Grimme Award Nomination for Schlechte Menschen

The series Schlechte Menschen, for which I composed the original score, was nominated for the Grimme Award. The nomination honors the show’s distinctive tone and storytelling approach. I’m grateful to have contributed musically to a project that resonates culturally and socially, and to have worked with a team that valued nuance, restraint, and character-driven storytelling.

The nomination was announced on January 22, 2026, in the Entertainment category, alongside formats like MaiThink X – Die Show, smypathisch – die show, and Till Tonight. For the ZDF production — made under „Das kleine Fernsehspiel,“ directed by Nathalie Lamb and written by Julia Mirjam Cantuária — this was a special recognition. Schlechte Menschen follows three examiners in the afterlife who decide whether recently deceased people deserve heaven or hell — tragicomic, irreverent, and surprisingly human at the same time. That balance between situational comedy and quiet sincerity was exactly what I wanted to capture musically: never too loud, never explanatory, always in service of the characters.

The winners were announced on March 12, 2026 — and I have to be honest: Schlechte Menschen unfortunately wasn’t among them. For me, what stays with me most is the collaboration itself: working with a directing and writing team that knew exactly what tone this story needed, and that gave the music room to carry that tone rather than talk over it. In the end, that’s what matters — regardless of who ends up on stage on award night.