Since 2022, the Bavarian TV Awards are presented as the Blauer Panther – TV & Streaming Awards, alluding to the panther award symbol as well as the changing media landscape. From this year on, the awards not only celebrate outstanding German TV productions but also productions available on streaming services and social media channels. At the 2024 awards, UFA Fiction series Maxton Hall received two awards, while UFA Documentary’s Ich bin! Margot Friedländer and RTL Deutschland’s Neue Geschichten vom Pumuckl both won one Blauer Panther trophy.

UFA

Maxton Hall – Die Welt zwischen uns (Maxton Hall – The World Between Us), which premiered with outstanding success on Prime Video, was named ‘Best Series’, while Head Writer Daphne Ferraro was awarded in the ‘Best Screenplay’ category.

The UFA Fiction series, based on the award-winning trilogy Save Me by German author Mona Kasten, has already been renewed for a second season.

Ceylan Yildirim, Producer of Maxton Hall, says: “Receiving the Blauer Panther award is a fantastic feeling and shows recognition of the love that has gone into the work on Maxton Hall. I want to thank our excellent team in front of and behind the camera at UFA, especially our directors Martin Schreier and Tarek Roehlinger, our partners at Prime Video, our cast, particularly Harriet Herbig-Matten and Damian Hardung, and our Head Writer Daphne Ferraro, who have all made Maxton Hall a fireworks display for the senses with their creative power. The love of each individual contributor makes up the whole that is being honoured here, and for that, I am infinitely grateful.”

After recently being honoured at the German Television Awards and the Robert Geisendörfer Awards, UFA Documentary production Ich bin! Margot Friedländer (I am! Margot Friedländer) received a Blauer Panther Award for screenplay and direction in the ‘Culture/Education’ category.

The series, released on ZDF on 9 November, tells the life story of 102-year-old Holocaust survivor Margot Friedländer.

Marc Lepetit, Producer at UFA Documentary, says: “Telling the story of Margot Friedländer is a challenge. Behind all her modesty and restraint lies great knowledge and pain from a time that still stands as a memorial for something we never want to experience again. ‘That’s how it was,’ said Margot Friedländer quietly after viewing, thanks to the sensitivity of Hannah and Raymond when handling the material and the filming. I am personally pleased that the pair, after receiving the Geisendörfer Award, have now also received a Blauer Panther for their work – an award for a joint passion project that is more important today than ever.”

RTL Deutschland

In the ’Fiction’ category, the 2024 Blauer Panther Award went to Neue Geschichten vom Pumuckl (Pumuckl's New Adventures), which returned to RTL+ last year with great success. The award honoured the work of production company Neuesuper and director Marcus H. Rosenmüller.

The jury statement said: “Particularly noteworthy is the loving animation of the goblin Pumuckl, the charming depiction of the everyday adventures in Master Eder’s carpentry workshop, and the innovative use of AI for voice modification, which perfectly replicates Hans Clarin’s unforgettable voice.”

RTL Deutschland has already announced a second season for the series, which will be available on RTL, RTL+ and children’s programme Toggo. In addition, a separate film with the working title Pumuckl und das große Missverständnis (Pumuckl and the Big Misunderstanding) is planned.

The Blauer Panther Awards, presented by the state of Bavaria, have been celebrating German productions since 1989. This year, for the first time, social media productions were recognised in a separate category, acknowledging the growing consumption of content in the digital space. Laura Bäck, Director of Social Media at RTL Deutschland, was part of an expert jury, evaluating the best social media contributions of the year. Moreover, Irena Bauer and Janina Lenz from the RTL Deutschland social media team were present at the event.