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''Verbotene Liebe'' (, "Forbidden Love") is a German television
soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...
created by
Reg Watson Reginald James Watson (27 August 1926 – 8 October 2019) was an Australian television producer and screenwriter and executive. Watson was executive producer on the British soap opera ''Crossroads (British TV series), Crossroads'' and created ...
for
Das Erste Das Erste (; "The First") is the flagship national television channel of the ARD (broadcaster), ARD association of public broadcasting corporations in Germany. ''Das Erste'' is jointly operated by the ARD (broadcaster)#Institutions and member org ...
. The show was set primarily in the German city of
Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...
although, at times, the city of
Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...
and the Spanish island of
Mallorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest of the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of the island, Palma, Majorca, Palma, i ...
figured prominently in the show's story lines. First broadcast on 2 January 1995, ''Verbotene Liebe'' was originally broadcast in 24-minute episodes, five times a week. It expanded to 45-minute episodes on 21 June 2011 and trimmed back to 40-minute episodes on 23 January 2012 to accommodate an adjusted time-slot. In 2006, Pay-TV network
Passion Passion, the Passion or the Passions may refer to: Emotion * Passion (emotion), a very strong feeling about a person or thing * Passions (philosophy), emotional states as used in philosophical discussions * Stoic passions, various forms of emotio ...
began broadcasting episodes of the show from the beginning. ''Verbotene Liebe'' was initially based on original story and character outlines from the
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
n soap opera '' Sons and Daughters'', the show was also slightly influenced by the American soap opera ''
Ryan's Hope ''Ryan's Hope'' is an American soap opera created by Claire Labine and Paul Avila Mayer, airing for 13 years on ABC from July 7, 1975, to January 13, 1989. It revolves around the trials and tribulations within a large Irish-American family in ...
'', before evolving into a show of its own as the series progressed. The show originally focused on two core families: the wealthy Anstetten family and the middle-class Brandner family. More specifically, it dealt with the story of Jan Brandner and Julia von Anstetten, two strangers whose fascination for each other leads them to fall in love, neither of them cognizant that they are twins separated by their parents. It is this story of forbidden love that gave the series its title. As cast members left the show, many characters were written out of the storyline, and new ones were added. Sometimes this included whole families. Writers attempted to phase out the dwindling Brandner family by introducing a new middle-class family, the Prozeskis, as foils for the wealthy Anstettens, but the Brandners proved to be too popular with fans, and the Prozeskis left as quickly as they came. Later, much of the drama centered on the Wolf family and the aristocratic
Lahnstein family ''Verbotene Liebe'' (, "Forbidden Love") is a German television soap opera created by Reg Watson for Das Erste. The show was set primarily in the German city of Düsseldorf although, at times, the city of Cologne and the Spanish island of Mall ...
. The series became well known for its groundbreaking positive representation of
LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...
characters and relationships. For this reason, it became popular with gay and lesbian audiences in Europe and the United States. The series tackled controversial issues, such as: drug addiction, murder, rape, suicide, adultery,
homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who identify or are perceived as being lesbian, Gay men, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred, or ant ...
, incest, alcoholism,
schizophrenia Schizophrenia () is a mental disorder characterized variously by hallucinations (typically, Auditory hallucination#Schizophrenia, hearing voices), delusions, thought disorder, disorganized thinking and behavior, and Reduced affect display, f ...
, HIV, miscarriage, kidnapping and sexual confusion. In 2005, ''Verbotene Liebe'' received the Rose d'Or award for "Best Soap", and in 2010 was nominated for the category of "Best Soap or Telenovela". The show was nominated for eight German Soap Awards in 2011, winning three. In January 2011, the series began filming in
high definition High definition or HD may refer to: Visual technologies *Blu-ray Disc, the universal optical High Definition disc format *HD Photo, former name for the JPEG XR image file format *HDV, format for recording high-definition video onto magnetic tap ...
. The show ended on 26 June 2015, after 4,664 episodes and two decades after it began airing, due to a decline of viewers. The February transition to weekly broadcasting did not bring the number of viewers they had expected.


