Lisa Vicari HBO Thriller
Lisa Vicari stars in an HBO Max series based on "Struwwelpeter" featuring ritual murders — generating 9,386 likes on social media. The adaptation transforms the classic German children's stories into a dark thriller format. No release date announced yet.
This project marks a major reunion for German television, bringing actress Lisa Vicari back together with Jantje Friese and Baran bo Odar. The trio previously collaborated on the critically acclaimed Netflix science-fiction thriller "Dark," which became an international sensation for its intricate plot and noir atmosphere. The series is being produced by Friese and Odar's production company, Dark Ways, for HBO Max. The new show follows the duo's short-lived but ambitious mystery series "1899" for Netflix, which was canceled after one season despite developing a fan following. The source material, "Der Struwwelpeter," is a well-known but controversial 1845 German children's book written and illustrated by physician Heinrich Hoffmann. It features 10 cautionary tales written in rhyme that detail the gruesome and often fatal consequences for children who misbehave, such as a girl who burns to death playing with matches and a boy whose thumbs are cut off for sucking them. Described as a "cruel reality" thriller, the adaptation will shift the focus from children to adult characters. The plot follows a federal investigator as she solves a series of ritualistic murders that are directly inspired by the dark and violent stories from Hoffmann's book. The series aims to explore complex themes of punishment and forgiveness within a family drama structure. Lisa Vicari, who played the pivotal role of Martha Nielsen in "Dark," has a background in thriller and drama-heavy roles. Before her international breakthrough, she starred in the 2017 German thriller "Luna," where she played a teenager whose family is targeted by Russian agents.
