Don’t miss this... Vienna Blood, BBC Two, Friday, 9pm
The gothic British, German and Austrian co-production is back for a new series. For the uninitiated, Matthew Beard takes the lead role of Max Liebermann, a gifted young English doctor living in the titular Austrian city during the early years of the 20th century. He’s studied under famed psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, and his insights into the human mind prove useful to local police detective Oskar Rheinhardt (Juergen Maurer); the pair form an unofficial investigative partnership that proves hugely successful. “To have had the pleasure of filming in the magical city of Vienna for a second series was such a treat, a real feast for the eyes, not only for us as programme makers but – we hope – for our viewers too,” says Hilary Bevan Jones, managing director of Endor Productions, one of the firms involved in the thriller’s creation. “We have three more compelling stories written by the incredible Steve Thompson and once again inspired by the world Frank Tallis created in his Liebermann novels. With Matthew Beard and
Juergen Maurer heading our fantastic international cast and Robert Dornhelm weaving his directorial vision, we have been spoiled.”
“Having just set up his own private practice, we find Max experimenting with Freud’s new talking cure and various psychoanalytic techniques,” explains star Matthew Beard while discussing the second run.
“But he’s also still at the hospital, where he works with patients. And he still has a relationship with Oskar.”
He adds: “As we leave Max and Oskar in the first season, Max asks what the next case will be – so he’s hoping that he’ll still be able to be involved in criminal investigations.
“I think he’s quite relieved when Oskar appears and asks for some help because he secretly misses the thrill of the crime scenes.”
Episode one is called The Melancholy Countess...
Autumn, 1907. When a depressed Hungarian Countess is found drowned in the bath of her lavish hotel suite, it looks like suicide.
Intense scrutiny falls on her psychoanalyst, Max Liebermann, who asked the Countess to stop taking her prescribed medicine and start taking a course of Freud’s talking cure with himself. Investigating Officer Oskar Rheinhardt teams up with the disgraced doctor to solve the riddle of the Countess’ death and clear Max’s professional reputation. A post-mortem reveals that the
Countess was poisoned, which turns
Max and Oskar’s attention to Oktav Hauke, a young Second Lieutenant with a reputation for dubious relationships with rich, older women. When Max’s private practice is vandalised and transcripts of his meetings with the Countess are stolen, it seems that Max knows more than he realises.
Max searches for clues to the identity of the murderer, but it will take more than understanding the source of the Countess’ melancholic dreams to unlock this case.