# The Tower (2012)

> A seemingly sheltered East German family behind the Berlin Wall begins to crumble under fear, mistrust and buried secrets.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/57605

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 2
- Episode runtime: 90 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: drama, history
- Created by: Benjamin Benedict, Nico Hofmann
- Network: Das Erste
- Cast: Jan Josef Liefers, Claudia Michelsen, Sebastian Urzendowsky, Götz Schubert, Nadja Uhl, Stephanie Stumph, Josephin Busch, Valery Tscheplanowa
- TMDB rating: 7.0/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2270760/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: mild
- Tone: tense, melancholic, claustrophobic, intimate, oppressive

## What critics say

Critics broadly regard the miniseries as a positive, well-acted drama about a family unraveling under East German surveillance and secrets.

## Synopsis

The Tower (2012) is a German two-part historical drama created by Benjamin Benedict and Nico Hofmann and broadcast on Das Erste. Set in the Dresden region of East Germany during the communist era, it follows the Hoffmann family, whose outwardly sheltered life begins to fall apart. Claudia Michelsen plays Anne Hoffmann and Jan Josef Liefers plays Richard Hoffmann, with Sebastian Urzendowsky as Christian Hoffmann and Götz Schubert as Meno Rohde, while Nadja Uhl and Stephanie Stumph round out a cast of neighbours and relatives whose loyalties are tested. The engine of the story is quiet and corrosive: each household must keep its private life hidden from informers and state officials, and every conversation carries the risk of betrayal. Across its two ninety-minute episodes, the drama builds through kitchen-table confrontations, whispered confessions and the slow exposure of secrets that rewrite old relationships. Shaped as a single continuous story rather than case-of-the-week episodes, it is a contained, intimate piece of television. The tone is tense, melancholic and claustrophobic, grounded in everyday detail of a divided Germany. Viewers who admire The Lives of Others, Weissensee and Deutschland 83 will find the same blend of political dread and domestic intimacy in this German historical drama.

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