German soaps: GZSZ, UU & AWZ

[wingwalker]

Yay! Thanks Huntress! I really hope someone on the internet uploads subtitles online. 

[Huntress]

RTL has released a lot of glamorous promotional images for the 25th anniversary of their flagship GZSZ.

 

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From left to right, clockwise: Anne Menden (Emily Badak), Niklas Osterloh (Paul Wiedmann), Wolfgang Bahro (Dr. Jo Gerner), Ulrike Frank (Katrin Flemming), Felix von Jascheroff (John Bachmann), Janina Uhse (Jasmin Flemming), Jörn Schlönvoigt (Dr. Philip Höfer), Valentina Pahde (Sunny Richter), Eric Stehfest (Chris Lehmann), Thaddäus Meilinger (Felix Lehmann), Linda Marlen Runge (Anni Brehme)

 

Anne Menden (Emily Badak) & Lea Marlen Woitack (Sophie Lindh)

 

Valentina Pahde (Sunny Richter)

 

Felix van Deventer (Jonas Seefeld), Eva Mona Rodekirchen (Maren Seefeld), Iris Mareike Steen (Lilly Seefeld) & Clemens Löhr (Alexander Cöster)

 

Janina Uhse (Jasmin Flemming)

 

Luise von Finckh (Jule Vogt) & Thomas Drechsel (Max Krüger)

 

Ulrike Frank (Katrin Flemming)

 

Linda Marlen Runge (Anni Brehme) & Janina Uhse (Jasmin Flemming)

 

Thaddäus Meilinger (Felix Lehmann)

 

Niklas Osterloh (Paul Wiedmann) & Anne Menden (Emily Badak)

 

The primetime special on May 17th, 2017, consists of episodes #6255, #6256 and #6257. The following actors are currently part of the contract cast:

• Wolfgang Bahro as Dr. Jo Gerner (first airdate: #185 / February 1993)
• Daniel Fehlow as Leon Moreno (first airdate: #961 / April 1996)
• Felix von Jascheroff as John Bachmann (first airdate: #2277 / July 2001)
• Ulrike Frank as Katrin Flemming (first airdate: #2631 / December 2002)
• Anne Menden as Emily Badak (first airdate: #3114 / December 2004)
• Jörn Schlönvoigt as Dr. Philip Höfer (first airdate: #3114 / December 2004)
• Janina Uhse as Jasmin Flemming (first airdate: #3902 / January 2008)
• Thomas Drechsel as Max "Tuner" Krüger (first airdate: #4227 / April 2009)
• Clemens Löhr as Alexander Cöster #2 (first airdate: #4266 / June 2009)
• Eva Mona Rodekirchen as Maren Seefeld (first airdate: #4616 / November 2010)
• Iris Mareike Steen as Lilly Seefeld (first airdate: #4629 / December 2010)
• Linda Marlen Runge as Anni Brehme (first airdate: #5295 / July 2013)
• Lea Marlen Woitack as Sophie Lindh (first airdate: #5464 / March 2014)
• Felix van Deventer as Jonas Seefeld (first airdate: #5544 / July 2014)
• Eric Stehfest as Chris Lehmann (first airdate: #5640 / December 2014)
• Valentina Pahde as Sunny Richter (first airdate: #5671 / January 2015)
• Thaddäus Meilinger as Felix Lehmann (first airdate: #6064 / August 2016)
• Luise von Finckh as Jule Vogt (first airdate: #6126 / November 2016)
• Niklas Osterloh as Paul Wiedmann (first airdate: #6142 / December 2016)

Janina Uhse is reportedly taking a long break from the show (or leaving for good?). She will continue taping until the summer.

 

Mustafa Alin's (Mesut Yildiz) current status with the show is unclear. The actor made his first appearance in May 2011. Originally a member of a criminal gang, Mesut was redeemed in 2013 and Alin was upgraded to contract status in January 2014. However, he has mostly been used as comic relief. Mesut has been MIA for some weeks now but according to RTL the actor is just on vacation.

[DRW50]

Thanks. What do you think of Jatina?

[Skylover]

I better tune in for the anniversary episodes. I love this show, nice to see it's got to 25 years.

 

What happened to the older lesbian/bisexual who was having a relationship with the much younger girl?

Edited April 13, 2017 by Edward Skylover

[Huntress]

 

I love her. No, seriously, Janina's a great actress and she's portrayed Jasmin with perfection, considering she's such a flawed character. Just remember what Jasmin's been through in roughly 10 years: In January 2008, she was introduced as a budding fashion designer, then was thought to be Katrin Flemming's half-sister Melanie who was given up for adoption as a young child. Later in 2008 it was revealed that she was Katrin's daughter. Since she was sexually abused by her adoptive father Dieter, Jasmin suffered from several traumas. After Katrin had shot Dieter to protect Jasmin in early 2009, Jasmin and Katrin eventually connected. Jasmin had a rocky relationship with Dominik Gundlach, the son of Katrin's husband Jo Gerner between 2008 and 2010. The two almost married, but Jasmin felt it was too rushed and she broke up with Dominik in early 2010. She also had a brief fling with Dominik's evil half brother Patrick in 2010.

