Berlin, Capital of Serial Adaptation. Exploring and Expanding a Political Storyworld in Babylon Berlin

Abstract

German television series have only recently caught up with the new international standards of serial narration in this “Golden Age” of television. One of the most prestigious – and most expensive – new television series is Babylon Berlin (2017–). As an adaptation of Volker Kutscher’s historical detective novels, Babylon Berlin challenges conventional notions of adaptation, as it crosses the border between reduction and expansion, localisation and globalisation. My analysis of seasons one and two of Babylon Berlin will demonstrate the importance of world building in recent serial adaptation. In particular, I will focus on how the series explores the political storyworld, analysing the re-creation of historical and social spaces in Berlin in 1929 and their connection to the characters.