In the first season there was a conflict between Max and Oskar. Max believes passionately in this very new science of psychoanalysis and has strengthened himself knowing that he's going to face a lot of boundaries in trying to push this science forward. And Oskar is very uninterested in the world of the mind. They’re starkly different at the beginning. There have been some brilliant series in the last few decades focussing on criminal psychologists and the idea of creating a profile of the criminal mind. I think what's unique about Vienna Blood is that we're seeing the birth of that science, the beginning of the relationship between crime and psychotherapy. This is the very first time a psychotherapist has been consulted on a criminal case. And for me that's incredibly exciting.

Vienna was a remarkable city. Every now and then through history, you find a city that excels. So you could look at, say, Florence in the Renaissance, or perhaps you could even say swinging London in the 1960s. But Vienna was one of those extraordinary examples where a city just illuminates the world with ideas and creativity. Vienna Blood is as rich and textured as the finest apple strudel – review". Independent.co.uk. 19 November 2019. Archived from the original on 17 August 2022. That’s an interesting question, because Rachel, Mendel and Leah Liebermann are slightly pretending that something dark and difficult isn’t coming, which is this rising wave of anti-semitism. But it is. Max is the one in the family who says, "Look, look this is coming and you need to pay attention to it". I guess - and I hope I’m not speaking too highly of myself here - her dry sense of humour. Leah is quite wry, fiery and witty… now I’m talking about Leah it sounds like I’m giving myself loads of compliments! Endor Productions, MR Film and Red Arrow Studios International announce major new drama Series "Vienna Blood" " (PDF).

Steve Thompson, Writer and Executive Producer

Part of the process of adapting, in this case, is actually stripping out some really good things, some really rich storylines. There’s quite a job of restructuring the book and throwing away a lot of beautiful details that we are not able to use as we simply can’t fit them in the time. A lot of the restructuring is just focusing on the particular story we want to tell. The restructuring was the biggest part of the rewriting. When a medium is found dead in mysterious circumstances, Dr Max Liebermann is called upon by Inspector Oskar Rheinhardt of the Vienna Police to assist in finding her murderer. [5] Would I have made a good detective if I hadn’t chosen to become a writer? Actually, I didn’t choose to become a writer it happened by accident. I’m a mathematician by trade. My degree is in mathematics and I used to be a mathematics teacher, so I have a very structural, logical mind. Does that make a good detective? Yeah, probably it does. Darkness Rising: (Liebermann Papers 4), Century, ISBN 978-0099519744; U.S. title: Vienna Secrets, Random House, ISBN 978-0812980998

Max’s crime solving technique draws on his psychoanalytic skills. Is there a similarity between the skills involved in detection and psychoanalysis? Understanding Obsessions and Compulsions: A Self- Help Manual, Sheldon (London), ISBN 978-0859696524 You’re deceiving her. And you’re deceiving yourself. Is there a name for that in your fancy science books?”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.” Cross-fertilisation became the engine of Viennese creativity. Freud borrowed the techniques of poets and novelists in the service of science when he wrote his early case studies. Then, poets and novelists borrowed Freudian ideas in the service of art. Studies in Hysteria became a reference work, not only for doctors, but for authors, playwrights, and theatre directors.

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). Amelia is a forensic scientist who has moved from London to Vienna to pursue her work because she thinks it will be an environment that’s a bit more conducive to her progressing. Amelia assists Max and Oskar with their detective-ing! Vienna Blood is a really nice escape from reality into a world of history and beauty. There’s so much feeling in everything. It’s a great drama to disappear into. Between 1890 and 1914, Vienna was the world's preeminent creative powerhouse. It was the world's leading city in terms of invention and creativity. I mean it was quite extraordinary. In every area of human endeavour the Viennese were producing revolutionary, cutting edge ideas. We see revolutions in thinking, in art, in music, in science and of course in the psychology and neurology with Sigmund Freud and psychoanalysis. A young seamstress is murdered in a luxury fashion house. Oscar and Max are initially perplexed, but further clues are revealed when Max receives a letter at his new practice. [5]I think it's a sum of all its parts. I don't think there is just one essence. I always think of it as very unconventional. I attribute that to the very European elements to it. Maybe that's my Irish take on the whole thing, I don’t know. Max's nephew suffers a breakdown after the drowning of a fellow cadet at a military academy. Max suspects foul play. [5] He’s more of a loner, living alone, trying to do his job as good as he can and I think he’s quite successful in his job because he has the natural attitude of a hunter. The first episode of the second series, The Melancholy Countess, draws on your novella of the same name. What lead you to write a novella this time rather than a novel? 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.

At the same time Oskar’s world has changed. He has a new boss, one of his colleagues (Von Bulow) who doesn’t like him at all, they have a huge animosity between them. At the end of the first series Von Bulow is actually promoted and becomes Oskar’s boss, so that at the beginning of the second series, Oskar’s work life is very difficult and very tense and there’s this very abrasive relationship at the centre of it. Both of their worlds have changed. And Leah is making her voice heard. It was great putting Leah at the centre of the Liebermann business. The dynamic between her and her father is so beautifully played by the two actors. It's really nice to see it. And Max is enormously relieved that Leah has taken over his role in the family business and his father isn't going to nag him anymore!” Oskar is a street cop, but we know he's also a man with a big heart. He has this very sad past with his family. His daughter has died, his wife has left him. So, it's great to see him for the first time in this series open his heart and begin a new relationship with a new woman. That was great fun. Juergen had a great time acting it. And I had a great time writing it. Possibly because it is so rich. It looks amazing, it's shot on location, so the mise-en-scène is gorgeous and authentic and it’s highly scored. It has a very cinematic feel. The way Robert shoots is very lush and plush. I think it has a glamour and a playfulness due to the relationship between Oskar and Max - I think it has humour, intrigue and beauty. The themes of Vienna Blood are to do with the motivations of humans; dreams, desires, what's going on in the world. I think those motivations are underpinning the crimes.Largely because the Viennese loved socialising. The coffee houses and salons were places where people from all walks of life (with different interests) gathered to talk and exchange ideas. This proved to be very fruitful. Gustav Klimt, for example, was invited to an autopsy by the professor of anatomy at the medical school. Klimt attended the autopsy so that he could better understand the ‘truths’ behind the superficial appearances of the human form. Max Liebermann is the star of this series, which is from the crime, history, and psychology genres of fiction. Frank Tallis, who writes the series, is a clinical psychologist, uses his expertise in the psychology field to write the books. He is a psychoanalytic detective in Vienna, Austria, at the turn of the twentieth century. My on-screen family consists of Conleth Hill, who plays my papa; Amelia Bullmore plays mamma and Matthew Beard plays the ‘one and only’ Max Liebermann. It's always great to reacquaint with the family. We don't always see each other in between filming but when we re-start it's like we never stopped. It's immediately a lot of talking, a lot of joking. There's just a very easy rhythm between us.