History


Early storylines

Based on the Australian soap opera '' Sons and Daughters'', ''Verbotene Liebe'' premiered on 2 January 1995 on the German television channel
Das Erste Das Erste (; "The First") is the flagship national television channel of the ARD (broadcaster), ARD association of public broadcasting corporations in Germany. ''Das Erste'' is jointly operated by the ARD (broadcaster)#Institutions and member org ...
("The First"). The remake was initially planned for
RTL Television RTL (from '), formerly RTL plus and RTL Television, is a German-language free-to-air television channel owned by RTL Deutschland, headquartered in Cologne. Founded as an offshoot of the German-language radio programme '' ,'' RTL is cons ...
, another German channel, but executives there were skeptical that the concept of a love story between a brother and a sister could prove successful. ''Verbotene Liebe'' began with the story of Jan Brandner (Andreas Brucker) and Julia von Anstetten (
Valerie Niehaus Valerie Niehaus (born 11 October 1974) is a German actress. Early life Valerie Niehaus grew up in Emsdetten where she went to the local primary school. After that she moved to Fulda and later to Berlin. Career At the age of thirteen Niehaus ...
), a working class guy and a rich girl who meet randomly at an airport and are instantly attracted to each other. They fall in love, only to learn that they are actually twins separated at birth. Centered on the fictional high society in and around
Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...
and
Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...
, ''Verbotene Liebe'' initially focuses on two contrasting families: the working class Brandners and the wealthy and aristocratic Von Anstettens. In addition to the star-crossed romance of Jan and Julia and their love story, characters like the twins' conniving mother
Clarissa von Anstetten Clarissa von Anstetten (née Prozeski and formerly Kaufmann) is a fictional character on German soap opera '' Verbotene Liebe (Forbidden Love)'', portrayed by actress Isa Jank from 1995 to 2001, and again from 2011 to 2013. She reprised the role i ...
(
Isa Jank Isa Andersen (real name Isa Jank) is a German actress best known for her role as Clarissa von Anstetten in the German soap opera '' Verbotene Liebe (Forbidden Love)''. Jank began her acting career in Hollywood in the 80s, acting alongside Jame ...
) and murderous femme fatale
Tanja von Lahnstein Tanja von Lahnstein (née Wittkamp, formerly von Anstetten) is a fictional character from the German soap opera '' Verbotene Liebe (Forbidden Love)'' on Das Erste, portrayed by actress Miriam Lahnstein from 1995 to 1998, in 2001, and again from 20 ...
(
Miriam Lahnstein Miriam Lahnstein (born 9 August 1974 in Düsseldorf, West Germany) is a German actress and psychologist. Career Lahnstein portrayed villainess Tanja von Lahnstein on the Das Erste soap opera '' Verbotene Liebe'' from 1995 until 1998, reprising ...
) brought the series to prominence. At its height, ''Verbotene Liebe'' attracted three million viewers to tune in on a daily basis. The cutthroat rivalry of Clarissa and Tanja begins when social climber Tanja sets her sights on Clarissa's stepson Henning von Anstetten ( Markus Hoffmann). She pretends to be pregnant with his child so he will marry her, but Clarissa exposes Tanja as a fraud and a golddigger. Tanja vows revenge on the entire Anstetten family, and Clarissa's total destruction. Tanja murders her first two husbands, Ben von Anstetten (Andreas Jung) and his illegitimate son Rajan Rai (Sascha Zaglauer), and then kidnaps Clarissa. Her plans foiled, Tanja leaves town. Niehaus left the role of Julia in 1997, and the writers refocused the storyline on Clarissa. Her middle-class family, the Prozeskis, are introduced as another foil to the Anstettens, as many of the original Brandner family members had left the show. But the Brandners were too popular, and fans did not seem interested in Clarissa's origins or how she went about becoming a countess. Brucker also vacated the role as Jan in 1997. Even with her family gone, the focus remains on Clarissa as she is sent to war against her ex-husband Christoph von Anstetten (Jürgen Zartmann) and his new wife Barbara (Manuela Alphons). Tanja returns in 2001 with a plot to marry and murder Henning (now portrayed by Patrik Fichte) to inherit his fortune. She schemes to make him believe that his new love Marie von Beyenbach (Solveig Duda) is his sister, but Clarissa realizes Tanja's true plan and helps Henning and Marie outwit her. Clarissa and Tanja are subsequently presumed dead in a plane crash together. Lahnsten returned in 2004, followed by Jank in 2011. In 2006, Sarah Hofmann ( Sina-Valeska Jung) and Leonard von Lahnstein (Lars Korten) are in love, but learn they have the same father, Johannes von Lahnstein (
Thomas Gumpert Thomas Gumpert (11 December 1952 – 7 January 2021) was a German actor who was best known for his role of Johannes von Lahnstein in the daily soap ''Verbotene Liebe''. Life Gumpert was born in 1952 in the East German city of Lauchhammer, in B ...
). During Leonard's wedding to Jana Brandner ( Vanessa Jung), Adrian Degenhardt ( Klaus Zmorek) reveals that he, and not Johannes, is Leonard's father. A further twist on the sibling love story was introduced in 2009 with mentally ill Tristan von Lahnstein ( Jens Hartwig), who is in love with his twin sister Helena ( Renée Weibel) and plots to have her all to himself.


Gay and lesbian storylines

Though homosexual relationships were not new in German soap operas, ''Verbotene Liebe'' featured many notable same-sex romances during its run. Julia's original fiancé, Gero von Sterneck (Broder Hinrichsen), turns out to be gay and has relationships with both men and women before Hinrichsen left the show in 1998. Introduced in 1997, young Ulrich "Ulli" Prozeski (
Andreas Stenschke Andreas Stenschke (born 26 July 1975), is a German actor and director. Biography Stenschke was born in Cologne, West Germany and moved shortly to the nearby suburbs, where his parents, Wolfgang and Marlene, had bought a home. He has a younger br ...
) is eventually featured in a coming-out story when he becomes romantically involved with medical student Tom Seifert (Kay Böger) in 1999. After Stenschke left the show in late 2000, Tom begins dating
Oliver Sabel Oliver Sabel and Christian Mann are fictional characters from the German soap opera '' Verbotene Liebe'' (''Forbidden Love''), which was broadcast on Das Erste from 1995 to 2015. Portrayed by Jo Weil (Oliver) and Thore Schölermann (Christian), the ...
(
Jo Weil Johannes "Jo" Hermann Bruno Anton Weil (born 29 August 1977) is a German actor, best known for his portrayals of Oliver Sabel on the long-running German serial ''Verbotene Liebe'' ("Forbidden Love") and titular bodyguard Frank Farmer in multiple ...
). Six months later, in 2001, Ulli suddenly returns to town for a short stay that creates tensions between Tom and Oliver. Tom and Ulli are finally reunited with guest appearances in the show's 10th anniversary episode in 2005. In 2006, ''Verbotene Liebe'' celebrated the first lesbian wedding in German television history between Carla von Lahnstein ( Claudia Hiersche) and Susanne Brandner (Claudia Scarpatetti). The show later paired Carla with Stella Mann (Anne Wis), a relationship embraced by fans because the characters "were portrayed like the other couples on the show, including scenes showing their physical intimacy." ''Verbotene Liebe'' received international attention in 2008 with the love story of Oliver Sabel and
Christian Mann Oliver Sabel and Christian Mann are fictional characters from the German soap opera ''Verbotene Liebe'' (''Forbidden Love''), which was broadcast on Das Erste from 1995 to 2015. Portrayed by Jo Weil (Oliver) and Thore Schölermann (Christian), the ...
(
Thore Schölermann Thore Schölermann (born 26 September 1984) is a German actor and television host. Career Schölermann was born in Iserlohn, North Rhine-Westphalia. After graduation in 2004, he trained to be a professional actor at Palma de Mallorca, Spain. ...
). Weil and Schölermann were lauded internationally for their cliché-free portrayal of a same-sex couple, and Olli and Christian's 2010 marriage was the first church wedding between two men ever dramatized on German television. In 2013, ''Verbotene Liebe'' was called "a beacon of LGBT inclusivity on an international level" amid the popularity of Olli and Christian. The final same-sex love story ''Verbotene Liebe'' created was the relationship between former music star Marlene Wolf (Melanie Kogler) and fashion designer Rebecca von Lahnstein (Tatjana Kästel). The story of this couple began in 2012 and garnered a sizable international following. In November 2013, ''
AfterEllen ''AfterEllen'' is an American culture website founded in 2002, with a focus on entertainment, interviews, reviews, and news of interest to the lesbian and bisexual women's community. The site covers pop culture and lifestyle issues from a feminis ...
'' ranked the Marlene and Rebecca as No. 14 and 15 in their "Top 25 Lesbian/Bi Characters on TV" list, as two of only three non-English speaking characters.


