Vienna Blood Gets Second Season

Vienna Blood has been commissioned for a second season by ORF (Austria) and ZDF (Germany) for three 90-minute episodes.

Produced by Red Arrow Studios’ Endor Productions (Deep State, Roald Dahl’s Esio Trot) and MR Film (Maximilian, Das Sacher), the three new feature-length episodes have once again been adapted by screenwriter Steve Thompson (Deep State, Jericho, Sherlock), based on the best-selling novels by Frank Tallis.

The series will be directed by Academy Award and Emmy nominee Robert Dornhelm (Anne Frank: The Whole Story), the lead director of the first season of Vienna Blood. Production on season two of Vienna Blood will begin in August 2020, shooting on location in Vienna in English, for delivery in 2021. Once again starring Matthew Beard (The Imitation Game, Dracula) as Max Liebermann and Juergen Maurer (Vorstadtweiber, Spuren des Bösen) as Detective Inspector Oskar Rheinhardt.

Following the success of season one in the U.K. and U.S., BBC Two and PBS, respectively, are on board for season two.

Hilary Bevan Jones of Endor Productions said: “Vienna proved to be wonderful to film in and we are delighted that the city has opened up again following the Coronavirus shutdown so that we can film there late summer. Steve Thompson has written three more compelling stories, all inspired by Frank Tallis’ gripping Liebermann novels. And we are delighted to have Matthew Beard and Juergen Maurer again heading a fantastic international cast as well as Robert Dornhelm returning with his singular directorial vision.”

Carlo Dusi, executive VP of commercial strategy of scripted at Red Arrow Studios International, added: “Vienna Blood’s gripping storylines and compelling cast, set against the sumptuous backdrop of Vienna has captivated viewers. We are delighted this bold and ambitious series has been greenlit for a second season and we are really looking forward to delivering three new episodes to its growing fanbase around the world.”

Oliver Auspitz and Andreas Kamm, of MR Film commented: “All of us at MR Film are just delighted by the success of Vienna Blood. To get such great engagement from viewers around the world is fantastic and we can’t wait to get started on the production of season two here in Vienna. Of course, ensuring the safety of our cast and crew is of paramount importance to us, and we are working with professional safety experts and officials to ensure that we adhere to every safety guideline and protocol, both on set and on location.”

Kathrin Zechner, director of programs at ORF, said: “Vienna Blood has forged a strong coproduction bond between Austria, the U.K. and Germany that not even Brexit and not even a pandemic has been able to break. After the worldwide success of season one, which won this year’s Romy Award for best international production, we are thrilled to announce that Vienna Blood will continue with the production of three more films based on the stories and characters created by Frank Tallis, to be shot in and around Vienna. The Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF) remains committed to high-end co-productions with a strong focus on Austrian identity and culture for our domestic as well as for worldwide audiences.”

Simone Emmelius, senior VP of international fiction at ZDF, said: “Charmed by the cleverly designed characters in Vienna Blood and thrilled by the suspense of the criminal cases, we are looking forward to the second season of this Austrian-German co-production—it’s good news for our viewers who will have the opportunity to become enthusiastic supporters of the first season in autumn.”