Huntress

Yeah, you're probably right about some of these characters. I think the “we just start introducing new characters and don’t really have a long-term plan for them” phase began with Claudia and Enrique in late 1996. I completely forgot about Brian Gaskill’s short-lived character, Oscar Marone. He was brought in as a love interest for Amber and later Bridget, but only lasted a few months. Didn't help that the Bridget recast, Emily Harrison, also didn't last long and was bumped to recurring after just a few weeks. I didn’t include the characters played by Sydney Penny, Lorenzo Lamas, Lark Voorhies, Lindsay Price, Dylan Neal, et al., because all of them were on the show for much longer than a year. 😉Otherwise, half of the cast would fit the criteria of this topic.

B&B had a lot of characters that only lasted a few weeks or months, but Jessica wasn't one of them. She was on contract for 2 1/2 years, was then bumped to recurring and last appeared as a guest for James and Maggie's wedding in December 1996. As we all know, one recurring pattern on B&B has been the introduction of characters who received a lot of screen time at first, but quickly lost relevance once the show underwent rewrites. More than once, it felt like the writers simply had no long-term plan for them. Of course, a few may have been designed as short-term characters from the outset. But who knows. Many of them were added to the opening credits, and I doubt they would have done that if they’d known that those actors wouldn't last long. Hardly any character that was introduced in the 1990s lasted more than one or two years. Sheila, James and Amber are really the only exceptions. I'd even call Lauren a failure because she hardly had a storyline on B&B. She was tested with a few men (James and Ridge for example), until she was paired with Eric, but their relationship was hardly shown on screen, and sometimes it wasn't clear if they were still together or not. In May 1999, Lauren was quietly bumped to recurring and then appeared months later for a final appearance (before returning as a guest in later years). In the 2000s, only the SORASed Forrester children; Massimo, Nick and Jackie; and some of the Logan recasts (Katie and Donna) made an impact. Here are some contract roles from the 1990s and 2000s that had no impact and were quickly forgotten: Brian Patrick Clarke as a failed Storm Logan recast (on contract from April 1990 to March 1991) John Brandon as Ben Maclaine, Jake’s father (on contract from September 1990 to March 1991; written out once the abuse storyline ended) Michelle Davison as Ruthanne Owens, Stephanie’s homeless friend (on contract from January 1991 to June 1991, until Ruthanne was reunited with her husband; made a couple of guest appearances until 1997) Dorothy Lyman as Bonnie Roberts, Karen’s “adoptive” mother (on contract from December 1991 to February 1992; returned for one episode in 1994 when Karen called her) Michael Watson as Zach Hamilton, Taylor’s brother (was on contract from May 1992 to December 1992) Ken LaRon as Keith Anderson, a waiter at the Bikini Bar who later worked at Spectra (was on contract from March 1993 to September 1994; never had much of a story beyond secretly pining for Macy; later bumped to recurring and last seen at Thorne and Macy’s wedding in June 1995, then vanished) Keith Jones as Kevin Anderson, Keith’s mentally ill brother (was on contract from June 1993 to June 1994; mainly known for almost dying in a car accident caused by a drunk Macy; later bumped to recurring and last seen at Thorne and Macy’s wedding in June 1995, then disappeared like his brother) Monika Schnarre as Ivana Richards Vanderveld (was on contract from June 1994 to April 1995; killed off) Kabir Bedi as Prince Omar Rashid (was on contract from August 1994 to June 1995; bumped to recurring once Taylor had returned to L.A. and quickly written out afterward) Kin Shriner as Dr. Brian Carey, Sheila's psychiatrist at the mental institution (was on contract from October 1995 to December 1995; bumped to recurring for two more appearances, then gone) Ellen Wheeler as Sarah, Sheila's fellow inmate at the mental institution (was on contract from October 1995 to December 1995; written out once Sheila was released) Lily Melgar as Claudia Cortez (was on contract from November 1996 to May 1997; bumped to recurring for two more appearances, then disappeared) George Alvarez as Enrique Alvarez (was on contract from December 1996 to June 1997; disappeared) Tristan Rogers as Hunter Jones, private detective (was on contract from April 1997 to June 1997) Anthony Addabbo as both Tony "Rush" Carrera and his twin brother Jonny Carrera (was on contract from November 1997 to April 1998; Tony died, Jonny vanished without a trace in the same episode) Paul Satterfield as Dr. Pierce Peterson (was on contract from July 1998 to April 1999; had a frontburner storyline with Taylor; once that ended, he was briefly tested with Brooke, then vanished; Satterfield remained on contract for a few months after his last appearance) Paul Williams as Bailey Masterson, Pierce's assistant (was on contract from July 1998 to October 1998) Karim Prince as Raymond, Amber's one-night-stand (was on contract from February 1999 to May 1999; had a couple of recurring appearances months later) Victor Alfieri as Giovanni Lorenzano, photographer at Forrester Creations (was on contract from September 1999 to April 2000; little story beyond flirting with Kimberly and later Morgan; then bumped to recurring) Tasia Valenza as Susanne, Becky's co-worker at Forrester International (on contract for just three (1) weeks from December 1999 to January 2000) Gladys Jimenez as Carmen Arena, Deacon's girlfriend (was on contract from November 2000 to January 2001; killed off) Aaron Lustig as Dr. Tim Reid (was on contract from February 2001 to May 2001; exited when Morgan, his partner in crime, was arrested) Sandra Vidal as Sofia Alonso, Antonio's former lover and model at Spectra (was on contract from May 2001 to December 2001; had very little story, was bumped to recurring, and last appeared in 2004) Daniel E. Smith as the first incarnation of Zende Forrester Dominguez (was on contract from December 2001 to May 2002; then simply vanished) Rick Hearst during his first run as Whip Jones (on contract from February 2002 to August 2002; returned seven years later, but didn’t last long then either) Courtnee Draper as Erica Lovejoy, Sheila's daughter (was on contract from April 2002 to October 2002; simply vanished) Matt Borlenghi as Ziggy Deadmarsh, Sheila's henchman (was on contract from April 2002 to September 2002; simply vanished) Michael Dietz as Dr. Mark Maclaine (was on contract from October 2002 to February 2003; bumped to recurring and last aired in 2005) Tamara Davies as Dr. Tricia Quick, the Taylor replacement (was on contract from October 2002 to March 2003) Luigi Amodeo as Lorenzo Barelli, Macy's lover in Italy (was on contract from December 2002 to March 2003; bumped to recurring once Macy was back in L.A. and then written out) Joseph Marcell as Hudson, Massimo's butler (was on contract from January 2004 to June 2004; disappeared) Shanelle Workman as Gabriela Moreno Forrester (was on contract from March 2005 to October 2005) Mario Lopez as Dr. Christian Ramirez (was on contract from March 2006 to July 2006) The aforementioned Dax Griffin as Shane McGrath (was on contract from September 2006 to February 2007; bumped to recurring and killed off) Ben Hogestyn as Harry Jackson (was on contract from August 2006 to November 2006) William deVry as the final Storm Logan recast (was on contract from October 2006 to February 2007; bumped to recurring and killed off a year later) Constantine Maroulis as Constantine Parros, singer (was on contract from May 2007 to August 2007) Mykel Shannon Jenkins as Charlie Baker, police officer (was on contract from November 2007 to January 2008) … and several more followed in the 2010s.

