Huntress

Yes, Deniz is still on AWZ. He's been working as a figure skating coach for the Steinkamps for quite some time, and at some point he got married to Imani, but I'm not sure if they are still together 

AWZ's contract cast as of April 2024:

• Suri ABBASSI as Leyla Öztürk (2021-present)
• Berrit ARNOLD as Daniela Bremer (2021-present; recurring previously)
• Stefan BOCKELMANN as Henning Ziegler (2021-present)
• Matthias BRÜGGENOLTE as Justus Albrecht (2020-present)
• Tatjana CLASING as Simone Steinkamp (2006-present)
• Igor DOLGATSCHEW as Deniz Öztürk (2007-present)
• Marc DUMITRU as Kilian Reichenbach (2022-present)
• Shaolyn FERNANDEZ as Charlotte Beer (2024-present)
• Dominik FLADE as Yannick Ziegler (2020-present)
• Alexandra FONSATTI as Chiara Nadolny (2019-present)
• Féréba KONÉ as Imani Okana (2022-present)
• Silvan-Pierre LEIRICH as Richard Steinkamp (2006-present)
• Francisco MEDINA as Maximilian von Altenburg (2007-present with innumerable breaks)
• Jasmin MINZ as Kim Steinkamp (2020-present)
• Ania NIEDIECK as Isabelle Reichenbach (2010-present)
• Jörg ROHDE as Ben Steinkamp #2 (2009-present)
• Sarah Victoria SCHALOW as Hanna Kern (2023-present)
• Kaja SCHMIDT-TYCHSEN as Jenny Steinkamp #4 (2011-present)
• Julia WIEDEMANN as Lucie Ziegler (2020-2023; 2023-present)

Here's a "behind the scenes" video of GZSZ's anniversary photo shoot:

And some new outtakes:

 

On April 15th, 2024, GZSZ will celebrate its 8000th episode. In contrast to previous anniversaries, this episode will be of regular length.

The 8000th episode will focus on the murder trial against Carlos (Patrick Fernandez), with Alicia (Josefin Bressel), Katrin (Ulrike Frank) and Tobias (Jan Kittmann) also being front and center.

The show is also having a "back from the dead" moment since Lara Dandelion Seibert returns to the show a few episodes before the anniversary. Last summer, Seibert recurred as Zoe Vogt, a professional killer. In September 2023, Zoe was severely injured after a hostage situation and seemingly died off-screen. Fast forward to now, when an unsuspecting Yvonne runs into a vitally alive Zoe at a gas station ... Seibert is now on contract with the show.

Current Contract Cast (as of #8000):

• Pauline AFAJA as Flo Kästner (March 2024-present; recurring previously)
• Wolfgang BAHRO as Dr. Jo Gerner (February 1993-present)
• Lennart BORCHERT as Moritz Bode (June 2020-present)
• Josefin BRESSEL as Alicia Bäumler (October 2023-present)
• Felix van DEVENTER as Jonas Seefeld (July 2014-present)
• Patrick FERNANDEZ as Carlos Lopes (November 2022-present)
• Ulrike FRANK as Katrin Flemming (April 2004-present; recurring previously)
• Patrick HEINRICH as Erik Fritsche (May 2019-present; recurring previously)
• Felix von JASCHEROFF as John Bachmann (July 2001-February 2014; February 2015-present)
• Jan KITTMANN as Tobias Evers (October 2020-present)
• Olivia MAREI as Toni Ahrens (July 2018-November 2022; October 2023-present)
• Anne MENDEN as Emily Wiedmann (December 2004-present)
• Niklas OSTERLOH as Paul Wiedmann (December 2016-present)
• Lars PAPE as Michi Bode (July 2022-present; recurring previously)
• Eva Mona RODEKIRCHEN as Maren Seefeld (December 2010-September 2022; June 2023-present)
• Jörn SCHLÖNVOIGT as Dr. Philip Höfer (December 2004-present)
• Lara Dandelion SEIBERT (April 2024-present; recurring previously)
• Iris Mareike STEEN as Lilly Seefeld (December 2010-present)
• Timur ÜLKER as Nihat Güney (September 2018-present)
• Marc WEINMANN as Luis Ahrens #2 (September 2021-present)
• Gisa ZACH as Yvonne Bode (January 2019-present)

Currently on maternitly leave:

• Nina ENSMANN as Jessica Reichelt
• Chryssanthi KAVAZI as Laura Bachmann
• Maria WEDIG as Nina Ahrens

Meanwhile, the other two RTL soaps are ... just there. I think AWZ has introduced a new figure skater and has a lesbian wedding coming up, but they're absolutely building no momentum. Maximilian has returned for the umpteenth time, but no one cares. UU is bringing back another forgotten character from the distant past in the form of Charlotte Sommer, a contract role from 2008 to 2010. At least she will be played by her original portrayer Anna Julia Antonucci.

