Verbotene Liebe
Encyclopedia
Verbotene Liebe often abbreviated to VL, is a Rose d'Or Award
-winning German television soap opera
. The show was created by Reg Watson
and first broadcast on Das Erste
on 2 January 1995. Verbotene Liebe is an adaption of Australian soap opera Sons and Daughters
, initially based on that serial's original story and character outlines, before diverging as the new series progressed. It is about the lives and loves of both young and older characters in Düsseldorf
and the Spanish island Mallorca
. In the beginning, Cologne
also played a big role in the show's story. Currently the focus is on the aristocratic Lahnstein family and the middle-class Brandner family. Veteran actors Gabriele Metzger as Charlie Schneider
and Konrad Krauss
as Arno Brandner
are the only remaining original cast members. Isa Jank
rejoined the show as Clarissa von Anstetten
in 2011 after ten years of abstinence. There is generally a turnover of younger cast members in their twenty/thirty-somethings. The show is also well known for its LGBT
characters, presenting bisexuality
and homosexuality
as equal to the heterosexual relationships in the show. It has become popular with gay and lesbian audiences in Europe and in the United States .
The series tackles controversial issues such as drug addiction, murder
, rape
, suicide
, adultery
, homophobia
, incest
, alcoholism
, drug abuse
, HIV
, schizophrenia
, miscarriage
, kidnapping
and sexual confusion. The majority of the footage is taped in the studios of the Magic Media Company in Cologne-Ossendorf. Episodes regularly feature footage shot on location in and around Cologne and Düsseldorf. There are 23 fixed sets and 7 interchangeable sets on a floor span of 1270 square metres. The viewers of this soap are varied, ranging from small children to senior citizens. The soap celebrated its 15th anniversary in January 2010.
started Verbotene Liebe in January 1995 after months of planning. The project was initially planned for RTL
. But they didn't trust whether the concept about a love story between brother and sister would have success. Das Erste took on the project and told the memorable love story about Jan Brandner
and Julia von Anstetten
. Two strangers, who get to know each other out of fascination for the other, without knowing that they were twins separated by their parents. The affecting story about the two siblings was told in the first 600 episodes and is remembered as of today as the identification with the series title. Next to Jan and Julia and their love story, it were the complex schemes that made the show popular. Clarissa von Anstetten
became popular as Jan and Julia's scheming mother, while Tanja von Anstetten
soon had risen to fame for being a murderous vixen. This classic formula brought Verbotene Liebe attention by the press and gave them a large fanbase, which resulted in three million viewers tuning in on a daily basis.
The series was undergoing a major change with the announcement that actress Valerie Niehaus had decided to leave the show after more than two years in her role as Julia. The writers refocused on Clarissa and tried to put the attention on her with the arrival of her family - the Prozeskis, a new middle-class family, which was used as the new counterpart to the wealthy Anstetten family, after much of the first generation of the Brandner family left the show. But the Brandners appeared to be too popular and the fans didn't seem interested in Clarissa's origin and how she made her way to become a countess. Clarissa's mother Erna and her brother Walter were written out in a car accident as an result, while Andreas Brucker decided to leave his role as Jan as well. Caught in a unsuccessful love story with Kerstin Richter, the writers decided to write Jan off with her anyway, which resulted in the legend by fans that Jan and Julia soon reunited off-screen.
Even without her family, the focus stayed on Clarissa and was put to her war against Christoph and Barbara von Anstetten. But eventually the writers once again tried to use Clarissa's past for a story line. Peter Kaufmann appeared as Clarissa's former husband, which made no sense to the timeline the writers told with the character for years. The viewers knew that Clarissa was very young when she met Arno Brandner
and gave birth to her twins, before then meeting Christoph and eventually marrying him. So a marriage before she even met Arno seemed unreal and basically out of order. The writers also very well used Clarissa's hate for Tanja to tell a good rivalry, which ended after Tanja killed off two main characters and actress Miriam Lahnstein
decided to leave the show. The end of the 90s included the return of Henning von Anstetten
, many partly popular love stories with the young characters, the gay story between Ulli Prozeski and Tom Seifert, the exit of Barbara and the introduction of Elisabeth Ryan
, who became an important part of the show in the next decade.
-story for a young gay man, Ulli, who'd formerly led a straight life. After actor Andreas Stenschke
left the show in late 2000, Seifert's character Tom hooked up with Oliver Sabel
, then new to the show and played by Jo Weil
. Six months later in 2001, Ulli suddenly came back for a two week arc that created tensions between Tom and Oliver, who was very jealous to have Tom's old boyfriend around. This was borne out when he caught Tom and Ulli in a reunion fling, which, sadly for Ulli, didn't take hold. In the end, Tom and Ulli were finally reunited in the show's 10th anniversary in 2005 with a guest appearance. The story between Tom and Ulli can be watched as of today in several clips online.
The series had to suffer in 2001 with the announcement that Isa Jank
will leave her iconic role as Clarissa. Her exit was written in with the short comeback of Miriam Lahnstein's Tanja. Jank's exit was created by a disagreement with the producers of the show. After she left it was rumored several times that Clarissa and her portrayer would return. Isa Jank debarred the possibility in 2008.