Arno's death

In 2012, original series character Arno Brandner (Konrad Krauss) is diagnosed with
Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...
. Das Erste announced, "''Verbotene Liebe'' will be dedicated to the topic of dementia in detail in the coming months. How difficult such a diagnosis is for those affected and their relatives is portrayed in the soap in a sensitive and as real as possible way in order to sensitize the viewer to this widespread disease." Krauss's exit from the series was later confirmed by Das Erste. ''
Bild ''Bild'' (, ) or ''Bild-Zeitung'' (, ) is a German tabloid newspaper published by Axel Springer SE. The paper is published from Monday to Saturday; on Sundays, its sister paper '' Bild am Sonntag'' () is published instead, which has a differen ...
'' called Arno the "figurehead" and "soul" of ''Verbotene Liebe''. Krauss made his last appearance on 11 September 2012.


Cancellation

Rumors about a cancellation of the soap opera were first made back in the fall of 2010 after ''Verbotene Liebe'' and fellow soap opera '' Marienhof'' performed not well and ''Verbotene Liebe'' lost viewers a third year in a row. However, in February 2011, a decision was made about
Das Erste Das Erste (; "The First") is the flagship national television channel of the ARD (broadcaster), ARD association of public broadcasting corporations in Germany. ''Das Erste'' is jointly operated by the ARD (broadcaster)#Institutions and member org ...
's access primetime. ''Marienhof'' was canceled and ''Verbotene Liebe'' extended from 20 to 45 minutes. The ARD hoped that ''Verbotene Liebe'' could gain viewers again, brought back fan favorite - and original cast member -
Isa Jank Isa Andersen (real name Isa Jank) is a German actress best known for her role as Clarissa von Anstetten in the German soap opera '' Verbotene Liebe (Forbidden Love)''. Jank began her acting career in Hollywood in the 80s, acting alongside Jame ...
(
Clarissa von Anstetten Clarissa von Anstetten (née Prozeski and formerly Kaufmann) is a fictional character on German soap opera '' Verbotene Liebe (Forbidden Love)'', portrayed by actress Isa Jank from 1995 to 2001, and again from 2011 to 2013. She reprised the role i ...
) and reintroduced the original story about siblings Jan and Julia; although the roles were recast. However the return of Jank's character was reviewed by most fans as underwhelming and the recasting of Jan and Julia got mixed reviews as well. ''Verbotene Liebe'' continued to lose in ratings and by 2014, the soap opera performed well under the market share of Das Erste. On 17 July 2014, ''
Bild ''Bild'' (, ) or ''Bild-Zeitung'' (, ) is a German tabloid newspaper published by Axel Springer SE. The paper is published from Monday to Saturday; on Sundays, its sister paper '' Bild am Sonntag'' () is published instead, which has a differen ...
'' was first to report that the show has been canceled. Online magazine DWDL later confirmed the report, saying they were able to name several more sources about the cancellation. The reports suggest that ''Verbotene Liebe'' is finishing its last year and airing into January 2015; long enough to let the show live through its 20th anniversary. An official statement by Das Erste was made on 18 July 2014; confirming the cancellation. Director of Program Volker Herres said: "20 years ago, the siblings Jan and Julia made ''Verbotene Liebe'' a German series hit. Who could have guessed back then that VL, as the glamor soap was soon only be called, would have such a long breath? But eventually all shades of the forbidden and glamorous are told. It is then necessary to stop at the right time. And in our opinion this is now. As painful as it may be for the loyal fans of the series. But one thing is sure: ''Verbotene Liebe'' wrote television history." ARD coordinator of access primetime Frank Beckmann added: "With great dedication and impressive creativity, the team of ''Verbotene Liebe'' has shaped the access primetime for years. We know the strength of the brand and the importance of their loyal fans. Therefore, we consider whether we can offer ''Verbotene Liebe'' in another form at a later date." The statement also confirmed that the soap opera would be replaced by the game show ', which had been tested for four weeks in May 2014, and that ''Verbotene Liebe'' would air its series finale most likely in the beginning of 2015. Rainer Wemken, CEO of UFA Serial Drama, shared the following statement hours after the ARD confirmed the cancellation: "The ARD has terminated the contract for ''Verbotene Liebe'' at this time. I regret this decision very much, especially because it is a series with a strong brand, with a large fan base that is also very popular on the Internet and achieves high polling numbers. We are therefore make offers to the ARD, how the series can continue - possibly with other production or broadcast models - at a later date. I therefore hope very much that we can continue ''Verbotene Liebe''." Only hours after rumors of the cancellation started, ''Verbotene Liebe'' fans opened a
Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...
page and a petition to fight for the survival of the soap opera. The remaining original cast member Gabriele Metzger ( Charlie Schneider) and the show's matriarch Martina Servatius ( Elisabeth von Lahnstein) opened up about the cancellation in a statement to ''Bild''. Metzger received a mail about the cancellation. About her reaction the actress said: "I went into the garden, watered my lawn and cried." About the reason for the cancellation and the declining ratings, Metzger suggested that "look-wise, we have developed forward. But what makes a soap opera - exciting stories and characters with whom one can identify - moved into the background over the years." Meanwhile, Martina Servatius is criticizing Herres' statement about the cancellation that all stories are told: "That is nonsense. It was the desire of the ARD to extend the individual episodes from 20 to 45 minutes. We, the actors, have already feared then that this decision could break our necks. It's sad that the ARD twisted cause and effect in retrospect."