21 hours ago, Manny said:

You are right. UK and Germany sometimes seem like they have given up. Although, UK recently seems like they have woken up a bit. But you are right, it is still this basic pop, which does not, ironically, pop out among 25 other songs during the final. Germany tried last year with Lord of the Lost, but still ended up last.

I'm sure Germany will end up dead last again this year. Our NF had three better options – Ryk, Marie Reim and Galant – but somehow, the German public always votes for the underdogs. We can only prevent coming last if some other dud (like San Marino, Slovenia, or Malta) qualifies from the semi-finals, but most other countries receive at least a few pity points from their neighbors. Germany usually doesn't, even though we are the country with the most neighbors in Europe 

This is my current Top 10:

1. France
2. Austria
3. Australia
4. Ukraine
5. Belgium
6. Denmark
7. Norway
8. Netherlands
9. United Kingdom
10. Spain

Just missing out:

1. Czechia
2. Cyprus
3. Estonia
4. Sweden
5. Finland

The UK has the same problem as Germany (my country): Both countries usually pick contemporary songs which are radio-friendly, but their staging is often bland and forgettable. In the past 10 years, Germany has only had one entry that finished higher than 18th place (including 4 last places!), and the UK hasn't fared much better.

And some more entries ... this year's field is nearly complete. We're still waiting for the songs from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Israel.

Hera Björk won Iceland's national final with the song "Scared of Heights" but it's unclear if she will compete in Stockholm following some drama.

Australia 2024: Electric Fields / "One Milkali (One Blood)"
Language: English

Austria 2024: Kaleen / "We Will Rave"
Language: English

Greece 2024: Marina Satti / "Zari"
Language: Greek / English

Portugal 2024: Iolanda / "Grito"
Language: Portuguese

Serbia 2024: Teya Dora / "Ramonda"
Language: Serbian

 

More entries:

Croatia 2024: Baby Lasagna / "Rim Tim Tagi Dim"
Language: English

Cyprus 2024: Silia Kapsis / "Liar"
Language: English

The Netherlands 2024: Joost Klein / "Europapa"
Language: Dutch

San Marino 2024: Megara / "11:11"
Language: Spanish

Switzerland 2024: Nemo / "The Code"
Language: English

United Kingdom 2024: Olly Alexander / "Dizzy"
Language: English

Two more entries:

Belgium 2024: Mustii / "Before the Party's Over"
Language: English

Poland 2024: LUNA / "The Tower"
Language: English

 

I noticed there's no topic for this legendary event yet @OzFrog

Following Sweden's Loreen winning the 2023 Contest with the song "Tattoo", the 68th Eurovision Song Contest will be held in Malmö, Sweden, with the Grand Final taking place 11 May 2024.

37 countries will take part, with Romania being the only country not returning from last year's edition.
In turn, Luxembourg returns to the Contest after having been absent for 31 years. They last participated in 1993.

Several countries have already selected their entries via national finals or internal selections.

Semi Final 1 (7 May 2024):

• Australia
• Azerbaijan
• Croatia
• Cyprus
• Finland
• Iceland
• Ireland
• Luxembourg
• Lithuania
• Moldova
• Poland
• Portugal
• Serbia
• Slovenia
• Ukraine

Semi Final 2 (9 May 2024):

• Albania
• Armenia
• Austria
• Belgium
• Czechia
• Denmark
• Estonia
• Georgia
• Greece
• Israel
• Latvia
• Malta
• Netherlands
• Norway
• San Marino
• Switzerland

Automatic Finalists (11 May 2024):

• France
• Germany
• Italy
• Spain
• Sweden (host country)
• United Kingdom
• + 10 qualifiers from Semi Final 1
• + 10 qualifiers from Semi Final 2

