‘The Tattooist of Auschwitz’ — Everything We Know About the WWII Series

A story of finding love amid one of the most horrific times in human civilization, The Tattooist of Auschwitz is the latest joint offering from Peacock and Sky Studios. Billed as a “love story in dire circumstances,” the gripping, gut-wrenching drama tells the real-life story of Lali and Gita Sokolov, a Holocaust survivor couple from the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp during WWII. Directed by award-winning filmmaker, Tali Shalom-Ezer, The Tattooist of Auschwitz is based on the 2017 novel of the same name by Heather Morris. It follows Lali, a young Slovakian Jewish man who is deported to Auschwitz and given the job of tattooing identification numbers on every prisoner’s arm. There he meets Gita, a fellow prisoner, thus leading to a love that defies their circumstances and goes above and beyond the horrors of war, eventually lasting a lifetime. Years later, the recently widowed, 80-something Lali meets writer Heather Morris and finds the courage to face his traumatic past and share his story with the world.

Academy Award nominee Harvey Keitel and Yellowjackets star Melanie Lynskey lead the remarkable ensemble cast of the series, along with Jonah Hauer-King, and Anna Próchniak, with Hans Zimmer helming the music. The show’s narrative switches between 1942, when Lali is a young man at the camp, and how he and Gita follow their hearts; and 60 years later, when he grieves his recently deceased wife and unloads his past demons with Heather, reminiscing about the invincible love that the couple found and in the most horrific places.

Set around WWII and with a powerful story of love at its core, played out by a stellar cast, the all-new historical drama series makes for a must-watch. While you wait for the series to arrive this April, check out everything we know about The Tattooist of Auschwitz, including its plot, trailer, cast, characters, and more.

Does ‘The Tattooist of Auschwitz’ Have a Release Date?

The Tattooist of Auschwitz is set to premiere globally on Thursday 2 May, on Peacock, as well as on Sky Atlantic and NOW.

A co-production between Sky Studios and Peacock, The Tattooist of Auschwitz, will be available to stream on Peacock in the U.S. For viewers in the UK and Ireland and other European markets where Peacock is not available, you can watch the series on the same day on Sky Atlantic and NOW. Australian audiences will be able to stream the series on Stan.

Billed as a miniseries, The Tattooist of Auschwitz has six episodes in total, all of which will be released on the day of the premiere, i.e. on May 2, 2024, on Peacock.

Available only with a subscription, NBC’s streaming network has been home to some of the most popular and widely acclaimed series and shows. While you wait for the all-new historical drama to arrive, you can catch up on other landmark series like Yellowstone, Parks and Recreation, and Downtown Abbey, as well as the streamer’s latest release, Apples Never Fall.

Is There a Trailer for ‘The Tattooist of Auschwitz’?

Following the show’s official teaser and first look images, earlier in 2024, Peacock released the full-length trailer for The Tattooist of Auschwitz, where we get a glimpse at the gut-wrenching but powerful tale of Lali and Gita’s love and their struggle to survive the horrific experiences at the concentration camps. Set to the hauntingly beautiful music by Hans Zimmer, the trailer footage takes you through the “courageous, unforgettable, and human story.” Through the two-minute clip, we get a sneak peek at Lali’s past and present with Keitel’s older Lali struggles to dive into his past trauma and bring it to light, while Hauer-King’s younger Lali who falls in love amid dire circumstances and endures everything to hold onto it. Keitel is remarkable in his portrayal of an aged Lali where he feels the pain of loss but also the endless love he feels for his now late wife. Hauer-King also steals the past scenes with his depiction of a young man in love who finds hope and courage in Anna Prochniak’s Geeta and stands tall to protect his emotions against all odds.

The latest trailer explores the plot in more detail, where we see the younger Lali being brought to the camp and assigned as the tattooist, albeit to his detestation. As the footage progresses, we also see how Lali and Gita’s love blooms in the darkest times, while they also deal with their volatile chemistry with the SS officer Baretzki (Jonas Nay). The video also introduces Melanie Lynskey’s Heather Morris, the novelist herself, and how she journeys back in time with Lali to see those times through his eyes and become a part of his story.

What Is ‘The Tattooist of Auschwitz’ About?

In its official synopsis, The Tattooist of Auschwitz is described as:

A six-part series based on the international bestselling novel by Heather Morris, inspired by the real-life story of Holocaust prisoner Lali Sokolov, a Jewish prisoner who was tasked with tattooing ID numbers on prisoners’ arms in the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp during World War Two.

Who Stars in ‘The Tattooist of Auschwitz’?