Like I mentioned before, I was always a strict RTL watcher, and neither of the ARD soaps ever did much for me 😄 VL always had the best-looking cast and the best opening credits, though. I always wanted some of the actors to jump to the RTL soaps, especially after VL’s cancellation, but I think Jo Weil (Olli on VL) was the only one who actually made the jump (he was briefly recurring on AWZ and then a regular on UU for a while). And of course, Miriam Lahnstein has been a regular on UU for two years now. It’s probably because most actors get typecast, and if they’ve played a certain role for a couple of years, the audience will forever associate them with that character. I remember watching AZ when I was a teen, but I forgot most of its storylines. I always wanted to rewatch the whole show, but never got around to it. Same with Mallorca. (Kinda OT, but it’s strange that the AZ episodes on YouTube don’t have any closing credits.) As 2025 is coming to a close, here’s the current contract cast for GZSZ, UU, and AWZ. GZSZ This year’s biggest WTF was the introduction of Fabian Hanis as Robin Zielke, a “mysterious new teenager.” In July, Hanis was announced as a new contract player, and his first episode eventually aired on September 3rd. A couple of episodes into his run, Robin was revealed to be the illegitimate son of Martin Ahrens (Nina’s violent ex-husband and Toni and Luis’s father). Robin fell in love with Luis’s ex-boyfriend Moritz, but he had anger issues like his father and was doing drugs. Interestingly, in the closing credits, Hanis was always listed as recurring. In November, Robin snapped and held Johanna and Matilda hostage. He escaped and went into hiding. His final episode aired on November 17th, and afterward RTL claimed that “Hanis’s guest role had come to an end.” (Clearly, something must have happened behind the scenes.) Current Contract Cast (as of 12/2025): With images: https://www.soapsworld.de/gute-zeiten-schlechte-zeiten-gzsz/besetzung/ Wolfgang BAHRO – Dr. Jo Gerner (1993-present) Lennart BORCHERT – Moritz Bode (2020-present) Josefin BRESSEL – Alicia Bäumler (2023-present) Onno BUSS – Julian Gerner (2025-present) Felix van DEVENTER – Jonas Seefeld (2014-present) Nina ENSMANN – Jessica Reichelt (2022-present) Anna Katharina FECHER – Matilda Gerner (2024-present) Patrick FERNANDEZ – Carlos Lopes (2022-present) Ulrike FRANK – Katrin Flemming (2004-present; recurring previously) Patrick HEINRICH – Erik Fritsche (2019-present; recurring previously) Felix von JASCHEROFF – John Bachmann (2001-2014; 2015-present) Chryssanthi KAVAZI – Laura Bachmann (2017-present) Jan KITTMANN – Tobias Evers (2020-present) Olivia MAREI – Toni Fritsche (2018-present) Anne MENDEN – Emily Wiedmann (2004-present) Niklas OSTERLOH – Paul Wiedmann (2016-present) Lars PAPE – Michi Bode (2022-present; recurring previously) Charlott RESCHKE – Johanna Flemming (2025-present; recurring previously) Eva Mona RODEKIRCHEN – Maren Seefeld (2010-2022; 2023-present) Jörn SCHLÖNVOIGT – Dr. Philip Höfer (2004-present) Laura Dandelion SEIBERT – Zoe Lopes (2024-present; recurring previously) Iris Mareike STEEN – Lilly Seefeld (2010-present) Timur ÜLKER – Nihat Güney (2018-present) Maria WEDIG – Nina Reichelt (2017-present) Gisa ZACH – Yvonne Bode (2019-present) UU Current Contract Cast (as of 12/2025): With images: https://www.soapsworld.de/unter-uns-uu/besetzung/ Timothy BOLDT – Ringo Huber (2012-present) Guido BROSCHEIT – Juri Jansen (2025-present) Özge DELIOGLAN – Esma Gülek (2024-present) Metehan DEMIRÖZ – Baris Gülek (2024-present) Jens HAJEK – Benedikt Huber (2016-present) Benjamin HEINRICH – Benno "Bambi" Hirschberger (2013-present) Isabell HERTEL – Ute Huber (1995-present) Tabea HEYNIG – Britta Schönfeld-Küpper (2010-present) Lilay HUSER – Nuray Gülek (2024-present) Miriam LAHNSTEIN – Patrizia Neumann-Goldberg (2023-present) Bettine LANGEHEIN – Stella Neumann-Goldberg (2022-present) Nadine MENZ – Naomi Schönfeld (2025-present) Patrick MÜLLER – Tobias Lassner (2006-present) Valea SCALABRINO – Sina Hirschberger (2010-present) Lars STEINHÖFEL – Easy Winter (2005-present) Theresa TRASER – Ronja Pfeiffer (2023-present) Milos VUKOVIC – Paco Weigel (2000-present) Viola WEDEKIND – Dana Gülek (2025-present) Harun YILDIRIM – Ferhat Gülek #2 (2025-present) AWZ Current Contract Cast (as of 12/2025): With images: https://www.soapsworld.de/alles-was-zaehlt-awz/besetzung/ Suri ABBASSI – Leyla Öztürk (2021-present) Riccardo ANGELINI – Matteo Borazio (2024-present) Berrit ARNOLD – Daniela Bremer (2021-present; recurring previously) Julia AUGUSTIN – Vanessa Steinkamp (2006-2009; 2010-2012; 2013; 2014-2021; 2025-present) Stefan BOCKELMANN – Henning Ziegler (2021-present) Tatjana CLASING – Simone Steinkamp (2006-present) André DIETZ – Ingo Zadek (2006-2020; 2024-present) Igor DOLGATSCHEW – Deniz Öztürk (2007-present) Marc DUMITRU – Kilian Reichenbach (2022-present) Shaolyn FERNANDEZ – Charlie Beer (2024-present) Bianca HEIN – Gabriella Perez (2025-present) Amrei HAARDT – Nathalie von Altenburg (2019-2020; 2021-2023; 2024-present) Antonia KOLANO – Valea Borazio (2024-present) Féréba KONÉ – Imani Okana (2022-present) Silvan-Pierre LEIRICH – Richard Steinkamp (2006-present) Josephine MARTZ – Joana Perez (2025-present) Francisco MEDINA – Maximilian von Altenburg (2007-present – with like a hundred breaks in between) Ania NIEDIECK – Isabelle Reichenbach (2010-present) Jörg ROHDE – Ben Steinkamp (2009-present) Kaja SCHMIDT-TYCHSEN – Jenny Steinkamp #4 (2011-present) Florian THUNEMANN – Dragan Petrovic (2025-present)