Sudden renewal and final cancellation

After over a month since the show was officially canceled, the Bild newspaper reports on 3 September 2014 that ARD might move ahead with a concept from the production company UFA to bring ''Verbotene Liebe'' back as a weekly series. The cast would undergo some changes to adjust to the new format and the production style of the show would change dramatically. The media-devoted websites Quotenmeter and DWDL.de agreed on the Bild report and suggested that official news about the future of ''Verbotene Liebe'' would be made in the upcoming days. On 4 September 2014, official word broke that ''Verbotene Liebe'' would return as a weekly series in 2015 as soon as airing on the daily format has stopped. The network ordered 15 episodes and will air the weekly series Fridays at 6:50 PM. The show would introduce a new central character, Mila von Draskow, and still feature members of the
Lahnstein family ''Verbotene Liebe'' (, "Forbidden Love") is a German television soap opera created by Reg Watson for Das Erste. The show was set primarily in the German city of Düsseldorf although, at times, the city of Cologne and the Spanish island of Mall ...
- namely Elisabeth, Ansgar, Sebastian, Tanja, Tristan and Rebecca, original character Charlie Schneider, the Helmke brothers and the younger set around Charlie's nephew Olli who were sharing a flat. Sets like the bistro Schneiders and the bar No Limits would also still be a part of the show. "There will be a new ''Verbotene Liebe'' with more shooting time, more opulent images and a dense plot. And yet the new look will still deliver intrigue, passion and great feelings - like many fans of ''Verbotene Liebe'' wished", said ARD coordinator of access primetime Frank Beckmann about the renewal. The fifteen weekly episodes started on 27 February 2015 and lasted till 26 June 2015. The weekly season, which was called "Vergeltung" (Retribution) introduced new characters and a darker plot. Fans of the show widely criticized the new concept of the show and ratings ultimately turned even worse, leading to Das Erste canceling the show for good.


