''Verbotene Liebe'' (, "Forbidden Love") was a German television
soap opera
A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...
created by
Reg Watson
Reginald James Watson (27 August 1926 – 8 October 2019) was an Australian television producer and screenwriter. He was executive producer on ''Crossroads (British TV series), Crossroads'' and created Australian media exports serials such as ' ...
for
Das Erste
Das Erste (; "The First") is the flagship national television channel of the ARD association of public broadcasting corporations in Germany. ''Das Erste'' is jointly operated by the nine regional public broadcasting corporations that are member ...
. The show was set primarily in the German city of
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...
although, at times, the city of
Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...
and the Spanish island of
Mallorca
Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean.
The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bal ...
figured prominently in the show's story lines. First broadcast on 2 January 1995, ''Verbotene Liebe'' was originally broadcast in 24-minute episodes, five times a week. It expanded to 45-minute episodes on 21 June 2011 and trimmed back to 40-minute episodes on 23 January 2012 to accommodate an adjusted time-slot. In 2006, Pay-TV network
Passion began broadcasting episodes of the show from the beginning.
''Verbotene Liebe'' was initially based on original story and character outlines from the
Australian soap opera ''
Sons and Daughters'', the show was also slightly influenced by the American soap opera ''
Ryan's Hope
''Ryan's Hope'' is an American soap opera created by Claire Labine and Paul Avila Mayer, airing for 13 years on ABC from July 7, 1975, to January 13, 1989. It revolves around the trials and tribulations within a large Irish-American family in th ...
'', before evolving into a show of its own as the series progressed. The show originally focused on two core families: the wealthy Anstetten family and the middle-class Brandner family. More specifically, it dealt with the story of
Jan Brandner
''Verbotene Liebe'' (, "Forbidden Love") was a German television soap opera created by Reg Watson for Das Erste. The show was set primarily in the German city of Düsseldorf although, at times, the city of Cologne and the Spanish island of Mal ...
and
Julia von Anstetten
''Verbotene Liebe'' (, "Forbidden Love") was a German television soap opera created by Reg Watson for Das Erste. The show was set primarily in the German city of Düsseldorf although, at times, the city of Cologne and the Spanish island of Mal ...
, two strangers whose fascination for each other leads them to fall in love, neither of them cognizant that they are twins separated by their parents. It is this story of forbidden love that gave the series its title. As cast members left the show, many characters were written out of the storyline, and new ones were added. Sometimes this included whole families. Writers attempted to phase out the dwindling Brandner family by introducing a new middle-class family, the Prozeskis, as foils for the wealthy Anstettens, but the Brandners proved to be too popular with fans, and the Prozeskis left as quickly as they came. Later, much of the drama centered on the Wolf family and the aristocratic
Lahnstein family
''Verbotene Liebe'' (, "Forbidden Love") was a German television soap opera created by Reg Watson for Das Erste. The show was set primarily in the German city of Düsseldorf although, at times, the city of Cologne and the Spanish island of ...
.
The series became well known for its groundbreaking treatment of
LGBT
' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity.
The LGBT term is a ...
characters, presenting
bisexuality
Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whic ...
and
homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...
as normal, and homosexual relationships as equal to
heterosexual relationships on the show. For this reason, it became popular with gay and lesbian audiences in Europe and the United States. The series tackled controversial issues such as
drug addiction,
murder
Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...
,
rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ag ...
,
suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...
,
adultery
Adultery (from Latin ''adulterium'') is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal ...
,
homophobia
Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitude (psychology), attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, h ...
,
incest
Incest ( ) is human sexual activity between family members or close relatives. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by affinity (marriage or stepfamily), adoption ...
,
alcoholism
Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol (drug), alcohol that results in significant Mental health, mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognize ...
,
drug abuse
Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods which are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder. Differing definitions of drug abuse are used in public health, ...
,
schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social withdra ...
,
HIV
The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...
,
miscarriage
Miscarriage, also known in medical terms as a spontaneous abortion and pregnancy loss, is the death of an embryo or fetus before it is able to survive independently. Miscarriage before 6 weeks of gestation is defined by ESHRE as biochemical lo ...
,
kidnapping
In criminal law, kidnapping is the unlawful confinement of a person against their will, often including transportation/asportation. The asportation and abduction element is typically but not necessarily conducted by means of force or fear: the p ...
, and sexual confusion.
In 2005, ''Verbotene Liebe'' received the
Rose d'Or award for "Best Soap", and in 2010 was nominated for the category of "Best Soap or Telenovela". The show was nominated for eight German Soap Awards in 2011, winning three. In January 2011, the series began filming in
high definition
High definition or HD may refer to:
Visual technologies
*HD DVD, discontinued optical disc format
*HD Photo, former name for the JPEG XR image file format
*HDV, format for recording high-definition video onto magnetic tape
* HiDef, 24 frames-pe ...
. The show ended on 26 June 2015, after 4664 episodes due to a decline of viewers. The February transition to weekly broadcasting did not bring the number of viewers they had expected.
Setting
![Ehreshoven](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/Ehreshoven.jpg)
The central focus of ''Verbotene Liebe'' was the fictional high society in and around
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...
and
Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...
. Set in a world of power and intrigue, main locations in the beginning were Friedenau Castle, the Brandner home and the bar No Limits (originally called Off Limits). While the location of Friednau Castle was abandoned in 2001 and followed by the short-lived location of Schönberg Manor and eventually Königsbrunn Castle, the Brandner home stayed with the show as a permanent location beyond the show's 15th anniversary. Friedenau Castle, Schönberg Manor and Königsbrunn Castle were supposed to show a lifestyle of rich aristocrats and the Brandner home was used as a contrast, showing life of a middle-class family.
