It does work: With the first season of the series "Bad Banks" (season 2 has already been ordered), impressive proof has been provided that first-class television with high entertainment value, an exciting story and great actors can also be staged in Germany. Outstanding reviews and requests from all over the world are the consequent result. Following its TV broadcast, the series, which was partly filmed in Frankfurt, has now been released on DVD and Blu-ray. In extensive interviews of the bonus material, the creators explain the background to the series, the intensive research and the demands that were placed on the filming.
The result is really something to behold. The series tells a complex story from the world of people trading staggering sums in the glass banking towers - and conjuring up the next financial crisis. Exciting, cool and bitterly wicked - this is what good television made in Germany looks like!
The Office of Communications and City Marketing Frankfurt talked to Lisa Blumenberg, initiator of "Bad Banks" and producer of Studio Hamburg subsidiary Letterbox, about the development of the plot, the filming, about the world of bankers and about Frankfurt.
Do you watch your own productions on TV?
I have never hosted a party to watch one of our films together with friends. But: I really enjoyed the premiere of "Bad Banks" at the Berlinale in the Zoopalast. The entire ensemble was there. We virtually sat hand in hand in this legendary cinema and watched the first episode together - that was a great experience.
That sounds like a big film family - what was the atmosphere like on set?
There was a special spirit that I have rarely experienced like that. And that had to do with everyone. The cast and crew couldn't get enough of each other. The shooting days were long and yet everyone still wanted to sit together in the evening.
How long did you shoot for?
From November 2016 to March 2017, we had 63 shooting days for six episodes, which we spent mainly in Frankfurt, Luxembourg and Berlin, but also in London, Leipzig, Paris, Brussels and Bahrain. It was a tight schedule.
How did you come up with the idea of bad banks?
The idea formed during the 2008 financial crisis. The Lehman bankruptcy showed how extremely thin the ice is on which the rich Western world moves. The system of banks, money and investments is existential for the functioning of our world, people trust in it. And at the same time it is unstable and unpredictable. Once the domino game gets going, no one knows where the next stone will fall. I wanted to tell from Germany, from Frankfurt, how this system works, which at the same time applies all over the world and therefore has global relevance.
Which countries still want to show "Bad Banks"?
We have sold the series to more than 30 countries. Australia, New Zealand, the UK, among others. Other deals with the US, among others, are close to being finalized. This interest is great praise for our production. Which, of course, I didn't do alone. A project of this magnitude is realized with a well-coordinated team, including Günther Russ and Christian Friedrichs, who closed the financing with me, and junior producer Lisa Arndt. In addition, we had a strong supporter in the region at our side with HessenFilm und Medien.
"And what series do you watch?" is now almost a standard question. Why are series so hot?
There are several reasons. For one, viewers seem to have a need to get to know and follow a character more intimately. In series, you can show the complexity of the characters with all their idiosyncrasies, contradictions, with grey areas, shadow sides and dazzling facets in a different quality than in a 90-minute film. On the other hand, new technology and distribution channels always demand new content. No one can watch all series. And yet the needs of broadcasters and platforms are far from being met.
How do series work today?
The basic idea, after all, is always to open up a new world to viewers. And if it's space - as a kid I was totally fascinated by Starship Enterprise. Bad Banks" also shows a strange, closed world. With our series we want to tell about it from the inside perspective and try to understand it. Without prejudice, but with great curiosity.
How much research work was necessary for this?
For a material like "Bad Banks" you can't make up a single line. It was hard work for head writer Oliver Kienle and his team of writers. We tell the story of how a new financial crisis can come about - to do that, first and foremost, you have to do detailed basic research. Everything has to have a hand and a foot. Otherwise the bankers will laugh themselves to death when they watch our series. From the beginning, there were four expert advisors who had worked as investment bankers, including a broker from New York for the female perspective. We wanted to know and understand the principles behind the banks' business models, what each product was for, and why it was invented. As a second step, it was important for us to learn: What does the world of banking feel like? What does it taste like, smell like, look like? To this end, we and especially director Christian Schochow conducted dozens of background interviews.
And?
Their world is feverish, dazzling, adrenaline-charged. It is fascinating, an elite world: bankers are educated, fast and international. They are passionate and in constant competition. They are no longer in it for the money, they are in it for the recognition. Bankers have all this in common. And yet they are fundamentally different. That's what we want to show with the characters from "Bad Banks."
What do people from the banking world say about your series?
It's been very well received. Some tell me they have virtually devoured the episodes. Others think the plot is a bit over the top. However: If you want to show the development of a financial crisis in six episodes à 50 minutes, this exaggeration is due to the narrative compression.
The ZDF has already announced a second season "Bad Banks" - when does it start?
We are in the middle of the development. We have already worked out the concept during the first season. We want to start filming in winter 2019.
Frankfurt is considered by many to be a cold financial metropolis - how did you experience the city?
Completely different. I have known Frankfurt since the late 80s when I was a student in Mainz. Frankfurt was for me the sexy alternative to the cozy Mainz, the TAT my living room. Since then the city has changed a lot. Bank towers, red light, old town - I find this mixture of different worlds highly attractive. The view from Sachsenhäuser Ufer, from the Film Museum across to the skyline - for me it's the most beautiful in the city. Our editor in charge at ZDF, Caroline von Senden, is also very familiar with Frankfurt. She lives there and was always delighted to come to the set
Source: Introduction: Sebastian Betzold, the questions were asked by Anja Prechel