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In October, a new round of the UFA Series School will start at the POTSDAM location. Within two weeks, the participants learn all the theoretical and practical basics in order to then start a traineeship in one of our story teams.

In a small FAQ we answer all frequently asked questions.

Storyliners (all genders) are at the heart of daily series such as ‘Alles was zählt’, ‘Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten’ or ‘Unter uns’, which have been delighting RTL viewers for many years. Each week, a team of storyliners develops the story arcs for at least five episodes, which are then refined into dialogue books by dialogue writers and shot around four weeks later. Another six weeks later, the numerous stories flicker across the screens of millions of viewers. Storyliners develop all the stories and determine the fate of each individual character. They decide who loves or suffers, who becomes gay or pregnant, who is scheming or has integrity. “This requires not only extensive dramaturgical knowledge,” explains Petra Kolle, lecturer at the UFA Series School, former producer of ‘GZSZ’ and long-time lecturer at the Film University Ludwigsburg, among others. “Storyliners have to develop a high degree of creativity under high time pressure and taking into account many production conditions, such as shooting time and budget. It’s a big challenge to write a script for a feature film. But developing stories for a total of five episodes week after week that are so exciting and captivating that viewers tune in every day is the supreme discipline for me.”

Dominique Moro, producer, is a graduate of the UFA Series School in 2006. The majority also work for UFA again and again. We have therefore adopted some modules from back then in the design of the training, but we have also adapted and improved many of them to today’s conditions.”

The deployment and development opportunities after the boot camp are great. Many long-standing and experienced storyliners have so far taken advantage of the opportunity and developed further within the productions – as editors, dialogue book authors or even as head authors, because the demand for good authors has been constant for years. It’s not just the TV stations that are hungry for good material. Platforms such as Netflix and Amazon are also increasingly interested in German stories. That’s why we consistently invest in the education and training of authors.

The bootcamp is aimed at people aged 21 and over who are experienced and interested in writing. It is free of charge for participants and is remunerated at the minimum wage. The theoretical and practical assignments are offered exclusively in presence.

The application process runs from 01.09.2025 to 30.09.2025 inclusive.