Berlin in Television Series

TY - CONF

T1 - Berlin in Television Series

AU - Eichner, Susanne

PY - 2023

Y1 - 2023

N2 - As previous work has shown, Berlin and the film studios in its suburbs were important sites of production since the early days of film (Eichner & Mikos 2017). Berlin has recently been rediscovered as a central location and production site for international television drama (Mikos 2020). In this contribution, I will look at the domestic series production and explore aspects of aesthetic, narrative, and genre from 2017 onwards and trace related trends. The developments are retraced and argued with regard to the following four aspects: firstly, with regard to location, the paper argues that the multilayered images of Berlin have turned into a brand value and commodity that is exploited (more or less successfully) by TV producers; secondly, with regard to the new market dynamics we see how new partnerships in (co )production, new money, and new channels of distribution, enable a bigger variety of outcome, more competition, and more quality in German TV drama production; thirdly, with regards to narratives and themes, we see a bigger variety of topics, going beyond the “classic” selling points (such as WWII and Nazi regime, Cold War and the Berlin wall). For instance, organized crime has been exploited in the recent years, but newer productions show an increasing diversity in Berlin-related topics. Fourth and lastly, matters of genre and representation are explored, following previous observations (Eichner 2019) of the development of “Berlin Noir” as a distinct “male” genre. Keywords: drama series, location, Berlin, production, representationLiterature:Eichner, S. (2021). Selling location, selling history: New German Series and changing market logic. In European Television Fiction Renaissance: Premium Production Models and Transnational Circulation (pp. 191-210). Routledge.Eichner, S. (2019). Berlin Noir: Location, Aesthetics and Market Logic of New German series. Conference presentation at EURONOIR - Producers, Distributors and Audiences of European crime narratives”, international conference (30 September-2 October 2019), Aalborg, Denmark. Eichner, S., & Mikos, L. (2017). Berlin in Television Drama Series: A Mediated Space. SERIES, 3(1), 41–50.Mikos, L. (2020). Berlin as location and production site for transnational TV drama. Critical Studies in Television, 15(4), 373–392.

AB - As previous work has shown, Berlin and the film studios in its suburbs were important sites of production since the early days of film (Eichner & Mikos 2017). Berlin has recently been rediscovered as a central location and production site for international television drama (Mikos 2020). In this contribution, I will look at the domestic series production and explore aspects of aesthetic, narrative, and genre from 2017 onwards and trace related trends. The developments are retraced and argued with regard to the following four aspects: firstly, with regard to location, the paper argues that the multilayered images of Berlin have turned into a brand value and commodity that is exploited (more or less successfully) by TV producers; secondly, with regard to the new market dynamics we see how new partnerships in (co )production, new money, and new channels of distribution, enable a bigger variety of outcome, more competition, and more quality in German TV drama production; thirdly, with regards to narratives and themes, we see a bigger variety of topics, going beyond the “classic” selling points (such as WWII and Nazi regime, Cold War and the Berlin wall). For instance, organized crime has been exploited in the recent years, but newer productions show an increasing diversity in Berlin-related topics. Fourth and lastly, matters of genre and representation are explored, following previous observations (Eichner 2019) of the development of “Berlin Noir” as a distinct “male” genre. Keywords: drama series, location, Berlin, production, representationLiterature:Eichner, S. (2021). Selling location, selling history: New German Series and changing market logic. In European Television Fiction Renaissance: Premium Production Models and Transnational Circulation (pp. 191-210). Routledge.Eichner, S. (2019). Berlin Noir: Location, Aesthetics and Market Logic of New German series. Conference presentation at EURONOIR - Producers, Distributors and Audiences of European crime narratives”, international conference (30 September-2 October 2019), Aalborg, Denmark. Eichner, S., & Mikos, L. (2017). Berlin in Television Drama Series: A Mediated Space. SERIES, 3(1), 41–50.Mikos, L. (2020). Berlin as location and production site for transnational TV drama. Critical Studies in Television, 15(4), 373–392.

M3 - Paper

T2 - Locating Media Industries: Cities, Spaces, Places

Y2 - 19 June 2023 through 21 June 2023

ER -