Studio Hamburg Enterprises to co-produce "REEPERBAHN Special Unit 65" docu series

Studio Hamburg Enterprises has closed its first ever co-production deal with Germany’s gebrueder beetz filmproduktion to produce high-end documentary series "REEPERBAHN Special Unit 65" (5x43’). The docu-series is the first non-fiction format to receive an invitation to present at the Berlinale Series Market’s Showcase Up Next: Germany, from February 14-16th 2022.

Tania Reichert-Facilides, Head of Studio Hamburg Enterprises Ltd., says: “Our aim is to be a strong partner for producers. We are thrilled to join this superb project by gebrueder beetz as co-producer. We are particularly excited that this collaboration puts an innovative spin on our existing cooperation with the NDR channel, part of the ARD Network.”

Currently in production, "REEPERBAHN Special Unit 65" is a cop series that tells the story of FD65, Germany’s first-ever police unit dedicated to fighting organized crime. The series offers a compelling and surprising look at the unexpectedly dark and depraved 1980s Germany – a time when liberalism ends, punk becomes en vogue, and the conservative era of Thatcher, Reagan and Kohl begins.

In the style of a US-Cop Series, the production takes place in the notoriously famous St. Pauli Reeperbahn red-light district of Hamburg as the AIDS pandemic overturns the lives of pimps and prostitutes and cocaine becomes the latest money machine.
The award-winning team at gebrueder beetz filmproduktion, producers of the highly rated Netflix series "Rohwedder: A Perfect Crime", also developed the series. The series was commissioned by German TV channels NDR, SWR, WDR and rbb for the ARD Network. It will premiere on the ARD’s digital platform in 2022.

"REEPERBAHN Special Unit 65" also constitutes the first documentary project to be supported by the prestigious German Motion Picture Fund. The project is further supported by Moving Images North (MOIN) and nordmedia, two key public film funds in Northern Germany. Studio Hamburg Enterprises GmbH acts as co-producer and exclusive sales agent (German and international rights, except North America).

Christian Beetz, Producer and Head of gebrueder beetz filmproduktion, comments: “After having produced the Netflix Original 'A Perfect Crime' we decided to realize our next high-end documentary series together with the German public TV network ARD in Hamburg. The network’s increasingly popular online platform is perfectly suited for us to also reach younger audiences.”

The exact date and timing for 2022 Berlin Film Festival’s Showcase Up Next: Germany will be announced on the Berlin Film Festival’s website. The series producers will be available to interested industry members and journalists for one-on-one interviews via Zoom or phone following the event.