Verliebt in Berlin (
GermanGerman is a West Germanic language, thus related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. It is one of the world's major languages and the most widely spoken first language in the European Union. Around the world, German is spoken by approximately 105 million native speakers and also by...
pun for
In Love in/with Berlin; abbreviation:
ViB) is a
Golden RoseThe Golden Rose is a gold ornament, which popes of the Catholic Church have traditionally blessed annually. It is occasionally conferred as a token of reverence or affection...
-winning German
telenovelaA telenovela is a limited-run television serial melodrama popular in the Americas, comprising a great part of its production budget. The word combines tele, short for television, and novela, a word that Latin literary studies associate with medium-span romances. Telenovelas are essentially soap...
, starring
Alexandra Neldel- Career :Neldel worked as a dental assistant before she was discovered by the boss of a Berlin casting agency during a polo competition. He helped her audition for daily soap opera Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten and Neldel, barely experienced in acting, immediately landed the role of Katja Wettstein...
, along with
Mathis KünzlerMathis Künzler is a Swiss film, television and stage actor. He grew up in suburban Münchenstein, ten minutes from Basel and close to the borders of France and Germany....
,
Tim Sander- TV :* 1998–2002: Gute Zeiten, Schlechte Zeiten* 2004: 18 – Allein unter Mädchen* 2005–2006: Unter den Linden – Das Haus Gravenhorst* 2006–2007: Verliebt in Berlin...
, and
Laura OsswaldLaura Isabella Lolita Osswald is a German stage, and television actress.- TV :* 2000: Alphateam* 2001: Schulmädchen* 2003: St. Angela* 2005–2007: Verliebt in Berlin* 2008: Doctor's Diary...
. It premiered on February 28, 2005, on
Sat.1Sat.1 is a privately owned German television broadcasting station. Sat.1 was the first privately owned television broadcasting station and started one day before RTL Television....
in most of
German-speaking EuropeThe German language is spoken in a number of countries and territories in West and Central Europe...
, with its final episode broadcast on October 12, 2007. The series is an adaptation of the
ColombiaColombia , officially the Republic of Colombia , is a constitutional republic in northwestern South America. Colombia is bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the northwest by Panama; and to the west by the Pacific Ocean...
n telenovela
Yo soy Betty, la fea, written by
Fernando GaitánFernando Gaitán Salom is a Colombian TV series and telenovelas screenwriter as well as a producer.-Career highlights:Fernando Gaitán is known for weaving different histories into diverse social contexts...
and produced by
RCN TVRCN Televisión is a Colombian private television network. It started as a production company in 1967...
.
The original season of the
serialA television serial is a type of television program that may take one of the following forms:* A mini-series* A soap opera* A telenovela...
comedy-dramaComedy-drama, also called dramedy or seriocomedy, is a style of television, theatre and film in which there is an equal or nearly equal balance of humor and serious content.-Theatre:...
followed the life of the unsophisticated but good-natured Lisa Plenske (Neldel), and her incongruous job at the ultra-chic
BerlinBerlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. With a population of 3.4 million within its city limits, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city and the eighth most populous urban area in the European Union...
fashion houseFashion House is an American telenovela that aired at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT Monday through Saturday on MyNetworkTV stations. The series premiered on September 5, 2006 and concluded on December 5, 2006...
Kerima Moda; while the second season revolved around Lisa's ham-fisted but sly half-brother Bruno (Sander) and junior designer Hannah Refrath (Osswald).
Verliebt in Berlin (
GermanGerman is a West Germanic language, thus related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. It is one of the world's major languages and the most widely spoken first language in the European Union. Around the world, German is spoken by approximately 105 million native speakers and also by...
pun for
In Love in/with Berlin; abbreviation:
ViB) is a
Golden RoseThe Golden Rose is a gold ornament, which popes of the Catholic Church have traditionally blessed annually. It is occasionally conferred as a token of reverence or affection...
