Sleeping Dog – Netflix Series Review

SLEEPING DOG on Netflix is a new crime thriller series from Germany (org. title: Schlafende Hunde). There are six hour-long episodes and Max Riemelt from the Netflix hit series Sense8 stars. Read our full Sleeping Dog review here!

SLEEPING DOG is a new Netflix series in the crime and thriller genres. It’s from Germany (org. title: Schlafende Hunde) but the series is actually based on the 2016 series The Exchange Principle from Israel. In fact, this is a remake with just a few changes.

There are six hour-long episodes in the series and there’s a huge mystery looming over everyone and everything from the very beginning. It’s very much a character-driven story and it works very well. Nobody seems to be entirely good or bad, which results in many gray areas!

Continue reading our Sleeping Dog review below. All episodes are on Netflix from June 22, 2023.

An intriguing crime thriller mystery

When this series opens, it’s with a scene set in a prison. As one would expect, it quickly results in someone’s death. Then we move on to a fallen top cop living the life of a homeless person. Not because he has no home, but because he wants to be alone.

You don’t have to watch him for long to recognize that he suffers from a rampant case of PTSD that goes desperately untreated.

The fallen cop, Mike Atlas (Max Riemelt), and an up-and-coming young prosecutor end up working together. Not officially, but from necessity as they are both interested in looking into a closed murder file.

Before long, they realize they’ve opened what can only be described as the Pandora’s box of cases.

Who can be trusted – if anyone?! Could it all be related to a devastating terrorist attack that happened in the city 18 months earlier? Everything will be revealed, but it will hurt in ways none of the people involved are ready for.

“I’m knee-deep in Grandpa!”

Ah yes, don’t you just love a good line?! For me, when the words “I’m knee-deep in Grandpa” were spoken in episode 2, it just worked perfectly. The fact that it’s spoken in German doesn’t hurt.

How does someone end up knee-deep in Grandpa? Well, you’ll see. It’s just one example of the diverse jobs police officers are sent out on.

When it comes to the cast you may not recognize too many actors.

However, Peri Baumeister plays a key role and also starred in the Netflix vampire movie Blood Red Sky (2021). Also, Melika Foroutan from the Netflix horror movie Old People (2022) plays another important role in Sleeping Dog. Finally, it stars Sense8‘s Max Riemelt.

More recently, Max Riemelt was also in The Matrix Resurrections. Both are of course created by The Wachowskis and they do love using the same actors across projects. Creators such as Mike Flanagan and Ryan Murphy are known for doing the same. I always love it!

Watch the Sleeping Dog series on Netflix now!

Christoph Darnstädt (The Experiment) is the writer of this German version of the story, which is a remake of the original series created by Oded Davidoff and Noah Stollman. The directors of the six episodes in the series include Stephan Lacant and Francis Meletzky.

A small detail that made me wonder: The English title is Sleeping Dog as in singular. However, the German title is Schlafende Hunde which means sleeping dogs in plural.

Just a little something to keep in mind while watching this series on Netflix. Enjoy!

Sleeping Dogs (Schlafende Hunde) is on Netflix from June 22, 2023.

Details

Creators: Oded Davidoff, Noah Stollman
Directors: Stephan Lacant, Francis Meletzky
Screenwriter: Christoph Darnstädt
Cast: Max Riemelt, Luise von Finckh, Carlo Ljubek, Peri Baumeister, Antonio Wannek, Melodie Wakivuamina, Melika Foroutan, Helgi Schmid, Tara Africah Corrigan, Luna Jordan, Bernd Hölscher, Martin Wuttke