"Der Circus", a six-part period series for German public broadcaster ARD set in Munich in the early 20th century, shoots without a single real wild animal: its elephants, lions and other animals are created digitally with CGI and AI-assisted processes, ARD Degeto, the broadcaster's film and series arm, says. Dreamtool Entertainment produces the 6x45 series for ARD Degeto and Bavarian broadcaster BR, loosely based on historical figures around the founding of a Munich circus that became world famous. Sven Bohse directs from scripts by head writer Simon X. Rost with Derek Meister and Mascha Schlubach; Julia Novohradsky plays Pauline, Rick Okon Carl and Heino Ferch Brockstätt, with Laura Berlin, Brigitte Hobmeier and Francis Fulton-Smith in the cast and Ulrich Tukur as a guest. The shoot runs until mid-November in Latvia, Lithuania and Bavaria on a historical circus world built across 20,000 square meters (roughly 215,000 square feet), backed by Latvia's LIAA incentive for international productions, the Riga Film Fund, Lithuania's tax incentive and FilmFernsehFonds Bayern. ARD plans to air it in 2027.
Germany's ARD Fills Its Circus Event Series With AI-Generated Elephants and Lions
