Fantasy Casting! Who Should Play the American Versions of "Christian and Olli"?

Don't kill the messenger!

In news that is sure to thrill some and rile others, former HBO Vice President Sam Martin is adapting a U.S. version of one of the iconic gay couples of international TV.

Martin, through her new aid+abet shingle, has acquired the remake rights to "Christian & Olli," a popular Forbidden Love story line about a gay couple living together in Dusseldorf. Christian and Olli have become cult figures in Germany and globally through the spread of clips of the soap on YouTube.

Aid+abet plans to adapt the story, setting it against the backdrop of present-day Portland, Oregon. Through Martin's production agreements, HBO Films and HBO Entertainment will have first-look rights at the property before it is shopped to other networks.

We've been covering Verbotene Liebe on AfterElton for a couple of years, first on the blog and now in our Gay of our Lives column, and we've watched the Christian and Olli story grow from a buried treasure to an international phenomenon.

No matter how you feel about the remake, there's never been a show built solely around a gay couple, so it'll be remarkable and heartening if this comes to fruition.

Now comes the hard part. Who can possibly fill the shoes of Thore Schölermann and Jo Weil? It was their chemistry and sincerity that made us fall in love with Christian and Olli, and they'll be a tough act to follow.

Who would you like to see give it a try? This is fantasy casting, so feel free to go as "outside the box" as you like, and vote in our poll below and let us know if you think this is a good idea, or a catastrophe in the making.