Picture yourself standing in a cramped Hamburg club in the early ’60s. Smoke hanging in the air. Beer bottles rattling across tiny tables. A loud, rough-around-the-edges band from Liverpool hammering away onstage for people who have no idea they’re watching history happen in real time. That’s the world ‘Hamburg Days’ wants to throw you into, and now the cameras are finally rolling!
Production has started on the upcoming six-part BBC drama series focused on The Beatles and the band’s formative years in Germany during the early 1960s.
Set in Hamburg’s notorious St. Pauli district, the series explores the period when a raw Liverpool band sharpened its sound playing marathon club sets before exploding into global fame. The show is based on an autobiography from artist Klaus Voormann, whose connection to the band became part of Beatles history.
The BBC confirmed filming is now underway in Merseyside and Munich.
According to the official synopsis, the story unfolds “in the smoke-filled clubs of Hamburg’s St. Pauli’s red-light district,” where “an inexperienced young rock ‘n’ roll band from Liverpool collide with two young artists, Klaus Voormann and Astrid Kirchherr.”
The synopsis continues: “Together they help spark a transformation that turns a scrappy group of teenagers into the greatest music phenomenon the world has ever known: The Beatles.”
The cast includes Rhys Mannion as John Lennon, Ellis Murphy as Paul McCartney, and Harvey Brett as George Harrison. Louis Landau and Patrick Gilmore portray early Beatles members Stuart Sutcliffe and Pete Best.
Luna Jordan has been cast as photographer Astrid Kirchherr, whose influence on the band’s image became iconic, while Casper von Bülow will portray Voormann.
The Beatles universe is expanding far beyond Hamburg Days. Director Sam Mendes is also developing four standalone Beatles films scheduled for release in 2028. The films will star Paul Mescal as McCartney, Harris Dickinson as Lennon, Joseph Quinn as Harrison, and Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr.
Additional casting includes Saoirse Ronan as Linda McCartney, Aimee Lou Wood as Pattie Boyd, Anna Sawai as Yoko Ono, and Mia McKenna-Bruce as Maureen Starkey. James Norton has also been cast as Beatles manager Brian Epstein.
Can any band ever truly match the cultural impact of The Beatles?
