International period drama filming in Vienna

A major new English-language co-production has just begun filming in Vienna, based on the best-selling novels by Frank Tallis and set in the city at the turn of the 20th century.

Vienna Blood comes from the UK’s Endor Productions (a Red Arrow Studios company) and MR Film in Austria.

ORF Austria and ZDF Germany are commissioning broadcasters and co-production partners; the show will be called Liebermann in those territories.

The series has been adapted by Steve Thompson from Tallis’ first three books in the ‘Liebermann Papers’ series of novels and will be delivered as three feature-length episodes. Robert Dornhelm and Umut Dag direct.

Matthew Bears stars as Freud protégé and psychoanalytic detective Max Liebermann and Juergen Maurer as Detective Inspector Oskar Rheinhardt.

Executive producers include Hilary Bevan Jones for Endor, Steve Thompson, and Oliver Auspitz and Andreas Kamm for MR Film.

Kamm said of the commission: “Vienna Blood is a fabulous mixture of incredible crime stories infused with entertainment and the unique atmosphere of early 20th century Vienna. It is the kind of high-quality TV drama that people are asking for all over.”

Austria offers several production funding options from the federal and regional governments with differing criteria. The country also has co-production treaties with several other territories including Canada, Spain and Germany. Vienna also offers its own film fund.