The Tattooist of Auschwitz (TV series)

The Tattooist of Auschwitz

Company type	Miniseries
Industry	Television
Founded	2024
Headquarters	United Kingdom / United States / Italy / Australia
Products	Television drama series
Parent	Sky Studios, Peacock, Stan (streaming service)

The Tattooist of Auschwitz is a 2024 historical drama miniseries adapted from Heather Morris's novel bearing the same title. The cast features Harvey Keitel, Melanie Lynskey, Jonah Hauer-King, and Anna Próchniak in leading roles.

Synopsis

During World War II, Jewish inmate Lali Sokolov is imprisoned at the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, where he is tasked with tattooing identification numbers onto other detainees.

Cast

• Harvey Keitel portrays the older version of "Lali" Sokolov
  • Jonah Hauer-King plays Lali in his youth
• Melanie Lynskey appears as Heather Morris
• Anna Próchniak takes on the role of Gita
• Jonas Nay as Stefan Baretzki
• Tallulah Haddon as Hanna
• Mili Eshet as Ivana
• as Marta
• Yali Topol Margalith as Cilka
• Katie Bernstein as Goldie Sokolov
• as Leon
• Adam Karst as Pepan
• Yoav Rotman in the role of Mordowicz
• portraying Houstek
• Oleksandr Yatsenko as Vlad

Production

Claire Mundell, serving as Creative Director at Synchronicity Films, acquired the rights to The Tattooist of Auschwitz following a 2018 agreement with Bonnier Books UK. By 2023, Synchronicity Films revealed plans for a six-episode series produced for Sky Studios and Peacock, with direction by Tali Shalom Ezer and principal writing by Jacquelin Perske. Executive production responsibilities are shared between Mundell and Perske. The Australian streaming platform Stan co-commissioned the project, while worldwide distribution is managed by All3Media. Filming commenced in spring 2023.

Casting

In March 2023, casting announcements included Jonah Hauer-King, Anna Próchniak, and Melanie Lynskey.<ref> The following month, Harvey Keitel was confirmed to portray the older Lali Sokolov.<ref>

Music

The musical score was composed by Hans Zimmer alongside Kara Talve. They collaborated with Walter Afanasieff and lyricist Charlie Midnight to create the original track "Love Will Survive," which features vocals by Barbra Streisand during the closing credits. This single was released on April 25, 2024.<ref>

Broadcast

The miniseries debuted on Peacock on May 2, 2024, simultaneously premiering on the UK channel Sky Atlantic.

Reception

According to Rotten Tomatoes, the show holds a 76% approval rating based on 34 reviews, averaging 6.5/10, described as "dramatically uneven but undeniably affecting." On Metacritic, it earned a score of 61 out of 100 from 16 critics, signifying "generally favorable reviews."

Karl Quinn from The Sydney Morning Herald commended the engaging romantic narrative and emphasized the series’ effective exploration of memory's fallibility. Meanwhile, Robert Lloyd of the Los Angeles Times praised performances by Hauer-King and Próchniak but critiqued the frequent use of ghostly figures to portray survivor’s guilt.

Accolades

The production garnered a nomination at the 23rd Visual Effects Society Awards for Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Episode.