Interview with Juergen Maurer who plays Oskar Rheinhardt in Vienna Blood

Where do we find Oskar at the start of series four?

We find Oskar in his regular job confronted with a very hard task. He is not with Therese because she dumped him at the end of series 3. Oskar is still the lone wolf he used to be.

How do you feel about rooftop scenes and stunts?

I love to do my own stuff. But am very seldom allowed to. So, whenever you see Oskar run over roofs or jump through windows…. the fighting is pretty much me – fist fights or physical action – but not the things that have risk from the surroundings for insurance reasons. And I would love to do them!

Does it make a difference to the atmosphere of the show to shoot in authentic locations?

Of course. It makes a huge difference to play in actual historic surroundings. All the possibilities of CGI and animated backgrounds, which are nice and very interesting, give filmmakers endless opportunities to create worlds. But filming in the actual historic ambient surroundings is just breathtaking for me. And it brings back Vienna to my eyes. When you live in the city and you see those things every day, they tend to become normal. Then you come to set, to a place that you pass maybe three or four times a year but now set as a historic picture, you see it again. You think, ‘Oh yes. Yes, that is where I live, that is Vienna.’ The potential is there but you lose sight of it if you live here. It’s incredibly beautiful.

What is your favourite Vienna Blood location?

We have so many precious places. And you will always shine with a castle, St Stephen’s Cathedral or with the big things. Personally, my favourite, because it didn’t change over the episodes and we always return, is Oskar’s apartment. It’s a small, very modest backyard of an old Viennese house. And the apartment is tiny, stuffed with old things and has an incredible atmosphere to it.

The image of that modest backyard apartment that is on the ground floor with one room and a kitchen immediately brings me to the character. When I go there I feel Oskar and that is, I think, one of the most beautiful things that the location can do to an actor.

Oskar takes a huge risk in series four. Who takes bigger risks Juergen Maurer or Oskar Rheinhardt?

Oskar is prepared to take higher risks. I’m not a risky kind of guy. I like to have security and order in my private life. I’m a motorcycle rider but that’s about as risky as it gets. I like to go quick but try to contain myself.

What can you tell us about Oskar and Max’s relationship?

The relationship between Oskar and Max has evolved over the episodes and so did our relationship as actors because we got to know each other better and we got closer. I hope I’m not exaggerating when I say we like each other very much and are good friends! We also enjoy the work. It has a certain touch of being complete together and the shoot brings that too. We start shooting and we put on our costumes and stand next to each other and click clack, there we are.

As actors we are quite near to where the characters are with each other. We have one scene at the end of an episode, Max and Oskar are talking about friendship and one asks the other ‘Are we friends?’ and the other one says ‘You really don’t know by now?’ That was a nice moment because it was very real.

Like yes, of course we are friends!

The fourth series of gripping crime drama Vienna Blood (2 x 90’) – written by acclaimed screenwriter Steve Thompson (Sherlock, Prime Target, Deep State,) and based on the bestselling Liebermann novels by Frank Tallis – will air on BBC iPlayer and BBC Two.

Filmed in English and on location in Vienna, series four is directed by Umut Dağ (House of Promises, Breaking Point) with Matthew Beard (The Imitation Game, Dracula, Magpie Murders) and Juergen Maurer (Vorstadtweiber, Tatort) reprising their roles as crime-fighting duo Doctor Max Liebermann and Detective Inspector Oskar Rheinhardt.

The fourth series, unlike the previous three series, features a single story – entitled Mephisto Waltz – told over two mysterious and thrilling episodes.

It’s Vienna, 1909 and the double murder of an arms dealer in police custody and a senior public official has shaken Vienna to its core. Doctor Max Liebermann has only just returned from a lecture tour when Inspector Rheinhardt asks for help in what could be the most dangerous case of their career. Oskar and Max discover a conspiracy that leads to the heart of government. Can the Freudian psychoanalyst and detective do enough to stop a seditious mole known as ‘Mephisto’ from bringing the Austro-Hungarian Empire to destruction? And will their lives ever be the same again?

Sue Deeks, BBC Head of Programme Acquisition, says: “This is such an exciting event – a Vienna Blood case so big it needs to be told over two thrilling episodes. What a treat we have in store!”

Carlo Dusi, Managing Director of Endor Productions, says: “We could not be more proud of this special new season that we have produced with our friends at MR and brings a thrilling new storyline with the highest of stakes to fans of Vienna Blood. There truly could be no better showcase for the combined talents of our wonderful writer Steve Thompson, brilliant director Umut Dag and incredibly talented cast and crew, led as ever by the unique pairing of Matthew Beard and Juergen Maurer. It has been an honour and a pleasure to work again with our partners at ORF, ZDF, BBC, PBS and Red Arrow Studios International in bringing the luminous characters and world originally created in Frank Tallis’s Liebermann Diaries to the screen, and we are sure that audiences will not be disappointed.”

Oliver Auspitz and Andreas Kamm of MR Film add: “We can’t wait to bring this very special season of Vienna Blood to a worldwide audience. Having one case spanning two episodes will push Max and Oskar to limits never seen before. Thanks to our trusted partners Endor Productions, Red Arrow Studios International, ORF and ZDF. With the support of Austria’s rebate system FISAplus, Television Fund Austria and TV-Filmfund Vienna and all the creatives involved we’re delighted to continue this (hi)story!”

Rodrigo Herrera Ibarguengoytia, VP Scripted Acquisitions & Co-Productions, Red Arrow Studios International, comments: “We are thrilled to return to early 1900s Vienna for Max Liebermann and Oskar Rheinhardt’s most ambitious and consequential case yet. Vienna Blood has been a hit around the world, from the UK to the US and from Austria to Australia and we cannot wait to bring this compelling new season to global broadcasters and their audiences.”

The producers of Vienna Blood are Jez Swimer for Endor; Oliver Auspitz, Andreas Kamm and Catrin Strasser for MR Film; commissioning editors are Klaus Lintschinger and Kerstin Bertsch for ORF and Wolfgang Feindt for ZDF; executive producers are Steve Thompson; Carlo Dusi for Endor; Rodrigo Herrera Ibarguengoytia for Red Arrow Studios International and Hilary Bevan Jones.

Other funding partners include FISAplus, Film in Austria (ABA), Televisionfund Austria, TV-Filmfund Vienna and Land Niederösterreich.

Red Arrow Studios International will distribute the series globally.

Watch Vienna Blood series 4 on BBC iPlayer and BBC Two from Sunday 4 August at 9pm.

Global viewers: The previous three seasons are available on the Acorn TV channel on Prime Video and Apple TV+.