German soaps: GZSZ, UU & AWZ

[Huntress]

Not anymore, at least not for free.

The show is quite depressing to watch now with five main characters dead within a short span of time. In yesterday's episode sisters Isabelle and Larissa also left town after destroying the "Steinkamp Dance Academy" for good by telling the press that the accident was Simone's fault.

John and Pia returned to GZSZ this week, but Pia was shipped off to AWZ after two episodes. She will first appear there on today's episode – but nobody really cares. Pia won't even have a story on AWZ other than being a supporting player for Iva. The producers desperately try to make Iva happen as a character (she's the only cast addition of 2014 to have survived through 2015), and now she's also getting a family. Her father Christoph is Vanessa's new love interest. At least that story seems promising, and Vanessa is always a reason to tune in.

In the meantime, John won't have a story on GZSZ either – until he thinks that he has slept with Anni, the show's resident lesbian, who's currently in a relationship with Jasmin and who once also had a one night stand with Pia (Pia and Jasmin shared a kiss as well back in 2009 or so).

Verbotene Liebe's transition into a weekly soap didn't work out as planned. The last daily episode was supposed to air on January 29th, 2015. Because of pre-emptions due to live coverage of the Paris terror attacks, two episodes weren't broadcast at their regular time. Episodes #4048 and #4049 were each cut down to 25 minutes (instead of the usual 50 minutes) and combined to one single episode that will air tonight. The first regular weekly episode is supposed to air on February 27nd, 2015. It has been announced that the main cast will be trimmed down to less than 10 characters. During the final daily episodes, 13 characters are left (Alexa, Andi, Ansgar, Bella, Charlie, Elisabeth, Emilio, Frank, Jo, Kim, Olli, Rebecca, Sascha, Sebastian, Tanja, Tim, and Tristan).

[Huntress]

Yesterday the first weekly episode of Verbotene Liebe aired on ARD in the show's new timeslot at 6.50 pm. The episode was watched by 1.2 million people which is basically the same amount that the daily airings had.

This is the opening of the weekly version:

Order: Wolfram Grandezka as Ansgar von Lahnstein (2004-present) – Miriam Lahnstein as Tanja von Lahnstein (1995-1998; 2001; 2004-present) – Sebastian Schlemmer as Sebastian von Lahnstein #2 (2009-present) – Jens Hartwig as Tristan von Lahnstein (2009-present) – Nicole Mieth as Kim von Lahnstein (2011-present) – Tatjana Kästel as Rebecca von Lahnstein #2 (2012-present) – Martina Servatius as Elisabeth Ryan Brandner von Lahnstein (1999-present) – Henrike Fehrs as Alexa Berg (2013-present) – Bernd Reheuser as Vincent Berg (2013-2014; 2015-present)

http://youtu.be/AyDPcUgE1Hk

Only the members of the von Lahnstein family (plus Alexa and her father) are shown on the opening sequence. In the closing credits, Marc Bartel (Tim Helmke), Mickey Hardt (Jo Helmke), Christoph Kottenkamp (Frank Helmke) and Dominic Saleh-Zaki (Andi Fritzsche) – who also starred on the daily version – were listed among the contract cast as well. Most notably missing from the first weekly airing was original cast member Gabriele Metzger (Charlie Schneider).

[DRW50]

Were they hoping for a ratings increase?

Eh. Not a fan of that song.

[Huntress]

Preview Pictures for March/April 2015

Unter uns

01. Kimberley (Maja Lehrer) falls into a coma after accidentially being hit on the head by Henning 02. Eva (Claudelle Deckert) is in danger 03. Sina's (Valea Scalabrino) surprise for Bambi (Benjamin Heinrich) falls flat 04. Eva, Ringo, Irene, Leonie, Easy, Ute, Caro and Malte wish Paco (Milos Vukovic) good luck for his upcoming therapy 05. Rufus (Kai Noll) tells a dumbfounded Britta (Tabea Heynig) that he has no interest in pursuing a relationship with her 06. Will Eva and Till (Ben Ruedinger) eventually reconcile? 07. During sex with Sina, Bambi suffers a penis fracture 08. Kimberley leaves town 09. Irene (Petra Blossey) and Robert (Luca Maric) become a couple 10. Jule (Amrei Haardt) becomes interested in Moritz (Marvin Linke)