Ehreshoven Castle was used for on location shoots for the fictional Königsbrunn Castle.
The bar No Limits was the only original location left as of 2014. However, the set and location of the bar changed multiple times, most of the time explained within story. In 2014, the bar was relocated to its original location in the show. Other common settings were various penthouses, flat shares and offices over the years; from 2011 the show was mainly set in fashion with the fictional fashion brand LCL and from 2010, the
Media Harbor Düsseldorf was used for most on-location shoots.
The show was produced in the Magic Media Company studios in Cologne's borough Ossendorf since 2003. The same studios were also the home of ''
Alles was zählt
''Alles was zählt'' ("All That Matters") is a German television soap opera first broadcast on RTL on 4 September 2006.
Plot
The original plot revolved around Diana Sommer's dream to become a world class ice skater. She fell in love with Jul ...
''. ''Verbotene Liebe'' was previously produced in the studios of
WDR. The biggest build stage was the LCL set over three floors. For six months in 2011, the show was partly produced in
Majorca
Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean.
The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bal ...
, Spain for a separate story that eventually concluded in Düsseldorf.
History
Origins
German television channel
Das Erste
Das Erste (; "The First") is the flagship national television channel of the ARD association of public broadcasting corporations in Germany. ''Das Erste'' is jointly operated by the nine regional public broadcasting corporations that are member ...
("The First") began airing ''Verbotene Liebe'' in January 1995 after many months of planning and production. The project was initially planned for
RTL Television
RTL (from '), formerly RTL plus and RTL Television, is a German-language free-to-air television channel owned by the RTL Group, headquartered in Cologne. Founded as an offshoot of the German-language radio programme '' ,'' RTL is consider ...
, another German channel, but executives there were skeptical that the concept of a love story between a brother and a sister could prove successful. Das Erste took on the project and told the memorable story of
Jan Brandner
''Verbotene Liebe'' (, "Forbidden Love") was a German television soap opera created by Reg Watson for Das Erste. The show was set primarily in the German city of Düsseldorf although, at times, the city of Cologne and the Spanish island of Mal ...
and
Julia von Anstetten
''Verbotene Liebe'' (, "Forbidden Love") was a German television soap opera created by Reg Watson for Das Erste. The show was set primarily in the German city of Düsseldorf although, at times, the city of Cologne and the Spanish island of Mal ...
, two young people who find themselves immediately drawn to each other, although they have just met. The affecting story of the two siblings is told in the first 600 episodes, and is identified today with the series title. In addition to Jan and Julia and their love story, the complex scheming of the other characters made the show popular with audiences.
Clarissa von Anstetten becomes popular as Jan and Julia's conniving mother, earning her an unofficial title as the German
Alexis Colby
Alexis Carrington Colby (; formerly Dexter and Rowan) is a fictional character on the American TV series ''Dynasty''. She is the ex-wife of Blake Carrington (John Forsythe) whose schemes cause one problem after another for him and their children. ...
. (The "real" Alexis Colby,
Joan Collins
Dame Joan Henrietta Collins (born 23 May 1933) is an English actress, author and columnist. Collins is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, a People's Choice Award, two Soap Opera Digest Awards and a Primetime ...
, had a brief recurring role as
Lady Joan on ''Verbotene Liebe'' in 2010.)
Tanja von Anstetten, too, soon rises to fame for being a murderous vixen. This classic formula brought ''Verbotene Liebe'' attention in the press and, with it, a large fan base resulting in three million viewers tuning in on a daily basis.
The series underwent some major changes when actress
Valerie Niehaus
Valerie Niehaus (born 11 October 1974) is a German actress.
Early life
Valerie Niehaus grew up in Emsdetten where she went to the local primary school. After that she moved to Fulda and later to Berlin.
Career
At the age of thirteen Niehaus ...
announced her decision to leave the show after more than two years in the role of Julia. The writers re-focused the storyline on Clarissa and tried to put more attention on her with the addition of her family, the Prozeskis. This new middle-class family was to be the new counterpart to the wealthy Anstetten family, since many of the original Brandner family members had left the show. But the Brandners were too popular, and fans did not seem interested in Clarissa's origins or how she went about becoming a countess. As a result, Clarissa's mother, Erna, and her brother, Walter, were written out of the show by having the characters die in a car accident. Meanwhile, with his character's big, juicy storyline behind him, Andreas Brucker sought to leave his role as Jan. With Jan caught in a failed love relationship with
Kerstin Richter
''Verbotene Liebe'' (, "Forbidden Love") was a German television soap opera created by Reg Watson for Das Erste. The show was set primarily in the German city of Düsseldorf although, at times, the city of Cologne and the Spanish island of Mal ...
, the writers chose to write both characters out of the show's storyline rather than recast the roles. The departures of both Niehaus and Brucker within such a brief amount of time led to the fan-created legend that Jan and Julia had reunited off-screen, somewhere else.
Even with her family gone, the focus remains on Clarissa as she is sent to war against Christoph and Barbara von Anstetten. Eventually, the writers again tried to dredge up Clarissa's past for a storyline. Peter Kaufmann, Clarissa's first husband, appears on the scene to expose Clarissa as a fraud and a bigamist, since the couple had never divorced. Years before, she had forced Peter to flee the country, and then had him declared dead, all before she ever met Christoph von Anstetten and
Arno Brandner. However, at the beginning of the series it is revealed that Clarissa was just eighteen years old when she became pregnant by Arno. So a marriage before she even met Arno was either a huge continuity gaffe or that she had been married while in her early teens. The story was not well liked by fans nor by
Isa Jank
Isa Andersen (actual name Isa Jank) is a German actress. She is best known for her role as Clarissa von Anstetten on ''Verbotene Liebe (Forbidden Love)''.