The brother-sister-storyline had changed and returned with the love story of Henning von Anstetten
and Marie von Beyenbach in 2001 and later with Sarah Hofmann
and Leonard von Lahnstein
in 2006. While it's been clear from the beginning that Henning and Marie weren't related and it was all just a scheme by Tanja, Leonard and Sarah were supposedly half-siblings, sharing the same father. In the end their relation to each other ended on Leonard's wedding day with Jana Brandner
, where Adrian Degenhardt
admitted that he and not Johannes von Lahnstein
is Leonard's father. Both attempts to fascinate viewers again failed. The writers used a different outcome in fall 2009 with the introduction of the twins, Helena
and Tristan von Lahnstein
. This time the forbidden love is used as a sickened illness of Tristan, where he admits to be in love with his sister and even schemed against Helena's boyfriend, Andi Fritzsche
, by having him charged with rape.
In 2008 the show received international attention with the love story of the gay couple Christian Mann
and Oliver Sabel
. They featured a story on the British magazine 'reFRESH' and another article was featured in the September 23 issue of Soap Opera Weekly
. The show has since developed a large following elsewhere in Europe and beyond. The relationship between Oliver and Christian develops with different stories over two years to the couple's engagement and wedding.
The show has also attracted international popularity with the lesbian character Carla von Lahnstein
and her relationship with Stella Mann as a lesbian couple. They are featured on the gay media interest website Afterellen.com and the relationship is chronicled in detail in gay media interest blogs. Before Carla's relationship with Stella, the character was involved in two other popular love stories with Hanna Novak and Susanne Brandner.
in May 2011. Instead of running a new show, the episodes of Verbotene Liebe get extended to 45 minutes per episode. Program director Volker Herres announced that this will give the show another look and changed dramatics. Fans received the news with mixed feelings; fearing that it could lead the show to a story telling much like in long-running German telenovela
s. It was made official a little while later that one plotline will be playing on the Spanish island Mallorca
. The fans were in for another big surprise when the network announced on March 28, 2011 that Isa Jank returns to her iconic role as Clarissa, as well as Clarissa's children Jan and Julia; recast with actors Hubertus Grimm and Nina Bott
. The executives behind the show said that with that move they want to return to the origin of the show. It was also announced that the first 45 minutes episode will be Episode 3865, which aired on June 21, 2011.
VL aired weekdays at 5.55 PM on Das Erste
from 1995 to December 2007. In the 1990s the show aired in the morning with repeats of old episodes. Then in December 2006 the new Pay-TV Network Passion broadcasted the first episodes from 1995. Since 7 January 2008 the new episodes of Verbotene Liebe are aired at 6 p.m. on Das Erste
. The network changed the airtime, because of the RTL
-Soap Unter uns
.
On June 22, 2011, mdr
started showing repeats of Verbotene Liebe from the previous day.
and had 16 percent market share in the target group (viewers: 14-49). In the end of 2007, the show was still around 2.5 million viewers. That changed in 2008, when the show's ratings dropped dramatically and lost nearly one million viewers in only one year. On 15 December 2008, only 1.57 million watched the soap opera. The rating problem, according to the fans, is because of several cast changes over the year, uninteresting new characters and bad story lines. The production responded; characters left or were put in a different direction. In 2009, Verbotene Liebe wanted to restore the "elegant" feel of its former storylines, and introduced two new characters, a princess and a mysterious woman with connections to the Lahnstein family. With the anniversary of the 3333rd episode, the ratings rose upwards again. 2.18 million viewers saw the special episode, which featured a masked ball.
But show was still troubled and feared cancellation in early 2010, when Das Erste announced to work on their evening program. The ratings dropped in 2010 to around 1.70 million viewers again. The show tried various changes, first premiered in January 2011. A voice over to every episode by a character was added, as well as getting rid of the third storyline in an episode. This didn't receive well in ratings at all, but it was still lead-out Marienhof
that got canceled in December 2010. Verbotene Liebe got extended to an hour and was saved from cancellation. The show added other major changes with the return of Isa Jank and letting play one storyline in Spain; beginning in June 2011.
Rose d'Or
The Rose d’Or is one of the most important international festivals in entertainment television. It was founded in Montreux in 1961 and has taken place in Lucerne since 2004. Producers, executives from independent and public service broadcasters and heads of production companies from over 40...
-winning German television soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
. The show was created by Reg Watson
Reg Watson
Reginald James "Reg" Watson AM is an Australian television producer, best known for creating soap operas like Prisoner and Neighbours.-Career:...
and first broadcast on Das Erste
Das Erste
Erstes Deutsches Fernsehen , marketed as Das Erste , is the principal publicly owned television channel in Germany...
on 2 January 1995. Verbotene Liebe is an adaption of Australian soap opera Sons and Daughters
Sons and Daughters (Australian TV series)
Sons and Daughters was a Logie Award winning Australian soap opera created by Reg Watson and produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation between 1981 and 1987. The first episode aired in December 1981, during the Christmas/New Year non-ratings period, and the official broadcast date of the final...
, initially based on that serial's original story and character outlines, before diverging as the new series progressed. It is about the lives and loves of both young and older characters in Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
and the Spanish island Mallorca
Mallorca
Majorca or Mallorca is an island located in the Mediterranean Sea, one of the Balearic Islands.The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Cabrera Archipelago is administratively grouped with Majorca...