Alles was zählt

01. Deniz (Igor Dolgatschew) and Can (Volkan Isbert) argue about business problems 02. During his trial, Maximilian (Francisco Medina) takes a prison guard hostage as Richard (Silvan-Pierre Leirich) and Simone (Tatjana Clasing) look on 03. Jenny (Kaja Schmidt-Tychsen) visits Maximilian in prison 04. After finding out that her own father Richard murdered her husband Erik, Jenny swears revenge 05. Vanessa (Julia Augustin) is still crazy in love with Christoph (Lars Korten) 06. Ben (Jörg Rohde) and Iva (Christina Klein) grow closer 07. Vanessa and Simone try to help Richard who has suffered a heart attack while Jenny looks on in disinterest 08. Bea (Caroline Frier) shaves off Ingo's (André Dietz) hair 09. Vanessa tries to talk some sense into Jenny 10. Sonja (Barbara Sotelsek) and Deniz kiss

Gute Zeiten, Schlechte Zeiten

01. John (Felix von Jascheroff), Tayfun (Tayfun Baydar) and Leon (Daniel Fehlow) team up against David (Philipp Christopher) 02. Sunny (Valentina Pahde) helps Jo (Wolfgang) who has been hit by a thrown stone 03. Leon is taken into custody when the police thinks that he has thrown the stone; Vince (Vincent Krüger), who is the true culprit, keeps silent 04. Ayla (Nadine Menz) tries to comfort Tayfun 05. Alex (Clemens Löhr) continues his affair with Olivia (Anna Juliana Jaenner) 06. Nele (Ramona Dempsey) and Mesut (Mustafa Alin) get married with Jasmin (Janina Uhse) and Tayfun as their witnesses 07. Katrin (Ulrike Frank) tries to rescue Maren (Eva Mona Rodekirchen) from her burning apartment 08. Chris (Eric Stehfest) and Lilly (Iris Mareike Steen) discuss their next political activities 09. After her apartment has been destroyed by a fire, Katrin moves in with Maren, much to the dismay of Alex, Jonas (Felix van Deventer) and Mieze (Franziska van der Heide) 10. Jasmin and Anni (Linda Marlen Runge) overcome their relationship problems

Verbotene Liebe

01. After being shot by her own dad, Alexa (Henrike Fehrs) dies in Ansgar's (Wolfram Grandezka) arms 02. Vincent Berg (Bernd Reheuser) threatens to kill Justus (Claus Thull-Emden) who is being aided by Elisabeth (Martina Servatius) 03. Elisabeth herself is shot down and Justus carries her from the castle 04. Elisabeth is brought to the hospital as Justus and Frank (Christoph Kottenkamp) look on 05. During the hostage situation at the castle, Tanja (Miriam Lahnstein) suffers a breakdown while Rebecca (Tatjana Kästel) tries to stay calm 06. Ansgar and Elisabeth attend Alexa's funeral 07. Berg threatens to kill Hannes (Melvin Eisenstein) 08. Emilio (Florian Wünsche) rescues Ansgar from falling from a roof 09. After Berg has been killed, the von Lahnstein family clan (Sebastian, Tanja, Tim, Rebecca, Elisabeth, Justus, Kim, Emilio and Tristan) looks happily into the future – not knowing that the next big problem is on the horizon... 10. Tanja and Sebastian remarry 11. Nico (Verena Zimmermann, right) is back in town and has brought her new best friend Mila (Stephanie Rösner) with her 12. Tristan (Jens Hartwig) flirts with Mila, not knowing that she harbors a dark secret that could destroy his whole family

[DRW50]

Deniz looks like he's choking her out.

That "shocked" bed picture for Unter Uns cracks me up.

How are VL's ratings doing now?

[Huntress]

They haven't improved, but they haven't declined either.

February 27nd – #4650 – 1.2 million – market share: 4.8%

March 6th – #4651 – 1.12 million – market share: 4.7%

March 13th – no episode due to live coverage of winter sports

March 20th – #4652 – 1.17 million – market share: 4.9%

There are 12 episodes left until the first season of the weekly series is over. Since there will be no new episodes on April 3rd and May 1st due to national holidays. the season will probably end in the last week of June. All of these episodes were filmed in November 2014.

A big problem is that the focus has shifted completely onto the von Lahnstein family while all the other characters were quietly reduced to supporting players. For example, original character Charlie Schneider has only appeared in one scene so far where she was seen working in her restaurant. On the official website, Olli and Sascha are still listed as regulars, but Sascha's exit story has been cut from the last daily airings and Olli is also gone.