Albania 2024: Besa / "Zemrën n'dorë"
Language: Albanian

Czechia 2024: Aiko / "Pedestal"
Language: English

Denmark 2024: Saba / "Sand"
Language: English

Estonia 2024: 5miinust and Puuluup / "(Nendest) narkootikumidest ei tea me (küll) midagi"
Language: Estonian

Finland 2024: Windows95man / "No Rules!"
Language: English

France 2024: Slimane / "Mon amour"
Language: French

Germany 2024: Isaak / "Always on the Run"
Language: English

Ireland 2024: Bambie Thug / "Doomsday Blue"
Language: English

Italy 2024: Angelina Mango / "La noia"
Language: Italian

Latvia 2024: Dons / "Hollow"
Language: English

Lithuania 2024: Silvester Belt / "Luktelk"
Language: Lithuanian

Luxembourg 2024: Tali / "Fighter"
Language: French / English

Malta 2024: Sarah Bonnici / "Loop"
Language: English

Moldova 2024: Natalia Barbu / "In the Middle"
Language: English

Norway 2024: Gåte / "Ulveham"
Language: Norwegian

Slovenia 2024: Raiven / "Veronika"
Language: Slovene

Spain 2024: Nebulossa / "Zorra"
Language: Spanish

Ukraine 2024: Jerry Heil & Alyona Alyona / "Theresa + Maria"
Language: Ukrainian / English

 

Some news:

Thomas Drechsel (Tuner) is departing GZSZ in late February/early March 2024 after having being on contract for almost 14 years. In the past few years, his role hasn't had a major storyline and he should have been written out ages ago.

Last year, the same could have been said for Felix van Deventer's Jonas, but they finally managed to turn the tables and give Jonas a major arc with his sudden paralysis.

Making of the updated opening credits:

The actors' favorite scenes of 2023:

Outtakes:

 

Rena Sofer. Did Melrose Place, Just Shoot Me, 24, and various other stuff before returning to daytime on B&B. 

Krista Allen also comes to mind. 

B&B: Tricia Quick as a replacement for Taylor in 2002. Tricia was also a psychiatrist, looked a lot like Taylor, and had brief flings with both Ridge and Thorne. After 4 months, she was dropped to recurring and soon left the canvas.

Meanwhile, GZSZ receives yet another spin-off: UFA Serial Drama is currently developing and casting a new series that is set in the GZSZ universe – and which will be aimed at children! The new series will feature a handful of young protagonists and is supposed to air on RTL Super (RTL's children and family channel) and online on RTL+. The first season will consist of 26 episodes. 

From the 90210 universe: In 1994, Tiffani-Amber Thiessen auditioned for a role on "Models, Inc." before she landed the part of Valerie Malone on "Beverly Hills, 90210".

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-09-04-tv-34509-story.html

I don't know what happened behind the scenes at UU, but first Corinna died in March, then Jenny left earlier this month, and now Chris is also gone. Why did they bring back these three original characters if they don't do anything with them in the long run? Corinna and Chris should have become the new heads of the Weigel family ... but now, no member of the core family is left, except Paco and Sina.

Instead Claudelle Deckert (Eva), who earlier this year left the show after 22 years because "she was over it", returned a few days ago. There's going to be another "Event Week" in November called "Vertrau mir – Ich bin dein Mörder!" ("Trust Me – I'm Your Murderer!") which will focus on Eva and Dominic (Jo Weil). This is the official synopsis:

Lawyer Eva Wagner (Claudelle Deckert) has made powerful enemies in the underworld and needed to go into hiding. She had to leave her great love Dominic Adams (Jo Weil) behind. Ute Kiefer (Isabell Hertel) is not entirely innocent of this. She now does everything she can to reunite the couple and confides in Jakob Huber (Alexander Milo). But Jakob plays a dangerous double game and lures evil into Schillerallee. Bomb alert! The residents are in extreme danger and have to take the fight for their lives into their own hands. The explosive ordnance defense specialist Henry Gerlach (Maxim Agné) is called to help. A race against time begins: The head of the criminal organization, Hector Mertens, has planted the bomb and wants to let it explode if Eva doesn't surrender herself to him ...

Speaking of grave danger, GZSZ recently had a storyline which culminated in a hostage situation:

Also, GZSZ has shot on location in Paris, France. A special feature-length episode feauturing the Paris storyline will air sometime later this year. Apparently, the main characters will be Laura (Chryssanthi Kavazi), John (Felix von Jascheroff) and Emily (Anne Menden).

