Fancy watching a Victorian-era Sherlock series taking place in Austria? Then do we have news for you.
Vienna Blood, a 1900s-set crime series from Steve Thompson – the man who penned several episodes of the hit Benedict Cumberbatch detective drama, including applauded series two finale The Reichenbach Fall – is set to air on BBC2 later this year.
Based on the best-selling Liebermann novels by clinical psychologist Frank Tallis, the three-part feature-length series will follow Max Liebermann (played by The Imitation Game’s Matthew Beard), an English doctor who becomes a student of acclaimed psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud in Vienna.
However, his studies are soon halted with the arrival of Oskar Rheinhardt (Austrian actor Juergen Maurer), a Detective Inspector struggling with an unusual case. It’s down to Liebermann’s perception, forensics and, dare we say, deductions to help solve the city’s most mysterious and deadly crime.
Speaking about the two lead’s relationship in the books, Tallis said: “It is through Rheinhardt that Liebermann becomes involved with police investigations, applying his psychoanalytic knowledge – particularly when suspects are interviewed. Liebermann’s technique, of course, is to allow unconscious processes to betray their misdemeanours ‘through every pore’.”
He added: “There are many commonalities that link detection and psychoanalysis. Fundamentally, Sigmund Freud and Sherlock Holmes were in the same business.”
The series, filmed on location in Vienna, also stars Conleth Hill (Varys from Game Of Thrones), Charlene McKenna (Rose Erskine from Ripper Street), Amelia Bullmore (Gentleman Jack’s Eliza Priestley) and Dracula’s Jessica De Gouw.
First published in 2005, there are now seven books in Tallis’ Max Liebermann series, which has been translated into 14 languages.
The BBC hasn't announced exactly when Vienna Blood will air, but they have confirmed we can expect the series later this year.