. In the beginning, Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
also played a big role in the show's story. Currently the focus is on the aristocratic Lahnstein family and the middle-class Brandner family. Veteran actors Gabriele Metzger as Charlie Schneider
Charlie Schneider
Charlotte 'Charlie' 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...
and Konrad Krauss
Konrad Krauss
Konrad Krauss is a German actor and well known for his role as family patriarch Arno Brandner on the soap opera Verbotene Liebe ....
as Arno Brandner
Arno Brandner
Arno Brandner is a fictional character on German soap opera Verbotene Liebe . The character is portrayed since the show's debut on January 2, 1995 by actor Konrad Krauss.-Background:...
are the only remaining original cast members. Isa Jank
Isa Jank
Isa Andersen is a German actress who started her career in Hollywood in the middle of the 1980s. She played at James Belushi's side in "Real Men" and other roles in Nightangel, "Cheers" and Airwolf....
rejoined the show as Clarissa von Anstetten
Clarissa von Anstetten
Clarissa von Anstetten is a fictional character on German soap opera Verbotene Liebe . The character was played by actress Isa Jank from the show's debut on January 2, 1995 to September 5, 2001. Jank left the show after a disagreement with the producers...
in 2011 after ten years of abstinence. There is generally a turnover of younger cast members in their twenty/thirty-somethings. The show is also well known for its LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
characters, presenting bisexuality
Bisexuality
Bisexuality is sexual behavior or an orientation involving physical or romantic attraction to both males and females, especially with regard to men and women. It is one of the three main classifications of sexual orientation, along with a heterosexual and a homosexual orientation, all a part of the...
and homosexuality
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
as equal to the heterosexual relationships in the show. It has become popular with gay and lesbian audiences in Europe and in the United States .
The series tackles controversial issues such as drug addiction, murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
, rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
, suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
, adultery
Adultery
Adultery is sexual infidelity to one's spouse, and is a form of extramarital sex. It originally referred only to sex between a woman who was married and a person other than her spouse. Even in cases of separation from one's spouse, an extramarital affair is still considered adultery.Adultery is...
, homophobia
Homophobia
Homophobia is a term used to refer to a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards lesbian, gay and in some cases bisexual, transgender people and behavior, although these are usually covered under other terms such as biphobia and transphobia. Definitions refer to irrational fear, with the...
, incest
Incest
Incest is sexual intercourse between close relatives that is usually illegal in the jurisdiction where it takes place and/or is conventionally considered a taboo. The term may apply to sexual activities between: individuals of close "blood relationship"; members of the same household; step...
, alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
, drug abuse
Drug abuse
Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, refers to a maladaptive pattern of use of a substance that is not considered dependent. The term "drug abuse" does not exclude dependency, but is otherwise used in a similar manner in nonmedical contexts...
, HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
, schizophrenia
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by a disintegration of thought processes and of emotional responsiveness. It most commonly manifests itself as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking, and it is accompanied by significant social...
, miscarriage
Miscarriage
Miscarriage or spontaneous abortion is the spontaneous end of a pregnancy at a stage where the embryo or fetus is incapable of surviving independently, generally defined in humans at prior to 20 weeks of gestation...
, kidnapping
Kidnapping
In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...
and sexual confusion. The majority of the footage is taped in the studios of the Magic Media Company in Cologne-Ossendorf. Episodes regularly feature footage shot on location in and around Cologne and Düsseldorf. There are 23 fixed sets and 7 interchangeable sets on a floor span of 1270 square metres. The viewers of this soap are varied, ranging from small children to senior citizens. The soap celebrated its 15th anniversary in January 2010.
The Origin
Das ErsteDas Erste
Erstes Deutsches Fernsehen , marketed as Das Erste , is the principal publicly owned television channel in Germany...
started Verbotene Liebe in January 1995 after months of planning. The project was initially planned for RTL
RTL Television
Rtl.de' redirects here. For other uses, see RTL.RTL Television , or simply RTL, is a German commercial television station distributed via cable and satellite along with DVB-T , in larger population centres...
. But they didn't trust whether the concept about a love story between brother and sister would have success. Das Erste took on the project and told the memorable love story about Jan Brandner
Jan Brandner
Jan Brandner is a fictional character on German soap opera Verbotene Liebe . The character was played from the show's debut on January 2, 1995 to August 27, 1997 by actor Andreas Brucker. In March 2011, the role was surprisingly recast with actor Hubertus Grimm; reinstating the Brandner family and...
and Julia von Anstetten
Julia von Anstetten
Julia Mendes is a fictional character from the German soap opera Verbotene Liebe , played by Valerie Niehaus. She is introduced in the series' premiere on January 2, 1995. She departed from the series in July 1997, when Niehaus decided to pursue other roles...
. Two strangers, who get to know each other out of fascination for the other, without knowing that they were twins separated by their parents. The affecting story about the two siblings was told in the first 600 episodes and is remembered as of today as the identification with the series title. Next to Jan and Julia and their love story, it were the complex schemes that made the show popular. Clarissa von Anstetten
Clarissa von Anstetten
Clarissa von Anstetten is a fictional character on German soap opera Verbotene Liebe . The character was played by actress Isa Jank from the show's debut on January 2, 1995 to September 5, 2001. Jank left the show after a disagreement with the producers...
became popular as Jan and Julia's scheming mother, while Tanja von Anstetten
Tanja von Anstetten
Tanja von Lahnstein is a fictional character from the German soap opera Verbotene Liebe , played by actress Miriam Lahnstein. She made her first appearance on-screen on 21 June 1995 and left after three years in May 1998. Lahnstein returned to the role in 2001, where she was seen from 24 April to...
soon had risen to fame for being a murderous vixen. This classic formula brought Verbotene Liebe attention by the press and gave them a large fanbase, which resulted in three million viewers tuning in on a daily basis.