Some new outtakes:

Flashback: Dominik's funeral (December 2014):

Last, but not least: Sat.1's new daily soap venture "Die Landarztpraxis" ("The Country Doctor") debuts on October 23rd, 2023 at 7.45 pm – which means it airs against GZSZ. This is bound to be yet another flop for Sat.1. For now, they've ordered 60 episodes. Caroline Frier (of AWZ fame) plays the main character. Oliver Franck (ex-GZSZ) also stars. The other cast members are still unknown.

Quite interesting that Kin Shriner (Dr. Brian Carey) and Ellen Wheeler (Sarah) were contract players although both of their stints only lasted around 30 episodes. I also didn't know that Ken Hanes (Mike Guthrie) used to be on contract from 1995 to 1996.

18 hours ago, AMCOLTLLover said:

RTL has like two more soaps no one really talks about. Berlin - Tag und Nacht (Day and night) and Köln 50667 but they are so horrible. They have some good storylines here and there but the acting stinks. 

Haha, that's because they are not "proper" soaps, but pseudo-soaps – basically scripted reality shows with non-actors (in German, we call these kind of people "Laiendarsteller").

On 7/15/2023 at 12:02 AM, AMCOLTLLover said:

UU killed off Corinna  Brought back OG Jennifer from The 90‘s with nothing to do ...

This is so disappointing. They brought Jenny back after 25 years (not counting her brief guest appearance two years ago), made her a regular, and now she's leaving again this month.

Apparently Jo Weil (Dominic) is now a contract player on UU, and he will soon be reunited with his former "Verbotene Liebe" co-star Miriam Lahnstein, who has joined the show as "Patrizia", Stella's mother. Lahnstein is best-known for her role als villainess Tanja von Lahnstein on VL, whom she played from 1995 to 2001, from 2004 to the show's cancellation in 2015, and in the short-lived reboot "Verbotene Liebe – Next Generation" (2020-2021).

Another familiar face joins AWZ later this month: Sila Sahin, who rose to fame as Ayla Özgül-Höfer on GZSZ, plays Miray Öztürk, a relative of Leyla's (Suri Abbassi). Sahin starred on GZSZ from 2009 to 2014, until she abruptly left the show and her character had to be recast within a short span of time.

I started re-watching the show from the very beginning a couple of weeks ago and have now reached the middle of season 5 (Jane's departure).

Watching the seasons back to back in such a short span of time, it's really striking that seasons 2 and 3 are the "golden era" of the show. Usually you had 3 storylines per episodes, and that was totally fine for a cast of 8 or 9 regular characters plus a set of rotating recurring/guest stars.

When season 4 started, there was a major shift – suddenly everyone acted and looked much older than these characters were supposed to be. For example, Billy is said to be in his mid-20s in season 5, but everyone looks at least 10 years older than that. The storylines in season 4 are very OTT, especially everything involving Kimberly. Also, there were now at least 5 different storylines per episode. However, while Amanda and Peter were clearly pushed as the show's main characters at that point, all the characters still had equal screentime. I also liked those little scenes where characters that usually didn't have much overlap had a brief chat in the courtyard or at "Shooters", for example such combinations as Kimberly/Jake or Sydney/Alison. It felt like they were truly neighbors or were part of each other's lives.

After Brooke's death, the show takes a turn to the "dark side". There are no longer any funny dialogues, and everyone really hated each other. I loved Brooke and wished she'd stayed on board much longer.

In season 5, the cast was way too large, and suddenly you have like 7 different storylines per episode, with several characters only having 2 or 3 scenes each episode. Some characters, who used to be in each other's orbits in previous seasons, don't even interact with each other anymore. For example, Jane didn't share a single scene with Michael, Matt or Kimberly, and Kimberly hasn't shared a single scene with Sydney. Apart from Amanda, Peter and Sydney, Taylor and Kyle don't interact with anybody in the apartment complex. The few instances where Taylor briefly talked to Kimberly, Jane, Billy, Alison or Jake, it felt like they were in completely different shows. I don't think Kimberly ever met Samantha or Kyle.

Speaking of Samantha, I don't mind her this time around. I remember that I couldn't stand her in season 6, but so far, she's been unoffending. I would have preferred her staying with Craig instead of getting involved with Billy because that would have caused more drama, and Craig was wasted in the boring Amanda/Peter mess.

