Kleo

Synopsis

In 1987, after successfully assassinating a double agent in a West Berlin club, East German Stasi assassin Kleo Straub is falsely imprisoned by her agency. When she is released after the Berlin Wall is taken down in 1989, she plans her revenge on the conspirators who framed her. Meanwhile, Sven Petzold, an underappreciated fraud policeman who witnessed the 1987 murder, finds connections between it and Straub, leading him to impede her vengeance quest.

Cast

• Jella Haase as Kleo Straub, an unofficial East German Stasi assassin who was imprisoned for an alleged act of treason
  • Rosa Wirtz plays a younger version of her.
• Dimitrij Schaad as Sven Petzold, an underachieving West Berlin police officer who initially worked in the fraud section
• Julius Feldmeier as Thilo, current occupant of Kleo's old apartment who came from West Germany
• Vincent Redetzki as Uwe Mittig, an unofficial East German Stasi agent who was an accomplice of Kleo's during her 1987 mission
• Vladimir Burlakov as Andi Wolf, a former East German Stasi supervisor who was romantically involved with Kleo
• Marta Sroka as Anja, Wolf's spouse who is pregnant with his child
• Jürgen Heinrich as Otto Straub, an East German Stasi general commander and Kleo's grandfather
• Alessija Lause as Anne Geike, a West German BND officer who previously met Otto Straub
• Andrej Kaminsky as Nikolai Zhukov, a Soviet KGB officer based in Germany with a connection with Kleo

Recurring

• Steffi Kühnert as Margot Honecker, the wife of East German leader Erich Honecker and a high-ranking communist party official in her own right, who is Kleo's aunt
• Thandi Sebe as Jenny Schneider, Sven's wife who becomes emotionally distant from him
• Taner Sahintürk as Frederick "Freddy" Lembach, Sven's friend and colleague in the police
• Yun Huang as Min Sun, a BND officer of Chinese origin who works under Anne Geike
• Zethphan Smith-Gneist as Mark Petzold, Sven and Jenny's teenage son
• Alexander Hörbe as Ludger Wieczorek, a former East German colonel who was in charge of Kleo's 1987 mission
• Rodrigo Rojo as Jorge Gonzalez, a Stasi agent who immigrated from Chile
• Gunnar Helm as Erich Mielke, the head of the Stasi who is involved in Kleo's imprisonment
• Anna Stieblich as Brigitte Straub, Kleo's mother who abandoned her for West Germany
• Garry Fischmann as Matthias Frey, a man Kleo assassinated in West Berlin on 1987, setting the stage for her predicament
• Jonas Stenzel as Dopi, Thilo's friend who is a techno music DJ
• Robin Gooch as Rose Carmichael, a CIA agent
• Alli Neumann as Ciana, Thilo's friend whom he met in a techno club

Guest starring

• Harry Schäfer as Alexander Belov, a Soviet KGB agent who has made a deal with Wieczorek
• Kathrin Angerer as Gabriela Wieczorek, Ludger's wife, who resides in Mallorca after faking their deaths
• Bruno F. Apitz as Walter Blum, East German Party secretary and a close friend of Wieczorek's who knows his whereabouts
• Lina Wendel as Ms. Lobrecht, Mielke's secretary, who has been assigned with the protection of a red briefcase
• Anselm Bresgott as Holger, Kleo's childhood friend and former love interest
  • Jakob Albert plays a younger version of him
• Thiago Braga de Oliveira as a concierge in Hotel Carrera

Show creators Richard Kropf and Hanno Hackfort also have cameo roles.

English dub

The English version was produced by Liquid Violet in London. Ed Hughes was responsible for adapting the script and directing the dub.

Episodes

Season 1 (2022)

Unaware that his life is in danger, Sven, who opts to share a ride with Freddy instead, tracks Kleo before choosing to pursue Uwe, who is also monitoring her, to his warehouse. Sven and Freddy monitor Uwe briefly before he leaves, with Sven entering the warehouse afterwards. Sven is then approached by Min, who is also tracking him, offering him a position in the BND should he manage to capture Kleo. Kleo enters Erich's hospital room and forces him to tell her who were responsible for her arrest. Mielke reveals that Otto Straub had pulled the strings but tries to choke her before Kleo shoots him. Kleo digs up Otto's grave and finds a message revealing that she killed a West German agent who had information that could threaten the existence of the GDR. In despair, Kleo meets with Andi, before telling him she killed her grandfather. Andi, who is infuriated by Mielke's assassination, soothes her and tries to convince her to go in hiding, which she refuses. Andi then visits Uwe and authorizes him to eliminate Kleo.

