Observed Signal · Jun 17, 2026 · Legal Action · Source: DWDL · Impact: 1/5 · Sentiment: Neutral
Christian Ulmen Sues Production Company After Termination
Actor, writer and director Christian Ulmen has filed a lawsuit at the Berlin Labour Court against production company Pyjama Pictures after the company terminated several of his contracts connected to a planned Joyn series. The dispute concerns four agreements tied to the Joyn project "The Au Pair," for which Ulmen wrote the screenplay and held roles as director, author and editor, plus an exclusivity contract. Pyjama Pictures cancelled the contracts in mid‑April after allegations against Ulmen became public and cited alleged parallels between the accusations and the series' plot. A conciliation hearing is scheduled for Monday.
Legal dispute over content production contracts is newsworthy for media and streaming stakeholders but is a localized, company-level matter without broad AdTech/MarTech impact.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Christian Ulmen filed a lawsuit at the Berlin Labour Court challenging the termination of multiple contracts by Pyjama Pictures.
- Pyjama Pictures terminated four agreements in mid‑April related to the planned Joyn series "The Au Pair."
- Ulmen had contributed the screenplay and had contracts as director, author and editor, plus an exclusivity agreement with the production company.
- Pyjama Pictures cited publicly known criminally relevant allegations against Ulmen and possible parallels between the allegations and the series' storyline as reasons for the immediate terminations.
- A conciliation (Gütetermin) hearing at the court was scheduled for the Monday following the article's publication.
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Trennung vollzogen: Christian Ulmen ist bei Pyjama Pictures raus - DWDL.de
Christian Ulmen has officially left Pyjama Pictures, the production company he co-owned, following allegations of digital sexual violence made by his ex-wife Collien Fernandes. Ulmen's 22.5% stake has been transferred to Seven.One Studios, which now holds 77.5%. The separation was confirmed after settlement talks concluded, with legal proceedings against contract terminations dropped. The future of Ulmen's series 'The Au Pair' remains uncertain, with Seven.One Studios stating no broadcast is planned. Ulmen had already ceased to be a managing director in 2023.
ZDF/BBC Series Pauses Filming After Luna Jordan's Death
Filming of the ZDF/BBC drama series "Hamburg Days" has been temporarily suspended following the sudden death of actress Luna Jordan, who was 25. Production companies W&B Television and Turbine Studios told news agency dpa they have paused work to prioritise the wellbeing of cast and crew while they consider how and when to resume. Jordan had already shot several days for the role of Astrid Kirchherr but had not completed the part. The series — showrun by Christian Schwochow and head-written by Jamie Carragher and based in part on Klaus Voormann's autobiography — features a cast including Rhys Mannion, Ellis Murphy and others. ZDF confirmed the temporary stop and expressed condolences to Jordan’s family.
Medienboard Funds Joyn Comedy 'Litti's Driving School'
Medienboard Berlin‑Brandenburg awarded around €1.8 million in its third funding session of the year to 23 serial formats plus games and XR projects. The largest single grant (€168,000) was given to the newly announced Joyn comedy series Littis Fahrschule, created by and starring Kida Khodr Ramadan and produced by JPJ Filmproductions; the series is slated to air on the ProSiebenSat.1 streamer Joyn. The board also granted €160,000 to a Story House Productions docuseries about Malaysian Airlines flight MH‑17. Other supported serial projects include the handball documentary Hands of Gold (beetz brothers) and Braths Sessions (Spilled Milk Films). Three international co‑productions entered development support: Monkey in the Basement (Pink Fox Storyhouse / Overlook Entertainment), North of Nowhere (Merry Pictures / Kaiho Republic) and House of Ships (zero one film / Elk Films / Anemon Film).
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