With “Sisi”, RTL is showing a six-part mini-series today (Tuesday, December 28, 2021) at 8.15 p.m.: a modern interpretation of the story of the Austrian Empress Elisabeth and her Franz.
Vienna – The young woman known to everyone as Sissi made history as the Empress of Austria-Hungary. As a film character, she became a legend. The new RTL miniseries “Sisi” – yes, the historically correct spelling * only uses an “s” – takes a new look at Elisabeth’s life.
In a total of six episodes, which will be broadcast from Tuesday (December 28th, 2021) to Thursday (December 30th, 2021) in double episodes at prime time on RTL, the love story of two young people between personal desire and political constraints, between power and vulnerability is told. Is it worth watching the remake? First a look at the content, actors, locations and reviews of “Sisi”.
“Sisi” today (Tuesday, December 28th, 2021) on RTL: The storyline of the series
RTL has taken the life of the Austrian Empress Elisabeth and transformed it into a modern version: This becomes clear in the first few minutes in which the young woman is shown masturbating. The RTL “Sisi” can therefore hardly be compared with the “Sissi” embodied by Romy Schneider in the 50s by Ernst Marischka. The series is only too happy to address the contrasts between war and peace, glamor and poverty. The intrigues at court and a lot of sex are not missing either.
However, the plot is not new: Elisabeth, known as Sisi, meets Emperor Franz Joseph I, who is supposed to marry her sister Néné. Even at the first meeting, Sisi and Franz feel a strong bond, but Franz holds on to the engagement to Sisi’s sister. He firmly believes that there is a curse on him and that he will bring calamity to the woman he really loves. Sisi and Franz find themselves in a dangerous situation on a horseback excursion – and Sisi is determined to conquer the emperor.
On the one hand, the RTL adaptation shows Elisabeth of Austria-Hungary, who was known as the “most beautiful woman in Europe” and who defied the rigid court customs at the Viennese court. And on the other hand Franz Joseph I, who transferred the burden of the crown in personal and political hardship and found an unusual ally in Sisi.
“Sisi” today (Tuesday, December 28th, 2021) on RTL: The actors of the RTL series
The 25-year-old Dominique Devenport embodies the legendary Elisabeth in Bavaria, who becomes Elisabeth of Austria and later Austria-Hungary and is now commonly known as Sissi or Sisi. For Devenport it is “an honor to be able to embody such a well-known historical figure,” she said on RTL. The young actress doesn’t feel as if she has to follow in Romy Schneider’s big footsteps: “Our series is a retelling of the story of the historical Empress Elisabeth, it has nothing to do with the existing films. I think the two projects can coexist very well, that’s why I never saw myself as their ‘successor’. “
Jannik Schümann, who comes from Hamburg, plays Emperor Franz Joseph I. A challenge for the 29-year-old because he had to prepare well for his role. “In order to embody Franz Joseph, in addition to working with my acting coach, Jens Roth, I learned the etiquette of the 19th century at the Viennese court, I received riding lessons and physically – fitness training, fencing lessons, stunt training – prepared for the filming”, he told the private broadcaster. A strict nutrition plan was also mandatory.
| role | actor |
|---|---|
| Sisi | Dominique Devenport |
| Emperor Franz | Jannik Schümann |
| Archduchess Sophie | Désirée Nosbusch |
| Count Grünne | David Korbmann |
| Countess Esterhazy | Tanja Schleiff |
| Fanny | Paula Kober |
| Duchess Ludovika in Bavaria | Julia Stemberger |
| Duchess Helene “Néné” in Bavaria | Paline Rénevier |
| Duke Max in Bavaria | Marcus Grüsser |
| Count Andrassy | Giovanni Funiati |
| Bela | Yasmani Stambader |
| and more |
“Sisi” today (Tuesday, December 28th, 2021) on RTL: The locations of the RTL multi-part series
The shooting of the RTL miniseries “Sisi” took place from April to August 2021 in several countries, including Latvia (Riga), Lithuania (Vilnius), Austria, Hungary and Germany. Here the Würzburg residence served as a backdrop for the elaborate production, as did the Berchtesgadener Land.
Even in the 50s films, Sissi’s home was not the real Possenhofen Castle on Lake Starnberg. The filmmakers chose Fuschl Castle in the Salzkammergut as the building for the family of Duke Max von Bayern. The castle is now a luxury hotel.
“Sisi” today (Tuesday, December 28th, 2021) on RTL: The production of a second season has already been decided
The real Sisi was known to be the victim of an assassination attempt in Geneva in 1898, her son and the Emperor Rudolf, who were depressed, committed suicide in 1889. But viewers of the series have not yet experienced all of this, as the first season of the miniseries “Sisi” only covers the 1850s and 1860s.
Director Sven Bohse has already directed the ZDF family and women series “Ku’damm 56”. In Cannes, international critics celebrated the new “Sisi” series (written by Elena Hell and Robert Krause) at its premiere on October 11, 2021. RTL had already announced that the series would be extended and that there would be a second season will. RTL + showed the episodes on December 12, 2021.
“Sisi” today (Tuesday, December 28th, 2021) on RTL: This is how the reviews of the RTL series are
- Luisa Schwebel writes on Stern.de that the new edition of the story of “Sisi” is “worth seeing and refreshing, albeit darker”. The critic likes the new coat of paint that the RTL adaptation gives the characters, because: “No actor couple should or could have copied what Romy Schneider and Karlheinz Böhm succeeded in doing back then.”
- On Sueddeutsche.de it is said that the remake is promising, but one point of criticism is the strongly represented sexual component: “If in the following episodes of Sisi the characters are more in the foreground than the dildo comedy, the renaissance has succeeded.”
- Anja Rützel writes at Spiegel.de: “For a long time Romy Schneider was the only valid revenant of the Austrian Empress. That is now changing with a few remakes of Sisi’s life. “The RTL version, however, is” not for whiskers nostalgic. “
“Sisi”
Tuesday (December 28th, 2021) to Thursday (December 30th, 2021) at 8:15 p.m. on RTL, each in double episodes. Or for streaming online on RTL + or TVNow.
Historical mini-series are currently very popular. In December, for example, the ARD series “A Touch of America” and “Eldorado KaDeWe” * as well as the ZDF series “Around the World in 80 Days” flickered across the screens. (Larissa Wolf) * giessener-allgemeine.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.
