WarnerMedia & RTL Deutschland Pact for Two Sides of the Abyss

WarnerMedia and RTL Deutschland are set to collaborate for the first time on the co-production of the Warner TV original Two Sides of the Abyss.

A six-part miniseries, Two Sides of the Abyss centers on Wuppertal police officer Luise Berg (Anne Ratte-Polle) after her daughter’s murderer is released early from prison. A psychologically complex game of confusion begins.

RTL Deutschland has secured the first run in Germany on its streaming service and later has the rights on German free TV. Warner TV Serie will show the series on pay TV in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The WarnerMedia streaming platform HBO Max will launch the series as a Max Original in 61 territories, including in the U.S., Latin America and Europe. International distribution outside of these territories will be handled by WarnerMedia International Television Distribution.

Two Sides of the Abyss creator and writer Kristin Derfler (Brüder, Dein Leben gehört mir) serves as creative producer on the series, with Anno Saul (Charité, Die Welt steht still) directing. Executive Producers are Verena Monssen and Bernd von Fehrn (Warner Bros. ITVP Deutschland); Nico Grein for RTL+ under the direction of Hauke Bartel, head of fiction for RTL Deutschland; and Hannes Heyelmann and Anke Greifeneder, who is also editorial director for Warner TV Serie.

In addition to Ratte-Polle (Dark, Greenlight—German Genius), the cast of Two Sides of the Abyss features Anne Lea van Acken (Sløborn, The Diary of Anne Frank) and newcomer Anton Dreger. Other roles are played by Renato Schuch (Dogs of Berlin, Teufelsmoor), Dirk Martens (Spy City, Kleo), Ann-Kathrin Kramer (Ohne Ausweg, Die Frau im Meer), Senita Huskić (Der Zürich-Krimi), Claudia Eisinger (Gut gegen Nordwind, Der Masuren—Krimi) and Maximilian Brauer (Der Überfall, Tempel).

Produced by Warner Bros. ITVP Deutschland, filming started at the end of January and will continue until Easter 2022 in Cologne and Wuppertal in Germany and also in Belgium.

Heyelmann said: “We are very pleased to be working with RTL for the first time, alongside our colleagues in the Cologne team at Warner Bros. ITVP. Two Sides of the Abyss is an unsparingly and atmospherically layered thriller that we are confident will resonate both locally in Germany and with HBO Max audiences.”

Bartel added: “We want to showcase the best dramas and top talent on our streaming service RTL+ and on RTL Deutschland’s linear channels. Two Sides of the Abyss fits into that category and is our first collaboration with WarnerMedia. We’re very excited to be working with this amazing creative partner to bring Kristin Derfler and Anno Saul’s intense and gripping thriller series to a wide audience.”