Isa started her career in Hollywood in the middle of the 1980s. She played at James Belu ...
herself. Disagreements with the producers over her role led to the actress's departure from the show a little over a year after the Peter Kaufmann story concluded. It took almost ten years to woo Jank back into the iconic role. Meanwhile, Clarissa's hate for Tanja von Anstetten develops into a heartless, cutthroat rivalry between the two women. From the beginning, Clarissa knows that Tanja is a dangerous person to have around. Having made a similar climb up the social ladder herself, Clarissa understands what Tanja is all about. So when Tanja pretends to be pregnant with the child of
Henning von Anstetten
Henning Christoph August von Anstetten is a fictional character from German soap opera ''Verbotene Liebe (Forbidden Love)''. The character was first played by Markus Hoffmann from the series premiere on January 2, 1995 to January 24, 1996. The ch ...
, Clarissa's stepson, in order to get him to marry her, Clarissa exposes Tanja as a fraud and a golddigger. Tanja vows revenge on the entire Anstetten family and total destruction of Clarissa. After scoring a job at one of the Anstetten businesses, Tanja puts Clarissa's company in danger by trying to sell cheap knockoff clothing under the ''Ligne Clarisse'' label. The lines are drawn for battle, and the war continues today.
The end of the 90s saw the return of Henning von Anstetten, a number of love stories involving the younger characters, the gay love story of Ulli Prozeski and Tom Seifert, the exit of Barbara von Anstetten, and the introduction of
Elisabeth Ryan, who would become an important part of the show in the next decade.
Gay/lesbian storylines and other changes
The turn of the 21st century brought with it the rising popularity of gay storylines. In 1999, the groundbreaking love story of Ulli and Tom begins as the
coming-out
Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity.
Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...
story of a young gay man, Ulli Prozeski, who had formerly led a straight life. After
Andreas Stenschke
Andreas Stenschke (born 26 July 1975), is a German actor and director.
Biography
Stenschke was born in Cologne, West Germany and moved shortly to the nearby suburbs, where his parents, Wolfgang and Marlene, had bought a home. He has a younger br ...
, the actor portraying Ulli, left the show in late 2000, Tom hooks up with the new guy in town,
Oliver Sabel, played by
Jo Weil
Johannes "Jo" Hermann Bruno Anton Weil (born 29 August 1977) is a German actor and television host, best known for his portrayals of Oliver Sabel on the long-running German serial ''Verbotene Liebe'' and titular bodyguard, Frank Farmer, in multi ...
. Six months later, in 2001, Ulli suddenly returns to town for a two-week stay that creates tensions between Tom and Oliver. Oliver feels very uncomfortable having Tom's old boyfriend around, and his feeling is justified when he catches Tom and Ulli in a reunion fling, which, sadly for Ulli, does not win his man back. Tom and Ulli are finally reunited with guest appearances in the show's 10th anniversary episode in 2005. Today, the story of Tom and Ulli is available for viewing in several clips online.
The series suffered a blow in 2001 with the announcement that Isa Jank was leaving her iconic role as Clarissa. Her exit was written into the story along with a brief return of
Miriam Lahnstein's Tanja. Jank's exit was caused by creative differences with the show's producers over the direction her character was taking. After she left, it was rumored several times that Jank would return in her role as Clarissa, but Jank denied the possibility as late as 2008. After a ten-year absence, however, the actress did return to the small screen as Clarissa on 21 June 2011.
The brother-sister storyline was changed, and returned with the love story of Henning von Anstetten and Marie von Beyenbach in 2001, and later, with
Sarah Hofmann
''Verbotene Liebe'' (, "Forbidden Love") was a German television soap opera created by Reg Watson for Das Erste. The show was set primarily in the German city of Düsseldorf although, at times, the city of Cologne and the Spanish island of Mal ...
and
Leonard von Lahnstein
''Verbotene Liebe'' (, "Forbidden Love") was a German television soap opera created by Reg Watson for Das Erste. The show was set primarily in the German city of Düsseldorf although, at times, the city of Cologne and the Spanish island of ...
in 2006. It was clear to audiences from the beginning that Henning and Marie are not related, and that it is all just a scheme by Tanja. Leonard and Sarah are supposedly half-siblings, sharing the same father. That possibility ends at Leonard's wedding to
Jana Brandner, when
Adrian Degenhardt
''Verbotene Liebe'' (, "Forbidden Love") was a German television soap opera created by Reg Watson for Das Erste. The show was set primarily in the German city of Düsseldorf although, at times, the city of Cologne and the Spanish island of Mal ...
admits that he, and not
Johannes von Lahnstein
''Verbotene Liebe'' (, "Forbidden Love") was a German television soap opera created by Reg Watson for Das Erste. The show was set primarily in the German city of Düsseldorf although, at times, the city of Cologne and the Spanish island of ...
, is Leonard's father. Both of these attempts failed to fascinate viewers. The writers tried a different outcome in the fall of 2009 with the introduction of the twins,
Helena
Helena may refer to:
People
*Helena (given name), a given name (including a list of people and characters with the name)
*Katri Helena (born 1945), Finnish singer
*Helena, mother of Constantine I
Places
Greece
* Helena (island)
Guyana
* ...
and
Tristan von Lahnstein. This time the forbidden love is said to have come from the mind of a
mentally ill Tristan, who admits to being in love with his sister, and even schemes against Helena's boyfriend,
Andi Fritzsche, by having him charged with rape.
