TL;DR
- The creators of Dark, Jantje Friese and Baran bo Odar, are developing a new HBO thriller series.
- The show is titled Struwwelpeter and is inspired by a dark 1845 German children’s book.
- The series will follow an investigator solving ritual murders tied to the book’s stories.
- Lisa Vicari, who starred in Dark, is set to lead the series.
- The project is described as a “cruel reality” thriller exploring punishment and forgiveness.
Why Are the Creators of Dark Returning With a New HBO Series?
The creative duo behind the acclaimed Netflix series Dark are officially teaming up again for a new thriller project — this time with HBO.
Jantje Friese and Baran bo Odar, the writers and directors responsible for one of the most complex sci-fi series of the last decade, are developing a new series titled Struwwelpeter.
The upcoming show is being produced for HBO Max and marks a major shift for the duo after years of working primarily with Netflix, where they created Dark and later the mystery series 1899.
For fans of Dark, the announcement signals a return to the type of cerebral, unsettling storytelling that made the German sci-fi drama a global hit.
What Is the New HBO Series Struwwelpeter About?
The new thriller takes its inspiration from a surprisingly disturbing source: a 19th-century German children’s book.
Originally written by Heinrich Hoffmann in 1845, Struwwelpeter contains a series of cautionary tales meant to teach moral lessons through extremely grim consequences for misbehaving children.
The HBO adaptation will transform those stories into a modern crime thriller centered around a federal investigator who begins uncovering a series of ritual murders that mirror the book’s macabre tales.
Rather than focusing on children like the original stories, the series will reportedly reimagine the themes for an adult audience, exploring darker ideas around punishment, guilt, and forgiveness.
Which Dark Actor Is Returning for the Project?
Fans of Dark will recognize at least one familiar face in the new series.
Lisa Vicari, who played Martha Nielsen in Dark, is set to star in the HBO thriller.
Vicari’s involvement reunites her with Friese and Odar for the first time since Dark concluded in 2020 after three acclaimed seasons.
Her role in Struwwelpeter will reportedly center on the investigator at the heart of the murder mystery, placing her character directly in the middle of the eerie events tied to the infamous book.
When Could the Series Be Released?
The project is currently in development and production stages, and no official release date has been announced yet.
Still, with HBO continuing to invest heavily in international originals, the series could become a key title for the platform’s European lineup.
If Friese and Odar manage to bring the same mind-bending ambition that defined Dark, Struwwelpeter could quickly become one of the most intriguing thriller series on the horizon.