A few new characters will be introduced in episode 4656, among them Mila von Draskow (played by Stephanie Rösner), Jannik Anders (played by Daniel Axt) and Frederic Schwarz (played by Nic Romm).

[DRW50]

What was Sascha's exit?

So is Olli coming back or is that it? If so it's a shoddy way to treat a character...

[wingwalker]

Even though I hadn't watched VL in a long time, that's sad to hear about Ollie. Ollie and Christian were such a popular couple for a long time and both characters kinda got screwed over. Sad. Other than Deniz, who hasn't been with a man since Roman died, I don't think any German soaps have gay characters, feels like the end of an era. For the longest time, German soaps were the gold standard when it came to that.

[Huntress]

I don't really remember what happened to Sascha. He was listed in the end credits of the 2nd weekly episode, but I don't think he actually appeared in that episode.

Olli didn't have a proper exit, either. He was mentioned in the latest episode as being in London. Back in 2014, Jo Weil stated that he wouldn't be part of the 1st weekly season, but he would love to come back if they find decent storylines for Olli – and of course if there is a 2nd weekly season.

Well, GZSZ has Jasmin and Anni, a lesbian couple. Both have been together for almost a year now.

Speaking of GZSZ: The show is bringing back a character from the distant past... and it's Vanessa Moreno Richter who was last seen in November 1998. More importantly, she will be played by her original portrayer Anne Brendler, who was on contract from April 1996 until Vanessa's exit. Her first airdate is June 10th, 2015. Vanessa is Jo Gerner's (Wolfgang Bahro) oldest daughter, Sunny Richter's (Valentina Pahde) mother and Leon Moreno's (Daniel Fehlow) adoptive brother. Brendler's return is said to be short-term.

Vanessa is only the second contract character that exited in the 90s to be brought back in a later decade. The other one was Udo Thies as Dr. Michael Gundlach who appeared in a handful episodes in December 2007 and January 2008 when his grown-up adoptive son Dominik was introduced as a contract role. Thies was on contract from 1993 to 1994. Interestingly, Dominik's biological father was Jo Gerner as well.

From left to right: Daniel Fehlow, Anne Brendler, Valentina Pahde and Wolfgang Bahro

Edited April 2, 2015 by Huntress

[wingwalker]

Thanks Huntress. Do you think AWZ will ever give Deniz another male love interest? I know on some forums, I've read comments that people feel the show hasn't gone there because they are afraid it would make Deniz and Roman less special and make the DeRo fans upset if they had him fall for another man. While I can't speak for DeRo fans, personally, I don't think it would. I was a huge DeRo fan, but Roman died like 4-5 years ago. I think the show messed up by not ever pairing up Joscha and Deniz. Heck, if VL isn't going to use Jo/Ollie, AWZ should snag him and pair him with Igor/Deniz. They could probably attract a lot of former Chrolli and DeRo fans.

[Huntress]

AWZ did indeed hire Jo Weil! Today it was announced that he has joined the cast and will first air in July: http://www.bild.de/unterhaltung/tv/verbotene-liebe/star-jo-weil-jetzt-bei-alles-was-zaehlt-40455872.bild.html

Apparently he will not play a gay character, because his new role is supposed to be Vanessa's (Julia Augustin) new love interest. It's also unclear if he's on contract or if it's just a short-term gig.

[wingwalker]

Yay I was half right! Sad he's going to be a love interest for Vanessa. Never liked her. Deniz dated her too, so maybe I can still hope? I want my German Super gay couple damn it! LOL

Edited April 8, 2015 by wingwalker

[Huntress]

Starting with episode 6, the weekly version of Verbotene Liebe received an updated opening.

Tatjana Kästel (Rebecca), Martina Servatius (Elisabeth), Henrike Fehrs (Alexa) and Bernd Reheuser (Vincent) were removed, while Verena Zimmermann (Nico), Nic Romm (Frederic), Martin Semm (Martin) and Stephanie Rösner (Mila) were added.

http://youtu.be/FRRBvWtHYsc

Strangely enough, the closing credits still list everyone as being on contract. Ansgar, Tanja, Sebastian, Tristan and Kim are the only characters from the daily version that still appear on the opening credits.

Edited April 19, 2015 by Huntress

[Huntress]

Some casting news:

Stefan Franz is back as villain Rolf Jäger on "Unter Uns". New Schillerallee resident Fiona Novak, played by Olivia Burkhart, is indeed Rolf's daughter Fiona. I wrote about Rolf and Fiona's history in this post.

