Since mid-February 2024, Rowboat Film and Graf Film have been producing three new, exciting films in the successful ZDF/ORF crime series “Die Toten vom Bodensee” with Matthias Koeberlin and Alina Fritsch as the German-Austrian investigative team.
Films 21 & 22 are being made for the first time under the direction of Patricia Frey (e.g. “The Prosecutor”, “The Boss”), for film 23 he is again directing Michael Schneider, who has already directed eleven Lake Constance thrillers. The ensemble once again includes Hary Prinz, Stefan Pohl andDaniel Langbein. Episodenrollen übernehmen Victoria Hauer, Luka Dimic, Harald Schrott, Valentin Hagg, Elisabeth Lanz, Julian Looman, Kenda Hmeidan, Philip Birnstiel u.a. The screenplays were written by Jeanet Pfitzer, Frank Koopmann and Roland Heep.
The first of the three new cases involves Luisa Hoffmann in a dangerous mind game with her imprisoned ex Antonio Zübert. How far will she go to save the life of a little boy?
Die Toten vom Bodensee – 21 “Die Medusa” (AT) with, among others, Victoria Hauer, Helene Stupnicki, Andreas
Kiendl, Luka DimicDie Leiche der jungen Vera Grimm (Victoria Hauer) wird am Ufer des Bodensees angeschwemmt und ruft Micha Oberländer und Luisa Hoffmann auf den Plan. Forensic pathologist Egger (Stefan Pohl), of all people, saw the young woman on the morning of her death accompanied by a little boy, but now there is no trace of him. When the detectives visit the murdered woman’s sister, it quickly becomes clear that family man Andy Löffler (Andreas Kiendl) has been caught up in his criminal past. The boy is his son Augustin, who has been kidnapped by one of his father’s accomplices in order to extort the return of the “Medusa”, a fine gold bust worth millions.
Luisa Hoffmann’s dangerous ex Antonio Zübert (Luka Dimic), of all people, can provide clues to the perpetrator, but only on the condition that he is allowed to meet their daughter Liv in person in prison. Hoffmann is faced with a dilemma: should she give in or risk the life of the kidnapped Augustin if she refuses?
Die Toten vom Bodensee – 22 “Das Geisterschiff” (AT) with Stephanie Japp, Harald Schrott, Valentin Hagg, Elisabeth Lanz and others
For fisherwoman Victoria Ludolf (Magdalena Kronschläger), it looks like a scene from a horror movie when a decaying boat drifts towards her in the middle of Lake Constance. On board is the bound and already skeletonized body of 16-year-old Roman Steingass (Valentin Hagg), who disappeared without a trace 15 years ago as the main suspect in the murder of Anouk Bergdorf. Oberländer was the lead investigator at the time and is now once again facing the traumatized families of Anouk and Roman. When fisherwoman Ludolf is also found murdered a day later with a piece of rope from the ghost ship in her hand, the case takes a dramatic turn, because suddenly everyone involved in the old murder case is a suspect.
Die Toten vom Bodensee – 23 “Der Wunschbaum” (AT) with, among others, Julian Looman, Kenda Hmeidan, Philip Birnstiel, Dominic Oley
Rebecca Jauer is discovered poisoned and hanged in the regionally famous “wishing tree”. But why did the perpetrator display the body so demonstratively at this well-known location of all places? The clues lead to the tree nursery of Saskia Prixner, who had actually fulfilled Rebecca’s wish: she had got her a job in the company of her brother Stefan Prixner (Julian Looman). That same evening, Saskia is found dead – murdered with the same poison as Rebecca. The detectives are confronted with a series of murders in the course of which Rebecca’s ex-boyfriend Oliver Lorenz (Dominic Oley) also becomes a victim. But where is the connection that leads to the perpetrator?
“Die Toten vom Bodensee” is a production of Rowboat Film- und Fernsehproduktion GmbH (Producers: Sam Davis, Kim Fatheuer) and Graf Filmproduktion GmbH (Producers: Klaus Graf, Livia Graf-Bechler), in co-production with ZDF and ORF. The project is supported by Fernsehfonds Austria, FISA+, Film in Austria (ABA) and the state of Vorarlberg. Daniel Blum is the editor for this crime series at ZDF, Sabine Weber at ORF.
Filming will continue until mid-June 2024 and will take place at original locations in Bregenz, Lauterach, Fußach and Wolfurt, among others.