''Verbotene Liebe'' received international attention in 2008 with the love story of
Christian Mann
Oliver Sabel and Christian Mann are fictional characters from the German soap opera ''Verbotene Liebe'' ("Forbidden Love"), which was broadcast on Das Erste from 1995 to 2015. Portrayed by Jo Weil (Oliver) and Thore Schölermann (Christian), the ch ...
and
Oliver Sabel. The gay couple was featured in a story in the British magazine ''reFRESH'' and in an article in the 23 September issue of ''
Soap Opera Weekly''. Since then, the show has developed a large following elsewhere in Europe and beyond. The relationship between Oliver and Christian unfolds as a love story of two people who happen to be gay, rather than one of gay caricatures trying to play house, as is often the case. The ups and downs of the couple's relationship play out over five years to the couple's engagement and wedding, and continue on.
The show also attracted international popularity with characters
Carla von Lahnstein and
Stella Mann as a lesbian couple. They are featured on the gay media interest website
AfterEllen.com
AfterEllen (also known as AfterEllen.com) is an American culture website founded in 2002, with a focus on entertainment, interviews, reviews, and news of interest to the lesbian and bisexual women's community. The site covers pop culture and li ...
, and their relationship is chronicled in detail in gay media interest blogs. Before her relationship with Stella, Carla was involved in romances with Hanna Novak and Susanne Brandner.
The final same-sex love story ''Verbotene Liebe'' created was the relationship between
Marlene von Lahnstein, a former musical star, and
Rebecca von Lahnstein, a fashion designer. The story of this couple, also known as ''Marbecca'', began in 2012 and garnered a sizable international following. In November 2013, the two characters made it into ''The Top 25 Lesbian/Bi Characters on TV'' of
AfterEllen.com
AfterEllen (also known as AfterEllen.com) is an American culture website founded in 2002, with a focus on entertainment, interviews, reviews, and news of interest to the lesbian and bisexual women's community. The site covers pop culture and li ...
(rank 14 and 15) as two of only three non-English speaking characters.
AfterEllen.com
AfterEllen (also known as AfterEllen.com) is an American culture website founded in 2002, with a focus on entertainment, interviews, reviews, and news of interest to the lesbian and bisexual women's community. The site covers pop culture and li ...
wrote at the time: ''Sometimes you kiss your boyfriend’s sister during a game of spin the bottle and the next thing you know, you’re falling in love with her and leaving your groom on your wedding day and chasing down your lesbian love before she flies off to Los Angeles forever. Soaps are soaps, all over the world, and their love stories are so ridiculously delicious. Even more amazing: A whole year after they confessed their feelings for each other, Rebecca and Marlene are both still alive! Four for you, Germany. You go, Germany.''
Cancellation
Rumors about a cancellation of the soap opera were first made back in the fall of 2010 after ''Verbotene Liebe'' and fellow soap opera ''
Marienhof'' performed not well and ''Verbotene Liebe'' lost viewers a third year in a row. However, in February 2011, a decision was made about
Das Erste
Das Erste (; "The First") is the flagship national television channel of the ARD association of public broadcasting corporations in Germany. ''Das Erste'' is jointly operated by the nine regional public broadcasting corporations that are member ...
's access primetime. ''Marienhof'' was canceled and ''Verbotene Liebe'' extended from 20 to 45 minutes. The ARD hoped that ''Verbotene Liebe'' could gain viewers again, brought back fan favorite - and original cast member -
Isa Jank
Isa Andersen (actual name Isa Jank) is a German actress. She is best known for her role as Clarissa von Anstetten on ''Verbotene Liebe (Forbidden Love)''.
Isa started her career in Hollywood in the middle of the 1980s. She played at James Belu ...
(
Clarissa von Anstetten) and reintroduced the original story about siblings Jan and Julia; although the roles were recast. However the return of Jank's character was reviewed by most fans as underwhelming and the recasting of Jan and Julia got mixed reviews as well. ''Verbotene Liebe'' continued to lose in ratings and by 2014, the soap opera performed well under the market share of Das Erste.
On 17 July 2014 the
Bild
''Bild'' (or ''Bild-Zeitung'', ; ) is a German tabloid newspaper published by Axel Springer SE. The paper is published from Monday to Saturday; on Sundays, its sister paper ''Bild am Sonntag'' ("''Bild on Sunday''") is published instead, which ...
newspaper was first to report that the show has been canceled. Online magazine DWDL later confirmed the report, saying they were able to name several more sources about the cancellation. The reports suggest that ''Verbotene Liebe'' is finishing its last year and airing into January 2015; long enough to let the show live through its 20th anniversary.
An official statement by
Das Erste
Das Erste (; "The First") is the flagship national television channel of the ARD association of public broadcasting corporations in Germany. ''Das Erste'' is jointly operated by the nine regional public broadcasting corporations that are member ...
was made on 18 July 2014; confirming the cancellation. Director of Program Volker Herres said: "20 years ago, the siblings Jan and Julia made ''Verbotene Liebe'' a German series hit. Who could have guessed back then that VL, as the glamor soap was soon only be called, would have such a long breath? But eventually all shades of the forbidden and glamorous are told. It is then necessary to stop at the right time. And in our opinion this is now. As painful as it may be for the loyal fans of the series. But one thing is sure: ''Verbotene Liebe'' wrote television history."
ARD coordinator of access primetime Frank Beckmann added: "With great dedication and impressive creativity, the team of ''Verbotene Liebe'' has shaped the access primetime for years. We know the strength of the brand and the importance of their loyal fans. Therefore, we consider whether we can offer ''Verbotene Liebe'' in another form at a later date." The statement also confirmed that the soap opera will be replaced by the game show
Quizduell, which was tested for four weeks in May 2014, and that ''Verbotene Liebe'' will air its series finale most likely in the beginning of 2015.
Rainer Wemken, CEO of UFA Serial Drama, shared the following statement hours after the ARD confirmed the cancellation: "The ARD has terminated the contract for ''Verbotene Liebe'' at this time. I regret this decision very much, especially because it is a series with a strong brand, with a large fan base that is also very popular on the Internet and achieves high polling numbers. We are therefore make offers to the ARD, how the series can continue - possibly with other production or broadcast models - at a later date. I therefore hope very much that we can continue ''Verbotene Liebe''."
