Where’s Wanda, on Apple TV+

It probably wasn’t the Nuppelwocken, the legendary minotaur beast that supposedly lives in the forest surrounding Wanda Klatt’s sleepy German village. Unfortunately, her abductor was most likely human. She has been missing for 70 days. Her parents are keenly aware of the significance of the 100-day-mark. Therefore, they decide to take matters into their own hands, but they are still the same goofballs they’ve always been in creators Oliver Lansley and Zoltan Spirandelli’s eight-episode Where’s Wanda, which premieres today on Apple TV+.

Just so everyone is clear, this is a comedy about two parents desperately searching for their missing daughter. It is probably a moderately-sized miracle that the series is not completely hobbled by tonal issues. To their credit, Lansley and directors Christian Ditter, Tobi Baumann, and Facundo Scalerandi never shy away from the fear, pain, and guilt felt by Carlotta and Dedo Klatt. Even in a dark comedy, their situation is a nightmare.

Nevertheless, they are who they are. Schlubby Dedo was also laid off, but he has yet to tell his wife, because he fears her fits of rage. Ironically, they have both largely neglected Wanda’s younger brother, Ole, during their extended family crisis.

Wanda disappeared on the day of the Nuppelwocken festival, leaving no trace until the recent discovery of her shirt in a neighbor clothing donation bin. Since the police have done little but act condescendingly, the Klatts hatch their own plan. Focusing on the homes within a reasonable radius of the donation kiosk, the Klatts devise pretexts to enter, so they can plant spy cameras. As a bonus, this desperate and technically illegal plan helps them reconnect with nerdy ole, who acquires the hardware on the dark web and helps monitor their feeds.

Each episode focuses on a suspicious house, interspersed with flashbacks to Wanda’s kidnapping and eventful moments of her captivity.  Even though she is missing, Wanda is a constant presence throughout the series.

That would be a provocative set-up for a serious drama, but there is also a great deal of slapstick physical humor. Where’s Wanda probably ought to carry a whiplash warning. Yet, the way Lansley and company depict the Klatts coming together as a family and reconciling as a couple are definitely the show’s saving graces. There is so much heart in Where’s Wanda, it never feels offensive or exploitative.

Heike Makatsch is also pretty incredible as Carlotta. When she rages against cruel fate, the useless cops, and her stupid husband, you can feel her pain. Her verbal lacerations are also often brutally funny. However, Axel Stein delivers a very familiar-feeling goofy husband performance, which stylistically is not nearly far enough from Ralph Kramden.

Leo Simon’s Ole Kratt is also a boring assemblage of cliches. However, David Striesow is spectacularly eccentric as Carlotta’s brother Rudiger, an aspiring swinging-single Tiger King. However, there are a lot of other canned, prefab portrayals of very typical stock characters.

Despite the Kratts wild misadventures, Where’s Wanda could inspire copycats. Their desperate measures arguably make a lot of sense, which bolsters the show’s credibility. It is very hit-or-miss, but at least its different. Recommended to the curious for its family values, Where’s Wanda? starts streaming today (10/2) on Apple TV+.