Miniseries · ZDF
The Swarm
The tide has turned.
Who's in it
Cast
The principal ensemble across the run of the series.
Alexander Karim
Dr. Sigur Johanson
8 eps
Cécile de France
Dr. Cécile Roche
8 eps
Leonie Benesch
Charlie Wagner
8 eps
Joshua Odjick
Leon Anawak
8 eps
Takehiro Hira
Riku Sato
8 eps
Krista Kosonen
Tina Lund
8 eps
Rosabell Laurenti Sellers
Alicia Delaware
8 eps
Barbara Sukowa
Prof. Katherina Lehmann
8 eps
Oliver Masucci
Jasper Alban
8 eps
Klaas Heufer-Umlauf
Luther Roscovitz
8 eps
Lydia Wilson
Sara Thompson
8 eps
Takuya Kimura
Aito Mifune
8 eps
Sharon Duncan-Brewster
Samantha Crowe
8 eps
Alba Gaïa Bellugi
Isabelle
9 eps
Michele Favaro
Max
1 eps
Gerald Kyd
Michael Roche
1 eps
The Nutevio profile
TV DNA
How The Swarm actually feels to watch, measured on the traits our editors track across every series.
Signature profile
The Swarm reads strongest on Bingeability, Serialized and Character Depth.
How hard it is to stop after one episode.
How much each hour depends on the one before it.
How fully written and psychologically layered the ensemble is.
The scale, internal logic and texture of the world.
How often an episode ends on a hook you can't ignore.
The sustained pressure the series keeps you under.
How much the series is designed to affect you.
Visual ambition — scale, craft and set-piece filmmaking.
How often the series is genuinely funny, by design.
The story
What it's about
Across the globe, strange happenings, borne out of the oceans, are mystifying and imperiling the world’s population. A group of scientists undertakes a terrifying mission to the depths of the Arctic Ocean to confront a deadly intelligent life force bent on human extinction.
Where the series peaks
Best Episodes
The hours that define the show, ranked by audience response and editorial signal.
S01E01 · Signature episode
Episode 1
Disturbing events in the world's oceans alarm scientists around the globe, launching an investigation into a mysterious threat to humanity's fragile existence.
- Directed by Luke Watson
S01E02 · Signature episode
Episode 2
As bizarre occurrences continue to unfold around the world, scientists scramble to find the source of mysterious deaths and phenomena endangering humanity.
- Directed by Luke Watson
S01E03 · Signature episode
Episode 3
While Venice suffers an unprecedented plague of jellyfish, it's discovered that a mutated bacterium is the cause of a growing number of deaths on the coasts.
- Directed by Barbara Eder
S01E05 · Signature episode
Episode 5
Dr. Cécile Roche detects in crabs that have overrun coasts around the world the same bacterium that entered drinking water on the French coast via infected lobsters.
- Directed by Barbara Eder
S01E06 · Signature episode
Episode 6
Johanson suspects that an unknown marine intelligence, which he calls Yrr, is behind the strange happenings, and wants to contact the life form.
- Directed by Barbara Eder
S01E08
Episode 8
With humanity's future at stake, the team butts heads on what to do. In a desperate situation, a radical decision is made.
- Directed by Philipp Stölzl
Behind the series
Created by
Showrunners, creators, executive producers and the writers who set the voice of the series.
Eric Welbers
Executive producer
- Photo unavailable
Till Grönemeyer
Executive producer
- Photo unavailable
Frank Doelger
Executive producer
- Photo unavailable
Jan Wünschmann
Executive producer
Barbara Eder
Executive producer
Ute Leonhardt
Executive producer
- Photo unavailable
Isabelle Hulten
Executive producer
Luke Watson
Executive producer
- Photo unavailable
Moritz von Kruedener
Executive producer
- Photo unavailable
Mark Huffam
Executive producer
The craft
Key Crew
Directing, writing, production, camera, music and editing.
Executive production
- Eric WelbersExecutive Producer
- Till GrönemeyerExecutive Producer
- Frank BuchsProducer
- Frank DoelgerExecutive Producer
- Jan WünschmannExecutive Producer
- Barbara EderExecutive Producer
Direction
- Philipp StölzlDirector
- Barbara EderDirector
- Luke WatsonDirector
Music
- Dascha DauenhauerOriginal Music Composer
Where to watch
Streaming
Availability verified against regional listings.
- Amazon VideoBuy
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