The following 10 countries have qualified from the 2nd Semi-Final to the Grand Final on Saturday:

• Albania
• Armenia
• Australia
• Austria
• Belgium
• Cyprus
• Estonia
• Lithuania
• Poland
• Slovenia

The following countries failed to qualify:

• Denmark
• Georgia
• Greece
• Iceland
• Romania
• San Marino

Running Order for the Grand Final

The following 10 countries have qualified from the 1st Semi-Final to the Grand Final on Saturday:

• Croatia
• Czechia
• Finland
• Israel
• Moldova
• Norway
• Portugal
• Serbia
• Sweden
• Switzerland

The following countries failed to qualify:

• Azerbaijan
• Ireland
• Latvia
• Malta
• The Netherlands

No surprises there, I'd say.

So far, nothing spectacular has happened on any of the 3 soaps this year (other than Corinna's unnecessary death on UU).

GZSZ's cross-over with its "Leon" spin-off with Leon and Sarah (Verena's look-a-like) returning to the main show was a failure. I mean, Leon only appeared in 2 or 3 episodes before returning to the coast, and then Sarah decided to stay in Berlin without having any ties to anyone? And the only storyline they came up with was having Erik become infatuated with her? They could've exploited the doppelgänger angle, or at least give Sarah a storyline with Philip, who accidentally killed Verena back in the day.

Speaking of doppelgänger: There's a now also a storyline on AWZ where Kaja Schmidt-Tychsen plays both Jenny Steinkamp and her look-a-like Nina. Very original 

Other than that, AWZ lost Julia Wiedemann (Lucie Ziegler) earlier this year. In turn, Marc Dumitru (Kilian Reichenbach) and Sarah Victoria Schalow (Hanna Kern) joined the cast. Hanna is Daniela's (Berrit Arnold) half-sister.

On GZSZ, Eva Mona Rodekirchen (Maren Seefeld) is expected to return this spring. She left the show last year after having been on contract for 12 years. Also, Daniel Noah (Sascha Beck), Timur Ülker (Nihat Güney), Niklas Osterloh (Paul Wiedmann), Nina Ensmann (Jessica Reichelt) and Lars Pape (Michi Bode) have renewed their contracts. In turn, Valentina Pahde (Sunny Richter) said goodbye after more than 8 years. She last aired on March 24th, 2023.

Also, Sat.1 is reportedly developing a new daily soap opera (after many failures since the 90s, the last one being "Alles oder Nichts" which ran from October 2018 to January 2019). The working title of the new show is "Die Landärztin" (= "The (Female) Country Doctor"). According to a press release, the soap is supposed to be targeted at "older women who still watch linear TV". It is produced by Filmpool which is also responsible for RTL2's pseudo-soaps "Berlin – Tag und Nacht" and "Köln 50667" and several other scripted reality shows.

Was #1989 Maeve Quinlan's first episode as Megan or did she appear before that episode? In #1989, Megan and Mike find Ridge after the explosion in Brooke's lab.

Edit: Just noticed that Maeve Quinlan's character was called "Brenda" in the closing credits.

It's a bit strange that Katie and Donna are appearing randomly in Brooke's house in a couple of episodes in early 1995. I thought they didn't live in L.A. anymore at that point.

Watching 1994, there's one thing I don't understand:

Dylan is not allowed to date Ivana because employees of "Forrester Creations" are not allowed to get involved with the company's models. 

However, why doesn't anybody bat an eye that Thorne, who is clearly working for "Forrester Creations" and "Forrester International", is dating Ivana only a few weeks later?

Also, I don't like Darla going after/making out with Anthony when he is still involved with her best friend Macy and she is dating Anthony's bff Connor. That came out of nowhere and doesn't fit Darla's character at all – especially since she witnessed all the Sally/Macy drama because of Anthony first-hand.

I lost track of which songs haven't been posted yet  – but all 37 songs for this year's contest have now been chosen / unveiled. Here's the official preview:

 

Austria: Teya & Salena / "Who the Hell Is Edgar?"

Switzerland: Remo Forrer / "Watergun"

Iceland: Diljá / "Power"

Moldova: Pasha Parfeny / "Soarele și luna"
Pasha Parfeny previously represented Moldova in the 2012 Contest, where he finished in 11th place with the song "Lăutar".

Serbia: Luke Black / "Samo mi se spava"