-winning German
telenovelaA telenovela is a limited-run television serial melodrama popular in the Americas, comprising a great part of its production budget. The word combines tele, short for television, and novela, a word that Latin literary studies associate with medium-span romances. Telenovelas are essentially soap...
, starring
Alexandra Neldel- Career :Neldel worked as a dental assistant before she was discovered by the boss of a Berlin casting agency during a polo competition. He helped her audition for daily soap opera Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten and Neldel, barely experienced in acting, immediately landed the role of Katja Wettstein...
, along with
Mathis KünzlerMathis Künzler is a Swiss film, television and stage actor. He grew up in suburban Münchenstein, ten minutes from Basel and close to the borders of France and Germany....
,
Tim Sander- TV :* 1998–2002: Gute Zeiten, Schlechte Zeiten* 2004: 18 – Allein unter Mädchen* 2005–2006: Unter den Linden – Das Haus Gravenhorst* 2006–2007: Verliebt in Berlin...
, and
Laura OsswaldLaura Isabella Lolita Osswald is a German stage, and television actress.- TV :* 2000: Alphateam* 2001: Schulmädchen* 2003: St. Angela* 2005–2007: Verliebt in Berlin* 2008: Doctor's Diary...
. It premiered on February 28, 2005, on
Sat.1Sat.1 is a privately owned German television broadcasting station. Sat.1 was the first privately owned television broadcasting station and started one day before RTL Television....
in most of
German-speaking EuropeThe German language is spoken in a number of countries and territories in West and Central Europe...
, with its final episode broadcast on October 12, 2007. The series is an adaptation of the
ColombiaColombia , officially the Republic of Colombia , is a constitutional republic in northwestern South America. Colombia is bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the northwest by Panama; and to the west by the Pacific Ocean...
n telenovela
Yo soy Betty, la fea, written by
Fernando GaitánFernando Gaitán Salom is a Colombian TV series and telenovelas screenwriter as well as a producer.-Career highlights:Fernando Gaitán is known for weaving different histories into diverse social contexts...
and produced by
RCN TVRCN Televisión is a Colombian private television network. It started as a production company in 1967...
.
The original season of the
serialA television serial is a type of television program that may take one of the following forms:* A mini-series* A soap opera* A telenovela...
comedy-dramaComedy-drama, also called dramedy or seriocomedy, is a style of television, theatre and film in which there is an equal or nearly equal balance of humor and serious content.-Theatre:...
followed the life of the unsophisticated but good-natured Lisa Plenske (Neldel), and her incongruous job at the ultra-chic
BerlinBerlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. With a population of 3.4 million within its city limits, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city and the eighth most populous urban area in the European Union...
fashion houseFashion House is an American telenovela that aired at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT Monday through Saturday on MyNetworkTV stations. The series premiered on September 5, 2006 and concluded on December 5, 2006...
Kerima Moda; while the second season revolved around Lisa's ham-fisted but sly half-brother Bruno (Sander) and junior designer Hannah Refrath (Osswald). Lisa and Bruno's status as two "
fish out of waterFish out of water may refer to:* Fish Out of Water by Chris Squire* Fish Out of Water by Tears For Fears, album: Elemental * Fish Out of Water by One Minute Silence...
" drove much of the story plot.
ViB was adapted into a
BerlinBerlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. With a population of 3.4 million within its city limits, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city and the eighth most populous urban area in the European Union...
setting by creators Michael Esser, Peter Schlesselmann and their co-team and co-producers Markus Brunnemann and Rainer Wemcken, whose production company Phoenix Film Karlheinz Brunnemann GmbH & Co. Produktions KG partnered with Grundy UFA TV Produktions GmbH to create the half-hour-long program for the German-speaking audience.
