Charité
The third season starts in January
Third season "Charité" (from left to right): Pediatrician Ingeborg Rapoport (Nina Kunzendorf), serologist Prof. Otto Prokop (Philipp Hochmair), gynecologist Prof. Helmut Kraatz (Uwe Ochsenknecht) and the young doctor Dr. Ella Wendt (Nina Gummich).
© ARD / Stanislav Honzik
The third season of the hospital series "Charité" starts on January 12th in the first. The six new episodes take place while the wall is being built.
The third season of the historic hospital series "Charité" (since 2017) starts on January 12th at 8:15 pm in the first. The next chapter in the history of medicine and the world-famous Berlin hospital takes place in August 1961, when the building of the Wall made the Charité the border area between East and West overnight. Where did the Berlin hospital stand politically at this time? How important was research and medical work in the 1960s? What shaped the historical figures and what were their lives? The series answers these questions.
The six new episodes were directed by Christine Hartmann (born 1968), followed by Sönke Wortmann (61, season one) and Anno Saul (57, season two). The acting ensemble was also completely replaced again. The fictional young researcher Dr. Ella Wendt (Nina Gummich) is the focus of the new season. In addition, the stories of these three real doctors are told: Pediatrician Dr. Ingeborg Rapoport (1912-2017, played by Nina Kunzendorf), serologist and coroner Prof. Dr. Otto Prokop (1921-2009, Philipp Hochmair) and gynecologist Prof. Dr. Helmut Kraatz (1902-1983, Uwe Ochsenknecht).
That's what the new season is all about
Berlin, summer 1961: the young doctor Dr. Ella Wendt comes from the provinces to the Charité in Berlin. The hospital is facing major problems these days, more and more doctors and nursing staff are moving to the West – there is a risk of their personnel being drained. The wall will be built overnight and the Charité will become the border area.
Dr. Ella Wendt wants to advance her research on cancer screening at the Charité and seeks contact with Prof. Otto Prokop, who enjoys an excellent reputation as a serologist. Prokop's real hobby, however, is forensic medicine. His autopsies help clarify criminal cases, the results of which he compiles in an atlas of forensic medicine. The first dead from the wall are also on his table.
Ella can only do research after work, because the work on the Inner Ward challenges her. She manages everyday clinical work together with her former fellow student Dr. Alexander Nowack (Max Wagner). But the political events shattered mutual trust – especially when Ella increasingly turned to the surgeon Dr. Curt Bruncken (Franz Hartwig) lets in, who fascinates her with his thirst for freedom and his rebellious nature.
In contrast, the passionate pediatrician Ingeborg Rapoport is a staunch supporter of the socialist idea. As a specialist in infant medicine, Rapoport is developing a visionary approach to reducing infant mortality. In doing so, she repeatedly offends the conservatively thinking gynecologist Prof. Helmut Kraatz.
Series and documentation
After the first two episodes (January 12th) the accompanying documentary "The Charité – A hospital during the Cold War" will follow at 9:50 pm. Episodes three to six are shown as double episodes on Tuesdays from 8:15 p.m. From January 5th, all episodes can be seen in advance in the ARD media library.
The second season (2019) of the UFA fiction production, which took place during the Nazi era, was nominated at the International Emmy Awards in the "Best Drama Series" category, but came away empty-handed at the awards ceremony in November 2020.