‘Rex – Vienna Calling’ starts production
Rex is coming home: Production on “Rex – Vienna Calling” is underway, bringing the world’s most successful TV dog back to Vienna for six feature-length episodes.
Beta Film, MR Film, Seven.One and ORF have joined forces for a fresh take on the Rex franchise.
In ‘Rex – Vienna Calling’, the crime-fighting dog joins his partner, Detective Max Steiner, played by Maximilian Brückner (‘War Horse’, ‘Cherry Blossoms – Hanam’), to solve even the toughest cases in the Austrian capital.
Over the past 30 years, German Shepherd Rex has become the ultimate four-legged detective and a global phenomenon, inspiring countless international adaptations totaling 750 episodes.
The original ‘Rex – A Cop’s Best Friend’ began its journey in Vienna in 1994, starring Tobias Moretti as the first ‘dog dad’ detective. All 123 episodes were dubbed into dozens of languages – from Spanish to Mandarin – and sold by Beta to almost every country in the world. Multiple international adaptations joined the original: “Hudson & Rex,” currently starring Luke Roberts, established the IP in North America with 136 episodes spanning eight seasons. “Hudson & Rex” currently airs on Canada’s Citytv and produced by Shaftesbury, Pope and Beta Film. It has been sold in over 120 territories so far. In Italy, “Il Commissario Rex” (aka “Rex – A Cop’s Best Friend – Rome”; Beta/RAI/ORF) has 92 episodes, while in Poland “Komisarz Alex” (aka “Inspector Alex”; Water Color Studios/TVP) has 255 episodes.
Catrin Strasser and Oliver Auspitz, producers of MR Film, said: “Vienna is known for many things: its rich cultural heritage, stunning architecture and vibrant arts scene. But there is one TV series that stands out: ‘Rex.’ The beloved franchise has been around for over 30 years, with Rex solving crimes not only across Europe, but even in North America. Now it’s time for the most famous four-legged detective to return home – back to where it all began.”
Oliver Bachert, Chief Distribution Officer at Beta Film, said: “Rex is one of the most celebrated and successful television franchises in the world, truly a beloved classic. And now ‘Rex – Vienna Calling’ will continue to bring people of all ages together in front of their screens. Its broad appeal crosses cultural barriers and ‘bridges the gap between languages’, as The New Yorker said about the Austrian original ‘Kommissar Rex’. We believe Rex’s success story will continue and remain as remarkable as when it first began.”
In ‘Rex – Vienna Calling’ it doesn’t take long before the four-legged detective with his sharp instincts and astonishing intelligence gets a lead on every criminal. And when push comes to shove, Rex is always ready to support his partner Max Steiner. Together with Max’s colleague Felix Burger (Ferdinand Seebacher, “Other People’s Money”), they are ready to prove their nerves of steel when a bomb threatens to tear through a high-rise in the middle of the city, solve a spectacular diamond heist and find the murderer of a baker who is pushed into his own oven.
The Homicide Unit is supported by Evelyn Leitner (“Doris Golpashin”). Esther Rauch (“Snow, Without a Trace – The Case of Nathalie B.”) and Andreas Kopriva (“Jeanny: The Fifth Girl”) share directing credits. The show will be broadcast in 2026 on Austria’s ORF and Germany’s SAT.1 (linear), as well as on the digital channel Joyn.
“Rex – Vienna Calling” is produced by MR Film in co-production with Seven.One and ORF, financed by Fisa+, Fernsehfonds Austria, Vienna Film Fund and Lower Austria. Beta Film handles international sales.
