The ZDF mini-series “The Palace” is apparently getting a second season. This emerges from a public funding notification by Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg. According to the announcement, Constantin Television will receive EUR 500,000 for the production of the new episodes. A request from the industry service “DWDL” at ZDF remained nebulous, so there were currently only “negotiations” about a new season.
The Medienboard’s announcement states that the successful series about the legendary Friedrichstadt-Palast in Berlin will be continued. The “prominent ensemble” would again include Jeanette Hain (54), Marc Hosemann (52), Luisa-Céline Gaffron (30) and Alina Levshin (38). Uli Edel (76) is also in the director’s chair again, the script was once again penned by Rodica Doehnert (63). It is not yet known whether other leading actors such as Heino Ferch (59), Anja Kling (53) or Svenja Jung (30) will also return.
The first six episodes of “Der Palast” were broadcast on ZDF in January 2022 and turned out to be a surprise hit. With more than six million viewers, the multi-part thrilled many people in front of the TV sets and at the end of the year was one of the most-watched German series in 2022. The series was originally shot in Berlin, Bavaria and Poland from autumn 2020 to spring 2021. It was already available in the ZDF media library on December 27th.
In “The Palace” a German-German family story is told in front of the glamorous backdrop of Berlin’s Friedrichstadt-Palast in 1988 and 1989. The GDR solo dancer Chris Steffen (Svenja Jung) is suddenly confronted with her hitherto unknown twin sister Marlene Wenninger (Jung) from West Germany. Both try to get behind the family secret, which led to their separation shortly before the Wall was built in 1961…