In Apple TV+’s latest dark comedy-drama series, we see a young 17-year-old girl disappearing one fine morning without a trace, resulting in her family taking matters into their own hands when the police come up empty-handed after months. Of course, their investigations bring up some dark secrets about their neighbours that leave all of them shocked.
The series has 8 episodes, each with a runtime of around 40-50 minutes, and is created by Oliver Lansley and Zoltan Spirandelli.
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Where’s Wanda? Series Cast
Heike Makatsch, Axel Stein, Lea Drinda, Leo Simon, Nikeata Thompson, Palina Rojinski, Kostja Ullmann, Harriet Herbig-Matten, Devid Striesow, Jasmin Shakeri, Joachim Król
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Where’s Wanda? 2024 Directors
Christian Ditter, Tobi Baumann, Facundo Scalerandi
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Where’s Wanda? Release Date
October 02, 2024
Where’s Wanda? Review
There’s a certain charm to Apple TV+’s first German series that creeps up on you the more you watch it. Following the disappearance of popular teenager Wanda, her parents decide to take the investigation in their own hands after the police are unable to find her even after a month. The desperation and anxiety are palpable but there’s a light and humorous tone in the mix of it all that keeps viewers engaged throughout the runtime. Focusing on Carlotta and Dedo trying their best to spy on their different neighbours in the hopes that someone is holding their daughter hostage, the series’ 8 episodes fly by in a jiffy as they stumble their way through this messy and emotional time.
The series balances its various elements well, giving us a gripping, emotional and funny watch in equal measures. Although the parents might seem bumbling (which they are), the series itself takes the disappearance seriously and even adds a larger scheme to the seemingly simple kidnapping, giving us many layers to peel back on and introspect. It relies on its characters to do most of the heavy lifting, but one can’t say that the script is in any way lazy; in fact, I thought that it was quite clever how they were able to give us a traditional thriller packaged in a funny family drama.
The series jumps back and forth between different days since Wanda disappeared, giving us a thorough and overall view of everyone who is a suspect. In this small, sleepy town where seemingly everyone knows everyone, we slowly learn about all the literal and supposed skeletons that are in everyone’s closets. While some secrets and hilarious, others are illegal and the blend of these different aspects keeps everything light. Whereas, the parallel look from Wanda’s own perspective, bringing forth everything that she had done on the day that she disappeared gives viewers a different side to the story. The blend of these two makes for a fun and immersive watch, one that left me entertained throughout the runtime. The larger conspiracy was realistic and interesting and added to the central conflict instead of taking away from it.
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The characters, all with their pros and cons, also make for a really funny watch. While Carlotta and Dedo are fighting to save their daughter, they are also having marital issues thanks to the stress. With vastly different personalities, we watch them struggle to come together during these difficult times and the emotions that they express throughout the runtime are quite relatable and make you root for them in the long run. Although I felt that some of their antics were quite cliche and annoying, especially before they teamed up with Ole, the two of them still make a great addition. On the other hand, Ole, the couple’s son has his own small arc, exploring his sexuality in the midst of trying to find his sister.
What I did find a little weird was how the three of them don’t really get together much during such a tragic time, with all of them preferring to look into their own issues rather than coming together as a family. There are some moments when the parents show their son support, but it lacks these interactions a lot in general. Additionally, I found some moments and situations were forced and cliched, added just to get gags but failing to do so because we have watched them so many times before. Regardless, the pacing and the performances are great and make you quickly jump to something else more interesting, letting you forget these little irritants the moment they come on-screen.
Final Thoughts
Where’s Wanda? is good fun. Although some moments are generic and cliche, it’s an entertaining show that keeps you engaged for most of its runtime. There are genuine emotions explored and the central mystery keeps you guessing. The series even dares to leave us on a little cliffhanger, maybe hinting at more chaos to reign in the future. Who knows?
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