German soaps: GZSZ, UU & AWZ

[Ben]

Those floods are so terrible. Governments really need to start taking climate change seriously. On a positive note, I love the buildings; they look like have a lot of character. I love character buildings.

It seems German soaps are quite good at seeing what works and what doesn't, and implementing change. Would I be right in surmising that producers aren't as attached to their characters, and value the audience opinion more? Like, a lot of times UK soaps will be stuck with dead-end characters for years or in some cases, for ever, even though the viewers do not like them. When Neighbours introduced the Parker family, they were so unliked by the viewers, but loved by the producer, and stayed on for longer than they should have, or at least remained unchanged, until the actors decided to quit.

[Huntress]

In some cases they seem to be attached to certain characters (who have long welcomed their stay on their respective soaps), but in general, there has hardly ever been a group of three or four characters that dominated the screen for ages – unlike American soaps which tend to have large casts and still only use the same characters in frontburner stories while the other characters appear in 3 or 4 episodes a month.

German soaps always feature three storylines each episode, and all the characters get enough screentime. Even if they are not the main focus, they still appear frequently. I think on average every main character appears in 12-13 episodes a month, unless the actors are on vacation.

Preview pictures for July 2013:

Unter uns

01. Till (Ben Ruedinger) and Eva (Claudelle Deckert) 02. Irene (Petra Blossey) and Paul (Eric Langner) find a snake in the laundry room 03. Sonja (Anne Apitzsch) and the snake 04. Ringo (Timothy Boldt), Easy (Lars Steinhöfel) and the snake 05. Leonie (Sarah Stork) 06. Ringo and Suji (Laura Maria Heid) 07. Ute (Isabell Hertel) 08. The residents hold a meeting 09. Erik (Maximilian Claus) and Sina (Valea Scalabrino) 10. Leonie and Paco (Milos Vukovic)

Alles was zählt

01. Joscha (Carlo Degen) and Deniz (Igor Dolgatschew) 02. Joscha and Lukas (Marc Schöttner) 03. Marco (Salvatore Greco) and Isabelle (Ania Niedieck) 04. Deniz, Joscha and Can (Volkan Isbert) 05. Richard (Silvan-Pierre Leirich) 06. Jenny (Kaja Schmidt-Tychsen) 07. Melanie (Anna-Katharina Fecher) and Ingo (André Dietz) 08. Julia (Jenny Bach) and Bea (Caroline Frier) spy on Lukas and Letizia (Jennifer Dessin-Brasching) 09. Deniz, Joscha and Can 10. Richard, Marco, Deniz, Katja (Anna-Katharina Samsel) and Melanie

Gute Zeiten, Schlechte Zeiten

01. Emily (Anne Menden) and Tayfun (Tayfun Baydar) 02. Jasmin (Janina Uhse) and Katrin (Ulrike Frank) 03. Lilly (Iris Mareike Steen) 04. Maren (Eva Mona Rodekirchen) and Lilly 05. Ayla (Sila Sahin) and Philip (Jörn Schlönvoigt) 06. Emily, Tayfun and Mesut (Mustafa Alin) 07. Tuner (Thomas Drechsel) and Tayfun 08. John (Felix von Jascheroff) and Pia (Isabell Horn) 09. Alexander (Clemens Löhr) and Jo (Wolfgang Bahro) 10. Maren and Katrin

[DRW50]

Why is that man in the car with his shirt off?

All those scenes with the snake (I thought it was some sort of crap on the floor at first). Is that a usual UU story?

Not a lot of blonde men on German soaps.

[Huntress]

Alexander and Jo are being blackmailed and they try to expose their blackmailers at a lakeside.

It's not a usual story these days, but it's a nice way to bring all the residents of the apartment house together, Sonja Beckmann is a veterinarian and it's her fault that the viper escapes. In the end, the whole building has to be evacuated and the Beckmann family has to pay for the whole operation. In order to help them, the other residents organize a block party to raise money. That block party is actually filmed today and the show has invited fans to be a part of it. Among the guests is the winner of the latest season of "German Idol".

