Berlin, 5 February 2025. After the great success of the first three seasons about the Schöllack family, the family story is now continuing at the "Galant" dance school on Kurfürstendamm: in January 2025, filming for the historical ZDF three-parter KU'DAMM 77 began in Berlin and the surrounding area. The scripts were written by creative producer and author Annette Hess. Directed by Maurice Hübner, the new three episodes also star Sonja Gerhardt, Claudia Michelsen, Maria Ehrich, Emilia Schüle, August Wittgenstein and others. New to the ensemble are Carlotta Bähre, Marie Louise Albertine Becker, Massiamy Diaby, Florian Stetter, Aziz Dyab and many more.

Annette Hess, showrunner and author: "For me as the original mother of the KU'DAMM cosmos, it is a great gift to be able to tell a new, exciting and intense chapter from the life of the Schöllackfrauen with an outstanding cast and a fabulous creative team. 1977 was a gruelling year - with strong parallels to today. It was a time of uncertainty, extremes, disco and terror, there were no shades of grey. Every statement was politically categorised on the left or right. The major world events are reflected in our characters. I want to tell how tolerance, love and a bit of work can always turn a clash and different opinions into togetherness."

Nico Hofmann & Marc Lepetit, producers KU'DAMM 77: "The KU'DAMM series by Annette Hess is an absolute favourite project of ours. For four seasons now, we have been thrilled by the Schöllack family, this fast-paced mixture of family drama and contemporary colour combined with themes that could hardly be more contemporary. Once again, she succeeds in bringing the characters to life and developing them radically. Together with Maurice Hübner-Gaida in the direction and Michael Schreitel in the visual design, a large, contemporary political panorama is created here in the year 1977. We are grateful to ZDF and the editorial team around Heike Hempel for opening the doors to our dance school once again in this radical way."

Heike Hempel, Chief Editor ZDF: "We are delighted to be able to take our successful series KU'DAMM into a new era together with author and creative producer Annette Hess and UFA. The family around matriarch Caterina Schöllack has grown. In the "German Autumn", three generations of women experience the pulsating life of the divided city with full force and have to redefine their female identity in society."

Berlin 1977: The flat above the dance school now offers space for three generations: sisters Monika (Sonja Gerhardt) and Helga (Maria Ehrich), their almost grown-up daughters Dorli (Carlotta Bähre) and Friederike (Marie Louise Albertine Becker) as well as mother and grandmother Caterina (Claudia Michelsen). Only Eva (Emilia Schüle), the third sister, is still "abroad", as her stay in prison is described, for a longer period of time.

The women's life together is turbulent, with fierce arguments followed by passionate reconciliations. Monika concentrates entirely on her daughter Dorli's dance career, but when she no longer seems able to cope with the pressure of being a professional dancer, the symbiosis between mother and daughter begins to crumble. Monika rediscovers her own love of music through street musician Sharif (Aziz Dyab) and her encounter with Friederike's teacher Robert Beck opens up a new chapter in her relationship with men. Mother Caterina claims to no longer interfere, but she is the grey eminence grise of the family and dance school, even though Helga officially runs the business. After Wolfgang (August Wittgenstein) left for the East, she has come to terms with many things and seeks solace in alcohol and with the Dahlem dentist Hannes (Florian Stetter). Daughter Friederike (Marie Louise Albertine Becker) eyes her new love with scepticism and always keeps an eye on her mother. When Eva (Emilia Schüle) is released from prison after 14 years, she finds it difficult to find her place again. But when she is able to help the family out of a dilemma, the balance of power shifts. The family events are accompanied by the young journalist Linda Müller (Massiamy Diaby), who is filming a documentary about the traditional company "Galant" for a TV station - although she is also pursuing a very personal agenda.

KU'DAMM 77 continues the family story. There is dancing, singing, discussion and laughter. It's about old love, toxic relationships, grief, cutting the cord and self-determination. It's about letting go and finding yourself anew. Each of the Schöllack women has to face the questions: Where do I come from? Where do I want to go? And who am I anyway?

KU'DAMM 77 is a production by UFA Fiction on behalf of ZDF. The producers are Marc Lepetit, Nico Hofmann and Markus Brunnemann. Annette Hess is the writer and showrunner, the director is Maurice Hübner and Michael Schreitel is once again in charge of the camera. Heike Hempel, Bastian Wagner and Beate Bramstedt are responsible for editing at ZDF. Filming in Berlin is expected to last until the end of April 2025, but a broadcast date has not yet been set.

About UFA Fiction

UFA Fiction unites the top creative minds in the German television industry under one roof and has been delivering consistently successful ratings and outstanding fictional programmes for years. The company bundles UFA's production activities in the areas of series, TV movies, events and cinema films and thus has a remarkable portfolio that has had a lasting impact on the German television landscape. Many productions have not only been great successes with audiences, but have also won numerous national and international TV and film awards, including two International Emmy Awards, and have been sold abroad. These include, for example successful cinema films such as DER MEDICUS or DER JUNGE MUSS AN DIE FRISCHE LUFT, event and high-end drama formats such as UNSERE MÜTTER, UNSERE VÄTER, DEUTSCHLAND83/86/89, CHARITÉ 1/2/3, KU'DAMM 56/59/63 or THE MOPES and FAKING HITLER as well as the highly rated and long-running crime series such as EIN STARKES TEAM, DIE DIPLOMATIN and SOKO LEIPZIG.

The managing directors of UFA Fiction are Markus Brunnemann, Nataly Kudiabor, Ulrike Leibfried and Sebastian Werninger.

Press contact UFA Fiction:

Janine Friedrich
Senior Manager Communications
janine.friedrich@ufa.de
Phone: +49 331 70 60 379