UU now also has its own YouTube channel. Since December 1st, they've started uploading the very first episodes (apparently they'll continue doing so until Christmas). Previously, these episodes were only available on RTL+ (with a paid subscription). Episode 1 (original airdate: November 28th, 1994): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hv8ARxV6PIg I'm not sure if the episodes are geoblocked, though. The following classic soaps have all their episodes up on YouTube for free (at least in Germany, not sure if they're geoblocked elsewhere): Verbotene Liebe (ARD, 1995-2015): https://www.youtube.com/@verboteneliebe Alles oder nichts (Sat.1, 2018-2019): https://www.youtube.com/@allesodernichts5323/videos Mallorca – Suche nach dem Paradies (Pro7, 1999-2000): https://www.youtube.com/@suchenachdemparadies Alle zusammen – jeder für sich (RTL2, 1996-1997): https://www.youtube.com/@allezusammen1996

For B&B, I'd say that Justin Torkildsen as Rick, Ashley Jones as Bridget, and Lesli Kay as Felicia were quickly accepted by the audience (and ultimately lasted longer than their predecessors – not counting Jacob Young's return years later).

Looks like ProSieben has already buried "Die Cooking Academy". The linear primetime run ends this week – after only 20 episodes – and the remaining, already completed episodes will only air early in the morning and via streaming on JOYN (and Disney+). They had originally planned 120 episodes, but it doesn’t look like there’ll be any more than that. On linear TV, the soap had a lousy market share of 2-3 % and about 120,000 viewers. Meanwhile, UU has done a bit of cast cleanup: Diego Carlos Seyfarth (David Junker), Julius Dombrinck (Theo Wolters), and Floriane Eichhorn (Nadine Pfeiffer) have all been written out over the past few weeks. Seyfarth and Dombrinck had been around since 2022, and Eichhorn since 2023. In exchange, Nadine Menz (ex-Ayla, GZSZ) will be joining in December as Britta’s sister Naomi, and Guido Broscheit (who’s been in countless TV formats over the past 20 years) started last week as Jori Jansen. Viola Wedekind (another veteran actress) will debut as Dana Gülek soon. This week on GZSZ: "Behind the Scenes" of the hostage situation:

I remember watching the first few episodes back in ~ 2010, when someone first uploaded the whole series to YouTube. I think I made it to episode six before I lost interest. During the pandemic I thought, "Alright, let’s give this another try," but honestly, it still felt like a slog to get through. I can’t even pinpoint the main issue. The cast wasn’t that bad, and a few of the characters were actually pretty entertaining to watch. But the central couples were dull and completely lacked chemistry, most of the backstories were weak or barely developed, and bringing in Jennie Garth as a "vixen" didn’t work either, since she only interacted with two characters: her love interest and her brother. On top of that, they’d already thrown another blonde troublemaker (Bridget?) into the mix right after the pilot, and by then it felt like the writers had painted themselves into a corner with too many storylines before the show even had a chance to take off. Jennie Garth looked stunning, though, and it was good seeing her step into a role so different from Kelly Taylor (The $treet only aired a couple of months after 90210's cancellation).