Original season
Elisabeth “Lisa” Plenske (
Alexandra Neldel- Career :Neldel worked as a dental assistant before she was discovered by the boss of a Berlin casting agency during a polo competition. He helped her audition for daily soap opera Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten and Neldel, barely experienced in acting, immediately landed the role of Katja Wettstein...
), a kind, intelligent, but naive and not necessarily beautiful young woman, grows up in the (fictional) village Göberitz, near
BerlinBerlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. With a population of 3.4 million within its city limits, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city and the eighth most populous urban area in the European Union...
, with her parents Bernd (Volker Herold) and Helga (Ulrike Mai). Lisa moves to Berlin and tries to get a job at Kerima Moda, a fashion company. There, she bumps into the junior chairman David Seidel (
Mathis KünzlerMathis Künzler is a Swiss film, television and stage actor. He grew up in suburban Münchenstein, ten minutes from Basel and close to the borders of France and Germany....
) and falls in love with him. She starts off catering at Kerima Moda, but manages to get promoted to personal assistant of Seidel. She works with him, however he does not really notice her qualities (much less herself as a woman), because he is engaged to Mariella von Brahmberg (Bianca Hein) and is also involved with various other women.
During the course of the series, Lisa manages to save and finally own Kerima Moda, rescues her boss David from death and the wrath of his then-fiancée, watches the dissolve of his engagement to Mariella, protects the company from David's maleficent rival and stepbrother and Mariella's brother Richard von Brahmberg (Karim Köster) and his mother Sophie von Brahmberg (Gabrielle Scharnitzky), endures the antics of the secretary Sabrina (Nina-Friederike Gnädig), falls in love with and gets engaged to Robert "Rokko" Kowalski (Manuel Cortez), while bearing the quirks of the chief designer Hugo Haas (Hubertus Regout) and helping his assistant Hannah Refrath (
Laura OsswaldLaura Isabella Lolita Osswald is a German stage, and television actress.- TV :* 2000: Alphateam* 2001: Schulmädchen* 2003: St. Angela* 2005–2007: Verliebt in Berlin* 2008: Doctor's Diary...
), David's sister Kim (Lara-Isabelle Rentinck) and the runner boy Timo (Matthias Dietrich) with their love lives.
She is aided by her best friend Jürgen Decker (Oliver Bokern) and the cook Agnes Hetzer (Susanne Szell). In the end, she calls off the wedding to Rokko, marries David instead and sails with him on his boat to the Caribbean.
Second season
Season two centers around sympathetic conman Bruno Lehmann (
Tim Sander- TV :* 1998–2002: Gute Zeiten, Schlechte Zeiten* 2004: 18 – Allein unter Mädchen* 2005–2006: Unter den Linden – Das Haus Gravenhorst* 2006–2007: Verliebt in Berlin...
), who is Lisa's half-brother. Bruno is on the run and lands up in Berlin to see his (unassuming) father Bernd. There, he starts to save the lifework of his half-sister Lisa, and Bruno starts to realize that his charm won't get him anywhere and that sometimes you have to work for your achievements. Also, he starts to fall in love with the young (and married) designer Nora Lindberg (Julia Malik). Because of bad ratings, Sat1 replaced Julia Malik. So Bruno is now fallen in love with Kim who is the younger sister of David Seidel and married to the evil Paolo Amendola .
Since January 2007 Bruno Lehmann isn't the main character, who is in love with somebody, anymore. Instead it's the returned designer Hannah Refrath who is in love with him …
Production
The concept for the German adaptation of
Yo Soy Betty La Fea was the end result of a long consideration process. The original name of the telenovela was
Alles nur aus Liebe (Everything just out of love), but the for soap operas typical abbreviation would have been
ANAL, so the title was changed. Lisa also was called "Lily" in earlier versions.
Most
Verliebt in Berlin episodes are shot in two closed studios in
BerlinBerlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. With a population of 3.4 million within its city limits, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city and the eighth most populous urban area in the European Union...
