Stromberg (TV series)
Encyclopedia
Stromberg (ˈʃtʁɔmbɛʁk) is a German television series which is produced by Brainpool
and broadcast on the commercial television
channel ProSieben. The series was proclaimed as a copy of the BBC
series The Office, although initially the producers claimed it was based on a character from a past ProSieben comedy, in spite of many elements resembling the The Office. An "inspired by" credit was given to the creators of The Office, Ricky Gervais
and Stephen Merchant
, after the BBC threatened ProSieben with legal action. The first season, which appeared in 2004, was made up of eight episodes. A second season of ten episodes, although not initially planned, was launched on September 11, 2005. A third season of eight episodes was launched on March 5, 2007. A fourth season was launched on November 3, 2009, with the entire season being available on DVD on November 6. All four seasons can be watched online for free, courtesy of Brainpool. A fifth season started filming in early 2011.
The series stars Christoph Maria Herbst
as Bernd Stromberg and is written mainly by Ralf Husmann. It has become one of the most popular comedy shows in German-speaking countries and was honored with many awards such as the Deutscher Fernsehpreis
.
The show takes place at the office of the fictional insurance company “Capitol Versicherung AG
”, (Capitol Insurance PLC) where the trivial day-to-day events take place in an eerie atmosphere oscillating between bullying and sycophancy.
In 2007, the success of the show spawned the mock “Chef - Deutsch / Deutsch - Chef. Klartext am Arbeitsplatz” (Boss-German/German-Boss: Straight Talk at Work). It was published under the advertising pseudonym of “Bernd Stromberg“ by German dictionary publishing company Langenscheidt
shortly before the third season. The book is a bestseller
in Germany and topped the non-fiction
charts of Der Spiegel
.
In 2011 a 5th season of Stromberg will be produced and shall be broadcasted on the German TV channel Pro7 in the same year.
Brainpool (company)
Brainpool TV GmbH is a German television production company located in Cologne. In 2001 it had become a subsidiary of VIVA Medien AG, until a Management-Buy-outs in January 2007.-Productions:*Die Harald Schmidt Show...
and broadcast on the commercial television
Commercial broadcasting
Commercial broadcasting is the broadcasting of television programs and radio programming by privately owned corporate media, as opposed to state sponsorship...
channel ProSieben. The series was proclaimed as a copy of the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
series The Office, although initially the producers claimed it was based on a character from a past ProSieben comedy, in spite of many elements resembling the The Office. An "inspired by" credit was given to the creators of The Office, Ricky Gervais
Ricky Gervais
Ricky Dene Gervais is an English comedian, actor, director, radio presenter, producer, musician, and writer.Gervais achieved mainstream fame with his television series The Office and the subsequent series Extras, both of which he co-wrote and co-directed with friend and frequent collaborator...
and Stephen Merchant
Stephen Merchant
Stephen James Merchant is an English writer, director, radio presenter, comedian, and actor. He is best known for his collaborations with Ricky Gervais, as the co-writer and co-director of the popular British sitcom The Office, as the co-writer, co-director and a co-star of Extras, and as the...
, after the BBC threatened ProSieben with legal action. The first season, which appeared in 2004, was made up of eight episodes. A second season of ten episodes, although not initially planned, was launched on September 11, 2005. A third season of eight episodes was launched on March 5, 2007. A fourth season was launched on November 3, 2009, with the entire season being available on DVD on November 6. All four seasons can be watched online for free, courtesy of Brainpool. A fifth season started filming in early 2011.
The series stars Christoph Maria Herbst
Christoph Maria Herbst
Christoph Maria Herbst is a German actor and comedian.-Life and theatre career:After passing the Abitur, Herbst became a banker apprentice and was active at the free theatre scene in Wuppertal at the same time. In 1986, he was a founding member of the private Theater in Cronenberg and its acting...
as Bernd Stromberg and is written mainly by Ralf Husmann. It has become one of the most popular comedy shows in German-speaking countries and was honored with many awards such as the Deutscher Fernsehpreis
Deutscher Fernsehpreis
The Deutscher Fernsehpreis is a German award for television programming, created in 1999 by German television channels Das Erste, ZDF, RTL and Sat.1. It was created as a equivalent to the Emmy Awards though it is not organized by an academy and is awarded annually in September or October...