The series was undergoing a major change with the announcement that actress Valerie Niehaus had decided to leave the show after more than two years in her role as Julia. The writers refocused on Clarissa and tried to put the attention on her with the arrival of her family - the Prozeskis, a new middle-class family, which was used as the new counterpart to the wealthy Anstetten family, after much of the first generation of the Brandner family left the show. But the Brandners appeared to be too popular and the fans didn't seem interested in Clarissa's origin and how she made her way to become a countess. Clarissa's mother Erna and her brother Walter were written out in a car accident as an result, while Andreas Brucker decided to leave his role as Jan as well. Caught in a unsuccessful love story with Kerstin Richter, the writers decided to write Jan off with her anyway, which resulted in the legend by fans that Jan and Julia soon reunited off-screen.
Even without her family, the focus stayed on Clarissa and was put to her war against Christoph and Barbara von Anstetten. But eventually the writers once again tried to use Clarissa's past for a story line. Peter Kaufmann appeared as Clarissa's former husband, which made no sense to the timeline the writers told with the character for years. The viewers knew that Clarissa was very young when she met Arno Brandner
Arno Brandner
Arno Brandner is a fictional character on German soap opera Verbotene Liebe . The character is portrayed since the show's debut on January 2, 1995 by actor Konrad Krauss.-Background:...
and gave birth to her twins, before then meeting Christoph and eventually marrying him. So a marriage before she even met Arno seemed unreal and basically out of order. The writers also very well used Clarissa's hate for Tanja to tell a good rivalry, which ended after Tanja killed off two main characters and actress Miriam Lahnstein
Miriam Lahnstein
Miriam Lahnstein is a German actress.In 1995, Miriam came to the "Das Erste-Soap "Verbotene Liebe". She played the villain Tanja von Anstetten from 1995 until 1998...
decided to leave the show. The end of the 90s included the return of Henning von Anstetten
Henning von Anstetten
Henning Christoph August von Anstetten is a fictional character from German soap opera Verbotene Liebe . The character was first played by the late Markus Hoffmann from the series premiere on January 2, 1995 to February 1996. Two years later, actor Hendirk Martz took over the role and played...
, many partly popular love stories with the young characters, the gay story between Ulli Prozeski and Tom Seifert, the exit of Barbara and the introduction of Elisabeth Ryan
Elisabeth von Lahnstein
Elisabeth von Lahnstein is a fictional character from the German soap opera Verbotene Liebe, portrayed by actress Martina Servatius...
, who became an important part of the show in the next decade.
Gay stories & major changes
The new century began with the popularity of gay storylines. In 1999 the love story of Ulli and Tom began and applied groundbreaking as a coming outComing out
Coming out is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity....
-story for a young gay man, Ulli, who'd formerly led a straight life. After actor Andreas Stenschke
Andreas Stenschke
Andreas Stenschke, is a German actor and director originally brought to prominence in the groundbreaking story of teenager Ulli Prozeski coming to terms with being gay on the popular daily serial, Verbotene Liebe, seen nationally on the ARD network.-Biography:Stenschke was born in Cologne, Germany...
left the show in late 2000, Seifert's character Tom hooked up with Oliver Sabel
Oliver Sabel
Oliver Sabel is a popular fictional character in the German soap opera Verbotene Liebe . The character is portrayed by actor Jo Weil from December 31, 1999 to September 3, 2002 and again since November 2, 2007....
, then new to the show and played by Jo Weil
Jo Weil
Johannes "Jo" Hermann Bruno Anton Weil is a German actor. He is best known for his role of Oliver Sabel in Verbotene Liebe, on the German soap-opera channel, Das Erste...
. Six months later in 2001, Ulli suddenly came back for a two week arc that created tensions between Tom and Oliver, who was very jealous to have Tom's old boyfriend around. This was borne out when he caught Tom and Ulli in a reunion fling, which, sadly for Ulli, didn't take hold. In the end, Tom and Ulli were finally reunited in the show's 10th anniversary in 2005 with a guest appearance. The story between Tom and Ulli can be watched as of today in several clips online.
The series had to suffer in 2001 with the announcement that Isa Jank
Isa Jank
Isa Andersen is a German actress who started her career in Hollywood in the middle of the 1980s. She played at James Belushi's side in "Real Men" and other roles in Nightangel, "Cheers" and Airwolf....
will leave her iconic role as Clarissa. Her exit was written in with the short comeback of Miriam Lahnstein's Tanja. Jank's exit was created by a disagreement with the producers of the show. After she left it was rumored several times that Clarissa and her portrayer would return. Isa Jank debarred the possibility in 2008.
The brother-sister-storyline had changed and returned with the love story of Henning von Anstetten
Henning von Anstetten
Henning Christoph August von Anstetten is a fictional character from German soap opera Verbotene Liebe . The character was first played by the late Markus Hoffmann from the series premiere on January 2, 1995 to February 1996. Two years later, actor Hendirk Martz took over the role and played...
and Marie von Beyenbach in 2001 and later with Sarah Hofmann
Sarah Hofmann
Sarah von Lahnstein is a fictional character on German soap opera Verbotene Liebe . The character was portrayed by actress Sina-Valeska Jung from July 11, 2006 to May 5, 2009....
and Leonard von Lahnstein
Leonard von Lahnstein
Dr. Leonard Antonio Sebastian von Lahnstein is a fictional character on the German soap opera Verbotene Liebe portrayed by actor Lars Korten from March 11, 2004 to September 10, 2009.-Storylines:...
in 2006. While it's been clear from the beginning that Henning and Marie weren't related and it was all just a scheme by Tanja, Leonard and Sarah were supposedly half-siblings, sharing the same father. In the end their relation to each other ended on Leonard's wedding day with Jana Brandner
Jana von Lahnstein
Jana von Lahnstein is a fictional character on German soap opera Verbotene Liebe . The character was played by actress Friederike Sipp from October 1, 2002 to March 21, 2005...