Apart from VL's Dominic Saleh-Zaki (Andi), there is no true blonde man on any soap. Some of them are dark blonde or a reddish color, but the majority is brunette or even black-haired which actually reflects the majority of German men. We don't have that many light blonde men here. Many German children are born with light blonde hair, but their hair usually darkens once they become teenagers. Happened to me as well LOL

All in all, VL has the most handsome men on its cast, followed by AWZ. On UU, I only find Ben Ruedinger (Till) and Maximilian Claus (Erik) attractive. GZSZ has never had a real stunner. The one I find most appealing is Tayfun Baydar (Tayfun), even though he's a bit short.

My current crush is VL's Daniel Sellier (Ricardo). He's not only hot, he's also a good actor.

[Huntress]

I updated the current cast overview for GZSZ, UU and AWZ on the first page of this topic

On GZSZ, we have two female newcomers: Ramona Dempsey plays Nele Lehmann, a hair stylist, and Linda Marlen Runge plays Anni Brehme, a lesbian tomboy. The latter is apparently a love interest for Pia, who's bisexual. Meanwhile, Elena Garcia Gerlach has joined the cast in the recurring role of Elena Castillo, a waitress who catches John's eye.

On UU, Benjamin Heinrich as Benno "Bambi" Hirschberger was the latest addition to the contract cast. He's a car mechanic.

Laura Maria Heid, who joined the cast as a recast Suji Wagner this past April, is reportedly out. Her last airdate is in mid-July. Also rumoured out are Bela Klentze and Maximilian Claus. On the other hand, a former male actor is supposed to return as his deceased character's twin.

On AWZ, the overview features the additions of this year's newcomers Jenny Bach, Carlo Degen, Jennifer Dessin-Brasching, Andreas Hofer, Volkan Isbert, Maria Kempken and Marc Schöttner as well as the return of Anna Katharina Fecher.

Edited June 28, 2013 by Huntress

[Huntress]

Officla Verbotene Liebe preview for the upcoming weeks:

http://youtu.be/Wjc8BMQz5Bg

[Huntress]

The Backstreet Boys will appear on GZSZ later this fall. They will perform at a music festival that takes place in the show's storyline.

---

Some casting news:

AWZ:

• Claudia Hiersche joins the cast in the new contract role of Sylvia Kern. Her first airdate is September 2nd, 2013. Sylvia is a counselor and is supposed to be a new love interest for Maximilian (Francisco Medina). Hiersche is best known for her portrayal of the very popular Countess Carla von Lahnstein on "Verbotene Liebe", where she was on contract from 2003 to 2009.
• One Greco in, one Greco out: While Juliette Greco (Lena von Altenburg) returns from her maternity leave on September 19th, 2013, her husband Salvatore Greco (Jan Marco Schöler) exits the soap on September 4th. Salvatore played the role for two years. Juliette exited her role earlier this year after a six-year run because of her pregnancy. The character of Lena was temporarily recast with Maria Kempken who will exit once Greco returns.
• Recurring actress Sabine Fernandez, who has portrayed Constanze Hipp since the very first episode of the soap, will leave the show in September. Constanze is the victim of a fire inside the Steinkamp centre.

GZSZ:

• Following the additions of new contract players Linda Marlen Runge (Anni Brehme) and Ramona Dempsey (Nele Lehmann) and recurring player Elena Garcia Gerlach (Elena Castillo), another new female will join the canvas this month: Franziska van der Heide portrays the contract role of Mieke Lutze, whose nickname is "Mieze" (German for "kitty"). Mieze is a streetkid and an old friend of Vince's. Her first airdate is August 19th, 2013.

UU:

• Two male stars are out as Bela Klentze (Bela Hoffmann) and Maximilian Claus (Erik Hansen) have decided to leave the show. Klentze, who joined "Unter uns" in spring 2011, exits on October 2nd, 2013. Claus first appeared as teacher Erik Hansen in April 2011. Originally conceived as a guest role, he left later that year because of other commitments. However, because of the popularity of Erik's pairing with this student Sina (Valea Scalabrino), Claus was brought back in the fall of 2012, this time as a contract cast member. Claus's final airdate is September 10th, 2013.
• Eric Stehfest has joined the cast in the recurring role of Yannick Benhöfer, an old friend of Ringo's (Timothy Boldt). As soon as Yannick appears in town, it becomes clear that the two boys had had a fling shortly before Ringo and his family moved into the apartment building. So far, Ringo has been portrayed as a straight bully who blackmailed some of his peers.

