Die Ludolfs – 4 Brüder auf'm Schrottplatz

History

In 2002, German public TV station SWR Fernsehen intended to make a documentary on Dernbach (Landkreis Neuwied in the Westerwald). During filming, the mayor sent the journalists to the Ludolfs and a short portrait of the family (including the mother, who was still alive) was produced. After that, the SWR decided to produce a two-part-documentary (30 minutes each) under the title Schrott-Brüder – Die Autoverwerter aus dem Westerwald (Junk Brothers - The car recyclers from the Westerwald).

Several private TV stations (e. g. Kabel 1 and RTL 2) broadcast reports about the unusual family. DMAX later decided to produce an entire TV series about the Ludolfs. The show was so successful that on New Year's Day 2008, a 24-hour Ludolfs marathon was aired on DMAX. This marathon was repeated on New Year's Day 2009.

On 12 March 2008, the fourth season of the Ludolfs was launched. The series has also been aired on Dutch television (with subtitles), and since early 2008 on DiscoveryRussia in Russian synchronization.

After death of Horst-Günter Ludolf

Following the death of Horst-Günter Ludolf in January 2011, 12 episodes starring the three brothers aired online on bild.de.

In 2012, Sport1 renewed and renamed the series SEK Ludolf - Das Schrott Einsatz Kommando which included 12 episodes and one Best-of.

In January 2016, the series aired as Die Ludolfs - Das Schrottimperium ist zurück after four years of absence on kabel eins in which only Uwe, his son Tommy and Manfred Ludolf establish a new scrapyard. Peter Ludolf manages the old scrapyard and does not star in the series.

The documentary

The DMAX television series displays the life and work of the Ludolf brothers, who own a car recycling yard. With their unusual business and lifestyle, the Ludolfs had a certain cult status in their hometown long before the series was filmed. They have a reputation for having any used car part that you might need. They organised an open door day in April 2007, an estimated amount of 15,000 to 20,000 people went to view the garage and junk yard resulting in traffic congestion on the nearby A3 highway.

The stars of the series are Peter, Manfred, Uwe and (Horst-)Günter Ludolf. For over 30 years the brothers, including their father and company founder Horst, have been collecting between two and five million car parts. The parts, stored in a warehouse, are sorted by a homegrown "cluster principle" with only Peter Ludolf knowing which part is in which pile. Each of the four brothers has a specific task. It's up to Peter to locate the desired part whether the customer is at the door or on the phone. Günter answers the telephone and passes on the questions to Peter. Uwe and Manni, "Power and Hand" - a nickname they gave themselves due to the division of labor while disassembling junk cars. They are also responsible for fetching the cars.

The series gets its charm from the different personalities of the brothers and their often comical devotion to their work at the scrap yard. Peter Ludolf lives with his playful and childlike brother, Manni, in the former home of their parents located on the premises. Günter also lives with Peter and Manni since going through a life crisis after his wife cheated on him. Günter rarely speaks or leaves the compound, instead he smokes a lot and survives on coffee and vitamin tablets. Only Uwe Ludolf, "Casanova", leads a bourgeois life with his wife Karin and three adult children, who might possibly take over the company when the brothers retire.

Cameo Appearances

In the Daddy Cool issue, rappers Bushido und Kay One are to be seen asking for a spare part for a Ford Fiesta.

Episodes

Season 1:

Specials:

Season 2:

Season 3:

Special:

Season 4:

Specials:

Season 5:

Season 6:

Season 7:

Special:

Season 8:

DVD box

A DVD box of the series called Die Ludolfs was released in April 2007 and contains twelve episodes - three DVDs with four episodes each - the first season without further bonus material. Of the first 13 episodes of the series the first five ( "Manni knows what cars need") have been released. The episodes do not contain commercials, but the leadups to the commercials can still be seen.

In October 2007 saw the second season with eight episodes on two DVDs. Another box with twelve episodes of the third season (3.1) was released in March 2008.

In June 2008 the second part of the third season was published (3.2) with eleven episodes on three DVDs.

At the same time, various bonus episodes from the second season such as "Day of open door" or "Christmas with the Ludolfs" was published.

Movie

Munich-based production company preview Production, which also produces documentaries on DMAX, planned a feature film called "Die Ludolfs - Dankeschön für Italien" (The Ludolfs - thank you for Italy") to release in early 2009 which finally came out in April. Filming were made at their native Dernbach and the places they go in Italy.

Books

So far, two books, "Die Ludolfs - Das Buch" about the background of the series and "Peter's Kochbuch" with 40 cooking recipes have been published. Also published is a comic book with the title "Die Ludolfs – Der Fluch des Tut Nich Imun."

Merchandise

Articles such as puzzles, coffee mugs, kitchen aprons, baseball caps, sweat shirts and tee shirts are available. For the movie start in the theaters, toy producer Dickie Toys presented a line of toys displaying a miniature edition of the Ludolfs and some of their cars.