GUTE FREUNDE – DER AUFSTIEG DES FC BAYERN (original title)
UFA FICTION GmbH • Series & Series • RTL • November 2023
Stream all episodes from 18.11. on RTL+ and watch 3 episodes on 22.11. from 20:15 on RTL
The swinging sixties: a revolution in society – and in sport! A time of change and an era of upheaval that not only affected lifestyles, but also sport. A notable highlight of this period was the promotion of FC Bayern Munich to the Bundesliga in the summer of 1965. From humble beginnings, five footballers – Gerd Müller, Sepp Maier, Franz Beckenbauer, Paul Breitner and Uli Hoeneß – fought side by side until they held the championship trophy in their hands and became world champions with the national team.
The six-part RTL+ series highlight GUTE FREUNDE – DER AUFSTIEG DES FC BAYERN not only tells a great soccer story, but also takes a look at the lives of the five young men who went through real rollercoaster rides. The series shows the personal challenges the footballers had to face both in sport and in their private lives. Blinded by money and fame, their friendships were put to the test as they fought for recognition, respect and love. Each of them suffered setbacks and personal defeats as they pursued their shared passion, soccer. It took each of them and the cohesion of all to achieve truly great things.
Sebastian Werninger and Nico Hofmann, producers UFA Fiction: “The six-part series focuses on five friends who all come from humble backgrounds and become wealthy and famous within a few years. What drives them? What do fame and money do to them? And how do the club and soccer change with movers and shakers like Wilhelm Neudecker and Robert Schwan? This story has it all: the great sporting dramas and successes, friendship, love, fame, power and money. We were proud to present our high-end series at this year’s Munich Film Festival. It was a special and fitting setting for GUTE FREUNDE – DER AUFSTIEG DES FC BAYERN. We are now looking forward to releasing the series into the world and are excited to see how it is received.”
Further information on cast & crew
The director is David Dietl, who has staged a young and enthusiastic ensemble in the roles of the FC Bayern players: Markus Krojer (WER FRÜHER STIRBT IST LÄNGER TOT) as Gerd Müller, Paul Wellenhof as Sepp Maier, Moritz Lehmann as Franz Beckenbauer, Jan-David Bürger as Paul Breitner and Max Hubacher (DER HAUPTMANN) as Uli Hoeneß. Maximilian Brückner (HINDAFING) plays manager Robert Schwan, Michael A. Grimm (SCHWERE JUNGS) club president Wilhelm Neudecker, and other roles include Sascha Geršak (GLADBECK) as Zlatko “Tschik” Čajkovski, Martin Brambach (DIE FÄLSCHER) as Helmut Schön, Rafael Stachowiak (NACKT UNTER WÖLFEN) as Udo Lattek and Trixie Strobel, Stella Goritzki, Leonie Brill, Amelie Hennig and Martina Gierlich as the players’ wives.
GUTE FREUNDE – DER AUFSTIEG DES FC BAYERN is a UFA Fiction production for RTL+. The six-part series is based on the book of the same name “Gute Freunde: Die wahre Geschichte des FC Bayern München” by Thomas Hüetlin, longtime SPIEGEL journalist and bestselling author. The producers are Sebastian Werninger and Nico Hofmann, executive producer is Tobias Timme, producer is Rebecca Schröder-Witscherkowsky, junior producer is Sophie Mellmann, creative producer is Richard Kropf. The series was conceived by Richard Kropf, Bob Konrad, Hanno Hackfort and Nico Schulz-Dornburg. The scripts were written by Richard Kropf, Alexander Lindh, Niklas Trinkhaus and Thomas Hüetlin. Holly Fink is responsible for the camera. Executive Producer RTL Germany is Brigitte Kohnert, the editorial team is Manuel Schlegel under the direction of Hauke Bartel, Head of Fiction RTL Germany. UFA Distribution and Fremantle Media are responsible for world sales. The production was supported by the FilmFernsehFonds Bayern, the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW, the Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, the Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung, the German Motion Picture Fund and the Verwertungsgesellschaft Rundfunk.
Further information and images here in the RTL Media Hub.
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