BBC’s Vienna Blood Returns For A Second Season

Back To Vienna

The second season of Vienna Blood will broadcast on the BBC this winter. Here are a few details…

Starring Matthew Beard (Dracula, The Imitation Game, And When Did You Last See Your Father?) and Juergen Maurer (Vorstadtweiber, Tatort), Vienna Blood is set in 1900s Vienna – a hot bed of philosophy, science and art, where a clash of cultures and ideas play out in the city’s grand cafes and opera houses.

A brilliant young English doctor, Max Liebermann (Matthew Beard), and Detective Inspector Oskar Rheinhardt (Juergen Maurer) investigate a series of unusual and disturbing murders. Max’s extraordinary skills of perception and psychology and Oskar’s forceful tenacity lead them to solve some of Vienna’s most mysterious and deadly cases.

The series, filmed in English and on location in Vienna, also stars Conleth Hill (Dublin Murders, Game Of Thrones), Charlene McKenna (Bloodlands, Peaky Blinders), Amelia Bullmore (Traces, Gentleman Jack), Lucy Griffiths (True Blood, Preacher) and Luise von Finckh (Gute Zeiten, Schlechte Zeiten). Vienna Blood is produced by Endor Productions, a Red Arrow Studios company and MR Film (Austria).

Sue Deeks, BBC Head of Programme Acquisition, says: “Welcome back Max and Oskar! After the great success of series one we are so looking forward to returning to the opulent, entertaining, and endlessly fascinating world of Vienna Blood.”

Hilary Bevan Jones, Managing Director of Endor Productions, comments: “To have had the pleasure of filming in the magical city of Vienna for a second series was such a treat, a real feast for the eyes, not only for us as programme makers but – we hope – for our viewers too.

“We have three more compelling stories written by the incredible Steve Thompson and once again inspired by the world Frank Tallis created in his Liebermann novels. With Matthew Beard and Juergen Maurer heading our fantastic international cast and Robert Dornhelm weaving his directorial vision we have been spoiled. We look forward to revisiting the love and warmth of the Liebermann family and new adventures with our duo Max and Oskar.”

Rodrigo Herrera Ibarguengoytia, Senior Acquisitions & Co-Productions Manager at Red Arrow Studios International, adds: “We are delighted that Vienna Blood is returning to the BBC. The series has been licensed across every continent and we are thrilled with how it has captivated audiences around the world. Endor Productions, MR Film and the entire creative team have delivered an exceptional second season and we are excited to be bringing these gripping new stories to our broadcast clients and the show’s growing fan base.”

Oliver Auspitz and Andreas Kamm, co-managing directors of MR Film, say: “The thrilling journey of Max Liebermann and Oscar Reinhardt is ready to continue. In three fantastic new episodes we will watch Max getting more and more involved in his love life alongside his strong friendship with Oscar, who is finally ready to be confronted with his past.”

Red Arrow Studios International have led the co-financing of the series and are the international distributors. Germany’s ZDF and Austria’s ORF are co-production partners and will premiere the show in their respective territories. Other funding partners include Televisionfund Austria, TV-Filmfund Vienna and Niederoesterreich Kultur.

Vienna Blood (3 x 90”) is directed by Academy Award and Emmy nominee Robert Dornhelm (Anne Frank: The Whole Story). The producers are Hilary Bevan Jones and Jez Swimer for Endor Productions and Andreas Kamm and Oliver Auspitz for MR Film. Executive Producers are Steve Thompson, Klaus Lintschinger (ORF), Wolfgang Feindt (ZDF) and Carlo Dusi and Rodrigo Herrera Ibarguengoytia  (Red Arrow Studios International).

Together with independent health and safety consultants, in full consultation with industry partners and in accordance with all government guidelines, the Vienna Blood production team developed comprehensive production protocols to ensure that the series was produced in a safe and responsible manner during a time of global pandemic.

Character Profiles

Max Liebermann, Training Neurologist – Matthew Beard

“Traumatic memories are pathogenic – they create disease. They don’t vanish, they remain an invisible force, affecting our behaviour.”

