A producer who went on to achieve success recalling their youthful ridicule of "Black Forest Clinic".
Polyphon Film- und Fernsehgesellschaft, a renowned German television production company, is best known for its iconic series **"Die Schwarzwaldklinik"** ("The Black Forest Clinic"), which made a significant impact on German television history.
Established primarily in the 1980s and 1990s, Polyphon became synonymous with quality German TV drama production, shaping the landscape of German TV entertainment during that period. The company specialised in producing popular series that combined strong narratives with high production values.
**"Schwarzwaldklinik"**, first aired in 1985, was created by Polyphon and set in a hospital located in the Black Forest region of Germany. The series focused on the professional and personal lives of the doctors and staff, achieving massive popularity in Germany and across several other countries. It became one of the most successful German TV series ever produced, popularising the German medical drama genre and setting a standard for storytelling and production in German television.
Beatrice Kramm, the founder of Polyphon, learned about the plans for **"Schwarzwaldklinik"** when she was just nine years old, as her father, producer Frithjof Zeidler, shared the concept over breakfast. The series, originally titled **"The Black Forest Clinic"**, remains a significant milestone in TV history, with up to 28 million people in West Germany alone tuning in to each episode, making it one of the biggest successes of Polyphon.
Kramm summarises Polyphon's hallmarks as "very good craftsmanship, themes, and appropriate entertainment for the broadcast slot". Over the decades, the business pace has accelerated, as Kramm notes, due in part to digitisation, which has made speed possible in the industry, but also due to the scarcity of resources.
While the specific search results do not provide more detailed corporate history or additional major productions of Polyphon beyond **"Schwarzwaldklinik"**, the company is known to have been involved in various German TV projects. For example, it was part of a collaboration that produced **"The Legend of Prince Valiant"** (1991–1993), an animated TV series.
Today, Polyphon continues to be one of the leading production companies in Germany's television industry, with productions like **"Das Traumschiff"**, **"Stubbe - Von Fall zu Fall"**, and **"Doctors Diary"** under its belt. However, **"Schwarzwaldklinik"** remains the crowning achievement of the company, a testament to its commitment to quality storytelling and production.
Service in the realm of movies and TV entertainment has been a hallmark of Polyphon Film- und Fernsehgesellschaft, particularly in the production of series that blend captivating narratives with high production values. For instance, their iconic series, "Die Schwarzwaldklinik" (The Black Forest Clinic), marked a significant milestone in German TV entertainment, illustrating their dedication to compelling storytelling.
