Crystal Wall

Last updated

Crystal Wall
GenreRomance, Drama, Crime [1]
Directed by
  • Tarek Roehlinger
  • Greta Benkelmann
[2]
Starring
  • Anna Bardavelidze: Louna Loris
  • Gustav Schmidt: Nicolas Dardenne
[3]
ComposerSebastian Fillenberg
Country of origin
  • Germany
  • Austria
No. of seasons1 [4]
No. of episodes24 [3]
Production
Running time25 minutes [3]
Production companies
  • Producers at Work
  • Wega Film
Original release
Network ZDF
Release10 April 2025 (2025-04-10) [4]

Crystal Wall is a German-Austrian TV programme that was made for ZDF in 2024 by the production companies Producers at Work and Wega Film. The first season has 24 episodes, which are broadcast online on a weekly basis. The first episode aired on 10 April 2025 on ZDF's streaming service.

Contents

Plot

The MMA fighter Louna Loris saves the millionare-to-be Nicolas Dardenne from a life-or-death situation. In return, she is appointed as his personal bodyguard. [3] However, Louna is pursuing another goal; she wants to find out about her father's mysterious death. He worked for the powerful Dardenne company and died under strange circumstances. [2] While she works at Nicolas' side, the pair become closer, which is a cause of great conflict for Louna, because of her mistrust for the influential family. [5] [6]

The so-called 'crystal wall' is symbolic of the world that separates Louna and Nicolas, but with time these differences begin to crumble. [5]

Production

Based on the literary genre of new adult fiction, [7] the romance-drama series was created for a younger target audience. [6] The screenplay was written by Lead Writer and Creative Producer Brigit Waiwald together with a Writers' Room that included Florian Vey, Silva Raddatz, Aglef Püschel, Katja Grübel und Burkhard Wunderlich. [2] [8]

The series was directed by Tarek Roehlinger (episodes 1–12) and Greta Benkelmann (episodes 13–24), [2] [8] and produced by Producers at Work [8] and Wega Film for ZDF. [1] The show consists of one series with 24 episodes. [4] The show features model Barbara Meier in a guest appearance as Valerie. [9] [10]

Filming took place in Berlin and Vienna. [8] The series premiered on 8 April 2025 at the Achtung Berlin film festival, [11] and the first episode aired on 10 April 2025. [8]

Reception

Prisma praised the series, in particular its diverse cast and Anna Bardavelidze's performance as Louna. [3] In contrast, Die Tageszeitung criticises the show's illogical dialogue and outdated aesthetic, as well its failure to look beyond typical tropes of the genre. [7] Kulturnews praises Brigit Waiwald's writing, in particular the characters' depth, as well as the actors' performances. However, it questions the viewers' ability to empathise with Nicolas' suffering due to his wealthy background. [2]

Episode list

Series 1

Episode [4] Name (English translation) [4] First released on ZDF-Mediathek [12] First broadcast on ZDFneo [12]
1Blut auf Gold (blood and gold)10 April 202527 April 2025
2Der Job (the job)10 April 202527 April 2025
3Tag Eins (day one)10 April 202527 April 2025
4Väter (father)10 April 202527 April 2025
5Mütter (mother)10 April 20254 May 2025
6Eifersucht (jealousy)10 April 20254 May 2025
7Zwischen den Stühlen (between the chairs)10 April 20254 May 2025
8Die Fabrik (the factory)10 April 20254 May 2025
9Entscheidungen (decisions)10 April 202511 May 2025
10Party10 April 202511 May 2025
11Begehren (desires)17. April 202511 May 2025
12Verrat (betrayal)17 April 202511 May 2025
13Vertrauen (trust)24 April 202518 May 2025
14Opfer (victim)24 April 202518 May 2025
15Der Sohn (the son)1 May 202518 May 2025
16Schande (shame)1 May 202518 May 2025
17TBC8 May 2025TBC
18TBC8 May 2025TBC
19TBC15 May 2025TBC
20TBC15 May 2025TBC
21TBC22 May 2025TBC
22TBC22 May 2025TBC
23TBC29 May 2025TBC
24TBC29 May 2025

References

  1. 1 2 "Crystal Wall" (in German). crew united. Archived from the original on 5 May 2025. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Jordan, Matthias (10 April 2025). ""Crystal Wall" im ZDF: Liebe zwischen den Klassen". Kulturnews. Archived from the original on 5 May 2025. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Oferath, Paula (27 April 2025). ""Crystal Wall": Kritik zur ZDFneo-Serie über eine MMA-Kämpferin und einen Millionenerben". Prisma (in German). Archived from the original on 5 May 2025. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "Crystal Wall". ZDF (in German). Archived from the original on 5 May 2025. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
  5. 1 2 "So gut ist die New-Adult-Serie" (in German). Gala Magazine. 10 April 2025. Archived from the original on 5 May 2025. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
  6. 1 2 Krei, Alexander (17 February 2025). "ZDF startet New-Adult-Serie "Crystal Wall" im April" (in German). DWDL.de. Archived from the original on 5 May 2025. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
  7. 1 2 Trautmann, Marie-Sofia (15 April 2025). "ZDFneo-Serie "Crystal Wall" kommt nicht ohne genretypische Klischees aus". Die Tageszeitung (in German). ISSN   0931-9085. Archived from the original on 3 May 2025. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 Roth, Veit-Luca (18 February 2025). "«Crystal Wall» startet im April". Quotenmeter. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
  9. ↑ "Barbara Meier mit Gastrolle in neuer ZDF-Serie". Stern (in German). 8 April 2025. Archived from the original on 5 May 2025. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
  10. ↑ Oberleitner, Maria (22 April 2025). "Barbara Meier spielt Gastrolle in neuer ZDF-Serie "Crystal Wall"". Onetz. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
  11. ↑ "Crystal Wall" (in German). Achtung Berlin. 8 April 2025. Archived from the original on 5 May 2025. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
  12. 1 2 "Pressemappe | Crystal Wall" (in German). ZDF Presse. Archived from the original on 5 May 2025. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
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