HBO Max has set 25 September as the premiere date for 4 Blocks Zero, the long-awaited prequel to its 2017 German crime drama 4 Blocks, and released a new official trailer for the series.
The streaming platform will roll out the show's eight episodes weekly, with a new chapter arriving every Friday starting from the premiere date.
4 Blocks follows the Hamady family, one of the most powerful Arab crime clans in Berlin, and sits within HBO Max's wider catalogue of mafia dramas. The platform is also home to classics such as The Sopranos and Boardwalk Empire, as well as the Italian series Gomorrah and The Penguin, the spin-off of The Batman.
Cast led by Tariq Al-Saies and Tareq Nassery
The cast of 4 Blocks Zero is headed by Tariq Al-Saies as Ibrahim and Tareq Nassery as the young Ali, who will later become known as Toni Hamady. Rami Fadel Khalaf plays Malik and Soufiane El Mesaudi plays Abbas.
They are joined by Fatima Khanfour, Almountaser "Monty" Alchltouh, Siana Zayed, Mohammad Eliraqui and Luis Vorbach, alongside Bella Dayne, Mohamed Kanj Khamis, Jule Hermann, Sevda Polat, Samir Salim, Enno Trebs and Mark Waschke.
The origins of the Hamady clan
The series is set in Berlin in the 1990s, long before Toni Hamady became the city's most powerful crime lord. This time, the story centres on the origins of the family, who try to start over in Germany after fleeing Lebanon, facing bureaucracy, prejudice and the lack of a stable residency permit.
The family's father, Malik, survives by working as an untrained cook while trying to raise his four children: Ali, Abbas, Marwan and Amara.
The situation changes radically when Ibrahim, Malik's brother-in-law, returns to Berlin after spending eight years in prison. His return sets off a chain of events that ends up pulling the whole family into the German capital's organised crime and puts their principles to the test.
