Sam — A Saxon is a German-language series coming to Disney Plus in spring 2023 which tells the fascinating real-life story of Samuel Njankouo Meffire who was the first black policeman in East Germany.
Starring Malick Bauer as Sam, the seven-part series shows his meteoric rise to fame as he became the symbol of a 'new Germany' after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Iron Curtain, plus his equally spectacular fall from grace which saw him end up behind bars.
Here’s everything you need know about Sam — A Saxon, the first German Disney+ Original Series to launch on the streaming-service...
Sam — A Saxon release date
Sam – A Saxon is a seven-part series released on Disney Plus from Wednesday April 26 2023.
Is there a trailer for Sam — A Saxon?
Yes you can now watch the Sam — A Saxon trailer released by Disney to see what we can expect in the channel's first foreign language originals. Take a look below...
Sam — A Saxon plot
Sam — A Saxon follows Samuel Meffire (Malick Bauer) who joins the police force after his father’s murder. He rises to fame and, after the fall of the Berlin Wall, becomes the face of an anti-racism campaign and a media sensation. However, Sam’s life then takes a dramatic turn and he finds himself behind bars after becoming an internationally wanted criminal and branded Germany’s ‘public enemy number one’.
Sam — A Saxon cast — Malick Bauer as Sam
Leading the cast of Sam — A Saxon is Malick Bauer who plays the ground-breaking black policeman who turned to crime. Malick has also starred in Tatort, Wir, Frau Jordan Stellt Gleich and Mutter Kundigt.
Who else is starring in Sam — A Saxon
Sam — A Saxon also stars Tyron Ricketts as Alex, Sam's mentor, with whom he shares the experience of being a black German.
Svenja Jung plays Yvonne, Luise von Finckh is Antje, Paula Essam is Sabine, Ivy Quainoo is Jenny, Thorsten Merten is Major Schreier, Martin Brambach is Eggert, Nyamandi Adrian is Carlo and Aristo Luis plays Martin, while Carina Wiese and Daniel Klare also star.
Sam — A Saxon episode guide
Here's our brief guide to the seven episodes of Sam — A Saxon...
Episode 1: Alien
After the birth of his son, Sam (Malick Bauer) is chased and beaten up by neo-Nazis in his hometown. He decides to take life into his own hands and attempts to join the East-German Alert police force. His girlfriend Antje (Luise von Finckh), who is engaged in the protest movement against the crumbling communist regime, doesn’t understand why he wants to join the enemy. Police Major Schreier (Thorsten Merten) shares Sam’s vision for a world of equal opportunity - where people are judged for their abilities and not their appearances.
Episode 2: Fatherland
Sam’s decision to join the East German police creates increasing tensions with his family. At the barracks, Sam’s friend Raiko (Roman Schomburg) promises him protection if things start taking a turn to the right, while his bunkmate Henry (Jonas Friedrich Lonhardi) is looking for a way to free himself from his overbearing family. Sam’s conflict between family and police comes to a head on the night of the fall of the wall, when his unit is unleashed to keep East Germans from leaving their territory while Antje is heading out to a major protest against the regime. Sam’s new job as a police officer is a chance to unravel the mystery of his father - a visiting student from Cameroon who died under mysterious circumstances. When the wall finally crumbles, everyone is left staring into the abyss.
Episode 3: Afro-German
A grocery run becomes an act of survival when Sam finds himself cornered, fighting for his life against a gang of skinheads. At the last second, Sam is rescued by Alex (Tyron Ricketts) and his Afro-German crew (Nyamandi Adrian, Aristo Luis, Daniel Klare). For the first time in his life Sam finds himself face to face with a group of men who look like him. They welcome him into their bouncer lifestyle. They defend a club where Dresden’s young crowds celebrate their new found freedom. Sparks fly when Sam meets Yvonne (Svenja Jung) in the club. Together with her friends Jenny (Ivy Quainoo) and Sabine (Paula Essam), they are leading their own fight against the enemy. When the crew gets attacked, Sam is forced to realize that he is not where he needs to be to affect the change his country needs.
Episode 4: A Saxon
Sam has returned to the now all-German police force, the chaos of reunification still raging around him. He faces not only the hurdles of bureaucracy, but the racism that infiltrates the entire system. Sam wants to investigate a strange murder case, but when his bosses refuse him, he takes matters in his own hands and discovers that the victim is another Afro-German. With Yvonne’s encouragement, Sam becomes the poster boy featured in a diversity campaign for Saxony that draws the attention of Saxony’s Minister of the Interior Heinz Eggert (Martin Brambach), who helps Sam to join a new task force, targeting extreme right violence in the former East Germany. Sam takes to the media circuit at Eggert’s side, becoming a media celebrity, and receiving an award for 1991’s best ad campaign.
Episode 5: Smoke and Mirrors
Sam is called to the infamous Nazi riots in Hoyerswerda, where immigrant apartments were set on fire in front of an applauding audience. Sam is stretched thin and struggles to balance his friendship with Alex and the crew, his relationship with Yvonne, his responsibilities as a father, his desire to solve his father’s mysterious death, and his duties as a Soko officer. Jenny, Sabine and Yvonne decide to take a different approach to fight racism in their hometown of Dresden: they organize a rally against right-wing extremism, with disappointing results. Alex and Sam’s friendship reaches a breaking point. Sam decides to hunt down one of the neo-Nazi leaders on his own terms. He creates a private company to protect society’s weakest members, without waiting for politics to catch up: ALPHA.
Episode 6: Robin Hood
ALPHA is not going well. Society’s weakest members don't have money to pay for protection, and Sam and Alex are getting desperate. To drum up business, Sam makes a deal with the devil, a sinister friendship with a fellow Afro-German named Schäfer (Michael Klammer), the king of the Dresden underground. Yvonne uncovers more information about Sam’s father’s mysterious death but is appalled when he goes after the alleged murderer. A rift forms between Sam and Alex’s crew, when not everyone is on board with what Schäfer asks of them. Sam takes Schäfer’s side, and things escalate fast, until someone winds up dead. Sam decides to leave the country.
Episode 7: German
Sam flees to the Congo in Africa after being suspected of murder. He meets his African relatives (Gontse Ntshegang, Thabo Malema), but remains a foreigner in the world his father once left to go to study in East Germany. Sam finds his father’s final resting place and tries to continue his journey to Cape Town to be reunited with Yvonne. But armed rebels soon reap havoc, and he goes on the run. Sam is captured and brought to the German embassy in Congo and transported back to his homeland. Placed in jail awaiting trial, Sam can no longer run, and his most important journey can finally begin: the journey to himself.
Behind the scenes and more
International Emmy Award-winner Jörg Winger (Deutschland 83/86/89) is series showrunner for Sam — A Saxon. Sebastian Werninger (Big Window Productions) and Tyron Ricketts (Panthertainment) are also the producers of the seven-part miniseries.
Lead directors of Sam — A Saxon are Soleen Yusef (House Without Roof, Deutschland 89) and Sarah Blaßkiewitz (Precious Ivie), Head writers are Jörg Winger and Christoph Silber who co-wrote the Sam — A Saxon scripts along with the show's Writers Room (Malina Nnendi Nwabuonwo, Toks Körner, Tyron Ricketts, Soleen Yusef and Carolin Würfel).
The drama is sponsored by the German Motion Picture Fund (GMPF) and Medienbord Berlin Brandenburg.