After reading the contents, Kleo and Sven are visited by Margot, who confirms the documents contained an agreement between US President Ronald Reagan and her husband, East German leader Erich Honecker, that arranged for the United States giving financial aid to the GDR to keep it stable enough to justify the existence of the two Germanies and Washington's Cold War policy, and reveals that Mielke had blackmailed Honecker with the papers before Frey stole it. Margot demands Kleo and Sven return the briefcase to her in exchange for Brigitte's whereabouts, revealing that Otto had her imprisoned before West Germany bailed her out. Despite Sven's objections, Kleo chooses to return the briefcase. Kleo and Sven fly to West Berlin, heading to Brigitte's house. Kleo meets Brigitte, only to be told that she does not want Kleo back into her life, despite telling Kleo how hard it is to be apart from her. Sven and Kleo later return to Otto's house and have sex. The next day, Kleo wakes up regretting returning the briefcase to Margot only for Sven to reveal that he had called the BND about the briefcase. Kleo angrily chases Sven with a gun. In the epilogue, Min, who had swapped the briefcase with an identical one containing toilet paper while Margot was in transit, gives the briefcase to a CIA agent, while Ramona breastfeeds her newborn baby by the roadside in Chile. In Berlin, Uwe is shown to have survived and plots his revenge.

Season 2 (2024)

Production

Development

On 8 February 2022, Netflix ordered Kleo as a part of 19 German-language productions worth US$571 million. Hanno Hackfort, Richard Kropf and Bob Konrad, co-creators of 4 Blocks, were revealed as series creators, writers and executive producers, with Elena Senft set to co-write. Michael Souvigner and Till Derenbach of Zeitsprung Pictures were also announced as co-producers, while Viviane Andereggen and Jano Ben Chaabane were signed as directors. The series was renewed on 29 September 2022. Series two was released on Netflix on 25 July 2024.

Casting

Upon the series announcement on 8 February 2022, Jella Haase was announced as the titular lead of the series.

Filming

Principal photography for the series reportedly began in June 2021, with Berlin, Eisenhüttenstadt, and Mallorca revealed as filming locations. In the second series Berlin and Belgrade were used as filming locations.

Release

The series' first official trailer was launched on YouTube on 14 July 2022. Kleo premiered worldwide on 19 August 2022, and was renewed for a second season on 29 September 2022.

The second season was released on 25 July 2024.

Reception

The first season of Kleo received positive reviews from critics. Rebecca Nicholson of The Guardian rated the series 3/5 stars, criticizing its similarity with Killing Eve, but praised its casting, characterization, screenplay and pacing, calling it "nevertheless an entertaining, highly stylized and cinematic adventure". Maria Hunstig of Vogue Germany praised the casting, screenplay and pacing, calling it "fast, hard, and incredibly entertaining". Joel Keller of Decider similarly praised its pacing and acting, particularly lauding Haase's performance. Stephen King also praised the series, calling it "a breath of fresh air—suspenseful and also very funny". Historian Katja Hoyer said that Kleo evoked a new curiosity in East Germany through Ostalgie motives.

Accolades

Notes

References

References

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4. Prisco, Isabella. (2022-09-22). "Perché guardare gli otto episodi di Kleo è uno spasso per gli occhi, tra spionaggio e design".
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6. Goldbart, Max. (2022-02-08). "Netflix Previews 19 Projects in Germany, Austria And Switzerland Including Wealth Of New Shows; Commits Big To The Region".
7. Ramachandran, Naman. (2022-02-08). "Netflix Showcases 19 German-Speaking Productions With $571 Million Budget".
8. Goldbart, Max. (2022-09-29). "Netflix Renews German Spy Thriller 'Kleo' For Season Two".
9. Netflix Deutsch. (2022-09-29). "Und nochmal: ES GIBT EINE ZWEITE STAFFEL VON KLEO".
10. "Kleo finally returns with Season 2 on July 25! And as always, she's ready...".
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