LFTVD (Deutschland 83)

Question 1

Who produced D83?

Answer 1

Sundance TV (American company, subsidiary of AMC Network) and UFA Fiction (German company, subsidiary of RTL Television)

Question 2

Who created the story for D83?

Answer 2

Husband-and-wife duo, Joerg Winger (German TV producer) and Anna Winger (American novelist)

Question 3

How was the production of D83 funded?

Answer 3

Funding came from the conglomerate companies AMC Network and RTL

Question 4

Who distributed D83?

Answer 4

FremantleMedia International (subsidiary of RTL, vertically integrated)

Question 5

What channel was D83 exhibited on in the UK?

Answer 5

Channel 4 (public service broadcaster funded by adverts)

Question 6

What is Channel 4’s remit?

Answer 6

To champion unheard voices

To innovate and take bold creative risks

To inspire and change in the way we lead our lives

To stand up for diversity across the UK

Question 7

What type of audience does D83 target?

Answer 7

A cultured audience interested in content from foreign countries

Question 8

What part of Channel 4 exhibited D83?

Answer 8

Walter Presents, part of Channel 4’s online streaming service, it specialises in foreign-language drama and comedy with English subtitles

Question 9

What is D83 based on?

Answer 9

Based on the real-life stories of German spies during the Cold War/pre Berlin wall fall in 1983, such as Rainer Rupp (a West German spy sent to the East)

Question 10

How does Joerg Winger’s personal life story relate to D83?

Answer 10

He used to be a Bundeswehr soldier in West Germany in the 1980s, intercepting messages from Russian troops in the GDR (East Germany)

Question 11

Which countries was D83 released in?

Answer 11

USA, Germany, UK, Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Ireland, Australia and the Netherlands.

Question 12

How many views does D83 have, as of January 2016?

Answer 12

Over 2.5 million

Question 13

How many views did the first episode of D83 receive on release?

Answer 13

1.49 million

Question 14

What was the budget for D83?

Answer 14

€8 million to produce the whole season (€1 million per episode)

Question 15

How many episodes are there in D83?

Answer 15

8

Question 16

What is the name of the first episode?

Answer 16

Quantum Jump (named after a real-life NATO military exercise)

Question 17

When was D83 released?

Answer 17

June 2015 in the USA
November 2015 in Germany
January 2016 in the UK

Question 18

What was the critical response for D83?

Answer 18

initial 95% score and average 7.8/10 rating on Rotten Tomatoes

79/100 score on Metacritic

Many critics called it “the best show of the summer”

Premiered at the Berlinale 2015 film festival to positive reviews

Question 19

How was D83 received in Germany?

Answer 19

the show lost half the viewership numbers that it had in the US

German newspaper Bild called it “flop of the year”

Question 20

Why was D83 received so poorly in Germany?

Answer 20

Germans disliked the dramatisation and sensationalism of the serious, tragic real-life events during the Cold War; the show is set not that long ago (1980s) and there were likely people alive during that time who watched D83 and felt the show was insensitive towards historical events

Germans found there to be historical inaccuracies within the show; seeing as Anna Winger is American and Joerg Winger is from Berlin (West Germany), they may not have been as knowledgeable about East Germany which led to inaccuracies

Having lived through the events of the show themselves, the plot was nothing new or exciting to Germans and they were becoming bored/oversaturated with shows and films about German spies; it was something they’d seen, heard and even lived before

Question 21

How long are the episodes of D83?

Answer 21

roughly 45 minutes

Question 22

Where was D83 filmed?

Answer 22

Berlin, Germany and at the Stasi Museum in Lichtenberg

Question 23

How did Anna Winger ensure that D83 had accurate representations of history (to her standards)?

Answer 23

She worked with and did extensive research with experts who were from both East and West Germany

Question 24

Who is the historian who provided historical information for D83?

Answer 24

Klaas Voss from the Hamburg Institute for Global Research

Question 25

Who are the main characters in D83?

Answer 25

Martin (main protagonist)

Lenora

Ingrid (Martin’s mum)

Annett (Martin’s girlfriend)

General Edel

General Jackson

Walter

Alex Edel

Karl Kramer

Mrs Werner

Yvonne

Frau Nett

Tobias

Question 26

How was D83 marketed?