Cast and characters

''Verbotene Liebe'' initially centers on the working class Brandner family and the wealthy and aristocratic Anstettens, in particular the star-crossed romance between Jan Brandner (Andreas Brucker) and Julia von Anstetten (
Valerie Niehaus Valerie Niehaus (born 11 October 1974) is a German actress. Early life Valerie Niehaus grew up in Emsdetten where she went to the local primary school. After that she moved to Fulda and later to Berlin. Career At the age of thirteen Niehaus ...
). Jan and Julia turn out to be twins, the illegitimate offspring of Arno Brandner (Konrad Klauss) and
Clarissa von Anstetten Clarissa von Anstetten (née Prozeski and formerly Kaufmann) is a fictional character on German soap opera '' Verbotene Liebe (Forbidden Love)'', portrayed by actress Isa Jank from 1995 to 2001, and again from 2011 to 2013. She reprised the role i ...
(
Isa Jank Isa Andersen (real name Isa Jank) is a German actress best known for her role as Clarissa von Anstetten in the German soap opera '' Verbotene Liebe (Forbidden Love)''. Jank began her acting career in Hollywood in the 80s, acting alongside Jame ...
). Conniving Clarissa soon finds a lifelong enemy in the murderous Tanja Wittkamp (
Miriam Lahnstein Miriam Lahnstein (born 9 August 1974 in Düsseldorf, West Germany) is a German actress and psychologist. Career Lahnstein portrayed villainess Tanja von Lahnstein on the Das Erste soap opera '' Verbotene Liebe'' from 1995 until 1998, reprising ...
), who first tries to marry into the Anstetten family, and then to destroy them. The series introduces the powerful Lahnsteins in 2003, led by patriarch Johannes von Lahnstein (
Thomas Gumpert Thomas Gumpert (11 December 1952 – 7 January 2021) was a German actor who was best known for his role of Johannes von Lahnstein in the daily soap ''Verbotene Liebe''. Life Gumpert was born in 1952 in the East German city of Lauchhammer, in B ...
) and including his children Ansgar ( Wolfram Grandezka), Leonard (Lars Korten), Carla ( Claudia Hiersche) and Constantin (Milan Marcus). Sebastian von Lahnstein (
Joscha Kiefer Joscha Kiefer (born 8 December 1982) is a German actor and best known for his role as Dominik Morgenstern on the series Soko München. Career He studied acting for three years in Stuttgart. In 2005 Joscha was seen on the Das Erste-Show ''Ein ...
, later Sebastian Schlemmer), the son of Johannes's deceased brother, arrives in 2007 with an axe to grind against Johannes, who is presumed dead in a plane crash in 2008. Sebastian's siblings Rebecca ( Jasmin Lord, later Tatjana Kästel), the twins Tristan ( Jens Hartwig) and Helena ( Renée Weibel), and later Hagen (Tom Viehöfer, Christoph Mory) are introduced, with their father Ludwig von Lahnstein (
Krystian Martinek Krystian Martinek (born 5 April 1948) is a German actor, writer and director. Martinek completed successfully his education as an actor at the Schauspielschule Bochum. After that he played various stage plays in Bochum, Salzburg and Hamburg. He i ...
) revealed to be alive in 2009. Original cast member Konrad Krauss (Arno Brandner) left the show in 2012 after 18 years, and Gabriele Metzger ( Charlie Schneider) was the only remaining original cast member when the series ended in 2015. Others like
Miriam Lahnstein Miriam Lahnstein (born 9 August 1974 in Düsseldorf, West Germany) is a German actress and psychologist. Career Lahnstein portrayed villainess Tanja von Lahnstein on the Das Erste soap opera '' Verbotene Liebe'' from 1995 until 1998, reprising ...
(
Tanja von Lahnstein Tanja von Lahnstein (née Wittkamp, formerly von Anstetten) is a fictional character from the German soap opera '' Verbotene Liebe (Forbidden Love)'' on Das Erste, portrayed by actress Miriam Lahnstein from 1995 to 1998, in 2001, and again from 20 ...
),
Jo Weil Johannes "Jo" Hermann Bruno Anton Weil (born 29 August 1977) is a German actor, best known for his portrayals of Oliver Sabel on the long-running German serial ''Verbotene Liebe'' ("Forbidden Love") and titular bodyguard Frank Farmer in multiple ...
(
Oliver Sabel Oliver Sabel and Christian Mann are fictional characters from the German soap opera '' Verbotene Liebe'' (''Forbidden Love''), which was broadcast on Das Erste from 1995 to 2015. Portrayed by Jo Weil (Oliver) and Thore Schölermann (Christian), the ...
), Dominic Saleh-Zaki (Andi Fritsche) and Wolfram Grandezka (Ansgar von Lahnstein) were considered long-serving cast members.


Production

''Verbotene Liebe'' centers on the fictional high society in and around
Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...
and
Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...
. Initially, primary locations include Friedenau Castle, the residence of the affluent Anstettens; the Brandner home; and the bar No Limits (originally called Off Limits). Gut Schönberg, the home of the Beyenbachs, figures in the storyline between 2001 and 2003, succeeded by Königsbrunn Castle, home of the Lahnsteins. Dyck Castle was used for the exteriors of Friedenau, the Kitzburg for Schönberg, and
Ehreshoven Castle Ehreshoven Castle () is a moated castle in Engelskirchen, Oberbergischer Kreis, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located near the village of Ehreshoven, about by road east of Cologne. Several kilometres to the northwest is Georghausen Cast ...
for Königsbrunn. The early years of ''Verbotene Liebe'' were produced in the studios of
WDR WDR may refer to: * Waddell & Reed (stock ticker: WDR), an American asset management and financial planning company * Walt Disney Records, an American record label of the Disney Music Group * WDR neuron, a type of neuron involved in pain signalli ...
. The show was produced in the Magic Media Company studios in Cologne's borough
Ossendorf Ehrenfeld ( ; ) is a borough (''Stadtbezirk'') of the City of Cologne in Germany. It includes the seven quarters Bickendorf, Bocklemünd, Mengenich, Ehrenfeld, Neuehrenfeld, Ossendorf and Vogelsang. It has about 109,500 inhabitants (as of Dece ...
from 2003 until 2015. The same studios were also the home of the
RTL RTL may refer to: Media * RTL Group, a European TV, radio, and production company *** List of RTL Group's television stations (including part-owned channels) *** List of RTL Group's radio stations ** RTL Lëtzebuerg, usually referred to simply a ...
soap opera ''
Alles was zählt ''Alles was zählt'' ("All That Matters") is a German television soap opera first broadcast on RTL Television, RTL on 4 September 2006. Plot The original plot revolved around Diana Sommer's dream to become a world class ice skater. She fell i ...
''. For six months in 2011, the show was partly produced in
Majorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest of the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of the island, Palma, Majorca, Palma, i ...
, Spain for a separate story that eventually concluded in Düsseldorf.


