Neighbors like the Beimers: Five years ago the « Lindenstrasse » ended

Sundays, 6.50 p.m.: This date has burned down for many TV viewers-even today, five years after the end of the « Lindenstrasse ». The ARD cult series was a permanent constant, but the last episode ran on March 29, 2020. After almost 35 years, the fans said goodbye to say goodbye to Mother Beimer and the other « Lindenstrasse » residents. This also ended a piece of TV history.

The series invented by producer Hans W. Geißendörfer revolved from its basic idea around everyday life in a neighborhood. Stories of love, dispute, illness or death took up the « Lindenstraße » in countless variants. And: it consistently continued the individual strands. For example, she showed the daily life of people with a disability or illness – and thus contributed to giving these topics more public.

Starting shot with Christmas music

The number one episode ran on December 8, 1985 – with Christmas house music at the Beimer family. A few main characters from the very beginning still enjoy real cult character: Helga Beimer (Marie-Luise Marjan), of course and her « Hansemann » (Joachim Hermann Luger), whose children Benny (Christian Kahrmann) and Klausi (Moritz A. Sachs), but also the quarrelish caretaker Else Kling (Annemarie Wendl) or the Greek host Vasily Sarikakis (Hermes Hodolides).

In the early years, when there were only a few TV programs, an average of twelve million people switched on the show every week. The events of the latest episode were often a break discussion at the workplace or in the schoolyard the next day.

« This SOAP ercole structure with a cliffhanger and braid dramaturgy-that is, that three stories are told in parallel and bricked up with each other-there was no previously on German television, » says media scientist Sven Grampp from the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg. « To link this format with the idea of ​​picking up and playing through socially relevant topics – that was very innovative. »

Gay kiss was a break

Especially in the first few years, the “Lindenstrasse” repeatedly caused social explosives. The gay kiss between Carsten Flöter (Georg Uecker) and Robert Engel (Martin Armknecht) was considered a scandal at the time. The « Lindenstraße » was also the first German TV series to address AIDS and got married in the two gays.

Such taboo breaks will only rarely come in view of the numerous TV reality formats. However, the series remained true to its claim to take up explosive topics – such as refugees, right -wing extremism or the legalization of cannabis.

Thanks to a simple trick, the « Lindenstraße » was also very close to the time every week. In the consequences, which was turned well in advance, there was always a placeholder that was only filled shortly before the broadcast – with a dialogue on an almost daily topic.

Calculation in elections

« This parallelization of the living environments of the TV viewers and the resident was really something very special, » says Grampp. In federal elections, even the elaborations determined at the same time were shown and commented on by « Lindenstrasse » residents.

For Grampp, the « Lindenstrasse » is also a phenomenon of the 1980s. « Not only was she a crowd puller, but you just knew across generation and shift, which was going on in the ‘Lindenstraße’, » he says. « The ‘Lindenstraße’ was a suitable forum in its time. Nowadays that would no longer be because of the different usage practices. »

Because there are now countless TV channels and streaming services, and programs are available at any time. Whole families are increasingly sitting in front of the television together. In retrospect, it is therefore not surprising that the series was discontinued five years ago, says the media scientist: « The ‘Lindenstrasse’ would no longer work today. »