Interview with Conleth Hill who plays Mendel Liebermann in Vienna Blood on season four

How did it feel to be back with your family in the Liebermann home this series?

It feels great to be back with the family again. It does genuinely feel quite familial. Matthew and Amelia and Charlene, it’s just great to work with them always.

Any favourite scenes across all the series’ of Vienna Blood?

The scenes with the family are always enjoyable. We’ve had some great parties in the house for different occasions: engagement parties (that wasn’t to last!) and anniversary parties with our amazing composer [Roman Kariolou] playing piano.

I’ve enjoyed every scene that I’ve been involved in. But one of my favourites would be the auction scene with Charlene and I bidding against each other which was last season. That was a lot of laughs.

Do you think Mendel as a Jewish, Englishman would have felt comfortable in 1909 in an increasingly antisemitic Europe?

I think Mendel would have felt uncomfortable wherever he was in the world at this point in time. I think there was a prevalent antisemitism going on all over Western Europe. He thought that Vienna was a safe place to bring his family but whether that proves to be true or not is always up for question.

What do you like about Mendel?

One of the things I love about Mendel is that he does indulge his son to the extent that he will help with advice about chinoiserie, furniture, or lending clothes, pretending to bid on something he’s not interested in or even allowing his home to be used as a trap to catch an intruder. He’s up for everything.

How does Mendel feel about the dark crimes that Oscar and Max bring into the family home.

Well, I think Mendel is torn between allowing his children to be who they want to be but also paternally being protective of them. Those two sides of him come to loggerheads at times. But I think his children and his family always come first. He will indulge them and help them even though it puts himself at risk.

Who is prepared to take bigger risks Conleth Hill or Mendel Liebermann?

I think Mendel takes a lot more risks than I ever would. To move his whole family from one country to another… you wouldn’t get me doing that!

You’ve done so much as an actor, what’s left for you to learn?

Well, I think as an actor, if you believe you know everything you’re kind of done for. Working and continuing to work – which I’m very grateful for – is a constant education and you can always learn something. You always pick up some information or some kind of education from the whole process.

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.

Season 4 of VIENNA BLOOD arrives Sunday, August 4, on BBC iPlayer & BBC Two at 9pm. The series is set to be distributed globally, and previous seasons are currently available on Acorn TV, Prime Video, and Apple TV+.