Liebling Kreuzberg is a television series on ARD, which was first aired in five seasons with a total of 58 episodes from 1986 to 1998. The scripts of seasons one through three and five were written by

Jurek Becker Jurek Becker (, probably 30 September 1937 – 14 March 1997) was a Polish-born German writer, screenwriter and East German dissident. His most famous novel is ''Jacob the Liar'', which has been made into two films. He lived in Łódź during Wo ...

, who tailor-made the role of idiosyncratic

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

Kreuzberg Kreuzberg () is a district of Berlin, Germany. It is part of the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg borough located south of Mitte. During the Cold War era, it was one of the poorest areas of West Berlin, but since German reunification in 1990 it ha ...

attorney Robert Liebling for his friend

Manfred Krug Manfred Krug (; 8 February 1937 – 21 October 2016) was a German actor, singer and author. Life and work Born in Duisburg, Krug moved to East Germany at the age of 13, and worked at a steel plant before beginning his acting career on the stage a ...

, the fourth season was written by

Ulrich Plenzdorf Ulrich Plenzdorf (; 26 October 1934 – 9 August 2007) was a German author and dramatist. Life Born in Berlin, Plenzdorf studied Philosophy in Leipzig, but graduated with a degree in film. He found work at DEFA. He became famous in both East a ...

. The series was directed by Heinz Schirk (first season), Werner Masten (second to fourth season) and Vera Loebner (fifth season). It was produced by SFB, NDR and WDR. The music of the first season was composed by Hans-Martin Majewski, in the later seasons by

Klaus Doldinger Klaus Doldinger (born 12 May 1936) is a German saxophonist known for his work in jazz and as a film music composer. He was the recipient of 1997's Bavarian Film Awards. Life and work Doldinger was born in Berlin, Germany, and entered a Düsse ...

Content and Characters

The eponymous main character, Robert Liebling (born June 12, 1939) is an attorney and notary, who has his office in Berlin's Kreuzberg district. In the first four seasons he has a three-day beard, wears a hat, drives a motorcycle (a

Honda is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...

first, then a BMW) and convertibles (4th season, a

Mercedes-Benz W124 The Mercedes-Benz W124 is a range of mid-size cars made by Daimler-Benz from 1984 to 1997. The range included numerous body configurations, and though collectively referred to as the W-124, official internal chassis designations varied by body st ...

series, season 5, a

Mercedes-Benz W111 : ''See Mercedes-Benz S-Class for a complete overview of all S-Class models.'' The Mercedes-Benz W111 was a chassis code given to a range of Mercedes-Benz vehicles produced between 1959 and 1971, including four-door saloons (1959-1968) and two-d ...

), smokes cigar and consumes götterspeise in large amounts, which his secretaries Paula (Corinna Genest) and Senta (Anja Franke) always have to keep in stock. Sometimes Liebling has several girlfriends simultaneously, which often leads to trouble. While he does these things quite easily, he reacted with jealousy when one of his liaisons moved into the vicinity of infidelity. As a matter of principle, Liebling only takes cases that interest him. In the first episode of the 1st Season, he explains that he has sold a real estate business inherited from his father and is now, in his capacity as a notary, documenting any resulting sales contracts. This secures him a degree of financial independence, so that he can afford to avoid work if possible. Much rather he goes for a walk during the day along the river Spree or sleeps in his office. Much of the remaining work he delegates to his associates. In the first three seasons, this is

Michael Kausch Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...

in the role of Dr. Giselmund Arnold, later

Jenny Gröllmann Jenny Gröllmann (5 February 1947 – 9 August 2006) was a German actress, best known for her work on films '' I Was Nineteen'' (1968), '' Peas at 5:30'' (2004) and her recurring role on the show ''Polizeiruf 110''. She won an Ernst Zinna Prize ...

as Isolde Isenthal "Issi" and finally

Stefan Reck Stefan Reck (born 1954, in Lippstadt) is a German television actor. Currently he lives in Berlin. His acting training stretching among others graduated from the "Hochschule für Musik und darstellende Kunst" in Hamburg. He played among others in ...

as Dr. Bruno Pelzer. They are often idealistic, while at the same time more conventional and serve as antagonists of pragmatic, but unconventional Liebling. Most funny dialogues in the series result from this contrast. However, the contrast is often only a seeming one, because Liebling—although a cynic—has also idealistic traits. The individual episodes usually deal with minor disputes, which often confront the layman with unexpected legal facts. In the parallel storyline favorite girlfriends are a supporting subject. In the early episodes, the relationships change most rapidly, while the suspense in later episodes is generated by the professional or personal background of the women. In the 2nd and 3rd Season it is the attorney Rosemarie Monk (

Diana Körner Diana Körner (born 24 September 1944) is a German actress. Outside Germany she is known for her brief appearance as Lieschen in Stanley Kubrick's film '' Barry Lyndon''. Selected filmography * '' Creature with the Blue Hand'' (1967), as Myr ...