ProSieben is back in the soap business: "Die Cooking-Academy" (The Cooking Academy) will debut on October 6th, 2025 and will air weekdays at 6 pm. Among the cast are some well-known faces, such as Simone Hanselmann (ex-GZSZ), Lea Marlen Woitack (ex-GZSZ, ex-RR), and Matthias Brüggenolte (ex-AWZ). Official synopsis: Friendship, intrigue, love, rivalry, family ties, performance pressure, passion – and of course, a hunger for more – shape everyday life at the prestigious Cooking Academy "Culinary Arts by Alexander Eichen" (Matthias Brüggenolte), located on the German-French border. At the academy, top chefs train the culinary talents of tomorrow for the world of haute cuisine – under intense pressure. Who will make it to the culinary Olympus? And what must be left behind to get there ...? At the heart of the series is young chef Irini (Lara Kimpel). She’s accepted into the academy, only to find herself facing fierce competition. And as if that weren’t enough, Chris (Brian Rosenkranz) and Rafael (Louis J. Wagenbrenner) both turn her world upside down. This is ProSieben's 3rd attempt at establishing a new soap opera. From 1999 to 2000, the channel – which belongs to the ProSiebenSat.1 Media group – aired "Mallorca – Suche nach dem Paradies", and from 2006 to 2007, the telenovela "Lotta in Love" ran for a total of 130 episodes. Both shows were utter failures. So, in October the German soap line-up will look like this: 2.10 pm: Rote Rosen (ARD) 3.15 pm: Sturm der Liebe (ARD) 5.30 pm: Unter uns (RTL) 6.00 pm: Die Cooking-Academy (Pro7) 7.00 pm: Die Landarzt-Praxis / Die Spreewald-Klinik (Sat.1) (alternating) 7.05 pm: Alles was zählt (RTL) 7:30 pm: Dahoam is Dahoam (BR) 7.40 pm: Gute Zeiten, Schlechte Zeiten (RTL)

I think they're afraid to bring Anna back because of the two failed recasts. Janis Rattenni (the first Anna) literally grew up on the screens, and when she had finished high school and wanted to work in a different field, they had no choice to recast. Kathleen Fiedler looked the part, but she was too wooden (I still wonder how she lasted 4 full years). Then Marylu-Saskia Poolman took over, and we all remember that Anna's face was destroyed in an explosion to explain the recast. Poolman wasn't too bad, but I remember that TPTB weren't happy with her performance, and she was let go in early 2014. Also, I think that Anna getting married to her cousin Paco (and even being pregnant by him) was a really tacky storyline and destroyed the character. In the end of her run, they'd really ran out of ideas for Anna and paired her off with Rufus of all people. They'd have to recast Anna a 3rd time, and I don't think they'll do that (same reason why they probably won't bring back Till back anytime soon). I liked the Chris recast, but yeah, the Corinna recast just wasn't Corinna. I mean, of course people can change over time, but the first Corinna was a very seductive, feisty, and sometimes hysterical woman, always involved in some drama. The recast was just a bland stay-at-home mom. It wasn't even the actress's fault – she just wasn't given any good material. The writers also didn't care much about Aunt Lulu (why she was even introduced in the first place?). Chris and Jenny should have stayed on the show and should have become the new Weigel core family. I mean, they really made an effort with fleshing out Cilly's character and establishing her as a legacy character (she's great, btw), so why couldn't they have done the same with her parents and Jenny?

Episodes 7800 to 7844 have recently been released on DVD in Germany: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B0F2XD369X In 2011, the first box sets were released, starting with episode 1. After 10 sets, the series was put on hold for a while. In 2024, a new edition was released, followed by Box Vol. 12 in February 2025, featuring episodes 250 to 300. The older episodes are now labeled "Wie alles begann" (How It All Began), while this new box is called "Eine neue Ära" (A New Era), because they stopped showing B&B in 2011. In 2023, a different channel bought new episodes and skipped several years in the process. Nobody watched the newer episodes so the show was canceled once again.

