Scripted

Shooting of the first two 90-minute films for the new RTL drama franchise "Sonderlage" (WT) has just begun in Hamburg and Berlin. In addition to Henny Reents ("Nord bei Nordwest"), the main roles in the production by ConradFilm and Bavaria Fiction include Annette Paulmann ("Brief an mein Leben"), Lasse Myhr ("Blood Red Sky"), Georg Bütow ("Der Feind meines Feindes"), Banafshe Hourmazdi ("Futur Drei"), Zoë Valks ("Dear Thomas"), Frederik Schmid ("The Queen’s Gambit") and Sven Gerhardt ("Der Amsterdam-Krimi"). Broadcast is planned for next year.

Inspired by true events, "Sonderlage" (working title; literal translation: Special Situation) focuses on police work in exceptional situations such as attacks, kidnappings or violent rampages. The film is directed by Andreas Senn ("Unbroken") and written by Norbert Eberlein ("Beat"). Michał Grabowski ("LOMO: The Language of Many Others") is Director of Photography. The production team is being advised by leading members of the Hamburg LKA – the State Office for Criminal Investigation.

Hauke Bartel, Head of Fiction at RTL Germany: “We are bringing new crime thriller colours to RTL and are pleased to have such experienced and strong partners in ConradFilm and Bavaria Fiction, with whom we are venturing into very unusual and exciting 'special situations'. Screenwriter Nobert Eberlein shows us crime fiction from a perspective that has not yet been told. Thanks to the supporting expertise of leading members of the Hamburg LKA, the material has a gripping authenticity. This unique combination convinced us immediately.”

Marc Conrad, Managing Director and Executive Producer, ConradFilm: “Hostage-taking, terrifying rampages, kidnappings, escaped prisoners, high caliber extortions, theft at financial institutions and sensitive national establishments cannot be handled within the confines of routine police work. These 'special situations' require intensive cooperation between protective and criminal police, psychologists, topic-specific experts, special task forces, etc. Resulting a high demand for forces, long deployment times and a dramatic density of decisions in an avalanche of information. We will tell the story of this master plan with the mission 'to save lives' for the first time on German television at RTL.”

Marcus Ammon, Managing Director Content, and Lucia Staubach, Executive Producer, Bavaria Fiction: “Inspired by true events, ‘Sonderlage’ shows police work under extreme conditions. Under immense time pressure and under the observation of the public decisions have to be made that determine life and death. We are very pleased that together with our partners RTL and ConradFilm and with a strong team in front of and behind the camera – first and foremost Henny Reents, director Andreas Senn and writer Norbert Eberlein – we are now filming and viewers will soon be able to gain an insight into unusual cases and internal police power structures.”

Executive producers are Marc Conrad ("Dark Woods") from ConradFilm and Lucia Staubach ("Tatort: Dortmund") and Maren Knieling ("Dark Woods") for Bavaria Fiction. The RTL editorial team is headed by Solveig Willkommen and Executive Producer Nico Grein under the direction of Hauke Bartel, Head of Fiction RTL Germany.

About “Sonderlage” (WT):

Inspired by true events and supported by the expertise of leading members of the Hamburg LKA, our series describes dramatic events such as hostile attacks, hostage-taking, violent rampages and kidnappings. The extremely intense police work in these so-called "special situations" takes place under enormous time pressure and expectations are high. It requires interdisciplinary teamwork and the courage to be creative, it requires the acquisition of information from all conceivable sources and at the same time calmness and sovereignty in psychological and ethical considerations, which ultimately determine the success of the final intervention. It is always a complex matter of decisions about life and death.

At the centre of the action is police leader Verena Klausen (Henny Reents), who has to assert herself not only in the fight against the perpetrators, but to also deal with the tension between the male institutions of police and politics. She and her team are confronted with various degrees of narcissism, paranoia and sociopathy during their extraordinary missions. So, it is not only about violence and counter-violence, but also about morality that must find its place even in seemingly hopeless situations.