The “Sissi” trilogy has, in recent years, stood as a Christmas staple on public television, much like gingerbread and a Christmas tree. But that is now coming to an end—at least on public broadcasting: “As of 2024 the rights to the ‘Sissi’ trilogy are no longer with ARD, but with RTL Group, which acquired them as the highest bidder. For this reason, the trilogy cannot currently be shown in ARD’s programming,” an ARD spokesperson told Focus Online.
RTL has not yet announced whether the channel will air “Sissi” this year in its lineup—or whether the films will instead be offered only to paying subscribers on its streaming service RTL+.
For more than a decade, Das Erste aired the films “Sissi” (1955), “Sissi — Die junge Kaiserin” (1956), and “Sissi — Schicksalsjahre einer Kaiserin” (1957) every Christmas. But this wasn’t always the case: between 2008 and 2012, the ProSiebenSat.1 Group held the rights and broadcast the cult films on its networks.
“Sissi” elsewhere
You don’t have to give up on “Sissi” completely elsewhere: the films are available on Amazon Prime Video and Netflix, of course for a subscription fee. There is also the trilogy on DVD for 13 euros and on Blu-ray for 15.50 euros (Amazon affiliate link).
The “Sissi” trilogy is considered a cult favorite among many queer people—similar to films by icons such as Judy Garland, Marlene Dietrich, or Liza Minnelli. The reasons cited include the strong, glamorous female lead portrayed by the deeply revered Romy Schneider (1938–1982). The films also carry a camp factor, thanks to opulent costumes and heightened emotions. The lead’s defiance of her conservative mother is a storyline many older queer people can relate to when reflecting on their own lives.
By the way, Netflix has more “Sissi” content in the works, but only in about a year: the streamer is expected to premiere the third and final season of the series “Die Kaiserin” (The Empress), which is currently in production (TheColu.mn reported). Last year the RTL+-series “Sisi” (spelled with a single “s”) ended, with the gay actor Jannik Schümann taking on the role of Emperor Franz (TheColu.mn reported). (dk)
