Lindenstraße (ARD)

“Lindenstraße”, a half-hour weekly drama, has had a lesbian character for much longer than any other show on German TV, and luckily, it does not look like Tanja Schildknecht (Sybille Waury) will go back to men any time soon – on the contrary.

Steffi (Isabell Brenner, left) and Tanja (Sybille Waury)

After breaking-up with her wife Suzanne at the end of last year, Tanja decides to redecorate her bedroom and asks Steffi (Isabell Brenner), who just moved to the Lindenstraße, for help. Steffi was just released from prison, where she served a 12-year-sentence for murdering two people, but that does not stop Tanja from feeling flattered by Steffi’s compliments and from enjoying flirting with her. One thing leads to another, and they end up in bed together.

Unfortunately, neither Tanja nor Steffi live alone, and in the following days, they cannot seem to find a place to be together again. That is when Steffi decides to break into an apartment whose inhabitants are on vacation. Tanja first protests, but then seems to be turned on by Steffi’s dark side. They spend some time in the apartment, even take a bath together, and talk about Steffi’s dream to open a store to sell her – you guessed it – self-made chocolates. (So, is that going to be the new lesbian cliché? Instead of wearing flannel shirts and working in an auto repair shop, lesbians now make chocolate? )

Later, Steffi shows Tanja a store she thinks would be perfect for what she is planning. She is not bothered by the fact that the premises are already occupied by Murat’s kebab shop, and suggests to Murat to stop selling kebab and start selling chocolates with her.

Coming up:

Murat is willing to give Steffi’s idea a try, but in order to earn the money she needs to start her own business, Steffi decides to start selling drugs…

Pictures: Das Erste

KDD (Arte/ZDF)

“KDD” is the abbreviation for “Kriminaldauerdienst”, a special unit of the criminal investigation department. The show, now in its third – and unfortunately last – season, focuses on a group of policemen and -women in Germany’s capital Berlin, their cases as well as their private lives.

One of them is Kristin Bender (Saskia Vester). In the first season, she was in a relationship with another woman that she kept a secret from her colleagues. One of them found out about it, though, and outed Kristin in public. When her girlfriend broke up with her, she tried to commit suicide, but was saved by her foster son Enes.

In the second season, Kristin befriended the pharmacist Thomas, who had a son at Enes’ age. Thomas fell in love with Kristin. For Enes’ sake, Kristin decided to move in with Thomas, but Thomas soon wanted to get rid of Enes. He located the boy’s mother in Kosovo and gave her money, and Enes had to return to her and leave Kristin.

Kristin (Saskia Vester) and her foster son Enes (Edin Hasanovic)
(Quelle: ZDF/ZDF/Volker Roloff)

In the first episode of the third season, which started two weeks ago, eleven months have passed. Kristin, who dumped Thomas after finding out what he did, has finally gotten over losing Enes and even seems to have found a new love. In the beginning of the first episode of the new season, a woman helps Kristin carry some office supplies into the police station. When she wants to leave, Kristin holds her back to kiss her goodbye, not caring that her colleagues can see her.

Coming up:

Enes returns to Germany, but he killed a people smuggler in self-defence. He turns to Kristin for help…

And last but not least:

Verbotene Liebe: Carla and Stella will be back for a guest appearance, beginning this Thursday! So if you are in Germany, make sure to set your DVR! [Update: The episode was pushed back, which means "Starla" won't be back until Friday.]

Emma Stahl: The first teaser for the new German web series Emma Stahl will be released on Wednesday. Get more info on the show and on how you can support it on the official website.

For English recaps of and information on lesbian storylines on other European shows, like the Spanish “Hospital Central” and the Slovakian women’s prison drama Odsúdené, you should check out eurOut.

Lesbian romances are blooming on German TV at the moment, and apparently, it is all about chocolate.

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