"Notes of Germany": A social media phenomenon becomes an ARD series for ARD Mediathek

Hamburg - In 2010, Joab Nist started "Notes of Berlin", a large collection of notes in Berlin, in which notes left at bus stops, traffic lights, in favourite pubs or university canteens could be photographed and submitted. A total of 55,000 notes were curated, first on a blog and later on social media. In 2020, the nationwide collection project "Notes of Germany" was launched on Instagram.

Inspired by this nationwide movement, ARD is now planning a major series project for their digital platform Mediathek under the leadership of ARD Degeto with the production company Bavaria Fiction, in which the ARD broadcasters will pick up special, individual "note stories" from their region - including ARD Degeto, HR, MDR, Radio Bremen, RBB, SR, SWR and WDR for ARD Mediathek. The production company is Bavaria Fiction with Karsten Günther as executive producer. Filming throughout Germany will start in 2023.

The 30-minute episodes will result in a narrative road trip through Germany, in close cooperation with the creator of the channels "Notes of Germany" and "Notes of Berlin", which are now followed by more than 450,000 fans on Instagram alone.

Christoph Pellander, Editor in Chief of ARD Degeto: "Notes as inspiration and pulse generator for highly emotional and individual stories from all over Germany: Each episode of "Notes of Germany" will bring to life the strongest and most weird stories from each respective region with wonderful creators - a highly exciting seismograph of the current sensitivities in the country. A joint project that is only possible with and within ARD. And a homage to the notes and found objects that we all know from our surroundings. From traffic lights, trees or bus stops. Sometimes they are funny, sometimes they are bizarre or sad. But they have one thing in common: they sum up a short statement in just a few words. ARD now fictionalizes the stories behind these statements."

"The note is alive – not only in Berlin, but all over Germany. And it proves that despite all the differences, we speak a common language: Notes that animate, touch, excite and trigger discussions. We are looking forward to the creative road trip with Degeto, the regional public broadcasters and ARD Mediathek," say Karsten Günther, Executive Producer and Marcus Ammon, Managing Director Content, Bavaria Fiction.