Overview
- A production company terminated four contracts for the planned streaming series 'The Au Pair' with immediate effect in a letter dated April 15, 2026, citing criminal allegations and alleged parallels between the charges and the show's plot.
- Ulmen filed suit at the Arbeitsgericht Berlin to challenge those fristlose Kündigungen and to argue he was employed by the film company rather than an outside contractor.
- A preliminary conciliatory hearing is scheduled for Monday, where the court will first seek a settlement before any full trial.
- The Staatsanwaltschaft Potsdam opened an investigation at the end of May into allegations including physical violence and the alleged distribution of intimate recordings, and Ulmen denies the accusations.
- The dispute has already cost Ulmen other work, including a cancelled narrator role with Tonies, and the court outcome could shape remedies and industry practice by clarifying when creative collaborators receive employee protections.