Second season “Mapa” in ARD media library: Sadcom with harpoon joke

Between daycare disputes, dating and a job, a single parent wonders how much his widower bonus is still worth. The second season of “Mapa” is convincing.

Sunday morning for father (Max Mauff) and daughter (Pola Friedrichs) Photo: Carolin Weinkopf/rbb

For most people, a promotion is a reason to celebrate, for the single father Metin (Max Mauff) it seems like a threat. For years he has been working in the writers’ room of the soap “What counts is now”, which currently has good ratings because “Sandra fucks her daddy” there. Now he may be the head writer, because although he only works half assed, according to his boss Sophie (Amélie Miloy), he is still the best writer on the team.

That’s why she can’t understand his defensive attitude towards a possible promotion and says annoyed: “Oh Metin, I know you also have a second full-time job there.” And adds after a short pause: “And besides, your widower bonus is slowly being used up .”

Metin has been carrying the so-called “widower bonus” with him for five years now – since his girlfriend Emma (Lia von Blarer) died suddenly without a previous illness and he became the single father of a six-month-old baby. In the first season “Mapa”, Metin tries to cope with his grief and somehow get life under control again between looking for a daycare place and arguing with his loving but exhausting mother.

The clients Joyn and rbb announced the mini-series 2020 as the first “Sadcom” in Germany – and although it did have funny moments, the melancholic tone prevailed. Because in view of the harsh reality of life of the main character, as a spectator, the laughter constantly got stuck in the throat.

Life goes on somehow

The “Sadcom” was a success despite or precisely because of it. The author Alex Lindh and director Jano Ben Chaabane managed to create a German series without stereotypes and embarrassing dialogues. She looked like she was cut out of real life. Despite good reviews and award nominations, Joyn did not want to continue producing the series.

Three years later there is now a second season anyway – with ARD Degeto as the second sponsor. In the series, the leap in time is even greater, from the six-month-old baby Lene has become an energetic 5-year-old. Metin’s grief hasn’t gone away, but it has changed.

He no longer just wants to survive, but also to live more again. But this decision is not purely voluntary, because not only the boss, but also his sex partner and his mother give him the feeling: it’s enough to be considerate and sad – life somehow goes on.

And that still poses some challenges for him. When his daughter Lene doesn’t want to go to daycare (Pola Friedrichs really puts on an amazing performance here) or insists on a red wig that causes her to have an allergic reaction. Or his mother, who has her own ideas for bringing up Lene in her head. Or the constant balancing act between sufficient care for his daughter, enough drive at work and time for privacy. Because Metin wants to plunge back into dating life and immediately gets to know an attractive astrophysicist. But does the widower bonus still count here?

Although the deceased friend Emma still plays a relatively large role in the second season, the comedy clearly has the upper hand in the second season of “Mapa”. This is particularly convincing in the interaction between father and child or in highly absurd scenes when a guest in a bar is accidentally impaled by a harpoon. Not every joke fits – but that’s no different in real life.