| Format | Crime / Drama |
|---|---|
| Created by | Jürgen Kehrer |
| Starring | Leonard Lansink Manfred Höch Ekkehard Talkötter Ina Paule Klink |
| Country of origin | Germany |
| No. of episodes | 33 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 90 Minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | ZDF |
| Original airing | 20 February 1995 |
Wilsberg is a TV series based on novels published about a private detective named George Wilsberg. In 1995, five years after the release of the first novel, Joachim Krol played him in a TV feature film. Another three years later the second TV feature film was aired, this time starring George Lansink as Wilsberg. By now there have been altogether 33 TV feature films about detective Wilsberg.
Contents |
Wilsberg is not only a private detective, he also runs a bookshop for antiquarian books[1] in Münster[2]. Both jobs mix very well. He purchases whole libraries if he can, preferably striking bargains by buying the bequest of a recently deceased. He has got a business card which gives his side job away. So if there are any doubts concerning the circumstances of the demise, the relatives are inclined to employ Wilsberg. Other customers appreciate the chance to hire a private detective discreetly by pretending they are just looking for rare books when they visit him. Wilsberg investigates cases all over Münster and its outskirts.
While readers of the novels usually know the locations and relish their déjà-vus, the TV show is broadcast throughout Germany and needs to intelligible for all audiences. That required already a different approach. However, it wasn't enough to modify existing stories. Due to the success of the series original scripts were necessary because the number of available novels wasn't sufficient. Some characters appeared therefore more often in the TV series than in the novels and their interactions with protagonist Wilsberg became a part of the show. So the protagonist of the novels and the hero of the TV show have drifted apart but that affected neither the success of the novels nor the success of the TV series.