VL:

• ​Three new contract roles will appear on-screen soon: Henrike Fehrs will play Alexa Berg, while Franziska Kruse will portray Eva Baumann, an ironer at "LCL". Swiss actor Sascha Pederiva has been cast in the role of Sascha Vukovic, a janitor at "LCL", who will catch Martha's eye.
• Patricia Schäfer (Viktoria Wolf) has been let go from the show. Viktoria, who is in her late 40s and pregnant, will die in an accident.

---

Preview pictures for August/September:

GZSZ

01. Zac (Jascha Rust) and Bommel (Merlin Leonhardt) plan their new business: Planting marihuana 02. Pia (Isabell Horn, right) is worried that John (Felix von Jascheroff) has moved on with Elena (Elena Garcia Gerlach) 03. Lilly (Iris Mareike Steen) and Maren (Eva Mona Rodekirchen) 04. Jasmin (Janina Uhse, right) is morified when her erotic surprise for her husband Kurt (Tim Williams, second from right) backfires 05. Anni (Linda Marlen Runge) and Kurt grow closer 06. Maren cheats on Alexander with Leon (Daniel Fehlow) 07. Emily (Anne Menden, right) is annoyed by Nele (Ramona Dempsey) and Tayfun (Tayfun Baydar) 08. Vince (Vincent Krüger) meets his old friend Mieze (new series regular Franziska van der Heide) 09. Anni slaps Jasmin 10. Nele wants to catch Dominik's (Raul Richter) attention

UU

01. Malte (Stefan Bockelmann) tries to outwit Britta (Tabea Heynig) 02. Eva (Claudelle Deckert) tells Till (Ben Ruedinger) that she fears not being a good mother 03. Rufus (Kai Noll), Anna (Marylu Saskia Poolman) and Lotta 04. Easy (Lars Steinhöfel), Moritz (Marvin Linke) and Bambi (Benjamin Heinrich) try to impress a girl 05. Till and Irene (Petra Blossey) 06. Henning (Benjamin Kiss) and Ute (Isabell Hertel) 07. Erik (Maximilian Claus) is torn between Sina and his old flame Melanie 08. SIna (Valea Scalabrino) and Erik try to rescue their relationship 09. Erik says goodbye to his best friend Henning 10. Ringo (Timothy Boldt) threatens Yannick (Eric Stehfest)

AWZ

01. Jenny (Kaja Schmidt-Tychsen) is all alone 02. Richard (Silvan-Pierre Leirich) and Vanessa (Julia Augustin) 03. Julia (Jenny Bach) and Letizia (Jennifer Dessin-Brasching) continue fighting over Lukas 04. Joscha (Carlo Degen) and Can (Volkan Isbert) 05. Double Wedding: Ben (Jörg Rohde) and Bea (Caroline Frier) ... 06. ... and Marian (Sam Eisenstein) and Lena (Maria Kempken) tie the knot 07. The fire: Letizia fears being trampled to death 08. Lena is hit by a pillar 09. Joscha comforts Sylvia (new series regular Claudia Hiersche) 10. Jenny and Simone (Tatjana Clasing) in panic 11. Richard carries Isabelle (Ania Niedieck) 12. Joscha and Deniz (Igor Dolgatschew)

[CassieFan]

"Herzflimmern – Liebe zum Leben" comes to Croatia starting September 5th. Was it any good?

[Huntress]

No, it wasn't.

The show debuted in April 2011 as "Herzflimmern – Die Klinik am See" weekdays at 4 p.m. on ZDF. The network advertised the show as a "medical drama" although it was structured like a traditional daily soap. Beginning with episode 132, the show received a major relaunch and was renamed "Herzflimmern – Liebe zum Leben". Eight contract roles – including the whole Lindner family, who were the main focus – were written off the canvas, while new characters were brought in. However, ratings still didn't increase and the show only had a market share of 2 %. In December 2011, ZDF pulled the plug and kicked the show off its afternoon schedule. The remaining episodes were shown at 5 a.m. All in all, 255 episodes were produced.

[Huntress]

Currently the first season of "Celebrity Big Brother" is airing in Germany. Among the contestants is also someone from the US - David Hasselhoff.

