Murder with attention

Netflix
★★★☆☆

In Singapore, the words “German” and “comedy” are rarely used together. Think German shows and the usual suspects come to mind: war dramas (All Quiet On The Western Front, 2022) or dark sci-fi series (2017-2020). All serious, all gloomy.

Murder Mindfully, a crime comedy, could be the show that shatters the perception that Germans can’t be funny.

Released on Netflix on October 31, the eight-episode first season is adapted from the 2019 novel of the same name by German writer Karsten Dusse.

The story follows Bjorn (played by Tom Schilling), a mob lawyer in crisis. His marriage is falling apart because of the long hours, and the Eastern European drug dealers he works for have impossible demands.

While the blue-blooded senior partners at his law firm love the blood-soaked euros his accounts bring in, they look down their aristocratic noses when it comes time for a promotion.

Through a darkly comic, revenge-driven plot that viewers will remember from Fargo (2014 to present) or Better Call Saul (2015 to 2022), panic-stricken Bjorn turns to mindfulness therapy. Being who he is – a greedy opportunist who twists everything to his advantage – the lawyer comes away with all the wrong lessons.

Here are three reasons to watch it.

1. Unexpected satirical bite

This show mocks the wellness movement in ways never seen outside of the drama The White Lotus (2021-present). As shown in the HBO series — and countless influencers on TikTok and Instagram — one can be as mindful of breathing, emotional regulation, and mindful meditation as a duck to water and still be a terrible person.

Schilling’s Bjorn is an egomaniac who proves that when selfish people train in mindfulness, they become better at suppressing the inner voice that tells them they’re acting like monsters.

As his enemies discover, their worst nightmare is a lawyer who uses his breath to control his fight-or-flight response, as it makes him a genius at escaping unexpected scrapes.

2. The German approach to American crime