Only hours after rumors of the cancellation started, ''Verbotene Liebe'' fans opened a
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
page and a petition to fight for the survival of the soap opera.
The remaining original cast member Gabriele Metzger (
Charlie Schneider
Charlotte Schneider is a fictional character from the German soap opera ''Verbotene Liebe'', portrayed by actress Gabriele Metzger. She made her first appearance on screen in the series premiere on 2 January 1995. After the departure of Konrad Kra ...
) and the show's matriarch Martina Servatius (
Elisabeth von Lahnstein) opened up about the cancellation in a statement to the Bild newspaper. Metzger received a mail about the cancellation. About her reaction the actress said: "I went into the garden, watered my lawn and cried." About the reason for the cancellation and the declining ratings, Metzger suggested that "look-wise, we have developed forward. But what makes a soap opera - exciting stories and characters with whom one can identify - moved into the background over the years." Meanwhile, Martina Servatius is criticizing Herres' statement about the cancellation that all stories are told: "That is nonsense. It was the desire of the ARD to extend the individual episodes from 20 to 45 minutes. We, the actors, have already feared then that this decision could break our necks. It's sad that the ARD twisted cause and effect in retrospect."
Sudden renewal and final cancellation
After over a month since the show was officially canceled, the Bild newspaper reports on 3 September 2014 that ARD might move ahead with a concept from the production company UFA to bring ''Verbotene Liebe'' back as a weekly series. The cast would undergo some changes to adjust to the new format and the production style of the show would change dramatically. The media-devoted websites Quotenmeter and DWDL.de agreed on the Bild report and suggested that official news about the future of ''Verbotene Liebe'' would be made in the upcoming days.
On 4 September 2014, official word broke that ''Verbotene Liebe'' would return as a weekly series in 2015 as soon as airing on the daily format has stopped. The network ordered 15 episodes and will air the weekly series Fridays at 6:50 PM. The show would introduce a new central character, Mila von Draskow, and still feature members of the
Lahnstein family
''Verbotene Liebe'' (, "Forbidden Love") was a German television soap opera created by Reg Watson for Das Erste. The show was set primarily in the German city of Düsseldorf although, at times, the city of Cologne and the Spanish island of ...
- namely Elisabeth, Ansgar, Sebastian, Tanja, Tristan and Rebecca, original character Charlie Schneider, the Helmke brothers and the younger set around Charlie's nephew Olli who were sharing a flat. Sets like the bistro Schneiders and the bar No Limits would also still be a part of the show. "There will be a new ''Verbotene Liebe'' with more shooting time, more opulent images and a dense plot. And yet the new look will still deliver intrigue, passion and great feelings - like many fans of ''Verbotene Liebe'' wished", said
ARD coordinator of access primetime Frank Beckmann about the renewal.
The fifteen weekly episodes started on 27 February 2015 and lasted till 26 June 2015. The weekly season, which was called "Vergeltung" (Retribution) introduced new characters and a darker plot. Fans of the show widely criticized the new concept of the show and ratings ultimately turned even worse, leading to
Das Erste
Das Erste (; "The First") is the flagship national television channel of the ARD association of public broadcasting corporations in Germany. ''Das Erste'' is jointly operated by the nine regional public broadcasting corporations that are member ...
canceling the show for good.
Cast
''Verbotene Liebe'' was built upon melodramatic love stories, family drama and friendship. Actress Gabriele Metzger in her role as
Charlie Schneider
Charlotte Schneider is a fictional character from the German soap opera ''Verbotene Liebe'', portrayed by actress Gabriele Metzger. She made her first appearance on screen in the series premiere on 2 January 1995. After the departure of Konrad Kra ...
was the only remaining original cast member when the series was cancelled in 2014, while others like Martina Servatius (
Elisabeth von Lahnstein),
Miriam Lahnstein (
Tanja von Lahnstein
Tanja von Lahnstein (née Wittkamp, formerly von Anstetten) is a fictional character from the German soap opera ''Verbotene Liebe (Forbidden Love)'', played by actress Miriam Lahnstein. She made her first appearance on-screen on 21 June 1995 and ...
),
Jo Weil
Johannes "Jo" Hermann Bruno Anton Weil (born 29 August 1977) is a German actor and television host, best known for his portrayals of Oliver Sabel on the long-running German serial ''Verbotene Liebe'' and titular bodyguard, Frank Farmer, in multi ...
(
Oliver Sabel), Dominic Saleh-Zaki (Andi Fritsche) and
Wolfram Grandezka
Wolfram Grandezka (born 17 December 1969 in Saalfeld) is a German actor.
He landed the role of Roman Klingenberg in the soap opera ''Unter uns'', playing the role from 5 January 1998 to 26 April 2000. He came to another soap, ''Verbotene Liebe' ...
(
Ansgar von Lahnstein
''Verbotene Liebe'' (, "Forbidden Love") was a German television soap opera created by Reg Watson for Das Erste. The show was set primarily in the German city of Düsseldorf although, at times, the city of Cologne and the Spanish island of Mal ...
) were considered long-serving cast members.
Metzger and Servatius both appeared as minor characters in the beginning, before becoming a central part of the show. Lahnstein had left the show several times over the years or taken short-term breaks. Weil had a five-year break since joining the show in 2000, while Saleh-Zaki took only two years off to concentrate on other projects. Grandezka's character of Ansgar was often considered one of the most important and identifying characters of the show.
