Ghosts Being Adapted in Germany

BBC Studios Germany, WDR and ARD Mediathek are bringing a local adaptation of the comedy series Ghosts to German audiences.

Filming is now underway on the 6×30-minute series. Erik Haffner is directing, and BBC Studios Germany is producing.

Screenwriters for the German version are Yves Hensel and Aylin Kockler, punch-up by Claudius Pläging with Tom Holzhauser and Anne Lindemann responsible for cinematography.

Ghosts centers around young couple Emma (Cristina do Rego) and Felix (Benito Bause), who inherit an old mansion and decide to turn it into a hotel. After a near-death accident, Emma suddenly starts to see ghosts. These bizarre and chaotic roommates, including characters such as the Neanderthal Urs (Jan van Weyde), the Roman legionnaire Claudius (Max Giermann), the Countess Adelheid (Antje Widdra), the feminist maid Griet (Meltem Kaptan), the insurance salesman Joachim (Sebastian Schwarz), the teacher Svenni (Sina Tkotsch) and the love-hungry poet Friedrich Dorn (Alexander Khuon) come from different eras and cause quite a stir in the couple’s lives.

André Renaud, senior VP of global format sales for BBC Studios, said: “The comedic happenings of Ghosts continue to entertain audiences in the U.K. and U.S., and I’m delighted that German viewers will now also have their own version on WDR.”

WDR Fiction’s director, Alexander Bickel, added: “We are pleased to add a completely unique program color to the ARD Mediathek with the German adaptation of the successful British series. Ghosts captivates with a special, warm-hearted humor and hopefully will also inspire audiences in Germany next year.”

BBC Studios Producer Eva Holtmann said: “The start of filming of Ghosts marks the beginning of a new, exciting chapter for BBC Studios Germany. For our first in-house produced series, we were able to win a fantastic ensemble that will fill the characters created by our team of writers Aylin Kockler and Yves Hensel with a lot of humor and emotions.”