, where Adrian Degenhardt
Adrian Degenhardt
Adrian Degenhardt is a fictional character on German soap opera Verbotene Liebe . The character is portrayed by actor Klaus Zmorek from January 25, 2007 to March 5, 2009, when the character was written out with the chance of a return....
admitted that he and not Johannes von Lahnstein
Johannes von Lahnstein
Johannes von Lahnstein is a fictional character on the German soap opera Verbotene Liebe . The character was portrayed by actor Thomas Gumpert from September 23, 2003 to January 9, 2008.-Storylines:...
is Leonard's father. Both attempts to fascinate viewers again failed. The writers used a different outcome in fall 2009 with the introduction of the twins, Helena
Helena von Lahnstein
Dr. Helena von Lahnstein is a fictional character of the German soap opera Verbotene Liebe . The character is played by Renée Weibel since October 5, 2009.-Introduction:...
and Tristan von Lahnstein
Tristan von Lahnstein
Tristan von Lahnstein is a fictional character of the German soap opera Verbotene Liebe . The character is played by actor Jens Hartwig since October 23, 2009.-Personality:...
. This time the forbidden love is used as a sickened illness of Tristan, where he admits to be in love with his sister and even schemed against Helena's boyfriend, Andi Fritzsche
Andi Fritzsche
Andreas "Andi" Fritzsche is a fictional character of the German soap opera Verbotene Liebe . The character is played by actor Dominic Saleh-Zaki from October 4, 2001 to November 8, 2007. In July 2009 it was announced that Saleh-Zaki would reprise his role. Before reappearing on-screen, the...
, by having him charged with rape.
In 2008 the show received international attention with the love story of the gay couple Christian Mann
Christian Mann
Christian Mann is a popular fictional character on German soap opera Verbotene Liebe portrayed by actor Thore Schölermann since November 27, 2006.-Storylines:...
and Oliver Sabel
Oliver Sabel
Oliver Sabel is a popular fictional character in the German soap opera Verbotene Liebe . The character is portrayed by actor Jo Weil from December 31, 1999 to September 3, 2002 and again since November 2, 2007....
. They featured a story on the British magazine 'reFRESH' and another article was featured in the September 23 issue of Soap Opera Weekly
Soap Opera Weekly
Soap Opera Weekly is a weekly magazine covering American daytime soap operas. It features onscreen and offscreen news about the series, interviews with and articles about performers, storyline summaries and analysis, and related promotional information...
. The show has since developed a large following elsewhere in Europe and beyond. The relationship between Oliver and Christian develops with different stories over two years to the couple's engagement and wedding.
The show has also attracted international popularity with the lesbian character Carla von Lahnstein
Carla von Lahnstein
Carla Sophia von Lahnstein is a fictional character from the German soap opera Verbotene Liebe , portrayed by actress Claudia Hiersche. She made her first appearance on screen on September 19, 2003 and left the show on November 10, 2009. Hiersche then returned for a guest stint on January 29, 2010...
and her relationship with Stella Mann as a lesbian couple. They are featured on the gay media interest website Afterellen.com and the relationship is chronicled in detail in gay media interest blogs. Before Carla's relationship with Stella, the character was involved in two other popular love stories with Hanna Novak and Susanne Brandner.
Extended episodes & Clarissa's return
On December 16, 2010, Das Erste announced the cancellation of Verbotene Liebes lead-out MarienhofMarienhof
Marienhof may refer to:* Marienhof , a village in Spillern, Austria* Marienhof , a village in Alland, Austria* Marienhof , a village in Nikitsch, Austria* Marienkhof, an air base in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia...
in May 2011. Instead of running a new show, the episodes of Verbotene Liebe get extended to 45 minutes per episode. Program director Volker Herres announced that this will give the show another look and changed dramatics. Fans received the news with mixed feelings; fearing that it could lead the show to a story telling much like in long-running German telenovela
Telenovela
A telenovela is a limited-run serial dramatic programming popular in Latin American, Portuguese, and Spanish television programming. The word combines tele, short for televisión or televisão , and novela, a Spanish or Portuguese word for "novel"...
s. It was made official a little while later that one plotline will be playing on the Spanish island Mallorca
Mallorca
Majorca or Mallorca is an island located in the Mediterranean Sea, one of the Balearic Islands.The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Cabrera Archipelago is administratively grouped with Majorca...
. The fans were in for another big surprise when the network announced on March 28, 2011 that Isa Jank returns to her iconic role as Clarissa, as well as Clarissa's children Jan and Julia; recast with actors Hubertus Grimm and Nina Bott
Nina Bott
Nina Bott is a German actress.-Acting:Between August 1997 and September 2005 she played Cora Hinze Moreno on the popular German soap opera Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten. She then appeared in the period drama Unter den Linden - Das Haus Gravenhorst. Nina Bott then joined the soap opera Alles was...
