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Apple TV+ lands first German series with new dark comedy “Where’s Wanda?,” starring Heike Makatsch, Axel Stein and Lea Drinda

Directed by Christian Ditter and Tobi Baumann, and created by Oliver Lansley and Zoltan Spirandelli, the series also stars Leo Simon, Palina Rojinski and Nikeata Thompson
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Press Release September 7, 2023
Heike Makatsch and Axel Stein first-look image
Heike Makatsch and Axel Stein star in new dark comedy German-language series “Where’s Wanda?” coming soon to Apple TV+.
Lea Drinda first-look image
Lea Drinda stars in new dark comedy German-language series “Where’s Wanda?” coming soon to Apple TV+.

Today Apple TV+ announced its first German-language series, produced by UFA Fiction, with new eight-episode dark comedy “Where’s Wanda?,” starring International Emmy Award nominee Heike Makatsch (“Love Actually,” “Hilde,” “I’ve Never Been to New York”), German Comedy Award winner Axel Stein (“The Vault” / original title “Way Down,” “Not My Day”), multiple award-winning actress Lea Drinda (”The Gryphon,” “We Children from Bahnhof Zoo”), newcomer Leo Simon, presenter and actress Palina Rojinski (“Welcome to Germany,” “Nightlife”) and entrepreneur, actress and author Nikeata Thompson (“How to Dad"). “Where’s Wanda?” tells the story of Dedo and Carlotta Klatt, who are desperate to locate their missing daughter months after her disappearance. When the police fail to find her, they take matters into their own hands and discover that behind closed doors, none of their neighbors are who they pretend to be.

The series also features multiple award winners Devid Striesow (“All Quiet on the Western Front,” “I‘m Off Then”) and Joachim Król (“The Most Desired Man,” “Gloomy Sunday,” “Mack the Knife – Brecht’s Threepenny Film”), alongside Jasmin Shakeri (“The Magic Flute”) and Bavarian Film Award nominee Kostja Ullmann (“My Blind Date With Life,” “Paradise”).

How far would you go to save your child? For Carlotta (Makatsch) and Dedo (Stein), the answer is clear. Until recently they were a normal family, but after waiting in vain for the police to bring back their 17-year-old daughter Wanda (Drinda), who disappeared months ago without a trace, they are now taking matters into their own hands. With the help of their tech-savvy son Ole (Simon), who helps them obtain surveillance devices, they disguise themselves as employees of an electrical company and bug first their neighborhood and then half their suburb, finding out that behind closed doors none of their neighbors are who they pretend to be.

Directed by award-winning, critically acclaimed filmmakers Christian Ditter (“How to be Single,” “Love, Rosie,” “Girlboss,” “Biohackers”) and multiple award winner Tobi Baumann (“Faking Hitler,” “Pastewka,” “Die Wespe”), the series is written by Royal Television Society nominee Oliver Lansley (“Flack,” “Whites,” “FM”) and based on a story by Zoltan Spirandelli (“Vaya con Dios,” “Lulu”). Executive producers are Rockie Award winner Nataly Kudiabor (“Arthur‘s Law,” “The Mopes”) and two time International Emmy award winner Sebastian Werninger (“The Physician,” “Deutschland83,” “All About Me”).

“Where’s Wanda?” is produced by UFA Fiction, a Fremantle company, for Apple TV+. 

“Where’s Wanda?” is the first German-language series from Apple TV+, and joins a global slate that includes multi-Emmy Award-winning global phenomenon “Ted Lasso”; new hit thriller “Hijack,” starring and executive produced by SAG Award winner Idris Elba; Emmy Award winner “The Morning Show,” starring Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon; beloved BAFTA TV and Royal Television Society-nominated espionage drama “Slow Horses,” led by Academy Award winner Gary Oldman; BAFTA TV Award-winning and Emmy Award-nominated drama “Bad Sisters,” from executive producer and star Sharon Horgan; epic Emmy Award-nominated natural history event “Prehistoric Planet,” from executive producers Jon Favreau and Mike Gunton, and BBC Studios Natural History Unit, narrated by Emmy and Peabody Award winner Sir David Attenborough; new hit world-building drama “Silo,” based on Hugh Howey’s New York Times bestselling trilogy of dystopian novels, starring an ensemble cast led by Rebecca Ferguson, who also serves as an executive producer; acclaimed French-Japanese series "Drops of God,” inspired by the bestselling manga from award-winning Tadashi Agi and Shu Okimoto, starring Fleur Geffrier and Tomohisa Yamashita; and “Foundation,”  the hit, epic saga from storyteller David S. Goyer based on Isaac Asimov’s award-winning stories; among many others.

Apple TV+ offers premium, compelling drama and comedy series, feature films, groundbreaking documentaries, and kids and family entertainment, and is available to watch across all your favorite screens. After its launch on November 1, 2019, Apple TV+ became the first all-original streaming service to launch around the world, and has premiered more original hits and received more award recognitions faster than any other streaming service in its debut. To date, Apple Original films, documentaries and series have earned 376 wins and 1,567 award nominations and counting, including multi-Emmy Award-winning comedy “Ted Lasso” and historic Oscar Best Picture winner “CODA.”

About Apple TV+

Apple TV+ is available on the Apple TV app in over 100 countries and regions, on over 1 billion screens, including iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Vision Pro, Mac, popular smart TVs from Samsung, LG, Sony, VIZIO, TCL and others, Roku and Amazon Fire TV devices, Chromecast with Google TV, PlayStation and Xbox gaming consoles, and at tv.apple.com, for $9.99 per month with a seven-day trial. For a limited time, customers who purchase and activate a new iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Mac or iPod touch can enjoy three months of Apple TV+ for free.*

For more information, visit apple.com/tvpr and see the full list of supported devices.

*Special offer is good for three months after the first activation of the eligible device. One offer per Family Sharing group. Plans automatically renew until cancelled. Other restrictions and terms apply; visit apple.com/promo for more information.

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