One of the highlights of The Tattooist of Auschwitz is its brilliant ensemble cast led by Jonah Hauer-King as Lali and Anna Prochniak as Gita. Talking about the casting and characterization, the film’s executive producer Claire Mundell, and director Tali Shalom-Ezer explain,

We knew from the beginning that we wanted Jonah to play Young Lali. Once Jonah was on board, the challenge was on to find the perfect Gita. Anna was the most wonderful discovery for us during the casting process. She stood out so clearly and it became increasingly clear that only Jonah and Anna could portray the humanity, the spirit, the resistance, and the defiance of Lali and Gita. They have both delivered career-defining performances in this series.

Hauer-King plays a younger version of Lali Sokolov, a Slovakian Jewish man deported to the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp and made a Tätowierer /tattooist, charged with the task of tattooing prisoner identification number on every person brought to the camp. He uses his “natural ingenuity and sharp wits, his resourcefulness and his carefully calculated courage to survive the most horrendous concentration camp of modern times.” The English actor earned recognition as Prince Eric in the live-action remake of The Little Mermaid. He is also known for starring in in the British series, World on Fire, also a WWII story, and is next set to appear in a main role in season 15 of Doctor Who.

Polish actor Anna Próchniak stars as Gita, Lali’s fellow prisoner, who meets him at the camp as he tattoos her identification number on her arm. Defined as the “pragmatist to Lali’s optimist”, the young Slovakian woman is often withdrawn but holds onto her hope for love. Prochniak is most recognized for her first major international role in The Innocents and has films like Warsaw 44, Baptiste, and Bad Day for the Cut to her credit.

Academy Award-nominee Harvey Keitel stars as an older Lale Sokolov, in his 80s, who tells his story to author Heather Morris 60 years later, recounting his trauma and struggles, while grieving the death of his recently deceased wife, Gita. An actor known for frequently collaborating with Martin Scorsese and popular for playing “morally ambiguous and tough guy” characters, Keitel is best known for his roles in Taxi Driver, Mean Streets, and The Irishman. He also has notable roles in Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs, Bad Lieutenant, and Lansky, and earned an Academy Award nomination for his iconic performance in Bugsy.

Emmy Award-nominated actress Melanie Lynskey stars as Heather Morris, in a dramatized representation of the eponymous author of the original novel that the series is based on. She meets Lali in his older years when he finally finds the courage to tell his story to the world. A forthright woman in her 50s, working at a hospital, Heather possesses “innate empathy, inquisitiveness, and openness.” Her interviews and conversations with Lali and their relationship that evolved out of it, are what sets the series apart from the novel. Following her breakthrough role in Two and a Half Men, Lynskey earned most recognition for her work in the hit Showtime series Yellowjackets, Hulu’s Candy, and HBO’s The Last of Us. She is next set to appear in the films, Griffin in Summer and Pike.

German actor Jonas Nay stars as Stefan Baretzki, a Nazi guard at Auschwitz, whose character is based on the real-life SS guard. A troubled young man with a difficult past, he torments and idolizes Lali at the same time; on one hand, he helps enable Lali and Gita’s budding romance but also threatens their lives on the other. Nay is best known for his roles in the German spy thriller series, Deutschland 83 and its sequels, Deutschland 86 and Deutschland 89, as well as Netflix’s Transatlantic.

Among the rest of the cast, Yali Topol Margalith features as Cilka, in her first screen role; Good Omens alum Ilan Galkoff as Aaron; Tenet’s Marcel Sabat as Tomas; The Last Duel’s Tallulah Haddon and Barren’s Mili Eshet as Gita’s closest friends, Hanna and Ivana, respectively.

Who Is Making ‘The Tattooist of Auschwitz’?

Based on Heather Morris’s eponymous book, The Tattooist of Auschwitz hails from award-winning screenwriter-director, Tali Shalom-Ezer, who directs all the six episodes of the series. The Israeli filmmaker is best known for showcasing complex characters and their in-depth emotional journeys, which we can also expect to see in her work in the upcoming period drama. She earned most recognition for her debut feature film, Princess, starring Shira Haas of Unorthodox fame. Her 2008 film, Surrogate, won Best Film at the Israeli International Women’s Film Festival. Shalom-Ezer is also known for directing My Days of Mercy and the TV series, The Psychologist.

Evan Placey, Gabbie Asher, and Jacquelin Perske serve as the writers on the series, with Heather Morris as a story consultant and Naomi Gryn as a historical and cultural consultant.

Multi-Academy Award and Grammy-winning Hans Zimmer, a composer synonymous with the most iconic film soundtracks, is composing the score for The Tattooist of Auschwitz, along with Kara Talve. While Zimmer has titles like The Lion King, Inception, Interstellar, Dune, and Pirates of the Caribbean to his credit, Talve is best known for composing music for Apple TV+’s Prehistoric Planet, The Simpsons, and Baz Luhrmann’s Faraway Downs.

The Tattooist of Auschwitz is a co-production between Sky Studios and Peacock, in association with NBCUniversal Global Distribution and All3Media International. The series is executive produced by Claire Mundell on behalf of Synchronicity Films.