. The executives behind the show said that with that move they want to return to the origin of the show. It was also announced that the first 45 minutes episode will be Episode 3865, which aired on June 21, 2011.
Cast
Current cast members
| Actor | Character | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Stefanie Bock | Leonie Richter Leonie Richter Leonie Richter is a fictional character on the German soap opera Verbotene Liebe . The character is portrayed by Stefanie Bock, who debuted in the role on August 9, 2011.-Background:... |
2011- |
| Verena Bonato | Nico von Lahnstein Nico von Lahnstein Nicola "Nico" von Lahnstein is a fictional character of the German soap opera Verbotene Liebe . The character has been played by actress Verena Bonato from October 1, 2002 to September 11, 2007. While on contract, the actress took a seven months break from February 2006 to September 2006... |
2002-2007, 2008, 2010- |
| Nina Bott Nina Bott Nina Bott is a German actress.-Acting:Between August 1997 and September 2005 she played Cora Hinze Moreno on the popular German soap opera Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten. She then appeared in the period drama Unter den Linden - Das Haus Gravenhorst. Nina Bott then joined the soap opera Alles was... |
Julia Mendes Julia von Anstetten Julia Mendes is a fictional character from the German soap opera Verbotene Liebe , played by Valerie Niehaus. She is introduced in the series' premiere on January 2, 1995. She departed from the series in July 1997, when Niehaus decided to pursue other roles... (#2) |
2011-2012 |
| Till Demtrøder | Thomas Wolf | 2011- |
| Wolfram Grandezka Wolfram Grandezka Wolfram Grandezka is a German actor.He landed the role of Roman Klingenberg in the Daytime soap opera Unter uns. He played the role from January 5, 1998 to April 26, 2000. Wolfram came to another soap, Verbotene Liebe, four years later... |
Ansgar von Lahnstein Ansgar von Lahnstein Ansgar Eduard Johannes von Lahnstein is a fictional character of the German soap opera Verbotene Liebe , portrayed by actor Wolfram Grandezka. He debuted in the role on January, 22 2004.... |
2004- |
| Hubertus Grimm | Jan Brandner Jan Brandner Jan Brandner is a fictional character on German soap opera Verbotene Liebe . The character was played from the show's debut on January 2, 1995 to August 27, 1997 by actor Andreas Brucker. In March 2011, the role was surprisingly recast with actor Hubertus Grimm; reinstating the Brandner family and... (#2) |
2011-2012 |
| Jens Hartwig Jens Hartwig Jens Hartwig is a German actor.Jens completed successfully his education as in actor in the Center for Film and Television in Cologne. He appeared first in a secondary role as Georg Kramer in the feature film Eine indiskrete Reise in 2004... |
Tristan von Lahnstein Tristan von Lahnstein Tristan von Lahnstein is a fictional character of the German soap opera Verbotene Liebe . The character is played by actor Jens Hartwig since October 23, 2009.-Personality:... |
2009- |
| Isa Jank Isa Jank Isa Andersen is a German actress who started her career in Hollywood in the middle of the 1980s. She played at James Belushi's side in "Real Men" and other roles in Nightangel, "Cheers" and Airwolf.... |
Clarissa von Anstetten Clarissa von Anstetten Clarissa von Anstetten is a fictional character on German soap opera Verbotene Liebe . The character was played by actress Isa Jank from the show's debut on January 2, 1995 to September 5, 2001. Jank left the show after a disagreement with the producers... |
1995-2001, 2011- |
| Jana Julie Kilka | Jessica Stiehl | 2010- |
| Melanie Kogler | Marlene von Lahnstein | 2011- |
| Konrad Krauss Konrad Krauss Konrad Krauss is a German actor and well known for his role as family patriarch Arno Brandner on the soap opera Verbotene Liebe .... |
Arno Brandner Arno Brandner Arno Brandner is a fictional character on German soap opera Verbotene Liebe . The character is portrayed since the show's debut on January 2, 1995 by actor Konrad Krauss.-Background:... |
1995- |
| Miriam Lahnstein Miriam Lahnstein Miriam Lahnstein is a German actress.In 1995, Miriam came to the "Das Erste-Soap "Verbotene Liebe". She played the villain Tanja von Anstetten from 1995 until 1998... |
Tanja von Lahnstein | 1995-1998, 2001, 2004- |
| Krystian Martinek Krystian Martinek Krystian Martinek is a Polish-German well known actor, writer and director.Martinek completed successfully his education as an actor in the Acting School of Bochum. After that he played various stage plays in Bochum, Salzburg and Hamburg.... |
Ludwig von Lahnstein Ludwig von Lahnstein Ludwig von Lahnstein is a fictional character of the German soap opera Verbotene Liebe . The character is played by actor Krystian Martinek since 22 December 2009.-Background:... |
2009- |
| Gabriele Metzger | Charlie Schneider Charlie Schneider Charlotte 'Charlie' 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... |
1995- |
| Nicole Mieth | Kim Wolf Kim Wolf Kim Wolf is a fictional character of the German soap opera Verbotene Liebe . Lisa Tomaschewsky introduced the role on April 13, 2011, but was eventually recast with actress Nicole Mieth, who took over the part on May 10, 2011.-Introduction:... (#2) |
2011- |
| Dirk Moritz | Daniel Fritzsche (#2) | 2011- |
| Christoph Mory | Hagen von Lahnstein (#2) | 2011- |