 

When Dominik was abducted in 2011 and suffered a trauma himself, Jasmin was there for him still. A bit later, Jasmin wanted to become famous and married rock star Kurt LeRoy in late 2012. The two even had their own reality soap. When their fame waned, Jasmin released a porn tape to get attention again and claimed that someone stole it from her laptop. Her plan backfired, however, when it was revealed that Jasmin herself had released the tape. All of her friends couldn't believe how low Jasmin had sank and turned their backs on her. Jasmin and Kurt broke up at the end of 2013, and Jasmin found comfort in her roommate Anni. The two women embarked on a relationship which was ruined by Anni's mood changes and her being clingy. In the meantime, Jasmin had also become a famous designer and founded her own business "Tussi Attack" with her frenemy Emily and good friend Sophie.

 

In late 2015, Jasmin met the man of her dreams: Dr. Frederic Riefflin, a renowned surgeon. Unbeknownst to her, Frederic was Jasmin's biological father Rico! Father and daughter fell in love and even wanted to get married. After a while, Katrin found out the horrifying truth. She confronted Frederic, told him to leave and never return again. Frederic tried to kill Katrin, but he was killed by Katrin's best friend Maren in self-defense. Katrin, Maren and Anni buried Frederic's body while Jasmin was heartbroken about Frederic's disappearance. The storyline culminated in the 6000th episode (May 2016). After the incest storyline had finished, Jasmin was more or less placed on the backburner and she has only been involved in storylines surrounding her business.

 

 

You probably mean Rosa Lehmann, played by Joana Schümer. The character is still on recurring status and pops up here and there. However, she's not involved with Anni anymore as they broke up in December 2016. One of the main stories right now is Sunny being torn between brothers Chris and Felix (good vs. evil), Rosa's sons. Rosa will also appear in the anniversary episodes since Felix and Sunny will get married.

Edited April 14, 2017 by Huntress

[Skylover]

Thanks. 

 

I think I liked the bad one. He was a DJ I believe.

 

ETA: Love all that stuff about Jasmin! Releasing her own porno to get attention ! Only in soap 

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 Jasmin and Emily seem like the best girls in this show. Katrin and her ex are cool too.

 

Edited April 15, 2017 by Edward Skylover

[Huntress]

 

It's the other way around 

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Chris (played by Eric Stehfest) works as a DJ. When he was first introduced, he was an extreme environmental activist and did a lot of illegal things, posing under the name "WHY". After the death of his grandfather (who had to leave his property so that new apartments could be built on that piece of land), Chris had cut all ties to his family because they were only interested in money and wealth. Chris hates capitalism.

Chris's backstory was explored last year when his mother Rosa (played by Joana Schümer) and his brother Felix (played by Thaddäus Meilinger) appeared in town. They both worked for the "Lehmann Bank", the family business. Felix had always been jealous of Chris because Rosa liked Chris better than him, even though Felix did everything for Rosa and helped her rescueing the bank. Rosa reached out for Chris, but he was still bitter. The two brothers got in a lot of fights. Didn't help that both of them fell in love with the same girl, Sunny (played by Valentina Pahde), Jo Gerner's granddaughter. Felix turned out to be quite a meanie: He betrayed Rosa and also did some illegal trading behind her back. Now Felix tries to frame Chris for a fire that Felix himself had started. At the same time, Sunny trusts Felix and wants to marry him.
Also involved in that story is Lilly (played by Iris Mareike Steen) who seems to be the only sane person in that scenario. She tries to proof Chris's innocence and warns Sunny of Felix's true intentions.

[Skylover]

Thanks. 

 

The set for the bar where he DJs is really good. I might try and watch some today.

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What did you think of the character played by Jascha Rust?

[Huntress]

The motto of GZSZ's anniversary is "25 Years at Your Side". Besides plenty of promotional pictures, RTL has also created a promotional video. According to reports, the show will also receive a new opening sequence.

