Gruesome twosome are back

Eager young Doctor Max Liebermann and determined Inspector Oskar Rheinhardt are back to solve more murders in the second run of this dark detective series.

Set in Vienna in the early 1900s, the first season saw Max, obsessed by the psychology of murder, offer to help the local police. He was paired with Oskar, an older detective.

These three new feature-length films see the pair investigate a series of gruesome killings. We asked Matthew Beard (Max) and Juergen Maurer (Oskar) about the new series…

How is Oskar’s relationship with Max now?

Juergen: He likes Max a lot. But they come from really opposite ends of the personality spectrum. Oskar is not an intellectual man. Often he doesn’t understand Max but he knows the things that he tells him about psychology make sense in hunting down criminals.

How do you and Matthew work together?

Juergen: We have a certain kind of chemistry and it’s really great. Our relationship as actors gets more and more detailed and with the routine comes lots of fun. The Max and Oskar scenes are my favourites.

Would you have made a good detective?

Juergen: You would not want to have me as a policeman. You have to be very precise and not be sloppy in any way because you will miss something. That would make it just impossible for me because I lose everything. I would lose every clue, every trace.

How do we find Max this series?

Matthew: He’s set up his own private practice and he’s still at the hospital. But he’s relieved when Oskar appears and asks for help, as he secretly misses the thrill of it.

How did you find playing Max again?

Matthew: I’ve never revisited a character so there’s a slight worry that you won’t find him again. Vienna is the key – as soon as I got out there, Max just came back. Putting the costume on – getting into those high collars, which immediately make you sit differently – made a difference.

Do you think you’d make a good psychologist?

Matthew: I’m not sure I would. I’m quite nosy, so I’d certainly ask a lot of questions, but I’m not sure I’d have many answers.