Missing ‘Dexter’? Watch This New-To-Netflix Darkly Funny Crime Comedy (2024)

There's just something about watching a regular person become a criminal mastermind. Especially when it's done in a calm, masterfully humorous, and murderously intelligent manner. Murder Mindfully is a German dark comedy by creator Karsten Dusse. This Netflix series reminds viewers of what made Dexter such a hit in the 2000s. The simple message of how the right circumstances can break anyone seems to be universally hilarious and satisfying. When a lawyer has no control over his own life thanks to his demanding client, he realizes he must take the necessary steps to regain that control. Unfortunately, regaining that control, in his case, means becoming a killer.

The main character's guiding light is the art of mindfulness. His mindfulness training is used to compliment his twisted new outlook on life. Murder Mindfully focuses on the subdued approach to even the most overwhelming of circumstances. This dark comedy is entertaining from start to finish, leaning heavily on dark coping mechanisms, sardonic inner monologs, and hilariously contrasting scenarios involving life and death.

The Circumstances That Created a Killer in 'Murder Mindfully'

The series begins a week before the opening scene, which focuses on the protagonist Björn (Tom Schilling) pushing a wheelbarrow and avoiding running over a snail on the ground. He dumps the wheelbarrow into a woodchipper, and he smiles as he shoves the severed body parts into the machine. The inside of Björn's head is a world of contradictions. Leading up to the opening scene, Björn is seen working as a lawyer trying to reduce bail for his thuggish client. Björn is an excellent lawyer, and while his job is ethically questionable, it affords him a comfortable life. Björn helps Dragan Sergowicz (Sascha Geršak) stay out of prison and even helps set up accounts and businesses to launder his money. However, his work life is impacting his family life. His wife Katharina (Emily Cox) gives him an ultimatum and demands he focus on repairing his work-life balance. She threatens to leave him with their daughter, which forces Björn to begin his mindfulness class. Through the techniques he learns via his mindfulness class, he calms down. Ironically, the class gives him the perfect tools to commit absolute atrocities.

When his family time is interrupted by Dragan, Björn solves the problem by killing the crime boss. At the beginning of the series, you can also sympathize with Björn. After all, he's far more representative of the everyday man than the boss he murders. Björn is overworked and stressed, and doesn't seem like a psychopath necessarily. He just wants to spend a weekend at the lake with his daughter when Dragan calls him for "ice cream" which is their code word for emergency. Dragan couldn't care less if Björn's daughter is around, he wants the job done. This is one of the many instances where Björn is pushed to the brink. The way his responsibilities have restricted his life and caused his suffering contributes to his motivations in a dark yet relatable way.

The Perfectly Executed Dark Humor of 'Murder Mindfully'

Despite the brutal nature of the events that occur in Murder Mindfully, the show itself isn't a hard watch by any means, and that's in part thanks to the excellence of the setup, combined with the dark comedic aspects of the show. Dark comedy can be a tricky genre to master because it can't be too depressing, otherwise, it's not funny. It can't be too ridiculous, otherwise, the dark humor of reality won't shine through. Murder Mindfully finds the happy balance, often tying together tension and humor well.

For example, Björn would rather play with his daughter at the beach than let the mob boss in his trunk free. He even runs a scam on the underlinings and convinces them his boss is still alive. His motive is hilariously innocent, while his actions are inherently evil. Murder Mindfully even has moments where Björn will address the camera, oftentimes during conversations or crucial moments. The world seems to pause, and Björn explains something horrifying to the audience in a humorous manner. Similarly, the opening scene establishes the tone of the comedy in the series. It's hard not to laugh as Björn dumps body parts into a wood chipper by a lake under the quirky context of him speaking about how he's not a non-violent person.

Björn's Complicated Character Development

Björn's transition from a victim of capitalism to a stone-cold killer is seamless. While it's obvious Björn never meant to become the villain he eventually ends up being, the transition occurs without you realizing it. The main turning point is the first time the lawyer is referred to as 'boss.' The inner workings of Bjorn's mind are interesting to follow, especially as he has to justify his behaviors through the lens of his mindfulness training. He translates what he's learned from his classes into almost a guide for dealing with mobsters, and all of it is meant to depict the ways a sociopath will go through mental gymnastics to justify his behavior. In ways, it's framed so it doesn't seem like too much of a leap to think like that under similar circumstances.

The way other characters reflect on Björn provides us with deeper insights into his motivations and behaviors, too. Björn is excellent as our main protagonist and provides smart insights and entertaining inner monologs. However, characters like the mob enforcer Sascha Ivanov (Murathan Muslu) remind us there is nuance to Björn's personality. Sascha begins as an intimidating presence, but as the show goes on, we're given a more in-depth view of his personality. He is a surprising source of comfort and support for Björn, even in the most outrageous scenarios. On the other side of the coin, Bjorn's wife serves as a voice of reason and concern. Björn's transition from lawyer to killer might feel ridiculous without the context the show gives him. Björn has an intuitive ability to adapt to difficult situations and wiggle his way out of the worst scenarios, hence why he was so helpful to the mobsters he made his money off of. Thanks to this context, Björn's transition to villain feels realistic.

Murder Mindfully is a show about what happens when someone is pushed beyond their limits and accidentally gets entangled in a world of crime. The series is offbeat and includes eight episodes of oftentimes strange humor. Björn is equally calm as he is creepy, and Schillings' engaging performance keeps you glued to the screen. Murder Mindfully is both funny and disturbing, all tied up in one easy-to-watch package.

Murder Mindfully (2024)

Comedy

Crime

Release Date

October 31, 2024

Cast

Tom Schilling , Emily Cox , Britta Hammelstein , Murathan Muslu , Peter Jordan , Pamuk Pilavci , Johannes Allmayer , Sascha Alexander Geršak , Marc Hosemann , Luca Maric

Murder Mindfully is available to watch on Netflix in the U.S.

Watch on Netflix