Pictures of the contestants: http://www.sat1.de/tv/promi-big-brother/bewohner-2013

• Marijke Amado (Dutch tv host)
• Percival Duke (singer)
• Natalia Osada (former reality show contestant)
• Martin Semmelrogge (actor who has been in prison more than once)
• Sarah Joelle Jahnel (former contestant on German Idol)
• Fancy (singer/producer who was successful in the 80s)
• Jenny Elvers-Elbertzhagen (actress and former It-Girl)
• Manuel Charr (boxer)
• Lucy Diakovska (singer, former member of the girlband "No Angels")
• Simon Desue (comedian)
• Jan Leyk (actor on the reality show "Berlin – Tag & Nacht")

[DRW50]

What did you think of the fire on AWZ?

What did you think of Constanze? Do you think they were wrong to write her out?

Any real interest in any of the cast who came or went recently?

I was reading a little about the Joscha story on AWZ

So the Backstreet Boys were pretty popular in Germany?

[Huntress]

It was executed very well and I liked that every character was somehow involved in the drama, whether they were trapped inside or had to wait for news outside the building.

Constanze was a fun character but since she was recurring never had her own storyline. She had various flings and flirts with main characters, including a short-lived relationship with Oliver Sommer a few years ago, and was known for her gossiping. In the last few months her friendship with main characters Bea, Katja and Lena was intensified on-screen so it was quite strange that they got rid off her now. Maybe the actress found a gig that pays her more. I don't know about that.

Constanze's co-worker Brigitte Schnell, also a recurring character since the beginning, is still on the show. She's the one with the curly red hair.

All of the newcomers are still featured in frontburner storylines. I like all of them except Letizia. The character is actually quite interesting and she also has family ties to a lot of other people but the actress is incredibly weak. She was mostly hired for her dancing skills and it shows. She always pulls the same face, no matter what emotion she's supposed to convey.

Yeah, apparently Deniz falls in love with Melanie. Joscha on the hand gets to know Raquel Santa, a woman from Colombia who's introduced on September 30th, 2013. The two become friends instantly because Joscha reminds Raquel of her gay brother. Joscha agrees to marry Raquel so she can stay in Germany. I wonder how that story plays out. Raquel is played by Yara Hassan, a Syrian-German actress. So far it's not clear if she's on contract or just a guest role.

They actually started their career in Germany – like many boybands at that time did – and had twelve Top-10 singles (two #1 hits) between 1995 and 2000. But since 2000, their success has faded and their most recent single only reached #100.

[Huntress]

AWZ has added two more contract roles to its cast:

• Yara Hassan plays Raquel Santana, a woman from Colombia. She is about to get married to Joscha, but then Ingo realizes he's in love with her.
• Alexander Gier plays Dr. Kai Seebach, a man from David's past. Alexander is gay and is supposed to become Joscha's love interest – which means that Deniz and Joscha will probably not get together in the near future.

Promotional still of Alexander Gier

Meanwhile on UU, Alexander Sholti will return to the canvas later this year. The 38-year old actor played the part of Björn Winter from February 2001 to May 2008. The older brother of Malte (Stefan Bockelmann), cousin of Easy (Lars Steinhöfel) and ex-lover of Eva (Claudelle Deckert) was then shot in the heart when he tried to protect Malte from a shady loan shark. Now Sholti is back in the role of Björn's long-lost twin brother Dr. Sascha Brenner. At first glance, he seems like a nice person, but of course he has an agenda. His first airdate is November 25th, 2013. (This is the second time that UU brings back a former regular in the form of a twin. In 2003, Petra Gumpold returned as Ariane Sturm after having portrayed Ariane's twin sister Belle from 2001 to 2002. So far, other soaps haven't done this.)

Promotional still of Alexander Sholti

Also, Irene will receive a much younger lover: Stephan Käfer has been cast in the recurring role of Florian Stein, a business man in his mid-30s. Irene is in her late 50s and the show's last remaining original cast member. Käfer is no stranger to German soap fans: From May 2010 to September 2011 he played the contract role of Prince Philipp zu Hohenfelden on "Verbotene Liebe". (There he was quite unpopular and his character was eventually killed off.)

Edited October 15, 2013 by Huntress

[DRW50]

I guess Bjorn was a big fan favorite but they didn't want to bring him back from the dead?

[difficultdiva]

Amen.

Joscha and Deniz have no chemistry and Denis could barely tolerate being around Joscha.

I hope that the writers develop something good for Joscha and the new guy and don't try to create something as a "instant couple". I want to see it develop onscreen.