"The Defeated" (aka "Shadowplay") TV Mini-series Intro
This captivating, character-rich, eight-episode historical crime drama is set in Berlin, Germany, during the summer of 1946, a time when—to quote from the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)—that recently war-ravaged city was “in chaos—there are no laws, and everyone is either a criminal or a survivor.” Taylor Kitsch (“Friday Night Lights,” “Waco”) stars as Max McLaughlin, a Brooklyn cop who “arrives to help create a police force and take down the Al Capone of Berlin, Dr. Werner ‘Englemache’ Gladow [Sebastian Koch].” Unofficially, though, McLaughlin is also “on a private mission to track down his missing brother [Moritz, played by Logan Marshall-Green], who’s been killing former Nazis in hiding.”
The Web site Movie Recipe notes that, while McLaughlin pursues Gladow, “unbeknownst to him, the American Vice Consul is using Max to gather intelligence and stop Russia from making any inroads.” Partnering with McLaughlin is Elsie Garten (Nina Hoss), a rookie “torn apart by war, rape and back-breaking work,” but “street smart and full of dark humor.” Helping to fill out this series’ cast are Michael C. Hall, the lovely Tuppence Middleton, and Benjamin Sadler.
The haunting theme music is by Chanda Dancy.