Answer 26

Digital campaign created using sliding images to compare how Berlin looked in the past vs the present day, this gave audiences interactive insight into the location and historical context of the show, also helped to promote the historical period drama LFTVD genre.

Propaganda-style art and posters were created to reflect how the show is set during the Cold War, and the importance of the Cold War to the plot of the show. This type of art was received well by audiences who were interested in history, period dramas, war dramas and political dramas.

Playlists with popular 80s songs were created on streaming sites such as Spotify to emphasise how the show is set during 80s and to create verisimilitude. This music helps to interest older audiences who grew up in the 80s and feel nostalgic. The audience is able to vicariously live through the music and pretend like they are in the 80s, which makes them able to relate to and enjoy the show more deeply.

An infographic was created which explains specific details about the year 1983. Once again, this attracts audiences that grew up in the 80s and younger audiences who are interested in a different era and want to learn more. Recently the 80s has been a popular time period for TV shows to replicate/be set in

Anna Winger, the writer of the show, regularly made tweets and posts on social media promoting the show using hashtags which encouraged people online to watch the show

Different posters were used in different countries to appeal to specific audiences.

In the US, the SundanceTV poster used very striking, bold colours (blue, pink, black and white)and looks like a painting which appeals to them as Americans are stereotypically known to enjoy more action and flashy, over-the-top media.

The text says “Over the wall, under the gun” which appeals to Americans as they are more familiar with guns. The poster shows lots of missile bombs in the background which again feeds into the drama and the idea that there will be huge explosions and effects which appeals to the American audience.

In the UK, the Channel 4 poster is a photo, rather than digital art, which appeals to the UK audience’s more laid-back, reserved tastes. This poster focuses more on the contrast between Martin’s two lives between the East (grey, lacking colour, run down, barbed wire, fighting for power, missiles) and the West (vibrant, colourful, romance, games, fruit, freedom). This poster gives a completely different vibe to the American one.

Question 27

What spin-off products of D83 are there?

Answer 27

D86 and D89, other LFTVD set in the same world as D83 but 3 and 6 years after

Available on DVD box set and Blu-ray

Question 28

How are audiences responsible for the popularity of D83?

Answer 28

There are fanfictions, fan-made MVs and memes which help to circulate the product. These are all examples of prosumer content.

There is a D83 Wiki where people can read and learn everything about the show, as well as contribute to the wiki page with information.

There is a r/Deutschland83 subreddit on the online forum website Reddit where fans ask questions about the show, answer people’s questions, post theories, discuss episodes, share Youtube videos and make polls (favourite character, best character etc). This subreddit has 1.4k members.

Question 29

What genre is D83?

Answer 29

spy/romance/thriller/political drama

Question 30

What social contexts does the episode reflect?

Answer 30

Reflects the social contradictions in a divided 1980s Germany

Reflects the influence of social anxieties between East and West

Question 31

How is East Germany represented?

Answer 31

As a rigidly controlled state that promotes women’s equality (e.g. Lenora is a powerful woman who sets up the spy operation)

Question 32

How is Lenora represented?

Answer 32

Unconventionally; powerful, cold, dominant over men, strict

Stereotypical femme-fatale

Question 33

How is West Germany represented?

Answer 33

Less controlled, Western influenced (Puma clothing, colourful imported foods at the supermarket)

More patriarchal than the East

As “other”; racial integration of General Jackson separates West Germany from their “whiteness”

Question 34

What cultural contexts does the episode reflect?

Answer 34

Reflects specific German concerns about cultural amnesia (audiences think back to the 1980s but may struggle to remember events clearly)

Reflects the cultural division and then reunification of East and West Germany

The espionage narrative is of global cultural resonance and explains why the series was successful internationally (despite poor audience figures in Germany)

Question 35

What historical contexts does the episode reflect?

Answer 35

Reflects and explores the historical trauma that came with the division and reunification of Germany (East Germany is poor, controlled and dull whilst the West is rich, seemingly free and colourful)

Reflects the difficulties faced by Germany when coming to terms with its divided past and the political/military tensions of the early 1980s

Question 36

What economic contexts does the episode reflect?

Answer 36

Reflects the highly competitive nature of US cable/satellite TV in which channels (Sundance TV) seek quality programming (foreign-language programming) to maintain the brand and audiences