SERIES PREMIERE: Sundance co-produced this new drama series in association with Germany’s RTL Television, and it becomes the first German TV drama to be shown on an American cable network, in German with subtitles, since the miniseries Das Boot was imported by Bravo in the early Eighties. Anna and Joerg Winger, a husband-and-wife team, created this series, which is set at a time when Berlin was still divided into East and West, the Cold War was very hot, and the Russians and Americans were circling each other very, very warily. If you’ve been watching FX’s The Americans, you know the drill, the era, the intrigue, and the dramatic possibilities. Deutschland 83, though, approaches it from a different point of view – through the eyes of a young Communist soldier from East Germany, played by Jonas Nay, recruited to impersonate a low-level functionary and military aide for the Stasi foreign service in the West. He’s a neophyte spy assigned to fairly dangerous missions, and his efforts to maneuver through the foreign world of a freer society are both exciting and, at times, humorous. Anyone watching The Americans should watch this, too – and if the subtitles make you wary, stick with this series for just a few minutes, until Nay’s young Martin is introduced to the man who wants to make him a spy. Before that scene is over, you’ll be surprised – and hooked.