To be honest: I rather watch the classic episodes on RTL+ than the current ones 🤣 Another soft relaunch is in the works at AWZ – for what feels like the umpteenth time. Kaja Schmidt-Tychsen, one of the show's flagship stars, is leaving the soap. Her final appearance will be on July 4, 2025. Schmidt-Tychsen took on the role of Jennifer (aka "Jenny") Steinkamp, the eldest Steinkamp daughter, in December 2011. The role was previously played by Christiane Klimt (2006–2008), Silvia Maleen (2008–2010), and Sophie Lutz (2011, in a video message). After years of scheming, heartbreak, and failed marriages (including with Julian, David, Erik, Veit, Deniz, and Justus), Jenny finally finds true love with Ingo. The couple emigrates together to Mallorca. This also marks another exit: Original cast member André Dietz (Ingo) is leaving the show once more. He only returned in December 2024 after nearly four years away. However, both actors have stated they are open to returning for guest appearances in the future. Two weeks later, a brand-new sport is being introduced to the show: After figure skating, dancing, soccer, artistic gymnastics, and more figure skating, tennis is now taking center stage. Alongside this comes another surprise addition to the ever-expanding Steinkamp family tree: Original character Simone Steinkamp (played by Tatjana Clasing) learns that, back in her youth in Argentina, she not only gave birth to Maximilian (a fact revealed in 2007), but also to his twin sister Gabriella. Gabriella's daughter, Joana, is a celebrated tennis star who travels to Essen due to medical issues – where she encounters her biological family. Joana will be portrayed by Josephine Martz, while Gabriella will be played by Bianca Hein. Both actresses bring prior soap experience to the table: Martz appeared in the short-lived Sat.1 soap "Alles oder nichts", and Hein was a main cast member on UU (as Meike Wagner from 2000 to 2002). Hein also had a leading role in the telenovela "Verliebt in Berlin" and has appeared in numerous crime series. Meanwhile, it's still unclear whether the figure skating storylines will continue or if they'll be dropped once again. Currently, two figure skaters – Valea and Charlie – are still on the canvas, with Deniz working as their coach.