Original cast member Konrad Krauss (
Arno Brandner) left the show after 18 years, which ultimately also saw the demise of the Brandner family in the show. Other original cast members like Claudia Scarpatetti (Susanne Brandner) and
Isa Jank
Isa Andersen (actual name Isa Jank) is a German actress. She is best known for her role as Clarissa von Anstetten on ''Verbotene Liebe (Forbidden Love)''.
Isa started her career in Hollywood in the middle of the 1980s. She played at James Belu ...
(
Clarissa von Anstetten) returned after being off-screen but then left again.
The show was known for their focus on thirty-something year old characters, a small set of young adults and an older generation, which most of the times also represented a patriarch or matriarch of a core family.
Broadcasting and ratings
Broadcasting
Television
VL German Broadcast History:
* 2 January 1995 − 30 December 2004: Mon−Fri 5:55 pm on
Das Erste
Das Erste (; "The First") is the flagship national television channel of the ARD association of public broadcasting corporations in Germany. ''Das Erste'' is jointly operated by the nine regional public broadcasting corporations that are member ...
, approx. 23 minutes
* 5 January 1998 − 25 September 1998: Mon−Fri 9:03 am on Das Erste (episodes 1−171)
* 22 June 1999 − 30 December 1999: Mon−Fri 9.03 am on Das Erste (episodes 172−250)
* 3 January 2005 − 28 December 2007: Mon−Fri 5:50 pm on Das Erste, approx. 23 minutes
* 1 December 2006 – present on
Passion (reruns; stylized as 'classics')
* 7 January 2008 − 20 June 2011: Mon−Fri 6:00 pm on Das Erste, approx. 23 minutes
* 21 June 2011 − 18 January 2012: Mon−Fri 6:00 pm on Das Erste, approx. 44 minutes
* 23 January 2012 – 7 June 2012: Mon-Fri 5:50 pm on Das Erste, approx. 38 minutes
** 22 June 2011 – 11 June 2012: Mon−Fri about 8:00 am on
MDR (previous day's broadcast)
** 6 September 2011 – 11 June 2012: Mon−Fri 12:00 pm on
EinsFestival
''One'' (stylized as ''one'') is a German free-to-air television channel owned and operated by the German public-broadcasting consortium ARD. Managed since October 2005 by Westdeutscher Rundfunk on behalf of ARD as a whole, the channel was orig ...
(previous day's broadcast)
** 23 March 2012 − 11 June 2012: Mon−Fri 6:40 am on
NDR
NDR may refer to:
Computing
* Non delivery report, a return email message to a sender indicating failed message delivery
* Network Data Representation, an implementation of the OSI model presentation layer
Science and technology
* Negative differ ...
(previous day's broadcast)
** 16 April 2012 − 11 June 2012: Mon−Fri 11:45 am on
BR (previous day's broadcast)
* 11 June 2012 – 6 February 2015: Mon−Fri 6:00 pm on Das Erste, approx. 38 to 43 minutes
** 12 June 2012 – 15 March 2013: Mon−Fri 6:40 am on NDR (previous day's broadcast)
** 12 June 2012 – 21 March 2013: Mon−Fri 7:05 am on MDR (previous day's broadcast)
** 12 June 2012 – 12 October 2012: Mon−Fri 11:45 am on BR (previous day's broadcast)
** 12 June 2012 – 21 March 2013: Mon−Fri 12:00 pm on EinsFestival (previous day's broadcast)
* 27 February 2015 - 26 June 2015: Fridays 6:50 pm on Das Erste, approx. 42 minutes
In the beginning, ''Verbotene Liebe'' aired weekdays at around 5:55 pm on
Das Erste
Das Erste (; "The First") is the flagship national television channel of the ARD association of public broadcasting corporations in Germany. ''Das Erste'' is jointly operated by the nine regional public broadcasting corporations that are member ...
and was followed by fellow soap opera ''
Marienhof'', creating a soap line-up for the network. The line-up proved successful in its early years and showed a lot of contrast. ''VL'' was labeled as glamor soap, while ''Marienhof'' showed the working-class of fictional district in
Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...
. Becoming a huge success, Das Erste decided to show reruns in the early morning. With a break from about nine months, the network aired the first 250 episodes, who later were labeled as the show's first season.
After seven years on the air, the soap opera started slowly to lose viewers. Still a ratings success several cast changes seemed to hurt the show in the process. When Das Erste decided to change the airtime of both soaps, ''Verbotene Liebe'' (5:50 pm) and ''Marienhof'' (6:20 pm), particularly ''VL'' had now to challenge
RTL's soap opera ''
Unter uns
''Unter uns'' (''"Between Us"'') is a German television soap opera, based on the Hungarian soap opera Barátok közt, first broadcast on RTL (German TV channel), RTL on 28 November 1994. It is centered on the lives of the people in a residentia ...
'', which ended at 6:00 pm. After two years, Das Erste changed the airtime again. ''Verbotene Liebe'' started around 6:00 pm and still provided the lead-in for ''Marienhof'', which started around 6:25 pm again. In the meanwhile, the Pay-TV channel Passion started airing repeats in late 2006. However, the original airings of ''Verbotene Liebe'' and ''Marienhof'' continued to lose viewers and in late 2010 cancellation rumors started to surround fan bases. Das Erste eventually canceled ''Marienhof'' after over 18 years on the air and continued ''Verbotene Liebe'', extending their episodes to 50 minutes with commercial breaks. The glamor soap served as the lead-in for various new crime dramedy series'. With the extension, ''VL'' now aired repeats on several
ARD stations.
The line-up however was changed when the network signed
Thomas Gottschalk and developed a new evening talk show for him. ''Gottschalk Live'' premiered in January 2012, causing ''Verbotene Liebe'' to lose about six minutes per episode and being a rival to ''Unter uns'' again. The talk show failed miserably and was canceled in June 2012. That led to the network changing the air time of ''Verbotene Liebe'' yet again. It was announced that the soap opera would return to its old time slot at 6:00pm. Fans complained about the several air time changes.
