Judging Amy? How random.

How many times do AWZ and VL share stories? I just wonder because

at the moment both gay couples are having stories about the one who once identified as straight having sex with or believing he had sex with a woman.

I guess all soaps cover similar storylines every once in a while

Apparently VL will soon split their storylines once the show gets extended to 40 minutes. One part of the show will still be filmed and take place in Cologne, while the other half will be filmed and take place on the Spanish island of Mallorca (in the Mediterranean Sea). Several new cast members have been cast, and two newcomers have already have been replaced by new actors.

Are you surprised about the 40 minute expansion? I thought the ratings had lowered.

Yes, I was surprised. But I also never imagined that "Marienhof" would get cancelled so soon. So the expansion of VL was basically the only choice the ARD could make because they don't have anything else to replace "Marienhof".

All of the soaps are struggling these days, ratings are going downhill, and "Unter uns" has even closed down production for several weeks twice a year since 2009 to cut costs – one long break during the summer months, and one long break during the winter months. In return, they tightened their schedule and now film a lot of episodes in advance so that the show can still run during the whole year. For example, episodes that were shot in December 2010 before the winter break will air in April 2011.

Edited March 6, 201114 yr by Huntress

That's sad to hear. I hate to see German soaps going the way of American soaps. What do you think is happening?

So, Carl, you are fluent in German?

No, just subtitles.

I am fluent in German!

Judging Amy? How random.

How many times do AWZ and VL share stories? I just wonder because

at the moment both gay couples are having stories about the one who once identified as straight having sex with or believing he had sex with a woman.

And both sound awful.

How many times is AWZ going to have Deniz fall off the wagon & sleep with a chick? They should bring back Marc & reignite that Deniz/Roman/Marc triangle.

I updated the cast pictures on the first page and included "notable previous performers" for all three soaps.

Thanks again for your hard work.

Nina Bott, best known for her work as Cora Hinze-Moreno on GZSZ from 1997-2005 and Celine Laffort on AWZ from 2008-2010, has joined VL in a yet unnamed contract role. Apparently, she will play a huge part in the upcoming Mallorca storyline. Her male counterpart will be portrayed by Hubertus Grimm who previously starred in the telenovela "Wege zum Glück".

Both "Anna und die Liebe" and "Hand aufs Herz" are also suffering from low ratings these days so cancelation may come sooner than expected. The latest ZDF telenovela "Lena – Liebe meines Lebens" has already stopped production.

Btw, I edited the first page of this topic again LOL. I included a list of all contract actors for GZSZ, UU and AWZ from the very beginning.

I'm not surprised about Anna's low ratings.. It was a shitty idea to kill off Jonas.

BTW, the show still airs in Croatia and the ratings are quite good.

The "Jonas is now a ghost and finds a new lover for Anna" storyline was scrapped because the audience felt that it was plain stupid. Surrealism has never worked on our soap operas.

On VL, Nina Bott and Hubertus Grimm will play Julia von Anstetten and Jan Brandner – recasts of the very first "forbidden love". The twins who fell in love with each other were played by Valerie Niehaus and Andreas Brucker during the first two years of the daily soap. In 1997, Julia disappeared during a vacation with Jan and allegedly drowned in the Mediterranean Sea. A few months later Jan received a letter from Julia, asking him to live with her in Spain. However, Jan left town with his new girlfriend in October 1997.

Returning to the canvas is Isa Jank as Clarissa von Anstetten, Jan and Julia's birth mother. Clarissa was last seen in 2001 when she boarded a plane to go on vacation. Her nemesis Tanja von Anstetten disguised as a stewardess and held Clarissa at gunpoint. Then the plane crashed. While Tanja returned in 2004 and has remained a key player ever since, Clarissa's fate had never been resolved – until now. From 2005 to 2008, Jank starred as Annabelle van Weyden Gravenberg in the telenovela "Wege zum Glück" where she acted opposite Hubertus Grimm.

Valerie Niehaus, Andreas Brucker and Isa Jank

Edited March 28, 201114 yr by Huntress

So, VL is trying to get bigger ratings with the return of the original characters?

BTW, the actress who plays Clarissa looks THE SAME as the Croatian version of Clarissa - Caroline.