Broadcasting and ratings


Broadcasting


Television

VL German Broadcast History: * 2 January 1995 − 30 December 2004: Mon−Fri 5:55 pm on
Das Erste Das Erste (; "The First") is the flagship national television channel of the ARD (broadcaster), ARD association of public broadcasting corporations in Germany. ''Das Erste'' is jointly operated by the ARD (broadcaster)#Institutions and member org ...
, approx. 23 minutes * 5 January 1998 − 25 September 1998: Mon−Fri 9:03 am on Das Erste (episodes 1−171) * 22 June 1999 − 30 December 1999: Mon−Fri 9.03 am on Das Erste (episodes 172−250) * 3 January 2005 − 28 December 2007: Mon−Fri 5:50 pm on Das Erste, approx. 23 minutes * 1 December 2006 – present on
Passion Passion, the Passion or the Passions may refer to: Emotion * Passion (emotion), a very strong feeling about a person or thing * Passions (philosophy), emotional states as used in philosophical discussions * Stoic passions, various forms of emotio ...
(reruns; stylized as 'classics') * 7 January 2008 − 20 June 2011: Mon−Fri 6:00 pm on Das Erste, approx. 23 minutes * 21 June 2011 − 18 January 2012: Mon−Fri 6:00 pm on Das Erste, approx. 44 minutes * 23 January 2012 – 7 June 2012: Mon-Fri 5:50 pm on Das Erste, approx. 38 minutes ** 22 June 2011 – 11 June 2012: Mon−Fri about 8:00 am on
MDR MDR may refer to: Biology * MDR1, an ATP-dependent cellular efflux pump affording multiple drug resistance * Mammalian diving reflex * Medical device reporting * Multiple drug resistance, when a microorganism has become resistant to multiple drugs ...
(previous day's broadcast) ** 6 September 2011 – 11 June 2012: Mon−Fri 12:00 pm on EinsFestival (previous day's broadcast) ** 23 March 2012 − 11 June 2012: Mon−Fri 6:40 am on NDR (previous day's broadcast) ** 16 April 2012 − 11 June 2012: Mon−Fri 11:45 am on BR (previous day's broadcast) * 11 June 2012 – 6 February 2015: Mon−Fri 6:00 pm on Das Erste, approx. 38 to 43 minutes ** 12 June 2012 – 15 March 2013: Mon−Fri 6:40 am on NDR (previous day's broadcast) ** 12 June 2012 – 21 March 2013: Mon−Fri 7:05 am on MDR (previous day's broadcast) ** 12 June 2012 – 12 October 2012: Mon−Fri 11:45 am on BR (previous day's broadcast) ** 12 June 2012 – 21 March 2013: Mon−Fri 12:00 pm on EinsFestival (previous day's broadcast) * 27 February 2015 - 26 June 2015: Fridays 6:50 pm on Das Erste, approx. 42 minutes In the beginning, ''Verbotene Liebe'' aired weekdays at around 5:55 pm on
Das Erste Das Erste (; "The First") is the flagship national television channel of the ARD (broadcaster), ARD association of public broadcasting corporations in Germany. ''Das Erste'' is jointly operated by the ARD (broadcaster)#Institutions and member org ...
and was followed by fellow soap opera '' Marienhof'', creating a soap line-up for the network. The line-up proved successful in its early years and showed a lot of contrast. ''VL'' was labeled as glamor soap, while ''Marienhof'' showed the working-class of fictional district in
Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...
. Becoming a huge success, Das Erste decided to show reruns in the early morning. With a break from about nine months, the network aired the first 250 episodes, who later were labeled as the show's first season. After seven years on the air, the soap opera started slowly to lose viewers. Still a ratings success several cast changes seemed to hurt the show in the process. When Das Erste decided to change the airtime of both soaps, ''Verbotene Liebe'' (5:50 pm) and ''Marienhof'' (6:20 pm), particularly ''VL'' had now to challenge
RTL RTL may refer to: Media * RTL Group, a European TV, radio, and production company *** List of RTL Group's television stations (including part-owned channels) *** List of RTL Group's radio stations ** RTL Lëtzebuerg, usually referred to simply a ...
's soap opera '' Unter uns'', which ended at 6:00 pm. After two years, Das Erste changed the airtime again. ''Verbotene Liebe'' started around 6:00 pm and still provided the lead-in for ''Marienhof'', which started around 6:25 pm again. In the meanwhile, the Pay-TV channel Passion started airing repeats in late 2006. However, the original airings of ''Verbotene Liebe'' and ''Marienhof'' continued to lose viewers and in late 2010 cancellation rumors started to surround fan bases. Das Erste eventually canceled ''Marienhof'' after over 18 years on the air and continued ''Verbotene Liebe'', extending their episodes to 50 minutes with commercial breaks. The glamor soap served as the lead-in for various new crime dramedy series'. With the extension, ''VL'' now aired repeats on several ARD stations. The line-up however was changed when the network signed
Thomas Gottschalk Thomas Johannes Gottschalk (born 18 May 1950 in Bamberg) is a German radio and television host and entertainer. He is best known for hosting ''Wetten, dass..?'', for many years Europe's biggest television show, which he steered to huge success i ...
and developed a new evening talk show for him. ''Gottschalk Live'' premiered in January 2012, causing ''Verbotene Liebe'' to lose about six minutes per episode and being a rival to ''Unter uns'' again. The talk show failed miserably and was canceled in June 2012. That led to the network changing the air time of ''Verbotene Liebe'' yet again. It was announced that the soap opera would return to its old time slot at 6:00pm. Fans complained about the several air time changes. As of the end of March 2013, all local stations of the ARD stopped airing the previous day's broadcast of the show.


Online

In 2008, Grundy UFA worked out a contract with the video-sharing
website A website (also written as a web site) is any web page whose content is identified by a common domain name and is published on at least one web server. Websites are typically dedicated to a particular topic or purpose, such as news, educatio ...
Sevenload to make the first season of ''Verbotene Liebe'', consisting the first 250 episodes, available online. Sevenload started with the first episode on 25 August 2008. After rumors about new contract, Grundy UFA and Sevenload ended their cooperation in the following year. Das Erste started with its own video library, Das Erste: Mediathek, in May 2008 and airs extended previews, specials and new episodes (for seven days) of ''Verbotene Liebe''. Grundy UFA instead went into business with the
video-on-demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos, television shows and films digitally on request. These multimedia are accessed without a traditional video playback device and a typical static broadcasting ...
platform Maxdome, which is owned by
ProSiebenSat.1 Media ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE (officially abbreviated as P7S1, formerly ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG) is a German mass media and digital company based in Unterföhring near Munich. It operates in three segments: Entertainment, Dating and Commerce & Venture ...
. The first 800 episodes were made available for €0,99 per episode with a valid link for 48 hours. Maxdome also owns rights to new episodes, adding them right after television broadcast starting with episode 3400. With episode 3820 the show is available in high-definition. In 2012,
MyVideo MyVideo was a German video hosting service website, provided by Magic Internet based in Bucharest, Romania and later in Berlin. It was available in German (myvideo.de, myvideo.ch, and myvideo.at) until April 2016. According to Alexa Internet, t ...
became another provider for old ''Verbotene Liebe'' episodes. Under the label ''Verbotene Liebe classics'' are currently 360 episodes available for free. MyVideo and Grundy UFA plan to extend the video library to more than the first 1000 episodes of the show. Currently there isn't an official schedule when MyVideo plans on releasing more episodes.


