Adrian Steinmann

Adrian Steinmann is one of those characters who really shape the newer seasons of Frühling. He brings a younger, often more straightforward point of view to the show, and by now he's become far more than just Jan Steinmann's son.

Adrian is played by Kristo Ferkic, who's been on board since 2018. At this point he's racked up more episodes than almost anyone, right behind Simone Thomalla and Johannes Herrschmann.

RoleSon of Jan Steinmann, works at the Carpe DiemActorKristo FerkicOn Frühling since2018, from season 7 onSeasonsA regular ever since season 7

Who Adrian Steinmann really is

Adrian arrives in Frühling with his single father, Jan Steinmann, when the two of them move up from Munich. Of all the houses to buy, Jan ends up buying the one that belonged to Mark Weber, which makes him Katja's new landlord and housemate. For Adrian, the move means a clean break from everything he knew. After bouncing between different schools and a boarding school in England, he has to figure out who he is all over again in Frühling.

At first Adrian is very much the teenager, caught somewhere between insecurity, stubbornness and not really knowing where he belongs. But over the years you can watch him grow into the world of the show. The kid other people had to look after slowly turns into someone who takes on responsibility himself.

That's exactly what makes Adrian so interesting. He's the clearest example of how much Frühling has changed. His story isn't told in a single episode. It unfolds and deepens over the course of years.

From teenager to leading character

The early Adrian episodes are mostly about him settling into Frühling. He becomes friends with Nora Kleinke, slowly finds his place in the village, and at the same time turns into someone Katja practically has to keep an eye on, since his father Jan is so often away.

Then comes the big turning point. Jan is diagnosed with leukemia and dies. You can feel how much that loss changes Adrian. He loses his footing, walks away from his training at the hospital, and slides into a much rougher stretch of his life. And that's precisely what gives the character depth, because Adrian doesn't stay the likable boy next door. He shows his cracks and his weaknesses too.

Later on he finds his way again. He throws himself more and more into his work at the Carpe Diem and becomes a fixture in the ensemble. By season 15 he's long past being a side character. He's one of the show's central younger figures.

Why Adrian matters so much to the newer seasons

Adrian is one of the best examples of how Frühling has evolved. Where the early seasons leaned more on self-contained, one-off cases, characters like Adrian now carry long story arcs that stretch across multiple episodes and seasons.

That's why his story doesn't just live in individual moments but in genuine development: loss, searching for direction, love, work, and the slow business of growing up. All of which makes Adrian far more than a supporting character. He's one of the reasons the newer seasons feel more serialized and emotionally richer.

Kristo Ferkic

Kristo Ferkic started acting as a kid and was already in front of the camera at around four years old. He got noticed early on through productions like Das Haus der Krokodile, Fünf Freunde 2 and Henri 4. As a small child he also appeared in several episodes of Die Rettungsflieger.

So the fact that he's now one of the defining faces of Frühling fits his career nicely. Off screen, Kristo Ferkic is a single father to a son, and that gives him a certain maturity beyond the show, something you can clearly feel in what he brings to the character in the later seasons.