As of the end of March 2013, all local stations of the ARD stopped airing the previous day's broadcast of the show.
Online
In 2008, Grundy UFA worked out a contract with the
video-sharing
An online video platform (OVP), provided by a video hosting service, enables users to upload, convert, store and play back video content on the Internet, often via a structured, large-scale system that may generate revenue. Users will generally u ...
website
A website (also written as a web site) is a collection of web pages and related content that is identified by a common domain name and published on at least one web server. Examples of notable websites are Google Search, Google, Facebook, Amaz ...
Sevenload
Sevenload was a German-based video-sharing website on which users can upload, share and view videos. Since its founding in April 2006, the platform emerged on international markets to become a Social Media Network for photos, videos and web TV c ...
to make the first season of ''Verbotene Liebe'', consisting the first 250 episodes, available online. Sevenload started with the first episode on 25 August 2008. After rumors about new contract, Grundy UFA and Sevenload ended their cooperation in the following year.
Das Erste started with its own video library, Das Erste: Mediathek, in May 2008 and airs extended previews, specials and new episodes (for seven days) of ''Verbotene Liebe''.
Grundy UFA instead went into business with the
video-on-demand platform Maxdome, which is owned by
ProSiebenSat.1 Media
ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE (officially abbreviated as P7S1, formerly ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG) is a German mass media & digital company. It operates in three segments: Entertainment, Dating and Commerce & Ventures. The company is listed on the Fran ...
. The first 800 episodes were made available for €0,99 per episode with a valid link for 48 hours. Maxdome also owns rights to new episodes, adding them right after television broadcast starting with episode 3400. With episode 3820 the show is available in
high-definition.
In 2012,
MyVideo
MyVideo was a German video hosting service website, provided by Magic Internet based in Bucharest, Romania and later in Berlin.
It was available in German (myvideo.de, myvideo.ch, and myvideo.at) until April 2016. According to Alexa Internet, th ...
became another provider for old ''Verbotene Liebe'' episodes. Under the label ''Verbotene Liebe classics'' are currently 360 episodes available for free. MyVideo and Grundy UFA plan to extend the video library to more than the first 1000 episodes of the show. Currently there isn't an official schedule when MyVideo plans on releasing more episodes.
Ratings
In the show's best years, ''Verbotene Liebe'' had three million viewers per episode, the second-highest rated soap opera behind ''
Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten'', with a 16 percent market share overall. That all began to change in 2007, when the show began losing viewers. In 2008, ratings dropped dramatically as viewers became dissatisfied with recent casting changes and lackluster storylines. On 15 December 2008, only 1.57 million viewers watched the show. Producers reacted immediately and moved the storylines in a different direction. The 3333rd episode was seen by 2.18 million viewers and featured an elegant masked ball.
One year later, ''Verbotene Liebe'' faced rumors of cancellation, when Das Erste announced intended changes to the lineup. The show was revamped, and eventually it was lead-out soap ''Marienhof'' that went off the air in mid-2011. ''Verbotene Liebe'' was extended to an hour and took over ''Marienhofs problematic time-slot, resulting in a dip in ratings. The ratings got much worse in 2012, which again led to rumors that the soap opera might get canceled. Overall, ''Verbotene Liebe'' halved its ratings in the last five years.
Specials
Over the years, ''Verbotene Liebe'' had several online specials, such as a weekly preview or cast interviews. However among them were also two online spin-offs:
''Clarissas Tagebuch''
''Clarissas Tagebuch'' (English: ''Clarissa's Diary'') is a 2011 five-part series that stars
Isa Jank
Isa Andersen (actual name Isa Jank) is a German actress. She is best known for her role as Clarissa von Anstetten on ''Verbotene Liebe (Forbidden Love)''.
Isa started her career in Hollywood in the middle of the 1980s. She played at James Belu ...
in her role as
Clarissa von Anstetten. It chronicles much of Clarissa's past and shows that the character has been in a South American prison for the last ten years. The special aired before Jank would return on-screen on the main show.
''Die längste Nacht von Königsbrunn''
''Die längste Nacht von Königsbrunn'' (English: ''The longest Night of Königsbrunn'') is a 2014 fifteen-part series, set on a stormy night in the kitchen of Castle Königsbrunn. It stars Martina Servatius (
Elisabeth von Lahnstein), Claus Thull-Emden (Justus Stiehl),
Miriam Lahnstein (
Tanja von Lahnstein
Tanja von Lahnstein (née Wittkamp, formerly von Anstetten) is a fictional character from the German soap opera ''Verbotene Liebe (Forbidden Love)'', played by actress Miriam Lahnstein. She made her first appearance on-screen on 21 June 1995 and ...
),
Sebastian Schlemmer
Sebastian Schlemmer is a German actor and well known for his role of Sebastian von Lahnstein in the soap opera ''Verbotene Liebe (Forbidden Love)''.
Before his television career, Schlemmer appeared on several plays on the theater since 2000. He m ...
(
Sebastian von Lahnstein
Sebastian von Lahnstein is a fictional character from the German soap opera ''Verbotene Liebe (Forbidden Love)''. The character was portrayed by actor Joscha Kiefer from 26 November 2007 to 13 October 2009. The part was recast with Sebastian Schl ...