-
AdlershofAdlershof is a district in the borough Treptow-Köpenick of Berlin, Germany. The area known today as the "City of Science, Technology and Media", was once known as the Johannisthal Air Field. Germany's first motorized aircraft took off from here at the beginning of the 20th century. Albatros,...
. While switching between a range of 24 different sets, the team generally films one episode (each 25 minutes) per day; in addition, outdoor shots in Berlin are booked twice a week. Supervised by creators Michael Esser, and Peter Schlesselmann, 15 writers daily draft a script for one episode. Nearly 120 crewmembers are involved in the shooting of a single episode.
Originally, 225 episodes would have been produced and aired within a year. However, since the telenovela was very successful, Sat.1 produced the series for another year. On September 1, 2006, a 90-minute TV movie was aired - hence being the final episode of the first season (with ratings of more than 7.6 million people watching — very much for the German market). Two versions of this movie exist: one, where Lisa marries David (the
canonical version which was chosen in the end) and the other, where she marries Rokko.
In June 2006, Grundy UFA and Sat.1 officially announced the renewal of a new season for another year. Till August 2007, 280 more episodes will be produced with Bruno Lehman as new protagonist. With the combination of renewal and change of protagonist, the series left the traditional set-up of a telenovela with a set run, and a closed story and moves towards the concept of a
soap operaA soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on television or radio. The name "soap opera" stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers such as Procter & Gamble,...
. The reason for this is possibly the huge success of the series: it managed to get similar high viewership like
Gute Zeiten, schlechte ZeitenGute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten is a German television soap opera.In 1990, the first commercial channel in the Netherlands, RTL 4 had a spectacular ratings success with its soap Goede Tijden, Slechte Tijden, a remake of the Australian soap-opera The Restless Years...
, the soap opera which had previously dominated viewership just before primetime. In January 2007 it was announced that Alexandra Neldel would reprise the role of Lisa Plenske Seidel during a four-week visit to
Verliebt in Berlin in April.
Merchandising
Additional information about the telenovela is available via a fan magazine (available in Germany, Switzerland and Austria), as well as a PC video game adventure. Also, DVD boxes are available (20 episodes each), including the specials. The 18th box set includes the last twenty episodes and the TV movie. On October 6, 2006 the alternate ending of the TV movie was released. The show also spawned a series of novels and a soundtrack CD containing music from the series, including the show's theme song by
NenaNena is a German singer and actress. She rose to international fame in 1984 with the New German Wave song "99 Luftballons", re-recorded in English as "99 Red Balloons". "Nena" was also the name of the band with whom she released the song...
, plus songs from
DidoDido Florian Cloud de Bounevialle O'Malley Armstrong professionally known as Dido is an English singer-songwriter who has sold over 28 million albums worldwide.-Biography:...
,
GlashausGlashaus is a German musical band, consisting of lead singer Cassandra Steen, songwriter and rapper Moses Pelham and producer Martin Haas. The trio is best known for their mixture of R&B, soul and pop music with lyrics in German language....
, Sarah Connor,
Norah JonesNorah Jones is an American singer-songwriter, pianist, keyboardist, guitarist, and actress of Anglo-American and Indian-Bengali descent. She is the daughter of sitarist Ravi Shankar and the half-sister of Anoushka Shankar...
,
Sarah McLachlanSarah Ann McLachlan, OC, OBC is a Canadian musician, singer and songwriter.She is known for her emotional ballads and mezzo-soprano vocal range. As of 2006, she has sold over 40 million albums worldwide. Her best-selling album to date is Surfacing, for which she won two Grammy Awards and eight...
,
Joss StoneJoss Stone is an English soul and R&B singer–songwriter and actress. Stone emerged to fame in late 2003 with her multi-platinum debut album, The Soul Sessions, which made the 2004 Mercury Prize shortlist...
, and others.