), in the 4th Season Lena Lewandowsky (

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 Bel ...

), in the 5th Season the married Lola Kornhaus (

Monika Woytowicz Monika Woytowicz (born 1944) is a German stage, film and television actress. She studied at the Theaterhochschule Leipzig The Theaterhochschule Leipzig was a theatre school in Leipzig, Saxony, Germany, which existed from 1953 to 1992. The offi ...

) and finally Miriam Breslauer (

Johanna Liebeneiner Johanna Liebeneiner is a German stage, film and television actress.Goble p.428 She is the daughter of the actors Hilde Krahl and Wolfgang Liebeneiner Wolfgang Georg Louis Liebeneiner (6 October 1905 – 28 November 1987) was a German actor, fi ...

). Another important role in the private setting of the story is his chaotic and chronically broke daughter Sarah Liebling (

Roswitha Schreiner Hrotsvitha (c. 935–973) was a secular canoness who wrote drama and Christian poetry under the Ottonian dynasty. She was born in Bad Gandersheim to Saxon nobles and entered Gandersheim Abbey as a canoness. She is considered the first female w ...

), who in the final season—initially in secret—is the girlfriend of Dr. Bruno Pelzer.

Other actors

Corinna Genest Corinna Genest (born August 16, 1938) is a German film and television actress.Cowie p.158 She is the daughter of the actress Gudrun Genest and the great niece of Hubert von Meyerinck. Selected filmography * ''Stage Fright'' (1960) * ''Always Tr ...

: Paula Fink (Season 1–3, 5) * Anja Franke: Senta Kurzweg (Season 1–5) *

: Gieselmund Arnol Season (1–3) *

: Bruno Pelzer (Season 5) *

: Rosemarie Monk (Season 2–4) *

: Isolde Isenthal (Season 4) * Friedrich-Karl Praetorius: Clerk Mr Wittlich (Season 2) * Adrian Schröck: Robertschen Liebling (Season 4–5) *

Brigitte Grothum Brigitte Grothum (born 26 February 1935) is a German film actress. She has appeared in 50 films since 1955. She was born in Dessau, Germany. Selected filmography *'' Ripening Youth'' (1955), as Dora *''The First Day of Spring'' (1956), as Tri ...

: Erika Liebling (Season 1) * : Bob (Season 5) *

Joachim Kemmer Joachim Kemmer (September 12, 1939 – April 26, 2000) was a German actor, cabaret artist, singer, and voice actor. He appeared in more than seventy films from 1969 to 2000. He did dubbing work for many German language versions of Disney animated ...

: Dr. Klinda (Season 4) *

Karin Hardt Karin Hardt Meta Therese (28 April 1910 in Altona, Hamburg – 5 March 1992 in Berlin) was a German actress. Life A merchant's daughter, Hardt first took private acting lessons with Alex Otto and received theatrical engagements in Mönch ...

: Mother of Robert Liebling (Season 2) * Hans Nitschke: Mohrenhaupt, public prosecutor (Seasons 3–4) *

: Lola Kornhaus *

: Miriam Breslauer * Liesa Schober: Barbara Isenthal (Season 4) *

Peter Schiff Peter David Schiff (; born March 23, 1963) is an American stock broker, financial commentator, and radio personality. He is CEO and chief global strategist of Euro Pacific Capital Inc., a broker-dealer based in Westport, Connecticut. He is also ...

: Lawyer Wolter (Season 1–5) *

Rolf Zacher Rolf Zacher (28 March 1941 – 3 February 2018) was a German actor. Life and career Zacher appeared in about 190 films and television shows between 1961 and 2016, often in illustrious or eccentric character roles. He starred in the 1971 fil ...

: Willi Gumpert/Willi Rodegast (Season 2–4)

Seasons

# 1985/1986 # 1987/1988 # 1989/1990 # 1993/1994 # 1997/1998

Episode List

External links

* {{IMDb title, id =, title =Liebling Kreuzberg 1986 German television series debuts 1998 German television series endings Television shows set in Berlin German-language television shows Das Erste original programming German legal television series Grimme-Preis for fiction winners