.
The show takes place at the office of the fictional insurance company “Capitol Versicherung AG
Aktiengesellschaft
Aktiengesellschaft is a German term that refers to a corporation that is limited by shares, i.e. owned by shareholders, and may be traded on a stock market. The term is used in Germany, Austria and Switzerland...
”, (Capitol Insurance PLC) where the trivial day-to-day events take place in an eerie atmosphere oscillating between bullying and sycophancy.
In 2007, the success of the show spawned the mock “Chef - Deutsch / Deutsch - Chef. Klartext am Arbeitsplatz” (Boss-German/German-Boss: Straight Talk at Work). It was published under the advertising pseudonym of “Bernd Stromberg“ by German dictionary publishing company Langenscheidt
Langenscheidt
Langenscheidt is a privately held German publishing company, specialising in language resource literature. As well as producing monolingual dictionaries, Langenscheidt also produces bilingual dictionaries and travel phrase-books, as well as maps and atlases....
shortly before the third season. The book is a bestseller
Bestseller
A bestseller is a book that is identified as extremely popular by its inclusion on lists of currently top selling titles that are based on publishing industry and book trade figures and published by newspapers, magazines, or bookstore chains. Some lists are broken down into classifications and...
in Germany and topped the non-fiction
Non-fiction
Non-fiction is the form of any narrative, account, or other communicative work whose assertions and descriptions are understood to be fact...
charts of Der Spiegel
Der Spiegel
Der Spiegel is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. It is one of Europe's largest publications of its kind, with a weekly circulation of more than one million.-Overview:...
.
In 2011 a 5th season of Stromberg will be produced and shall be broadcasted on the German TV channel Pro7 in the same year.
Cast
- Christoph Maria HerbstChristoph Maria HerbstChristoph Maria Herbst is a German actor and comedian.-Life and theatre career:After passing the Abitur, Herbst became a banker apprentice and was active at the free theatre scene in Wuppertal at the same time. In 1986, he was a founding member of the private Theater in Cronenberg and its acting...
as Bernd Stromberg - Bjarne Mädel as Berthold "Ernie" Heisterkamp
- Oliver Wnuk as Ulf Steinke
- Diana Staehly as Tanja Seifert
- Martina Eitner-Acheampong as Erika Burstedt
- Lars Gärtner as Timo Becker
- Tatjana Alexander as Tatjana Berkel
- Sinan AkkusSinan AkkuşSinan Akkuş is a Turkish-German actor, director, film producer and writer.-Filmography:-Television:-Director:-External links:...
as Sinan Turculu - Maja Beckmann as Sabine "Sabbel" Buhrer
- Simon Licht as Hans-Jürgen Wehmeyer
- Peter Rütten as Mr. Pötsch
- Milena Dreißig as Jennifer Schirrmann
- Laurens Walter as Lars Lehnhoff
- Angelika Richter as Nicole Rückert
- Walter Gontermann as Dr. Heinemann
- Frank Montenbruck as Frank Montenbruck
- Joe Henselewski as Josef Müller
- Rita Winkelmann as Rita Klüver
- Prashant Prabhakar as Prashant Kumabandhu
- Stefan Lampadius as Steffen Lambert
- Nadja Becker as Maja Decker
- Dorothea Förtsch as Dorothea Förtsch
- Andreas Hermann as Andreas Hermann
- Suzanna Landsfried as Mrs. Landsfried
- Ralf HusmannRalf HusmannRalf Husmann is a German TV producer, screenwriter and author. He is the creator of Stromberg, the German adaption of The Office.-Life and work:...
as Hans Schmelzer