Miscellaneous
Since January 2006, the Hungarian TV station
TV2TV2 is a Hungarian commercial television channel operating since 1997, providing a large variety of programming. It is owned by ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG...
is airing a dubbed version of
ViB called
Lisa csak egy van (
There's only one Lisa). Also, the French TV station
TF1TF1 is a private French TV channel, controlled by TF1 Group, whose major share-holder is Bouygues. TF1's average market share of 25-35% makes it the most popular domestic network.TF1 is the largest European television channel by its audience...
, the Belgian RTL-TVI and the
Télévision Suisse RomandeTélévision Suisse Romande is a TV network with 2 channels: TSR 1 and TSR 2. They are the main French language channels in Switzerland, part of SRG SSR idée suisse...
air a dubbed version called
Le destin de Lisa (
The destiny of Lisa). In Slovakia, the series is aired with its original title
Verliebt in Berlin on
TV JOJ.
Awards
- 2005: Deutscher Fernsehpreis (German TV Award) for Best Daily Series
- 2006: Rose d'Or
The Rose d'Or is a television award. It has been given annually in spring since 1961 at the Festival Rose d'Or. Since 2004, the festival has been held in Lucerne, Switzerland...
- Best Soap
- Best Actress in a Soap — Alexandra Neldel
- Career :Neldel worked as a dental assistant before she was discovered by the boss of a Berlin casting agency during a polo competition. He helped her audition for daily soap opera Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten and Neldel, barely experienced in acting, immediately landed the role of Katja Wettstein...
Main actors
| Actor |
Role |
Episodes |
Year(s) |
| Alexandra Neldel - Career :Neldel worked as a dental assistant before she was discovered by the boss of a Berlin casting agency during a polo competition. He helped her audition for daily soap opera Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten and Neldel, barely experienced in acting, immediately landed the role of Katja Wettstein...
|
Elisabeth Maria "Lisa" Seidel, (born Plenske) |
1–feature film, 519–534 |
2005–2006, 2007 |
| Mathis Künzler Mathis Künzler is a Swiss film, television and stage actor. He grew up in suburban Münchenstein, ten minutes from Basel and close to the borders of France and Germany....
|
David Hieronymus Seidel |
1–feature film |
2005–2006 |
| Volker Herold |
Bernd Plenske |
1–645 |
2005–2007 |
| Ulrike Mai |
Helga Plenske |
1–645 |
2005–2007 |
| Wilhelm Manske |
Friedrich Seidel |
1–645 |
2005–2007 |
| Olivia Pascal Olivia Pascal is a German actress.-External links:}}*...
|
Laura Seidel |
1–645 |
2005–2007 |
| Hubertus Regout Hubertus Regout is an actor living and working in Germany. His father was Belgian, his mother is Austrian.-Biography:...
|
Hugo Haas |
1–645 |
2005–2007 |
| Gabrielle Scharnitzky |
Sophie von Brahmberg |
1–645 |
2005–2007 |
| Susanne Szell |
Agnes Hetzer |
1–234, 398–405 |
2005–2006 |
| Bianca Hein |
Mariella van der Lohe, (née von Brahmberg) |
1–254, feature film |
2005–2006 |
| Nina-Friederike Gnädig |
Sabrina Hofmann |
1–feature film |
2005–2006 |
| Stefanie Höner |
Inka Pietsch |
1–feature film |
2005–2006 |
| Karim Köster |
Richard von Brahmberg |
1–feature film |
2005–2006 |
| Alexander Sternberg |
Maximilian "Max" Petersen |
1–393 |
2005–2006 |
| Laura Osswald Laura Isabella Lolita Osswald is a German stage, and television actress.- TV :* 2000: Alphateam* 2001: Schulmädchen* 2003: St. Angela* 2005–2007: Verliebt in Berlin* 2008: Doctor's Diary...
