4 Blocks is a German drama series. It stars Kida Khodr Ramadan as Ali "Toni“ Hamady, the leader of a Lebanesecrime family and drug cartel in Berlin-Neukölln. He is forced to postpone his plans to leave the business to live an ordinary life with his wife, played by Maryam Zaree, when his brother-in-law, played by Massiv, is arrested. He brings in Vince Kerner, played by Frederick Lau, a boyhood friend, to restore order in the family business, much to the dislike of Toni's brother Abbas, played by Veysel Gelin, who is eager to succeed him as the family leader. The first season premiered on German pay television channel TNT Serie on May 8, 2017. A second season premiered on October 11, 2018 and a third in November 2019. Internationally, the series airs on Amazon Prime Video. 4 Blocks has received critical acclaim in Germany and has won multiple domestic awards, including the Grimme-Preis for Ramadan, Gelin, and director Marvin Kren, and six German Television Awards, including Best Drama Series, Best Actor for Ramadan, and Best Director for Kren.
Premise
The Lebanese Ali "Toni“ Hamady has lived in Germany with his family for 26 years. He is the boss of an organized crime family located in the Neukölln borough of Berlin. In order to protect his wife Kalila and daughter Serin he tries to become a legitimate businessman. After his brother-in-law Latif is arrested with nine kilograms of cocaine in the trunk of his car, Toni must do something. He does not want to let his unpredictable brother Abbas take his place as head of the Hamady Clan. Meanwhile, Toni runs into Vince, an old friend who he trusts. He takes Vince into confidence, not realizing that Vince is actually working with the police as an undercover agent.
Cast
Kida Khodr Ramadan as Ali „Toni“ Hamady, the former leader of the Hamady crime family. After planning to leave in order to live an ordinary life with his wife, he is forced back into business in order to protect his family.
Frederick Lau as Vince Kerner, a boyhood friend of Toni and former member of the „Southeast Warriors“, who returns to Berlin after many years to assist him in restoring order in the family business.
Veysel Gelin as Abbas Hamady, Toni's younger brother and the designated new leader of his family's business.
Almila Bagriacik as Amara Hamady, Latif's wife and the sister of Toni and Abbas.
Maryam Zaree as Kalila Hamady, Toni's wife. She pushes Toni to leave the criminal activities of his family behind to start a legal life and obtain German citizenship.
Karolina Lodyga as Ewa Niziol, Abbas's wife and the only non-Arab member of the Hamady family. She enjoys little respect within the family and pushes Abbas to strengthen his position against Toni.
Massiv as Latif Hamady, Amara's husband. He and Abbas organize the family's drug business through his car repair shop.
Sami Nasser as Kemal Hamady, a former member of the „Southeast Warriors“ and one of the closest confidants of Toni and Abbas. He is responsible for the smaller crime businesses of the family.
Erkan Sulcani as Achmed „Kartoffel“ Hamady, part of the inner circle of the clan, who acts as one of the enforcers of the family.
Rauand Taleb as Zeki, Issam's best friend and one of the Hamady family's drug runners. He dreams of working his way up in the family's business.
Emilio Sakraya as Issam, Zeki's best friend and one of the Hamady family's drug runners. He is the more deliberate of the two, but Zeki often convinces him to actions which get him into trouble.
Ronald Zehrfeld as Rainer „Ruffi“ Ruff, the president of the „Cthuhlu“, a rocker club funded by drug trafficking and prostitution. In the light of the Hamady family's supply difficulties, he tries to take over their territories in Berlin-Neukölln.
Oliver Masucci as Hagen Kutscha, leader of the police's investigations of the Hamady family.
Ludwig Trepte as Nico, the Cthuhlu's drug runner. He tries to lure dealers away from the Hamadys, which causes conflict between him and Zeki and Issam.
The first two episodes of the series were shown on 15 February 2017 at the Berlin International Film Festival. The complete first season was broadcast weekly for six weeks from May to June 2017 on TNT Serie. It also aired on free-to-air channel ZDFneo in November 2018. Amazon secured international broadcasting rights in more than 150 countries, with the first season added on Amazon Prime on October 5, 2017 and season 2 on December 15, 2018. In Summer 2018, it was released in 50 additional countries including Germany, France and Russia.
