"Berlin Station" tackles CIA crises and policies

Among my favorite of all genres is spy/counter-spy intrigue. The combination of bewildering intelligence strategies and life-threatening physical danger propel the cloak-and-dagger world. Always fearful of double agents, deciding whom to trust accentuates the dangers inherent in every decision. My recent favorite for all of this is “Berlin Station” which marvelously tackles contemporary crises in its fictional world.

Set, as the title states, in the Berlin Station CIA offices, parading as US resource centers, the stakes have international consequences and layers of deception. The cast of complex characters develop relationships with each other over three seasons, often with confrontational, irresolvable issues. The station’s chief of operations changes several times in major disputes and disasters, a whistleblower outs agents to the German press with tragic consequences, and a right-wing German party abets a Russian takeover of Estonia. That identifies just a small part of the alarming crises, much too convoluted to detail here as the problems and fights within the Agency almost equal those with other governments.

The first-rate cast includes a rich diversity. Richard Armitage as Daniel Miller, Michelle Forbes as Valeria Edwards, Rhys Ifans as Hector DeJean, Leland Orser as Robert Kirsch, Richard Jenkins as Steven Frost, Keke Palmer as April Lewis, Ashley Judd as BB Yates, and Ismael Cruz Córdova as Rafael Torres. Each complex character gets their moment, their challenges, triumphs, and failures. Watching them shape shift through their various roles offers ironical amusement amidst delightful role-playing.

The camerawork and editing accelerate the pace, often cross cutting quickly among multiple subplots. At times, a scorecard would help keep all the machinations, treachery, and spies straight. The music complements but seldom interferes with the action, though, of greatest interest, the theme song is David Bowie’s “I’m afraid of Americans,” an apt warning for “Berlin Station’s” dangerous world. I’m a bit late to the party since the series ran from 2016 through 2019, but I’m delighted I finally found it. The three seasons of “Berlin Station” stream on Amazon Prime and are also available from other sources.