Netflix's 'Freud' Series Blends Thriller with Psychoanalysis Origins

The thriller series 'Freud', a collaboration between Germany and Austria, directed by Marvin Kren, made its debut at the 70th Berlin International Film Festival. Set in 1886 Vienna, it dramatizes the early days of Sigmund Freud, who is depicted as a young physician working with a psychic, Fleur Salomé, and detective Alfred Kiss to track down a serial killer. The lead roles are played by Robert Finster (Freud), Ella Rumpf (Fleur Salomé), and Georg Friedrich (Alfred Kiss), with a supporting cast that includes Christoph Krutzler and Mercedes Müller, among others. The series features eight episodes, each lasting 45 minutes, and will be available on Netflix starting March 23. Produced by Netflix in partnership with ORF, Bavaria Fiction, and Satel Film, it combines elements of biography, crime, mystery, and horror, aiming to showcase a unique portrayal of Freud, who was born on May 6, 1856, in Freiberg, now in the Czech Republic. Notably, he had a female Chow Chow, had a fascination with the number 62, received a psychoanalytic couch as a gift, and used cocaine for migraines and anxiety from ages 28 to 40.