Matthew Beard & Juergen Maurer Talk 'Vienna Blood's Accidental Timeliness

Before the season premiere for Vienna Blood’s fourth and likely final season, lead actors Matthew Beard (Dr. Max Liebermann) and Juergen Maurer (Inspector Oskar Rheinhardt) spent about an hour thoughtfully answering press questions about their characters’ arcs, the series' distressingly timely historical resonances, and the joy it brings both artists and viewers when all of the little details of making television add up to a fully realized world.

(In case you missed it, we also covered part of their joint interview at the midway point of this season.)

Both actors quickly highlighted the thematic and visual richness brought to Vienna Blood by its geographical and historical settings. A series showcasing the Austro-Hungarian empire’s capital city in the years just before The Great War is a nearly unique viewing experience for American audiences. Through its relationship with Walter Presents, PBS offers many high-appeal, high-quality historical dramas in languages other than English, set during periods more Eurocentrically focused than the post-World War II era. Seaside Hotel (in Danish) and Professor T (in Flemish) have found enthusiastic, deeply invested viewerships in the U.S. However, thanks to being shot in English, Vienna Blood offers an easier sell for viewers who may shy away from subtitled shows.