Ramona Dempsey's days on GZSZ might be numbered. There were reports that her contract has not been renewed so that she will most likely exit the soap this summer. Dempsey joined the soap in August 2013 as Nele Lehmann. Nele has just married Mesut (Mustafa Alin) after being unlucky in love for most of her run.

Also out is fellow actress Franziska van der Heide, who joined the cast as street kid Mieke "Mieze" Lutze one week after Dempsey. Her exit has already been confirmed.

Actor Thando Walbaum has been cast in the role of Amar, a political refugee from Mali, who comes to Berlin to seek a better life. His first airdate is June 19th, 2015.

The crossover between GZSZ and AWZ which started this past February and which saw Isabell Horn's character Pia Koch switch between both soaps every other week will come to an end in May. Horn will become a permanent cast member on AWZ, while Pia's husband John (played by Felix von Jascheroff) stays on GZSZ. It's been announced that the popular couple will split up in the process. Both characters returned to GZSZ in February 2015 after one year of absence. Following Pia's departure, John will hook up with Jasmin (Janina Uhse), who is currently in a lesbian relationship with Anni (Linda Marlen Runge).

Two cast members are out at AWZ: Anna Katharina Samsel (Katja Bergmann) and Volkan Isbert (Can Öztürk) will exit the soap next July. Samsel joined the soap in December 2009 and was the show's main heroine until 2012. Katja was initially introduced as an aspiring ice figure skater. She turned out to be Annette and Lena's half sister. Katja joined the Steinkamp's ice skating quad and fell in love with Ben Steinkamp (Jörg Rohde), much to the dismay of Isabelle Reichenbach (Ania Niedieck). Katja and Isabelle became sworn enemies because both wanted success on the ice – and both wanted to be Ben's wife. In the summer of 2010, Ben and Isabelle got married. Katja had a brief relationship with Isabelle's brother Tom, but she still loved Ben. Because of Ben's feelings for Katja, his and Isabelle's marriage fell apart. Isabelle swore revenge on Katja. She sedated her and locked her inside a container for days. Ben freed Katja andthey eventually became a couple. However, their relationship didn't last and Katja had a dangerous affair with Maximilian (Francisco Medina).

In 2012, the Steinkamps abandoned the ice skating squad and Katja's role on the show dwindled. But somehow Katja was a writer's pet, so she was put in the most absurd storylines and had brief flings with Ingo and Deniz. In 2013, Katja became the coach of the Steinkamp's soccer team where she met Deniz's cousin Can. The latter was introduced in December 2012 as a chavvy ladies' man. Can started a relationship with Ingo's daughter Zoé which ended abruptly when Zoé left town. At first Katja and Can couldn't stand each other, but then one day they ended up in bed together. Since then, they have been in a relationship. Samsel will last air on July 1st, while Isbert exists the soap two weeks later.

In addition, GZSZ has launched a new image campaign with 10 tv spots, each depicting a different character, highlighting their ambigious character traits via voice-over. The spots will air on RTL until the end of May. The following versions exist:

Ayla (Nadine Menz): "Lämmchen – oder Löwin?" (Lambkin or Lioness?)

Chris (Eric Stehfest): "Terrorist – oder Träumer?" (Terrorist – or Dreamer?)

David (Philipp Christopher): "Verbrecher – oder Verführer?" (Criminal – or Seducer?)

Emily (Anne Menden): "Opfer – oder Täter?" (Victim – or Offender?)

Gerner (Wolfgang Bahro): "Fiesling – oder Legende?" (Villain – or Legend?)

Katrin (Ulrike Frank): "Biest – oder Powerfrau?" (Bitch – or Woman of Power?)

Leon (Daniel Fehlow): "Verlierer – oder Held?" (Loser – or Hero?)
Sunny (Valentina Pahde): "Prinzessin – oder Kämpferin?" (Princess – or Warrior?)

Tayfun (Tayfun Baydar): "Macho – oder Softie?" (Macho – or Softie?)
Vince (Vincent Krüger): "Schläger – oder Beschützer?" (Bully – or Guardian?)

Edited April 29, 2015 by Huntress

[wingwalker]

Aw, I'll miss Can. He reminded me of an early Deniz.

Katja, I won't miss at all. She had potential when she first started, but quickly became annoying.