Ratings

In the show's best years, ''Verbotene Liebe'' had three million viewers per episode, the second-highest rated soap opera behind ''
Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten ''Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten'' ("Good Times, Bad Times"), often abbreviated ''GZSZ'', is a long-running German television soap opera, first broadcast on RTL Television, RTL in 1992. The programme concerns the lives of a fictional neighborhoo ...
'', with a 16 percent market share overall. That all began to change in 2007, when the show began losing viewers. In 2008, ratings dropped dramatically as viewers became dissatisfied with recent casting changes and lackluster storylines. On 15 December 2008, only 1.57 million viewers watched the show. Producers reacted immediately and moved the storylines in a different direction. The 3333rd episode was seen by 2.18 million viewers and featured an elegant masked ball. One year later, ''Verbotene Liebe'' faced rumors of cancellation, when Das Erste announced intended changes to the lineup. The show was revamped, and eventually it was lead-out soap ''Marienhof'' that went off the air in mid-2011. ''Verbotene Liebe'' was extended to an hour and took over ''Marienhof'' problematic time-slot, resulting in a dip in ratings. The ratings got much worse in 2012, which again led to rumors that the soap opera might get canceled. Overall, ''Verbotene Liebe'' halved its ratings in the last five years.


Specials

Over the years, ''Verbotene Liebe'' had several online specials, such as a weekly preview or cast interviews. However among them were also two online spin-offs:


''Clarissas Tagebuch''

''Clarissas Tagebuch'' (English: ''Clarissa's Diary'') is a 2011 five-part series that stars
Isa Jank Isa Andersen (real name Isa Jank) is a German actress best known for her role as Clarissa von Anstetten in the German soap opera '' Verbotene Liebe (Forbidden Love)''. Jank began her acting career in Hollywood in the 80s, acting alongside Jame ...
in her role as
Clarissa von Anstetten Clarissa von Anstetten (née Prozeski and formerly Kaufmann) is a fictional character on German soap opera '' Verbotene Liebe (Forbidden Love)'', portrayed by actress Isa Jank from 1995 to 2001, and again from 2011 to 2013. She reprised the role i ...
. It chronicles much of Clarissa's past and shows that the character has been in a South American prison for the last ten years. The special aired before Jank would return on-screen on the main show.


''Die längste Nacht von Königsbrunn''

''Die längste Nacht von Königsbrunn'' (English: ''The longest Night of Königsbrunn'') is a 2014 fifteen-part series, set on a stormy night in the kitchen of Castle Königsbrunn. It stars Martina Servatius ( Elisabeth von Lahnstein), Claus Thull-Emden (Justus Stiehl),
Miriam Lahnstein Miriam Lahnstein (born 9 August 1974 in Düsseldorf, West Germany) is a German actress and psychologist. Career Lahnstein portrayed villainess Tanja von Lahnstein on the Das Erste soap opera '' Verbotene Liebe'' from 1995 until 1998, reprising ...
(
Tanja von Lahnstein Tanja von Lahnstein (née Wittkamp, formerly von Anstetten) is a fictional character from the German soap opera '' Verbotene Liebe (Forbidden Love)'' on Das Erste, portrayed by actress Miriam Lahnstein from 1995 to 1998, in 2001, and again from 20 ...
), Sebastian Schlemmer ( Sebastian von Lahnstein), Jana Julie Kilka (Jessica Stiehl), Jens Hartwig ( Tristan von Lahnstein), Nicole Mieth (Kim Wolf) and as special guest stars Konrad Krauss ( Arno Brandner) and Verena Zimmermann ( Nico von Lahnstein). The special revolves around secrets of every character and concludes on 30 May 2014 with a live episode.