Cast changes in 2025 (so far, not much has happened): GZSZ Pauline Afaja (Flo Kästner) departed on March 10th, 2025. She had only been on the show for about a year. Flo as a character never really clicked with the audience. Her final storyline involved her catching feelings for the much older Nina Reichelt Klee Ahrens Navarro out of the blue – while she was in a relationship with the wheelchair-bound Jonas Seefeld. Onno Buß joined the cast as Julian Kaltenbach on January 31st, 2025. Julian is Matilda's twin brother ... and another illegitimate child of Jo Gerner. Charlott Reschke, who had played Johanna Flemming on a recurring basis from 2015 to 2024, returned at the end of May. The 20-year old actress has now been placed on contract. Last week on GZSZ: This week on GZSZ: Current Contract Cast (as of 06/2025): With images: https://www.soapsworld.de/gute-zeiten-schlechte-zeiten-gzsz/besetzung/ Wolfgang BAHRO – Dr. Jo Gerner (1993-present) Lennart BORCHERT – Moritz Bode (2020-present) Josefin BRESSEL – Alicia Bäumler (2023-present) Onno BUSS – Julian Kaltenbach (2025-present) Felix van DEVENTER – Jonas Seefeld (2014-present) Nina ENSMANN – Jessica Reichelt (2022-present) Anna Katharina FECHER – Matilda Kaltenbach (2024-present) Patrick FERNANDEZ – Carlos Lopes (2022-present) Ulrike FRANK – Katrin Flemming (2004-present; recurring previously) Patrick HEINRICH – Erik Fritsche (2019-present; recurring previously) Felix von JASCHEROFF – John Bachmann (2001-2014; 2015-present) Chryssanthi KAVAZI – Laura Bachmann (2017-present) Jan KITTMANN – Tobias Evers (2020-present) Olivia MAREI – Toni Ahrens (2018-present) Anne MENDEN – Emily Wiedmann (2004-present) Niklas OSTERLOH – Paul Wiedmann (2016-present) Lars PAPE – Michi Bode (2022-present; recurring previously) Charlott RESCHKE – Johanna Flemming (2025-present; recurring previously) Eva Mona RODEKIRCHEN – Maren Seefeld (2010-2022; 2023-present) Jörn SCHLÖNVOIGT – Dr. Philip Höfer (2004-present) Laura Dandelion SEIBERT – Zoe Vogt (2024-present; recurring previously) Iris Mareike STEEN – Lilly Seefeld (2010-present) Timur ÜLKER – Nihat Güney (2018-present) Maria WEDIG – Nina Reichelt (2017-present) Gisa ZACH – Yvonne Bode (2019-present) AWZ Matthias Brüggenolte departed the show on January 8th, 2025, when his character Justus Albrecht was killed off after being injured in a fire. Brüggenolte had joined AWZ in 2020. Original cast member Julia Augustin returned as Vanessa Steinkamp on May 21st, 2025. She was last seen in 2021. Florian Thunemann joined AWZ on May 26th, 2025 as Dragan Petrovic, a man from Daniela's past. Current Contract Cast (as of 06/2025): With images: https://www.soapsworld.de/alles-was-zaehlt-awz/besetzung/ Suri ABBASSI – Leyla Öztürk (2021-present) Riccardo ANGELINI – Matteo Borazio (2024-present) Berrit ARNOLD – Daniela Bremer (2021-present; recurring previously) Julia AUGUSTIN – Vanessa Steinkamp (2006-2009; 2010-2012; 2013; 2014-2021; 2025-present) Stefan BOCKELMANN – Henning Ziegler (2021-present) Tatjana CLASING – Simone Steinkamp (2006-present) André DIETZ – Ingo Zadek (2006-2020; 2024-present) Igor DOLGATSCHEW – Deniz Öztürk (2007-present) Marc DUMITRU – Kilian Reichenbach (2022-present) Shaolyn FERNANDEZ – Charlie Beer (2024-present) Amrei HAARDT – Nathalie von Altenburg (2019-2020; 2021-2023; 2024-present) Antonia KOLANO – Valea Borazio (2024-present) Féréba KONÉ – Imani Okana (2022-present) Silvan-Pierre LEIRICH – Richard Steinkamp (2006-present) Ania NIEDIECK – Isabelle Reichenbach (2010-present) Jörg ROHDE – Ben Steinkamp (2009-present) Sarah Victoria SCHALOW – Hanna Kern (2023-present) Kaja SCHMIDT-TYCHSEN – Jenny Steinkamp #4 (2011-present) Florian THUNEMANN – Dragan Petrovic (2025-present) Julia WIEDEMANN – Lucie Ziegler (2020-2023; 2023-present) UU In December 2024, Mehmet Kucak joined the show as Ferhat Gülek, Esma and Baris's father and Nuray's son. Roughly four months later, the character was recast with Harun Yildirim, who first appeared on March 27th, 2025. Kucak reportedly left the show for "personal reasons". Maxim Agné (Henry Gerlach) departed the show on May 5th, 2025. Current Contract Cast (as of 06/2025): With images: https://www.soapsworld.de/unter-uns-uu/besetzung/ Timothy BOLDT – Ringo Huber (2012-present) Özge DELIOGLAN – Esma Gülek (2024-present) Metehan DEMIRÖZ – Baris Gülek (2024-present) Julius DOMBRINK – Theo Wolters #2 (2022-present) Floriane EICHHORN – Nadine Pfeiffer (2023-present) Jens HAJEK – Benedikt Huber (2016-present) Benjamin HEINRICH – Benno "Bambi" Hirschberger (2013-present) Isabell HERTEL – Ute Huber (1995-present) Tabea HEYNIG – Britta Schönfeld-Küpper (2010-present) Lilay HUSER – Nuray Gülek (2024-present) Carina KOLLER – Cecilia Weigel (2021-present) Miriam LAHNSTEIN – Patrizia Neumann-Goldberg (2023-present) Bettine LANGEHEIN – Stella Richter (2022-present) Patrick MÜLLER – Tobias Lassner (2006-present) Valea SCALABRINO – Sina Hirschberger (2010-present) Diego Carlos SEYFARTH – David Junker (2022-present) Lars STEINHÖFEL – Easy Winter (2005-present) Theresa TRASER – Ronja Pfeiffer (2023-present) Milos VUKOVIC – Paco Weigel (2000-present) Harun YILDIRIM – Ferhat Gülek #2 (2025-present)

Yeah, as you wrote, an Israeli win would have been a political disaster. Congratulations to Austria. 0 points from the televoting to Switzerland was a disgrace. Other than that, I really enjoyed the show ... but I'm also glad that Eurovision season is over 😂 Full results: Recap of the Grand Final:

In the 2nd semi-final, I enjoyed Denmark and Luxembourg (plus France) the most. I was also positively surprised by Germany's performance, because usually our performances are ... well, lackluster, to put it nicely. The one country I did not expect to qualify was Armenia, but yeah, the staging probably helped a lot, because the song itself is just noise in my ears. I thought Serbia would make it instead. None of the Ex-Yugo countries made it to the Grand Final (first time since 2013), while all the Nordics and Baltics qualified. Recap of the 2nd semi-final:

Portugal qualifying was the only shocker. I'm really happy for Iceland. IMO, the automatic finalists – Spain, Switzerland and Italy – had the best performances. I love the studio version of Azerbaijan, but on stage, it was a disaster.