Uli Brée’s new ORF series with, among others, Ursula Strauss, Simon Schwarz and Claudia Kottal in other roles on ORF ON and in the ORF-TVthek
Vienna (OTS) – Two best friends from humble beginnings who would do just about anything to escape their boring lives. And two sisters from a rich family who make things so bad that even their parents find it difficult to straighten things out. In the new ORF production from the series created by successful author Uli Brée, two worlds will collide from Monday, January 1, 2024, on ORF ON and in the ORF TVthek (app and web). The titular “beasts” Anja Pichler, Mara Romei, Fanni Schneider and Theresa Riess (“Jeanny – The 5th Girl”) find themselves between love, lies and carelessness. The young line-up in the ten 45-minute episodes is completed by Felix Oitzinger, Tamim Fattal, Julian Looman, Felix Kreutzer (“Soko Kitzbühel”) and Etienne Halsdorf (“Days that didn’t exist”). From April to September 2022, audience favorites and acting greats such as Ursula Strauss, Simon Schwarz, Claudia Kottal, Aleksandar Petrovic, Ines Miro, Annabelle Mandeng, Wolfgang Hübsch, David Oberkogler, Selina Graf, Monica Reyes, Daniela Kong and others stood alongside the newcomers Oliver Baier in front of the camera. The series was directed by Mirjam Unger and Andreas Kopriva, both experienced in high-end series. “Biester” is an ORF production made by MR-Film.
In the new series, viewers can look forward not only to four powerful women, but also to a powerful voice:
“Starmania 22” candidate Valentina Thoms sang and recorded the German-language signature for “Biester”, which will also be released as a single under the title “Luftschloss” on Thursday, December 14, 2023. The soundtrack for the series will be available from December 14th on all common music download/streaming portals.
We got to know the “beasts” Anja Pichler, Mara Romei, Fanni Schneider and Theresa Riess on Thursday, December 14, 2023, as part of an interview at the ORF media campus in Vienna.
ORF program director Stefanie Groiss Horowitz: “Exactly the right thing for the start of ORF ON”
“Uli Brée allows two worlds to collide – he weaves together the stories of two young women for whom life is not good and of two young women for whom nothing in their luxury life is good enough. Mirjam Unger and Andreas Kopriva skilfully staged the series with newcomers and Austrian acting greats. I would like to thank the entire team for ten exciting episodes that are ideal for binging and streaming – exactly the right thing for the start of ORF ON on January 1st.”
Producer Oliver Auspitz: “taking both the logical and long-awaited next step after the ‘Suburban Women’”
“With the ‘Beasts’, written by Uli Brée, we as MR Film are taking both the logical and long-awaited next step after the ‘Suburban Women’ – and the whole thing was thought and developed digitally from the start. We’re really pleased that ‘Biester’ is the very first production on ORF ON.”
Anja Pichler: “Falling down with Jenny and getting up again gave me an incredible amount of joy”
Anja Pichler says about her role: “Jennifer, or rather Jenny, is an ambitious young woman who stubbornly pursues her goal. Hacking in the nail salon, picking up packages in the post office and then graduating from high school in the evening – she does everything to get out of her previous life. Falling down with Jenny and getting up again gave me incredible joy. I hope the viewers enjoy it as much as I do.” And further about the series: “What makes ‘Beasts’ so special for me are the four different protagonists and their path to independence and freedom. And of course how these paths then ‘tangle’ with each other.”
Mara Romei: “Be strong and smart, don’t let yourself be defeated, restricted or stopped”
“Even though as an actress I know what’s going on in the show, I’m totally into it – it’s so much fun to watch everyone. Vero is the first big role for me. I have grown to love her so much through this work and go hand in hand with her into other projects. If I could grab one thing from her, it would be her stubbornness, the fact that she just punches the table sometimes, and her loyalty – she’s inspired me a lot over the last few years. The word ‘beast’ takes on a different meaning through the series – it means being strong and clever, not allowing yourself to be defeated, restricted or stopped. It is a great gift that young women are able to be so prominent and speak for other young women.”
Fanni Schneider: “Sometimes I would like to take a slice of Nelly”
Fanni Schneider says of her “Beast” character: “Sometimes I would like to take a slice of Nelly, she is such a strong young woman. At first glance she may seem like a selfish ‘beast’, but she has a very tender, fragile core. That’s exactly what made it so exciting for me to play her. About what is special about the series: “There has never been anything like ‘Beasts’ on ORF before. I think we can be very proud to show people that the Austrian film landscape – whether in front of or behind the camera – is home to an incredible amount of great talent. The fun of filming definitely carried over into the result – and I know self-praise stinks, but I would binge-watch it.”
Theresa Riess: “Tiziana constantly performs and plays a role in her life”
“Tiziana is colorful, slightly strange and funny in a positive way. There’s also something quirky and unpredictable about her! She tries by all means to be perfect and to meet the unattainable expectations of a modern woman – beautiful, successful, intelligent, sexy, quick-witted, balanced, altruistic, empathetic, perfect partner, perfect daughter – and fails with wonderful comedy and tragedy at the same time . Like her sister, she is looking for recognition, but still has little idea who she actually is. She is such an interesting role. One could say that Tiziana is constantly performing and playing a role in her life. So who is Tiziana really? Even I don’t know that!” And further: “What I love about the series is that all the women are so strong. In front of and behind the camera.”
Further information about the content can be found at presse.ORF.at.