A new television adaptation of Heidi, Switzerland’s most iconic literary character, is in development 145 years after Johanna Spyri’s beloved novel was first published.
According to reporting by Dienstagsmail, the project is a collaboration between Swiss public broadcaster SRF and Germany’s RTL, both of which will air the series.
The show will reimagine the classic tale of the orphan girl living in the Swiss Alps and will expand the narrative to follow her coming-of-age journey.
“We are very excited to continue Johanna Spyri’s quintessentially Swiss story in a contemporary series,” said Baptiste Planche, head of fiction at SRF. RTL Germany’s fiction director Hauke Bartel added, “Heidi is one of the most well-known and beloved characters in world literature. This modern adaptation will bring to life both the magic of the Alps and Heidi’s emotional development from child to young woman.”
Author's Faith-Based Legacy
Johanna Spyri-Heusser remains the most widely read and translated Swiss author. Despite beginning her writing career at age 44, she published nearly 50 works, including 32 books for children. The first Heidi novel, Heidi’s Years of Learning and Travel, appeared in 1879 and was followed by Heidi Makes Use of What She Has Learned in 1881.
Spyri’s books have been translated into more than 70 languages, adapted for film and stage, and continue to attract fans to Maienfeld, the town in Graubünden associated with the story. In 2005, the Heidi television series was even featured in an exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Though Heidi is often seen as a pastoral tale of innocence and Alpine life, the story’s religious undertones—particularly its biblical inspiration—are rarely acknowledged in modern interpretations.
Biblical Themes Underscore the Narrative
One of the story’s pivotal moments occurs when Heidi, lonely and homesick while living in Frankfurt, meets Klara, a girl from a wealthy family. Klara’s grandmother recognizes Heidi’s despair and advises her to speak to God in prayer.
“When you have a sorrow that you can’t tell anyone, you cry out to the dear God in heaven and ask Him to help,” the grandmother says.
She also teaches Heidi to read and introduces her to illustrated Bible stories. Heidi is especially touched by the parable of the prodigal son. Eagerly, she shares it with her grandfather—the “Alpöhi”—who is moved to tears. After Heidi falls asleep, he prays the words of the prodigal son: “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son.”
This marks a dramatic shift in his character. Once reclusive and bitter, he begins attending church again and seeks reconciliation with villagers he had wronged.
Redemption and Reversal
“The biblical story of the prodigal son is not Heidi’s—it’s the grandfather’s,” said Ralph Kunz, professor of practical theology at the University of Zurich.
Kunz described the Alpöhi as “a stubborn, socially isolated, genuine sinner” who is restored through Heidi’s innocence and unconditional love. “He suddenly realizes: I am needed. He develops compassion and finds healing. It’s one of the most beautiful conversion stories.”
Kunz noted that the novel implies the grandfather once squandered his wealth and may have struggled with addiction. After losing his children in a tragic accident, he withdrew from society—a story reminiscent of Job.
“Modern adaptations often leave out the deeper spiritual arc,” Kunz said. “But that’s why the Alpöhi lives on the mountain—he is the prodigal son. It takes the miracle of the child Heidi to open his heart.”
Spiritual Awakening Through Innocence
Kunz said readers are often deeply moved by the grandfather’s transformation.
“In Spyri’s version, not only does a lost son return to the father, but a grandfather finds his lost God again through the return of the child,” he said. “The roles are reversed. Heidi becomes an interpreter of the Gospel, embodying divine love without the burdens of institutional religion.”
For Heidi, becoming a Christian is an act of redemption and belonging. As an orphan, she is drawn to the story of the prodigal son because of her own sense of displacement. “There is someone who is looking for me,” she realizes.
Spyri, a pietistic Christian, subtly wove these themes into the narrative. “One of her aims was to show how the pagan Heidi—her full name is Adelheid—becomes a Christian,” Kunz said.
Ultimately, Heidi is not a story about a perfect rural life, he added. “It was never intended to simply portray an idealized Switzerland. It’s far more profound than that.”