), Jana Julie Kilka (Jessica Stiehl), Jens Hartwig (
Tristan von Lahnstein), Nicole Mieth (
Kim Wolf
Kim or KIM may refer to:
Names
* Kim (given name)
* Kim (surname)
** Kim (Korean surname)
*** Kim family (disambiguation), several dynasties
**** Kim family (North Korea), the rulers of North Korea since Kim Il-sung in 1948
** Kim, Vietnamese fo ...
) and as special guest stars Konrad Krauss (
Arno Brandner) and Verena Zimmermann (
Nico von Lahnstein
''Verbotene Liebe'' (, "Forbidden Love") was a German television soap opera created by Reg Watson for Das Erste. The show was set primarily in the German city of Düsseldorf although, at times, the city of Cologne and the Spanish island of Mal ...
). The special revolves around secrets of every character and concludes on 30 May 2014 with a live episode.
Revival
In early 2020, the
RTL Group
RTL Group (for "Radio Television Luxembourg") is a Luxembourg-based international media conglomerate, with another corporate centre in Cologne, Germany. The company operates 68 television channels and 31 radio stations in Germany, France and ...
obtained the rights for old episodes to stream on their premium streaming service TVNOW. Viewing figures were favourable and the RTL Group decided in June 2020 to order new episodes from
UFA Serial Drama
Ufa ( ba, Өфө , Öfö; russian: Уфа́, r=Ufá, p=ʊˈfa) is the largest city and capital of Bashkortostan, Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Belaya and Ufa rivers, in the centre-north of Bashkortostan, on hills forming the ...
for the streaming service. The intentions of RTL were made public by a
Bild
''Bild'' (or ''Bild-Zeitung'', ; ) is a German tabloid newspaper published by Axel Springer SE. The paper is published from Monday to Saturday; on Sundays, its sister paper ''Bild am Sonntag'' ("''Bild on Sunday''") is published instead, which ...
report on 19 June 2020. RTL later confirmed the news, planning to start filming later in 2020. The media group also announced that familiar faces, like
Jo Weil
Johannes "Jo" Hermann Bruno Anton Weil (born 29 August 1977) is a German actor and television host, best known for his portrayals of Oliver Sabel on the long-running German serial ''Verbotene Liebe'' and titular bodyguard, Frank Farmer, in multi ...
, are set to return to the show.
On 1 July 2020, it was reported that TVNOW ordered a 10-episode revival season, likely to air in a weekly rhythm starting in November 2020. The revival is set to focus on a new generation with few familiar faces in the world of fashion. The working title is ''Verbotene Liebe - Das Erbe'' (en: ''Forbidden Love - The Heritage''). The concept for the revival orientates on dramas like ''
Dynasty
A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...
'' and ''
Succession
Succession is the act or process of following in order or sequence.
Governance and politics
*Order of succession, in politics, the ascension to power by one ruler, official, or monarch after the death, resignation, or removal from office of ...
''.
The show was later renamed ''
Verbotene Liebe - Next Generation
''Verbotene Liebe'' (, "Forbidden Love") was a German television soap opera created by Reg Watson for Das Erste. The show was set primarily in the German city of Düsseldorf although, at times, the city of Cologne and the Spanish island of Mal ...
''.
Awards
German Soap Awards
* 2012 "Best Actor"
Wolfram Grandezka
Wolfram Grandezka (born 17 December 1969 in Saalfeld) is a German actor.
He landed the role of Roman Klingenberg in the soap opera ''Unter uns'', playing the role from 5 January 1998 to 26 April 2000. He came to another soap, ''Verbotene Liebe' ...
(
Ansgar von Lahnstein
''Verbotene Liebe'' (, "Forbidden Love") was a German television soap opera created by Reg Watson for Das Erste. The show was set primarily in the German city of Düsseldorf although, at times, the city of Cologne and the Spanish island of Mal ...
)
* 2012 "Fan Award Male"
Jo Weil
Johannes "Jo" Hermann Bruno Anton Weil (born 29 August 1977) is a German actor and television host, best known for his portrayals of Oliver Sabel on the long-running German serial ''Verbotene Liebe'' and titular bodyguard, Frank Farmer, in multi ...
(
Oliver Sabel)
* 2011 "Sexiest Woman" Jasmin Lord (
Rebecca von Lahnstein)
* 2011 "Fan Award Male"
Jo Weil
Johannes "Jo" Hermann Bruno Anton Weil (born 29 August 1977) is a German actor and television host, best known for his portrayals of Oliver Sabel on the long-running German serial ''Verbotene Liebe'' and titular bodyguard, Frank Farmer, in multi ...
(
Oliver Sabel)
* 2011 "Most Beautiful Couple"
Oliver Sabel and
Christian Mann
Oliver Sabel and Christian Mann are fictional characters from the German soap opera ''Verbotene Liebe'' ("Forbidden Love"), which was broadcast on Das Erste from 1995 to 2015. Portrayed by Jo Weil (Oliver) and Thore Schölermann (Christian), the ch ...
Rose d'Or
* 2005 "Best Soap"
See also
*
List of Verbotene Liebe characters
*
List of cast members of Verbotene Liebe
*
Minor characters of Verbotene Liebe
*
List of longest-serving soap opera actors
Soap operas, a serialised drama produced for radio, television and internet streaming, are specifically and uniquely known for their ensemble casts and long-running characters. Many of these characters have stayed in their respective series for d ...
References
External links
*
Ufa - Production WebsiteZDF Enterprises - International Distributor: Straight to Your Heart - The Latest Season of 'Forbidden Love'ZDF Enterprises - International Distributor: Forbidden LoveMaxdome.de: Video on demand - Extensive archive & new episodesMyVideo.de: Extensive archive video libraryDeutsche-Dailys.de: Verbotene Liebe
{{Authority control
1995 German television series debuts
2015 German television series endings
2000s German television series
German television soap operas
German LGBT-related television shows
Lesbian-related television shows
Television shows set in Cologne
Das Erste original programming
German-language television shows
1990s LGBT-related drama television series
2000s LGBT-related drama television series
2010s LGBT-related drama television series