The Defeated is a crime drama series set in post-war Berlin, following an American cop who tries to rebuild the city’s police force. The show, which premiered on Netflix in August 2021, has received positive reviews from critics and audiences, but it seems that it won’t be returning for a second season. Here’s why.
The Defeated is based on a German series called Schatten der Mörder – Shadowplay, which aired on ZDF in October 2020. The show was created by Mans Marlind, who also co-created the acclaimed Nordic noir series The Bridge. The Defeated stars Taylor Kitsch as Max McLaughlin, an NYPD detective who arrives in Berlin in 1946 to help establish a new police department. He soon finds himself entangled in a web of corruption, crime, and political intrigue, as he hunts down a serial killer known as Engel (The Angel). He also has to deal with his estranged brother Moritz (Logan Marshall-Green), who is working for a crime boss named Dr. Werner Gladow (Sebastian Koch).
The show features a stellar cast of international actors, including Michael C. Hall as Tom Franklin, an American intelligence officer; Tuppence Middleton as Claire Franklin, Tom’s wife and a British photojournalist; Nina Hoss as Elsie Garten, a German cop and Max’s partner; and Mala Emde as Karin Mann, a Jewish survivor who works for Gladow. The show also explores the complex and dark history of Berlin during the Allied occupation, as well as the rise of the Cold War.
The Defeated was originally conceived as a limited series, with only eight episodes. Marlind told Variety that he had a clear vision for the story and the characters, and that he didn’t want to stretch it out for more seasons. He said: “I wanted to do something very contained and precise. I wanted to do something that was like a novel. You have a beginning and an end, and you have chapters.”
Marlind also revealed that he had to cut some scenes and subplots from the original script due to budget and time constraints. He said: “We had to kill some darlings along the way. There were some things that I really loved that we couldn’t do.” He added that he was happy with the final result, and that he hoped that the viewers would appreciate the show’s quality and depth.
Will there be another season?
Netflix has not officially announced the cancellation of The Defeated, but it seems unlikely that the streaming giant will renew the show for another season. The show has not been marketed as a Netflix original, but rather as an international acquisition. Netflix usually does not continue shows that are not produced by itself or its partners, unless they are extremely popular or critically acclaimed.
Moreover, the show has not generated much buzz or hype among Netflix subscribers, despite its positive reviews. According to FlixPatrol, a website that tracks Netflix’s viewership data, The Defeated ranked at #118 among the most popular shows on Netflix in the US on August 18, 2021, the day after its release. It then dropped to #170 on August 19, disappearing from the top 200 list on August 20. The show also did not reach the top 10 list in any other country.
Therefore, it seems that The Defeated season 2 is not happening, unless another network or platform decides to pick up the show and continue its story. However, this scenario is also unlikely given the show’s limited scope and niche appeal. Fans of The Defeated will have to accept that the show is over, and enjoy its eight episodes as a standalone story.
