Is Munich Games a true story?
The new series is coming to Sky Atlantic, but is it based on a real-life event?
Political thriller Munich Games tells the story of an Israeli agent and a German agent who must work together to foil a terrorist attack at a 2022 football match.
The six-part series tackles themes of geopolitics, information manipulation and the increasing threat of extremism, and has been made by a global production team.
It stars Seyneb Saleh, Yousef Sweid, Sebastian Rudolph and Dov Glickman, but does the story it tells have any basis in reality? Is it a true story?
Read on for everything you need to know about the real life basis for Munich Games on Sky.
Is Munich Games based on a true story?
The series tells an entirely fictional story, but part of it does have a tragic basis in reality. In the series, the terrorist attack the agents must foil is targeting a friendly football match between an Israeli and a German team, which is being put on to mark peace and respect for the victims of an attack 50 years earlier in 1972.
Sadly, this was a real event and has been dubbed the Munich Massacre. It took place during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, where a militant group infiltrated the Olympic Village.
What is the history behind Munich Games?
The Munich Massacre took place between 5th and 6th September 1972, when Palestinian gunmen from the Black September Organisation infiltrated the Olympic Village at the Munich Olympic Games. They then took nine members of the Israeli team hostage, and killed another two almost immediately, while demanding the release of more than 230 Palestinian prisoners.
A rescue attempt later failed, with all of the remaining hostages killed in a battle as the gunmen tried to get them out of the country at a nearby airfield. A West German policeman and five of the militants were also killed.
In recent days, a compensation deal was struck between Germany and the relatives of the Israelis who were killed, for €28m (£24m).
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1972 - Munich's Black September documentary
With the debut of Munich Games coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the Munich Massacre in real life, Sky also announced that it would air a 90-minute documentary on Sky Documentaries about the tragic events that inspired the drama.
The documentary, entitled 1972 - Munich's Black September, aired on 5th September and is now available to stream on Sky and on NOW.
Munich Games starts on Friday 9th September at 9pm on Sky Atlantic - sign up for Sky TV here. Looking for something else to watch? Visit our TV Guide or take a look at the rest of our Drama coverage.
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Authors
James Hibbs is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering programmes across both streaming platforms and linear channels. He previously worked in PR, first for a B2B agency and subsequently for international TV production company Fremantle. He possesses a BA in English and Theatre Studies and an NCTJ Level 5 Diploma in Journalism.
