Verbotene Liebe ( ; literal translation: "Forbidden Love") is a German television soap opera created by Reg Watson for Das Erste. The show is set primarily in the German city of Düsseldorf although, at times, the city of Cologne and the Spanish island of Majorca have figured prominently in the show's story lines. First broadcast on January 2, 1995, Verbotene Liebe was originally broadcast in 24-minute episodes, five times a week. It expanded to 45-minute episodes on June 21, 2011, and trimmed back to 40-minute episodes on January 23, 2012 to accommodate an adjusted time-slot. Since 2011, Central German Broadcasting (MDR) and digital channel EinsFestival have been airing morning repeats of the previous evening's broadcast. In 2006, Pay-TV network Passions began broadcasting episodes of the show from the beginning.
Verbotene Liebe was initially based on original story and character outlines from the Australian soap opera Sons and Daughters, before evolving into a show of its own as the series progressed. The show originally focused on two core families: the wealthy Anstetten family and the middle-class Brandner family. More specifically, it dealt with the story of Jan Brandner and Julia von Anstetten, two strangers whose fascination for each other leads them to fall in love, neither of them cognizant of the fact that they are twins separated by their parents. It is this story of forbidden love that gave the series its title. As cast members left the show, many characters were written out of the storyline, and new ones were added. Sometimes this included whole families. Writers attempted to phase out the dwindling Brandner family by introducing a new middle-class family, the Prozeskis, as foils for the wealthy Anstettens, but the Brandners proved to be too popular with fans, and the Prozeskis left as quickly as they came. Currently, much of the drama centers around the Wolf family and the aristocratic Lahnstein family.
The series has become well known for its groundbreaking treatment of LGBT characters, presenting bisexuality and homosexuality as normal, and homosexual relationships as equal to heterosexual relationships on the show. For this reason, it has become popular with gay and lesbian audiences in Europe and the United States. Ever on the cutting edge, the series is not afraid to tackle controversial issues such as drug addiction, murder, rape, suicide, adultery, homophobia, incest, alcoholism, drug abuse, schizophrenia, HIV, miscarriage, kidnapping, and sexual confusion.
In 2005, Verbotene Liebe received the prestigious Rose d'Or award for "Best Soap," and in 2010 was nominated for the category of "Best Soap or Telenovela." More recently, the show was nominated for eight German Soap Awards in 2011, winning three. The show is filmed at the Cologne-Ossendorf studios of the Magic Media Company, with outdoor scenes and exterior shots regularly shot in and around Cologne and Düsseldorf. In January 2011, the series began filming in high definition.
Read more about Verbotene Liebe: Cast