German drama
History series “The Empress” wins International Emmy
Sisi (Devrim Lingnau, r) and Franz (Philip Froissant) in a scene from “The Empress”. photo
© -/Netflix/dpa
“Sissi” also attracts attention worldwide: The historical drama “The Empress” won an International Emmy as the best drama series of the year. Other nominated German productions came away empty-handed.
The International Emmys are the global offshoot and little sister of the main Emmy ceremony, which is considered the most important TV and streaming award worldwide and will take place on January 15th.
For the current award, which focuses on non-US American productions, 56 productions from 20 countries were nominated in 14 categories. The awards for non-American productions are very coveted, but do not have the same significance as the US “Emmy Awards” ceremony planned for January in Los Angeles.
“It’s surreal,” Eyssen told the German Press Agency. She couldn’t believe the success. She believes that the emotions and dynamics of the family history of “The Empress” fascinated the audience and jury. “The depth of the characters convinced people,” Eyssen said of the feedback on the series. “This story is not about a princess who marries a king. It is about a rebellious young woman,” Eyssen said in her acceptance speech on stage.
Team wholeheartedly involved
“We are incredibly honored,” said producer Jochen Laube to the dpa after the award. The entire team implemented the material from the heart and is now happy about the great success, especially in view of the “smart, friendly and extremely eloquent competition.” According to him, more than 100 million people worldwide have watched at least parts of the series on the streaming provider Netflix. According to Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth (Greens), the series production received state funding of around 3.7 million euros.
The three other German nominees from public broadcasters, however, came away empty-handed. “Nazi Hunter – Journey into Darkness” – currently available in the ARD media library – had to admit defeat to the documentary “Mariupol: The People’s Story” about the fate of the war victims in Ukraine.
“Classical music under the swastika – The maestro and the cellist of Auschwitz” (Deutsche Welle) lost as the best cultural program to a Canadian documentary about actress and singer Buffy Sainte-Marie. “Meet…Anne Frank” (KiKA) could not prevail as the best non-fiction program for children against the nature series “Built to Survive”.
ZDF also announced on Tuesday that it was involved in the production of “The Schnetts and the Schmoos”. The production from Great Britain (BBC) won in the “Best Animation for Children” category. ZDF will show the film on December 24th, 2023 early in the morning at 7:40 a.m. in the main program (from December 22nd in the media library).