Apple TV+'s perfect mystery Where's Wanda? finally returns after a 2-year hiatus — here’s the date
The hunt is back on: Apple TV greenlit Where's Wanda? Season 2 earlier this year, putting the offbeat mystery back on the trail.
Here we go then: if you’ve been waiting for Apple TV to revive what might just be its most overlooked gem, you’re in luck. After a rather criminally under-the-radar run (no pun intended), the German-language mystery-comedy Where's Wanda? is officially coming back for a second spin. You know, Apple TV loves a moody whodunnit – think Slow Horses, Sugar, Criminal Record – but Where's Wanda? stands out, not least because it’s quietly sat on a perfect critics’ score (yes, 100%) since it dropped, even though most people on this side of the Channel seem to have slept on it.
The Premise: Lost Daughter, Nosy Family, Small Town — and a Monster Festival
The show’s main act: Dedo and Carlotta Klatt (played by Axel Stein and Heike Makatsch), your average suburban couple, are thrown into panic when their daughter Wanda (Lea Drinda) vanishes just before a yearly festival which, in classic small-town style, involves everyone obsessing over a local monster legend. Rather than leave things to the police, the Klatts do what any totally-not-suspiciously-obsessed family might: they start snooping on all their neighbours, roping in their son Ole (Leo Simon) along the way. It escalates quickly, because – shock – everyone in their little town of Sundersheim is fending off secrets. So it’s not just where’s Wanda? but what on earth is going on in that village.
Second Season: ‘Normal’ Is Overrated
Apple announced back in February that Season 2’s happening, thanks to what they called the show’s ‘electrifying’ success (to be fair, a 100% Rotten Tomatoes critics’ score is hard to ignore). We’re picking up after Season 1’s big reveal about Wanda’s whereabouts, and the Klatts are supposedly trying to return to a regular life. No such luck. Wanda manages to get herself found standing over a dead body, making the family the centre of attention for all the wrong reasons. The task? Prove Wanda didn’t do it, even if it means getting tangled with the local criminal underground, in what is – let’s be honest – not the sexiest part of Germany.
With all these new complications, don’t be surprised if old mysteries resurface. The show’s made no promises about answers to Wanda’s original disappearance, but 'what happened then' is bound to come up with dead bodies now involved.
When’s It Back? Episode Guide
- Where's Wanda? Season 2 premiere: 21 October
- Eight episodes total
- One new episode every week
- Season finale drops 9 December
How Did Season 1 Land?
Critics couldn’t get enough: a clean 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. Viewers were a bit more divided – 68% audience score – but even so, the acting, all the surprising twists, and the show’s visual flair got plenty of praise. As one especially keen viewer put it:
'the best series I’ve seen lately'
The New York Times called it a 'colourful, quirky caper,' while The Guardian described it as 'thrilling, poignant and funny – if not revolutionary'.
Who’s Making (and Starring in) the Show?
Where's Wanda? comes from UFA Fiction, with British writer-actor Oliver Lansley (he did the sitcom Whites, if you remember that foggy bit of 2010 telly) attached as co-creator and executive producer. The original story is from German writer-director Zoltan Spirandelli, who’s well-known in German TV circles.
The main cast:
- Axel Stein as Dedo Klatt
- Heike Makatsch as Carlotta Klatt
- Leo Simon as Ole Klatt
- Lea Drinda as Wanda Klatt
Apple TV’s Non-English Originals: In Good Company
One final thing (in case you think Apple TV is only about English-speaking fare): Where's Wanda? is one of a number of non-English shows on the service. It joins the likes of Israeli espionage drama Tehran (2020), big-budget South Korean drama Pachinko (2022), French-Japanese wine series Drops of God (2023), the Mexican crime drama Women in Blue (2024), and Berlin ER, which only just launched in February 2025.