| Dominic Saleh-Zaki | Andi Fritzsche Andi Fritzsche Andreas "Andi" Fritzsche is a fictional character of the German soap opera Verbotene Liebe . The character is played by actor Dominic Saleh-Zaki from October 4, 2001 to November 8, 2007. In July 2009 it was announced that Saleh-Zaki would reprise his role. Before reappearing on-screen, the... |
2001-2007, 2009- |
| Patricia Schäfer | Viktoria Wolf | 2011- |
| Sebastian Schlemmer Sebastian Schlemmer Sebastian Schlemmer is a German actor and well known for his role of Sebastian von Lahnstein in the soap opera Verbotene Liebe .... |
Sebastian von Lahnstein Sebastian von Lahnstein Sebastian von Lahnstein is a fictional character from the German soap opera Verbotene Liebe . The character has been portrayed by actor Joscha Kiefer from November 26, 2007 to October 13, 2009... (#2) |
2009- |
| Thore Schölermann Thore Schölermann Thore Schölermann is a German actor.- Career :After graduation in 2004 he trained to be a professional actor at Palma de Mallorca, Spain. He then took part in a few short movies until he came to the soap opera Verbotene Liebe... |
Christian Mann Christian Mann Christian Mann is a popular fictional character on German soap opera Verbotene Liebe portrayed by actor Thore Schölermann since November 27, 2006.-Storylines:... |
2006- |
| Remo Schulze | Timo Mendes Timo Mendes Timo Mendes is a fictional character from the German soap opera Verbotene Liebe . Remo Schulze debuted in the role on June 23, 2011. Timo is the son of Julia von Anstetten and her first husband Tim Sander.-Background:... |
2011- |
| Daniel Sellier | Ricardo Mendes | 2011- |
| Martina Servatius | Elisabeth von Lahnstein Elisabeth von Lahnstein Elisabeth von Lahnstein is a fictional character from the German soap opera Verbotene Liebe, portrayed by actress Martina Servatius... |
1999- |
| Renée Weibel Renée Weibel Renée Weibel is a Swiss actress.Renée completed successfully her education as a stage dancer between 2000 and 2003, as well as a schooling for acting in Berlin from 2006 to 2009. She debuted at stage in 2003 and played plays like Swan lake and The Phantom of the Opera... |
Helena von Lahnstein Helena von Lahnstein Dr. Helena von Lahnstein is a fictional character of the German soap opera Verbotene Liebe . The character is played by Renée Weibel since October 5, 2009.-Introduction:... |
2009- |
| Jo Weil Jo Weil Johannes "Jo" Hermann Bruno Anton Weil is a German actor. He is best known for his role of Oliver Sabel in Verbotene Liebe, on the German soap-opera channel, Das Erste... |
Oliver Sabel Oliver Sabel Oliver Sabel is a popular fictional character in the German soap opera Verbotene Liebe . The character is portrayed by actor Jo Weil from December 31, 1999 to September 3, 2002 and again since November 2, 2007.... |
1999-2002, 2007- |
| Diane Willems | Dana Wolf | 2011- |
| Florian Wünsche Florian Wünsche Florian Wünsche is a German actor and well known for his role as Manuel Siewert in the children soap opera Schloss Einstein.... |
Emilio Sanchez | 2011- |
Recurring cast members
| Actor | Character |
|---|---|
| Romina Becks | Miriam Pesch |
| Holger Franke | Kurt Schiller |
| Frank Maier | Alexander Rheinsberg |
| Lutz Marquardt | Waiter Luca |
| Marc Philipp | Rafael Velasquez |
| Marcel Spang | Waiter Niklas |
| Claus Thull-Emden | Butler Justus Stiehl |
| Claus Wilcke Claus Wilcke Claus Wilcke is a German actor who has played Americans in the German TV shows Percy Stuart and I.O.B. Spezialauftrag. He has also dubbed many American actors including Elvis Presley and Michael Landon for cinema and TV. He has won several German awards. -Career:Claus Wilcke started as a stage... |
Monseñor Mateo |
Comings and goings
| Actor | Character | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Pia Ampaw-Fried | Sonja Jager | Debuts December 6 |
| Gerda Böken | Erika Rieth | Exits December 23 |
| Melvin-Maximilian Eisenstein | Hannes von Lahnstein Hannes von Lahnstein Johannes "Hannes" von Lahnstein II is a fictional character on German soap opera Verbotene Liebe . He is the son of Tanja von Anstetten and Ansgar von Lahnstein. The character was played by child actors Daniel and Simon Kühn from March 20, 2006 to November 24, 2008... |
Debuts January 2012 |
| Hubertus Grimm | Jan Brandner Jan Brandner Jan Brandner is a fictional character on German soap opera Verbotene Liebe . The character was played from the show's debut on January 2, 1995 to August 27, 1997 by actor Andreas Brucker. In March 2011, the role was surprisingly recast with actor Hubertus Grimm; reinstating the Brandner family and... (#2) |
Exits January 18, 2012 |
| Nina Bott Nina Bott Nina Bott is a German actress.-Acting:Between August 1997 and September 2005 she played Cora Hinze Moreno on the popular German soap opera Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten. She then appeared in the period drama Unter den Linden - Das Haus Gravenhorst. Nina Bott then joined the soap opera Alles was... |
Julia Mendes (#2) | Exits January 18, 2012 |
| Birgit Würz | Alice Stein | Debuts February 2012 |
| Julia Haacke Julia Haacke Julia Haacke is a German actress and voice actress.-Selected filmography:* 1994 Verfolger* 1995 Nur über meine Leiche* 1997 Verbotene Liebe * 1997 Wildbach... |
Kerstin Richter | Returns February 2012 |
Schedule
VL German Broadcast History:- 2 January 1995 - 28 December 2007: Mon-Fri 5.55pm on Das ErsteDas ErsteErstes Deutsches Fernsehen , marketed as Das Erste , is the principal publicly owned television channel in Germany...
