There’s an experience that every true cinephile has lived at least once, especially in this streaming era. It involves mindlessly scrolling through Netflix at 2 a.m., thumb on autopilot, eyes glazing over, until, boom, you land on a show that you’ve practically heard no one talk about. No fanfare, no memes. Just a cool description that seems decent enough to grab attention. That’s how you find TV shows like Crooks. This 2024 Netflix German thriller series is one of the best-kept secrets on Netflix. It’s also one of those series that gets you thinking, “Well, this looks okay. Let me just see what it’s all about.” Then suddenly, it’s morning, and you have to get to work.
Even more interesting is the fact that this series isn’t necessarily trying to pull off a revolutionary concept. Rather, it’s one of those classic “one last job” stories where everything goes spectacularly wrong. But the main difference is that it does all the simple things so well. This means letting the characters sweat out their bad decisions instead of giving big, boring speeches. As a result, it feels like you’re watching something fresh. And by the time you get to the last episode, you’re kinda disappointed that no one told you about this slick little number.
The Museum Robbery that Kicks Off All the Chaos in ‘Crooks’
Ok, here’s the deal. Almost everything that happened in Crooks, the chaos, the mess, betrayals, and the quest for survival, kicks off in Berlin with a museum heist of a very valuable gold coin. And get this, the series is inspired by real-life events. Specifically, the museum heist where the robbers allegedly used a wheelbarrow to steal a 100kg gold coin (nicknamed the “Big Maple Leaf” and nominally valued at $1 million at the time) from Berlin’s Bode Museum in 2017. The show’s version is just as brazen, and it sets off a chain reaction of chaos.
The lead character, Charly (Frederick Lau), is a retired safecracker who’s been forced back into a game he left behind years ago. Mind you, he’s not some Ocean’s Eleven-type safecracker like Frank Catton (Bernie Mac), who not only has a deep understanding of complex security systems and the mechanics of sophisticated safes, but enjoys the “thrill of the chase” too. No, Charly’s just a regular dude who opens a safe under duress and immediately gets dragged into a mess he knows next to nothing about.
The most stressful scene doesn’t involve a big shootout or any of his later escapades in Vienna and Marseille. It’s episode 2, “The Al-Walids” scene, where Charly confesses his involvement in the museum robbery to his wife, Samira (Svenja Jung). The danger he’s invited into his home is apparent and hangs in the air like a bad smell. And that feeling, the low-grade dread of consequences, is the engine of the whole show.
If you start watching the show and can’t wait to get to the next episode, it’s because the show has a killer memory that doesn’t allow the characters sweep their pasts under a rug. They always have to live with what they’ve done. Consequently, their tasks grow more difficult in every new city because they’re dragging along their old problems with them.
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The Awkward Team-up That Carries ‘Crooks’ From Episode to Episode
There’s no doubt that the robbery lit the fuse for pretty much everything that went down in this series. But you have to look no further than the world’s most uncomfortable buddy-cop duo of Charly and Joseph (Christoph Krutzler) to see what keeps the explosions going. Joseph is a low-level gangster driver from Vienna with a sad-eyed look and a serious temper. These two are stuck together, and to say that they absolutely hate that fact is a serious understatement.
Their early conversations (if you can call them that) are just grunts filled with mistrust. When you watch the dynamics of their “situationship,” it almost feels like Joseph’s sole reason for existing is to throw a wrench in Charly’s…half-baked plans. But as they sprint from Berlin to Vienna, and finally to the chaos of Marseille, something in their tenuous alliance shifts.
Don’t get your hopes up just yet. They don’t become fast friends or anything like that. More like partners in survival. They share information not because they’ve suddenly realized they should be loyal to each other. But because there’s a strong possibility that if something terrible happens to one of them, it won’t be long before the same fate befalls the other. That gritty, practical bond is way more compelling than any forced friendship the showrunners could have created. It’s one of the many qualities that make the show such a treat to watch.
At the end of the day, Crooks won’t win any awards for being unique or profound. Some of the side villains are broad stereotypes, and the plot is just plain old chases and double-crosses. But that’s the point. It’s just a well-executed genre ride. The European locations are out of this world, the pacing is just right, and the central duo’s chemistry is genuinely fun to watch. It’s the perfect “watch with dinner” show that hooks you without trying too hard.
Enough talk. You may want to slide back into your Netflix account and watch complete episodes of Crooks. Maybe, just to see what the fuss is all about.
