Kleo

The series opens with the quote "It's a true story. But none of it really happened," signaling that the creators were not aiming for historical accuracy but wanted to capture the mentality of Berlin during the fall of the Wall.

The plot blends real and fictional elements from East German history: the genuine red briefcase secret of Stasi chief Erich Mielke plays a central role, but his assassination in the series is entirely fictional, as is Kleo's visit to Margot Honecker in Chile.

Jella Haase was able to contribute herself to shaping her role as Kleo Straub.

To construct her character, Jella Haase drew inspiration from figure skater Katarina Witt, adopting her ambition, discipline, and rigor, a nod that is echoed in the series when Kleo presents herself under the name "Katharina Litt".

Filming took place in Berlin, Eisenhüttenstadt, Mallorca, and Potsdam, notably at the town hall and around Eisenhüttenstadt hospital.

The scenes of the Berlin border crossing and the Berlin Wall were filmed in Potsdam, in the "Metropolitan Backlot" set district of Babelsberg studios, where the Wall and its checkpoints were reconstructed.

For season 2, the main building of the Griebnitzsee campus of the University of Potsdam, former headquarters of the German Red Cross, served as the set for the "KGB residence in Berlin," and a final shooting block took place in Belgrade in autumn 2023.

American writer Stephen King recommended the series to his fans on Twitter, and several English-language media outlets (NPR, The Guardian, New York Times) compared it to the British series Killing Eve.