|
Hannah Lehmann, (née Refrath) |
1–feature film, 449–645 |
2005–2006, 2007 |
| Matthias Dietrich |
Timo Pietsch |
2–384 |
2005–2006 |
| Oliver Bokern |
Jürgen Decker |
6–645 |
2005–2007 |
| Lara-Isabelle Rentinck |
Kimberly Frederike "Kim" Seidel |
7–645 |
2005–2007 |
| Bärbel Schleker |
Yvonne Petersen, (née Kuballa) |
8–393 |
2005–2006 |
| Manuel Cortez |
Robert Konrad "Rokko" Kowalski |
226–feature film |
2005–2006 |
| Tim Sander - TV :* 1998–2002: Gute Zeiten, Schlechte Zeiten* 2004: 18 – Allein unter Mädchen* 2005–2006: Unter den Linden – Das Haus Gravenhorst* 2006–2007: Verliebt in Berlin...
|
Bruno Lehmann |
365–645 |
2006–2007 |
| Julia Malik |
Nora Lindbergh, (née Amendola) |
365–448 |
2006–2007 |
| Alexandra Seefisch |
Doreen Vogel |
372–645 |
2006–2007 |
| Thorsten Feller |
Paolo Amendola † |
376–645 |
2006–2007 |
| Matthias Gall |
Sven Lindbergh |
394–645 |
2006–2007 |
| Anja Thiemann |
Theresa Maria Funke |
402–645 |
2006–2007 |
| Susanne Szell |
Lotte Hetzer |
404–645 |
2006–2007 |
| Daniel Roesner |
Luis Rothenburg |
419–645 |
2006–2007 |
| Yvonne Hornack |
Peggy Refrath |
515–645 |
2007 |
| Björn Harras |
Tobias Refrath |
540–645 |
2007 |
| Dirk Schoedon |
René Refrath |
562–645 |
2007 |
| Igor Jeftic |
Jan Rothenburg |
584–638 |
2007 |
Minor actors
| Actor |
Role |
Episodes |
Year(s) |
| Lilli Anders |
Ariane Sommerstädt |
4–645 |
2005–2007 |
| Claudia Weiske |
Gabriele Kamps |
32–645 |
2005–2007 |
| Susanne Berckhemer |
Britta Haas, (née Paul) † |
24–267 |
2005–2006 |
| Clayton Nemrow |
Lars van der Lohe |
52–254 |
2005–2006 |
| Gabriele Metzger |
Traudl Decker |
55–534 |
2005–2007 |
| Jean-Marc Birkholz |
Marc Trojan |
72–645 |
2006–2007 |
| Roman Rossa |
Viktor Karski |
76–150 |
2006 |
| Shai Hoffmann |
Alexander "Alex" Greifenhagen |
133–319 |
2006 |
| Matthias Rott |
Boris Wudtke |
148–233 |
2006 |
| Axel Röhrle |
Olaf Kern |
301–329 |
2006 |
| Ina Rudolph |
Katarina Dorn |
307–329 |
2006 |
| Nora Düding |
Angelina Martens |
338–405 |
2006 |
| Dieter Bach |
Johannes Fuchs |
339–522 |
2006–2007 |
| Peter Raffalt |
Martin König |
386–406 |
2006 |
| Katharina Koschny |
Doris Lehmann |
373–645 |
2006–2007 |
| Axel Scholtz |
Meister Pöhnke |
490–636 |
2006–2007 |
| Kristina van Eyck |
Tante Carlotta Amendola |
412–424, 640–645 |
2006, 2007 |
| Roberto Guerra |
Roberto Donatelli † |
478–535 |
2007 |
| Maike Jüttendonk |
Judith Haake |
498–645 |
2007 |
| David C. Bunners |
Maurice Maria Ming |
529–582 |
2007 |
| Mirjam Heimann |
Susanne "Susi" Breuer |
556–645 |
2007 |
| Roberto Guerra |
Giorgio Donatelli |
626–645 |
2007 |
| Claudio Maniscalco |
Luigi |
640–643 |
2007 |
External links