- 1 December 2006–present on Passion (Reruns)
- 7 January 2008–present: Mon-Fri 6.00pm on Das ErsteDas ErsteErstes Deutsches Fernsehen , marketed as Das Erste , is the principal publicly owned television channel in Germany...
- 22 June 2011-present: Mon-Fri 5.55am on mdrMitteldeutscher RundfunkMitteldeutscher Rundfunk is the public broadcaster for the federal states of Thuringia, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt...
(Repeat)
VL aired weekdays at 5.55 PM on Das Erste
Das Erste
Erstes Deutsches Fernsehen , marketed as Das Erste , is the principal publicly owned television channel in Germany...
from 1995 to December 2007. In the 1990s the show aired in the morning with repeats of old episodes. Then in December 2006 the new Pay-TV Network Passion broadcasted the first episodes from 1995. Since 7 January 2008 the new episodes of Verbotene Liebe are aired at 6 p.m. on Das Erste
Das Erste
Erstes Deutsches Fernsehen , marketed as Das Erste , is the principal publicly owned television channel in Germany...
. The network changed the airtime, because of the RTL
RTL Television
Rtl.de' redirects here. For other uses, see RTL.RTL Television , or simply RTL, is a German commercial television station distributed via cable and satellite along with DVB-T , in larger population centres...
-Soap Unter uns
Unter Uns
Unter uns is a German television soap opera, first broadcast on RTL on 28 November 1994. Centered around the lives of the people in a residential house, which is set in the fictional Schillerallee in Cologne. Since the show debuted the baker's family Weigel is the series core family...
.
On June 22, 2011, mdr
Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk
Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk is the public broadcaster for the federal states of Thuringia, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt...
started showing repeats of Verbotene Liebe from the previous day.
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 ZeitenGute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten
Gute 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...
and had 16 percent market share in the target group (viewers: 14-49). In the end of 2007, the show was still around 2.5 million viewers. That changed in 2008, when the show's ratings dropped dramatically and lost nearly one million viewers in only one year. On 15 December 2008, only 1.57 million watched the soap opera. The rating problem, according to the fans, is because of several cast changes over the year, uninteresting new characters and bad story lines. The production responded; characters left or were put in a different direction. In 2009, Verbotene Liebe wanted to restore the "elegant" feel of its former storylines, and introduced two new characters, a princess and a mysterious woman with connections to the Lahnstein family. With the anniversary of the 3333rd episode, the ratings rose upwards again. 2.18 million viewers saw the special episode, which featured a masked ball.
But show was still troubled and feared cancellation in early 2010, when Das Erste announced to work on their evening program. The ratings dropped in 2010 to around 1.70 million viewers again. The show tried various changes, first premiered in January 2011. A voice over to every episode by a character was added, as well as getting rid of the third storyline in an episode. This didn't receive well in ratings at all, but it was still lead-out Marienhof
Marienhof
Marienhof may refer to:* Marienhof , a village in Spillern, Austria* Marienhof , a village in Alland, Austria* Marienhof , a village in Nikitsch, Austria* Marienkhof, an air base in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia...
that got canceled in December 2010. Verbotene Liebe got extended to an hour and was saved from cancellation. The show added other major changes with the return of Isa Jank and letting play one storyline in Spain; beginning in June 2011.
German Soap Awards
- 2011 "Sexiest Woman" Jasmin Lord (Rebecca von LahnsteinRebecca von LahnsteinRebecca von Lahnstein is a fictional character on the German soap opera Verbotene Liebe . The character was portrayed by Jasmin Lord and debuted on June 17, 2008. In 2009, Lord earned the Miss Soap award as the most beautiful actress in a soap opera, followed by the German Soap Award as Sexiest...
) - 2011 "Fan Award Male" Jo WeilJo WeilJohannes "Jo" Hermann Bruno Anton Weil is a German actor. He is best known for his role of Oliver Sabel in Verbotene Liebe, on the German soap-opera channel, Das Erste...
(Oliver SabelOliver SabelOliver Sabel is a popular fictional character in the German soap opera Verbotene Liebe . The character is portrayed by actor Jo Weil from December 31, 1999 to September 3, 2002 and again since November 2, 2007....
) - 2011 "Most Beautiful Couple" Oliver SabelOliver SabelOliver Sabel is a popular fictional character in the German soap opera Verbotene Liebe . The character is portrayed by actor Jo Weil from December 31, 1999 to September 3, 2002 and again since November 2, 2007....
and Christian MannChristian MannChristian Mann is a popular fictional character on German soap opera Verbotene Liebe portrayed by actor Thore Schölermann since November 27, 2006.-Storylines:...
See also
- List of Verbotene Liebe characters
- List of cast members of Verbotene Liebe
- Minor characters of Verbotene LiebeVerbotene Liebe minor charactersThe following are characters from the German soap opera Verbotene Liebe who are notable for their actions or relationships, but who do not warrant their own articles.-Ben von Anstetten:...
- List of longest-serving soap opera actors