With its nostalgic soundtrack of 80s synth pop and archival news footage flickering across the characters’ wood-paneled television sets, Deutschland 83 revisits the turbulence and social unrest of East and West Germany at a peak in the Cold War. Coerced by the promise of a kidney transplant for his ailing mother, 24-year-old East German border guard Martin Rauch (Jonas Nay) is sent to the West to spy on American plans to transport Pershing II missiles into West Germany. As nuclear warfare draws near, Martin finds himself caught between fear and joy at the unfamiliar decadence and freedom of the West. Both a spy thriller and a tale of lost innocence, this German-language mini-series is always suspenseful, often comedic, and absolutely heartrending. —Kausaur Fahimuddin