Parents' Guide to

Beat

By Mark Dolan, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 17+

Drugs and violence dominate Germany-set crime show

TV Amazon Prime Video Drama 2018
Beat Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this TV show.

  • Beat Series: Scene #1
  • Beat Series: Scene #2
  • Beat Series: Scene #3

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What's the Story?

The German-made crime show BEAT tells the story of 28-year-old Robert Schlag, a hard-partying club promoter that everyone just calls Beat. His life consists of late nights and early mornings of dancing, doing drugs, and hooking up with both men and women, never caring about anything but the music, the scene, and booking the best DJs for the club owned by his best friend, Paul. One night when two dead bodies are discovered elaborately strung from the rafters of the club, the police look at Beat, who has a small-time criminal record, as a suspect. But before the cops get very far in their interrogation, Beat is mysteriously released -- his benefactors are two agents from the official-sounding but mysterious European Security Intelligence agency. They have other plans for Beat, like getting him to become an informant and gather intelligence on a ruthless crime figure who recently bought a stake in Paul's club. Will Beat compromise his beliefs and turn snitch? Who put those bodies in the club? And what's the E.S.I. really up to?

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say Not yet rated
Kids say (1):

Strong production values and unique German locations give this series a cinematic quality, but the experience's potential is marred by bad dubbing. Amazon is only airing a dubbed version of Beat, and unfortunately the voice acting is terrible: Dialogue is delivered flatly, with barely any recognizable emotion. It's an odd decision to present a show that uses such a specific culture as its background, and then strip it of its native language. While the plot, which could be summarized essentially as "club rat cop drama," would be preposterous in any language, the performances might ring truer and give the story more credence if we were allowed to hear the actors speaking their native German with the audience given English subtitles. As it is, what could have been an exciting, if slightly silly, thriller now consists of a well-shot but clunky-sounding oddity.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about international shows and dubbing. Does Beat feel like it comes from another country? Why? Would you prefer to read subtitles or watch a show that's been dubbed into your language?

  • Why do you think people go to nightclubs? The music? The social scene?

TV Details

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