Vater wider Willen

Vater wider Willen is a German family drama television series broadcast on Das Erste from 1995 to 2002. It consists of three pilot films and two seasons of 13 episodes each.

Synopsis
Successful conductor Max takes over the South German Symphony, whose chief conductor has recently died of a heart attack. He subsequently gets a visit from his ex-wife, Ingrid. She is a paleontologist and has received a research assignment in the Andes. She wants Max to bring their three daughters, Gitti, Beatrice, and Marlene, to South America; he does so reluctantly.

Various unexpected events ensue. Marlene gets involved with a religious sect, Beatrice quits her medical studies to become a paramedic, and Gitti has kidney failure.

Max meets Helen, an American soprano, and they begin to date. Helen has two adoptive sons, Henry and William. William's birth mother starts a custody battle, Henry experiments with drugs, and eventually, the two brothers try to run away from home when they become convinced that Max wants to send them to boarding school.

Cast and characters

 * Christian Quadflieg as Max
 * Suzanne von Borsody as Ingrid
 * Anna Schmidt as Gitti
 * Rita Lengyel as Beatrice
 * Nina Bagusat as Marlene
 * Marita Marschall as Helen
 * Miguel Molina as Henry
 * Constantin Gastmann as William