Skylines Season 1 Review: An Inspiring Producer Trying To Make It In A Dark World

German Netflix Series Skylines Season 1 feels very similar to Dogs of Berlin. The latter series introduced us to a cold, stubborn world where the characters understand their miserable existence, where the dark suffocates the light. It’s a style rather than reality, but it does ever so well to set the tone of a gritty storyline. Skylines Season 1 is the same; it’s not exactly the darkest story ever, but the characters have a certain demeanour where you’d immediately assume they weren’t happy.

The story follows Jinn (Edin Hasanovic), an aspiring hip hop producer that partners with his best friend Tonik, a rapper that works on the beats. One night, Jinn attends a hip hop show with Tonik, and at the event, a prestigious music executive from Skyline attends. The executive singles out Jinn for a conversation. Jinn’s focal story at the start is a question of his loyalty to Tonik.

The other story in Skylines follows Sara, a cop that scours the streets and looks to target high-profile drug gang members. She mostly uses tips to track down the criminals, but her bullish approach is an aspiring element of the story.

There’s much more to Skylines than merely a music deal and a cop trying to get a heads up in crime syndicates; the series pits both worlds to merge slowly and interlink. It follows a straightforward linear narrative where it’s blatantly apparent in the first ten minutes that this is a world that is going to cause problems for both characters. There is a dark hum that lays beneath Skyline that you can sense when you meet the characters for the first time.

Episode 1 of the series is not the best selling point, but once you are bedded into the story, it’s easy to become invested in the premise. As the series progresses, it gets darker, and the stakes become more intense. While I’d argue German Netflix Series Skylines Season 1 is not as absorbing as its similar counterpart, I’d say it is well worth the watch.