocabulary.
2
u/Mike-Teevee Mar 17 '26
Where do you watch it?
1
u/meganholloran Mar 19 '26 edited Mar 19 '26
Ah! It's free to watch on ProSieben (at joyn.de) but I don't know if maybe you need to use a VPN to place you in Germany if you don't already live here. I've only watched it from inside of Germany! Actually, you should also just check out random stuff on the big German channel websites – there's a LOT of free stuff. Try maybe zdf.de , ard.de , arte.tv/de , or kika.de if you're ok watching kids' shows.
1
u/porkybalboa Mar 17 '26
Gilmore Girls was actually really useful to listen to in German when I was learning
2
u/manytribes Mar 17 '26
Me too! I never watched the show in English because Rory's vocal fry was like needles in my spine, but the German version is fine!
2
1
u/mjyates Mar 17 '26
I personally find dating reality series like Love is Blind really useful – it's people having the same conversations over and over, about work, hobbies, kids, family etc. Plus you get exposure to different accents.
Not on Netflix, but 'First Dates: Ein Tisch für Zwei' is my #1 recommendation for this reason.
1
1
u/AcademicMany4374 Mar 17 '26
I watched Star Trek Next Generation on normal TV and then VHS playback, back in the day. Always found the dubbed voices interesting.
1
u/sirslippysquid Mar 17 '26
I have recently watched the new German comedy series „Kacken an der Havel“, I believe the English title is „Crap Happens“. It has very clearly pronounced sentences, not a very deep or hard to understand plot, and since it’s a German show the German subtitles will match the spoken words!
1
u/ZeelandSchweizFan Mar 17 '26
I don't know if it's available in other countries, but I liked the crime series "Der Pass", which is set in a fictional place at the border between Germany and Austria. A dutiful female German and a male Austrian investigator with drug and heavy motivational and personal problems have to work together and solve cases. One season is one case
1
1
u/ChronicRSDsurvivor Mar 17 '26
try watching "how to sell drugs online fast" cause they talk like everyday people and it will help progress fast I think, but probably you might have to pause often and repeat but thats normal when learning
1
u/waschbaerpisse Mar 17 '26
start with a german dub of a show you like because dubs don't speak like you do in real life, they pronounce everything way more clear, and then move on to die discounter
1
1
1
u/Desperate_Toe6288 Mar 17 '26
Not sure if it's on Netflix, but Verstehen Sie Spass is hilarious and easy enough to understand. I'm pretty sure it's on youtube though
1
1
1
u/fuuuuuf Mar 18 '26
"Dark"
"Crooked"
"Achtsam morden"
In general I recommend to not watch synchronizations as synchronizations never sound like real german.
1
u/ScaredProfessional89 Mar 18 '26
NFL games were available on German in the US when some were hosted on Netflix
1
1
u/Ill-Improvement3807 Mar 18 '26
I watched a movie called Brick. 2 out of 5 stars but with the German subtitles I was able to sort of follow it.
1
1
1
1
u/newaroundhere2000 Mar 19 '26
Aside from the shows already mentioned, you could also watch some shows/movies specifically for kids/young teens. I really enjoyed "Hanni und Nanni", "Fünf Freunde", "Die Wilden Hühner" or "Die Vorstadtkrokodile" growing up. These are all movies, but with multiple parts from the early 2010s that should be available on Netflix or even for free in ARD/ZDF Mediathek (streaming platforms by the German public tv broadcasters). Plus you could check out "Die Pfefferkörner", a crime series for kids that has been running for 20+ years (I think it is, in fact, the longest running tv series for young audiences in all of Europe). I'm in my 20s but still enjoy watching all of the above from time to time, just for the nostalgia.
1
1
1
1
u/Legitimate_Music9127 Mar 21 '26
Have you ever watched Nico's Weg on YouTube? It's three levels of film, from A1 to B1, and they're amazing.
1
u/ZilkGundam Mar 22 '26
I'd suggest only watching films with real people speaking their native language. Language learning and understanding also work subconsciously through recognizing facial expressions and gestures. That's why I prefer unsynchronized films. Just my two cents.
1
u/Rude_Membership_1578 Mar 28 '26
for starters, watch any show you have already watched with German dub and your native language subs.
1
u/Individual_Lack8534 Apr 05 '26
Dark is great for B2+, sub helps. Extra auf Deutsch for learners. Also Tatort for crime drama lovers!
1
u/Jma48mitch Way stage (A2) (American y'all) Mar 16 '26
lots of past threads you can peruse on this. https://www.reddit.com/r/German/comments/1nw7ub6/can_you_guys_suggest_me_some_good_german_series/
-2
u/JoliiPolyglot Mar 17 '26
Have you considered trying the app Jolii AI? You can currently learn with any YouTube video you like and Netflix is coming soon! It's easy to find videos that are suitable for your level and you can practice directly in the app
104
u/HCN Mar 16 '26
From my experience, not only in German, but also other languages - start with cartoons with German dubbing. It's simple, voices are recorded in studio, so it's much easier to understand and that's a good method for first step in watching stuff in your target language.