Revival

In early 2020, the
RTL Group RTL Group S.A. ("Radio Télévision Luxembourg") is a Luxembourg-based international media conglomerate, with another corporate office in Cologne, Germany. The company operates 56 television channels and 36 radio stations in Germany, France an ...
obtained the rights for old episodes to stream on their premium streaming service TVNOW. Viewing figures were favourable and the RTL Group decided in June 2020 to order new episodes from UFA Serial Drama for the streaming service. The intentions of RTL were made public by a ''
Bild ''Bild'' (, ) or ''Bild-Zeitung'' (, ) is a German tabloid newspaper published by Axel Springer SE. The paper is published from Monday to Saturday; on Sundays, its sister paper '' Bild am Sonntag'' () is published instead, which has a differen ...
'' report on 19 June 2020. RTL later confirmed the news, planning to start filming later in 2020. The media group also announced that several actors from the original series would be returning. On 1 July 2020, it was reported that TVNOW ordered a 10-episode revival season, likely to air in a weekly rhythm starting in November 2020. The revival is set to focus on a new generation with few familiar faces in the world of fashion. The working title is ''Verbotene Liebe: Das Erbe'' (''Forbidden Love: The Heritage''). The concept for the revival orientates on dramas like ''
Dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a monarchy, monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A dynasty may also be referred to as a "house", "family" or "clan", among others. H ...
'' and ''
Succession Succession is the act or process of following in order or sequence. Governance and politics *Order of succession, in politics, the ascension to power by one ruler, official, or monarch after the death, resignation, or removal from office of ...
''. The show was later renamed ''Verbotene Liebe: Next Generation'', and aired from 23 November 2020 to 25 January 2021.
Isa Jank Isa Andersen (real name Isa Jank) is a German actress best known for her role as Clarissa von Anstetten in the German soap opera '' Verbotene Liebe (Forbidden Love)''. Jank began her acting career in Hollywood in the 80s, acting alongside Jame ...
(Clarissa von Anstetten),
Jo Weil Johannes "Jo" Hermann Bruno Anton Weil (born 29 August 1977) is a German actor, best known for his portrayals of Oliver Sabel on the long-running German serial ''Verbotene Liebe'' ("Forbidden Love") and titular bodyguard Frank Farmer in multiple ...
(
Oliver Sabel Oliver Sabel and Christian Mann are fictional characters from the German soap opera '' Verbotene Liebe'' (''Forbidden Love''), which was broadcast on Das Erste from 1995 to 2015. Portrayed by Jo Weil (Oliver) and Thore Schölermann (Christian), the ...
), Gabriele Metzger ( Charlie Schneider) Wolfram Grandezka (Ansgar von Lahnstein), Claudia Hiersche (Carla von Lahnstein) and
Miriam Lahnstein Miriam Lahnstein (born 9 August 1974 in Düsseldorf, West Germany) is a German actress and psychologist. Career Lahnstein portrayed villainess Tanja von Lahnstein on the Das Erste soap opera '' Verbotene Liebe'' from 1995 until 1998, reprising ...
(Tanja von Lahnstein) reprised their roles from the original series.


Awards


German Soap Awards

* 2012 "Best Actor" Wolfram Grandezka ( Ansgar von Lahnstein) * 2012 "Fan Award Male"
Jo Weil Johannes "Jo" Hermann Bruno Anton Weil (born 29 August 1977) is a German actor, best known for his portrayals of Oliver Sabel on the long-running German serial ''Verbotene Liebe'' ("Forbidden Love") and titular bodyguard Frank Farmer in multiple ...
(
Oliver Sabel Oliver Sabel and Christian Mann are fictional characters from the German soap opera '' Verbotene Liebe'' (''Forbidden Love''), which was broadcast on Das Erste from 1995 to 2015. Portrayed by Jo Weil (Oliver) and Thore Schölermann (Christian), the ...
) * 2011 "Sexiest Woman" Jasmin Lord ( Rebecca von Lahnstein) * 2011 "Fan Award Male"
Jo Weil Johannes "Jo" Hermann Bruno Anton Weil (born 29 August 1977) is a German actor, best known for his portrayals of Oliver Sabel on the long-running German serial ''Verbotene Liebe'' ("Forbidden Love") and titular bodyguard Frank Farmer in multiple ...
(
Oliver Sabel Oliver Sabel and Christian Mann are fictional characters from the German soap opera '' Verbotene Liebe'' (''Forbidden Love''), which was broadcast on Das Erste from 1995 to 2015. Portrayed by Jo Weil (Oliver) and Thore Schölermann (Christian), the ...
) * 2011 "Most Beautiful Couple"
Oliver Sabel Oliver Sabel and Christian Mann are fictional characters from the German soap opera '' Verbotene Liebe'' (''Forbidden Love''), which was broadcast on Das Erste from 1995 to 2015. Portrayed by Jo Weil (Oliver) and Thore Schölermann (Christian), the ...
and
Christian Mann Oliver Sabel and Christian Mann are fictional characters from the German soap opera ''Verbotene Liebe'' (''Forbidden Love''), which was broadcast on Das Erste from 1995 to 2015. Portrayed by Jo Weil (Oliver) and Thore Schölermann (Christian), the ...


Rose d'Or

* 2005 "Best Soap"


Adaptations

''Verbotene Liebe'' was adapted in
Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
as ''Απαγορευμένη αγάπη'' (
Romanized In linguistics, romanization is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and transcription, ...
: Apagorevmeni agapi) and was broadcast between 1998 and 2006 in
Mega Channel MEGA Channel, also known as MEGA TV or just MEGA, is a television network in Greece, that broadcasts a mix of foreign and Greek programming. It is the first and the oldest private television network in Greece. History Mega Channel (1989–2018 ...
.


See also

* List of Verbotene Liebe characters *
List of cast members of Verbotene Liebe Complete list of past and present cast members of the German soap opera ''Verbotene Liebe''. __TOC__ Main cast Recurring cast and guest appearances References

{{Verbotene Liebe Verbotene Liebe, Cast members Lists of actors by soap ...
* Minor characters of Verbotene Liebe *
List of longest-serving soap opera actors Soap operas, a serialised drama produced for radio, television and internet streaming, are specifically and uniquely known for their ensemble casts and long-running characters. Many of these characters have stayed in their respective series for d ...


References


External links

* {{Authority control 1995 German television series debuts 2015 German television series endings 1990s German television series 2000s German television series 2010s German television series German television soap operas German LGBTQ-related television shows Lesbian-related television shows Television shows set in Cologne Das Erste original programming German-language television shows 1990s LGBTQ-related drama television series 2000s LGBTQ-related drama television series 2010s LGBTQ-related drama television series