Max (20s) lean, attractive, is a middle-class English Jew who moved to Austria in his teens. As a junior doctor Max fell under the spell of the new science of the day and studied neurology. Fixated by the idea of analysing psychopaths at close hand, Max convinced the Viennese police to let him observe their work, and paired up with Oskar Rheinhardt.

When we first met him, Max was on the path to marry vivacious Clara, but meeting Amelia Lydgate changed all that. Max’s attraction to the dark side of the human brain impacts both on his interest in Vienna’s criminals and his relationships. The deeper Max journeys into other people’s madness, the less he’ll know himself.

Oskar Rheinhardt, Police Inspector – Juergen Maurer

“I’ve got a suspect in custody downstairs with blood sprayed around his damned apartment! We know he was on the scene. Why are you so keen to let him go?”

Oskar Rheinhardt (40s) is a half-Slovak Police Inspector with something to prove to his superiors. Oskar is more a doer than a thinker and has a strong physical presence. Despite being occasionally irritated by Max’s discursive approach to crime solving, Oskar is savvy enough to know that Max’s intuitions will help his career prospects.

In series one Oskar was estranged from his wife Else, and Oskar’s family troubles weighed heavily on his mind. Oskar now seems better able to put the past where he’d like to keep it: more firmly behind him.

Mendel Liebermann, Max’s father – Conleth Hill

“Talking cures and hysterics – exploring the darkness of men’s souls. Are you really sure what you’re getting into, Max? Is it really the career for a gentleman?”

Max’s father, Mendel, brought his family to Vienna at the end of the 19th century, attracted by a burgeoning city with a large Jewish population and vast business potential.

Mendel and his wife Rachel, have two children. Though Mendel may once have hoped that his son Max would enter the family business and that there’d be a ‘Liebermann and Son’ sign above his drapery emporium, he’s long got over Max’s disinterest in commercial matters. Despite setting his son up in private practice, Mendel is unnerved by Max’s chosen field of neurology and most keen to see Max settle down and marry.

Leah Liebermann, Max’s older sister – Charlene McKenna

“You’re deceiving her. And you’re deceiving yourself. Is there a name for that in your fancy science books?”

Leah is Max’s older sister. When Leah’s husband died she was left to bring up her son alone. But with her son away at boarding school, Leah has plenty of time to devote to her parents and friends.

Fiery and defensive, Leah is particularly protective of her close friend Clara. Leah has a tendency to deliver criticisms of Max’s behaviour with lashings of sarcasm.

Rachel Liebermann, Max’s mother – Amelia Bullmore

“We have everything we need. And we’re strong as a family. We don’t need anyone.”

Rachel is Mendel’s wife and Max’s mother. She lives for her family and little distracts her from her children. The Liebermanns live well, they have a lavish home and regularly attend the cultural highlights that Vienna has to offer.

Rachel is proud of her son, but finds his work with the police distasteful. She expects Max to marry soon – but more than anything it’s important that he marries a respectable woman.

Clara Weiss (Max’s ex-fiancée) – Luise von Finckh

“If I begged you to cure me, Doctor, would you find that alluring? Do you want to play that game?”

Clara is engaging, vibrant and sociable. Her parents were great friends of the Liebermanns, so both families were delighted when Max and Clara started going out together. Clara is more interested in people than ideas, and enjoys Vienna’s bustling social scene. Max’s preference for abstruse research and his attraction to the darker side of human nature took him away from Clara. The gap between them and Max’s interest in Amelia Lydgate created a gulf, and Clara broke off their engagement.

Clara’s father has passed away and she lives with her mother. A new love interest has emerged in her life in Series Two.

Amelia Lydgate, Scientist – Lucy Griffiths

“I came to Vienna to study science. I was told this city was more enlightened. I see little evidence in the way I’ve been treated here. I ask you plainly – do you think I’m insane?”

Amelia is an English scientist who came to Vienna to further her career. She works at the Natural History Museum, where she restores archaeological finds.

Amelia has a dark and intense presence. There are traumatic experiences in her past. Though Amelia can be passive and cool she has a lively intelligence and a quick wit. Amelia is undoubtedly interested in Max, but whether she’s prepared to risk entering a relationship with him is another matter.