“Babylon Berlin”: Tykwer series gets record budget – SPIEGEL ONLINE

In the public service broadcasters, the clocks tick a little slower, which is known. But with “Babylon Berlin” has set a new record in terms of slowness ARD. More than two years hovering around the series project in development status to himself. While private channels such as RTL or TNT series “Germany 83″ and “vineyard” ambitious miniseries announced revolved, radiated and even successfully sold abroad, came at the ARD project temporarily not even the script development ahead.

The inertia also like be due to an unusual alliance: the ARD plans “Babylon Berlin” together with the provider Sky, which is to obtain the first transmission rights for its participation.

A public broadcaster cooperates with a pay-TV channel – a novelty on the German television market, which underlines the special status of this project: star director Tom Tykwer will together with Achim von Borries and Hendrik Handloegten with great effort the detective novels by bestselling implement -Autors Volker Kutscher, playing in Berlin seething twenties. They form after the international series model the writer’s room .

Meanwhile threatened “Babylon Berlin” However, to become a bad joke, could only laugh at the self senior ARD responsible. Unforgotten as the WDR director Tom Buhrow in a public discussion program twinkle announced last year about the program of the First in the camera, the project wiggle well.

major event or millions grave?

Since he has been mistaken. On Wednesday ARD and Sky presented concrete plans for “Berlin Babylon” – elegant enough, in Berlin’s Babylon Cinema. In preparation was added to the in-house silent film organ “Mack the Knife”

At least impress the numbers that have been named after,:. Two squadrons estimated to each have eight 45-minute episodes, basis should coachman novel “The wet his fish “. Cost per hour: Around 2.5 million euros, says producer Jan Mojto by Beta Film. But it would remain in total less than 40 million euros, says producer Stefan Arndt, whose company X Filme mitmischt restarted at serial production. Probably Tom Tykwer provided but the most reliable estimate “how much it really costs, we know until next year.” As the exact distribution of costs between ARD and Sky looks, there was no concrete figures

But what is assured. The occupation of the main roles. Volker Bruch ( “Generation War”) will be seen as a Commissioner Gereon Rath. Liv Lisa Fries ( “And tomorrow at noon I’m dead”) takes on the role of Raths girlfriend Charlotte. While Fries and broken may not rank among the most famous names, they must surely be among the most interesting talents of German acting scene. Fries will next be seen in the NSU Dreiteiler ARD, fracture has recently turned to the side of Rosamund Pike and Jack O’Donnell international Koprodukton “HHHH”.

Filming is scheduled to last from April to the end of the year, 200 days of shooting are estimated. For the setting four entire streets including backyards are built. The final series is from 2017 run at Sky and from 2018 in the First, probably the prime time on Sunday.

“Babylon Berlin” could be a television event which adjoins the large television time of the early eighties when Wolfgang Petersen with “Das boot” or Rainer Maria Fassbinder’s “Berlin Alexanderplatz” created TV miniseries that radiated internationally. The use, however, is enormous: If the project fails, it is the largest public millions grave of all time.