 

Order of appearance in the video: Berlin – Ulrike Frank (Katrin) – Wolfgang Bahro (Jo) – Thaddäus Meilinger (Felix) – Valentina Pahde (Sunny) – Eric Stehfest (Chris) – Iris Mareike Steen (Lilly) – Jörn Schlönvoigt (Philip) – Lea Marlen Woitack (Sophie) – Daniel Fehlow (Leon) – Felix van Deventer (Jonas) & Niklas Osterloh (Paul) – Janina Uhse (Jasmin) – Jörn Schlönvoigt (Philip) & Felix von Jascheroff (John) – Mustafa Alin (Mesut) – Anne Menden (Emily) – Linda Marlen Runge (Anni), Thomas Drechsel (Tuner), Luise von Finckh (Jule) & Iris Mareike Steen (Lilly)  – Clemens Löhr (Alexander) – Eva Mona Rodekirchen (Maren) – Group scene including new cast member Cryssanthi Kazavi (Laura)

 

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Edited April 24, 2017 by Huntress

[Skylover]

@Huntress what is the state of play with soaps in Germany at the moment? Does GZSZ rate well and is it likely to continue for many more years? As I don't want to heavily invest in watching the show if it is taken off air suddenly but I'm thinking of watching it more regularly. Thanks in advance

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[Huntress]

In early April, GZSZ had its best ratings since 2013: A market share of 22%.

 

GZSZ's average yearly ratings were:

• 2011: 3,75m / 22,6%
• 2012: 3,36m / 20,2%
• 2013: 3,25m / 20,3%
• 2014: 2,90m / 17,8%
• 2015: 2,66m / 16,9%
• 2016: 2,84m / 18,1%

So it's pretty much guaranteed that it will continue for many years to come. TPTB are also actively trying to keep fans invested in the show and its characters.

 

UU is also pretty stable since it has a very loyal fanbase.

 

AWZ on the other hand can go either way. They just don't have the same fanbase like GZSZ and UU do. While GZSZ and UU have survived the loss of many fan favorites over the years and have re-invented themselves several times, AWZ seems to rely on the same old characters in the same storylines. The Steinkamps have become caricatures of themselves, Ingo, Diana, Marian, Lena and Deniz are a huge bore, and most of the fresh faces get the axe before they have the chance to unfold their potential.

[Skylover]

Ah ok, brilliant, thanks Huntress!

[Huntress]

Some more promotional pictures of GZSZ's anniversary...

 

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Thaddäus Meilinger (Felix), Valentina Pahde (Sunny) & Eric Stehfest (Chris)

 

Felix von Jascheroff (John), Anne Menden (Emily), Jörn Schlönvoigt (Philip) & Niklas Osterloh (Paul)

 

Eric Stehfest (Chris), Felix von Jascheroff (John), Jörn Schlönvoigt (Philip), Thomas Drechsel (Tuner) & Niklas Osterloh (Paul)

 

Niklas Osterloh (Paul), Felix van Deventer (Jonas) & Jörn Schlönvoigt (Philip)

 

Ulrike Frank (Katrin) & Wolfgang Bahro (Jo)

 

Felix van Deventer (Jonas), Clemens Löhr (Alexander), Iris Mareike Steen (Lilly) & Eva Mona Rodekirchen (Maren)

 

Thomas Drechsel (Tuner) & Luise von Finckh (Jule)

 

Eric Stehfest (Chris), Jörn Schlönvoigt (Philip), Felix von Jascheroff (John), Wolfgang Bahro (Jo), Linda Marlen Runge (Anni), Janina Uhse (Jasmin) & Niklas Osterloh (Paul)

 

Lea Marlen Woitack (Sophie), Anne Menden (Emily) & Janina Uhse (Jasmin)

[Skylover]

Aw they look like they're having great fun! Thanks Huntress! Janina is stunning.

[Huntress]

GZSZ's new opening will debut on tv on May 17th, 2017, but it can already be watched online. From now, on there will be 3 different versions.

 

Version 1: Valentina Pahde (Sunny) – Ulrike Frank (Katrin) – Wolfgang Bahro (Jo) – Berlin Alexanderplatz – Jörn Schlönvoigt (Philip) & Felix von Jascheroff (John) – Thaddäus Meilinger (Felix) – Brandenburg Gate – Janina Uhse (Jasmin) – Eric Stehfest (Berlin) – GZSZ

Version 2: Eric Stehfest (Chris) – Mustafa (Mesut) – Berlin Alexanderplatz – Luise von Finckh (Jule) & Iris Mareike Steen (Lilly) – Chryssanthi Kavazi (Laura) – Brandenburg Gate – Linda Marlen Runge (Anni), Thomas Drechsel (Tuner), Luise von Finckh (Jule) & Iris Mareike Steen (Lilly) – Thomas Drechsel (Tuner) & Linda Marlen Runge (Anni)
Version 3: Anne Menden (Emily) – Clemens Löhr (Alexander) – Eva Mona Rodekirchen (Maren) – Berlin Alexanderplatz – Felix van Deventer (Jonas) & Niklas Osterloh (Paul) – Lea Marlen Woitack (Sophie) – Brandenburg Gate – Daniel Fehlow (Leon) – Janina Uhse (Jasmin)

 

This is the 1st version:

 

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Making-of videos:

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 10, 2017 by Huntress