Filming took place from February 28 to June 19, 2023 in
Vienna,
Salzburg and
Lower Austria, including the Strasshof Railway Museum. The series was produced by the Austrian Production Company
Superfilm (producers
David Schalko and
John Lueftner), with the
Austrian Broadcasting Corporation and the
ARD broadcasters (NDR, WDR, SWR, BR, MDR, rbb, hr, SR and Radio Bremen) involved. The production was supported by FISA+, Fernsehfonds Austria and Filmfonds Wien.
Joel Basman was cast in the title role of
Franz Kafka, with
David Kross as
Max Brod (
Daniel Brühl was originally announced for this role), Nicholas Ofczarek as Hermann Kafka and
Liv Lisa Fries as
Milena Jesenská.
Reiner Stach, on whose three-volume biography of Kafka the screenplay is based, acted as technical advisor. A recurring plot element is
Horace Fletcher's chewing method, which Kafka advocated, according to which food must be chewed thoroughly before swallowing.
Martin Gschlacht worked as cinematographer, the costume design by Alfred Mayerhofer, the set design by Hannes Salat, the sound by Odo Grötschnig and the make-up by Cordula Lingler and Christine Akbaba. Katharina Haudum acted as intimacy coordinator. == Publication ==