Tatort

Tatort ("Crime scene") is a German language police procedural television series that has been running continuously since 1970 with some 30 feature-length episodes per year, which makes it the longest-running German TV drama. Developed by the German public-service broadcasting organisation ARD for their channel Das Erste, it is unique in its approach, in that it is jointly produced by all of the organisation's regional members as well as its partnering Austrian and Swiss national public-service broadcasters, whereby every regional station contributes a number of episodes to a common pool.

Tatort
StarringBoris Aljinovic
Dietmar Bär
Meret Becker
Elisabeth Brück
Hansjörg Felmy
Ulrike Folkerts
Maria Furtwängler
Götz George
Stefan Gubser
Jörg Hartmann
Andreas Hoppe
Klaus J. Behrendt
Harald Krassnitzer
Manfred Krug
Jan Josef Liefers
Eva Mattes
Oliver Mommsen
Richy Müller
Axel Prahl
Dominic Raacke
Sieghardt Rupp
Anna Schudt
Devid Striesow
Simone Thomalla
Ulrich Tukur
Mark Waschke
Martin Wuttke
Wotan Wilke Möhring
and others
Theme music composerKlaus Doldinger
Country of originWest Germany (1970–1990)
Germany (1990–present)
Austria
Switzerland
Original languageGerman
No. of seasons50
No. of episodes1,172 (as of 26 August 2021)[1]
Production
Running time90 minutes
Release
Original networkDas Erste
Picture format576i (Das Erste [and regional channels of ARD-Network], ORF 2, SRF 1);
720p (Das Erste HD, ORF 2 HD, SRF 1 HD)
Original release29 November 1970 (1970-11-29) 
present

Therefore, the series is a collection of different police stories where different police teams each solve crimes in their respective city. Uniqueness in architecture, customs and dialects of the cities is therefore a distinctive part of the series and often the city, not the police force, is the real main character of an episode. The concept of local stations only producing a couple of shows per year has also enabled the shows to be longer (90 minutes) and more fleshed out psychologically than other weekly TV dramas.

The first episode was broadcast on 29 November 1970. Episodes are broadcast on ARD's main channel Das Erste on Sunday evening at the prime viewing time of 8:15 pm (just after the 8 pm Tagesschau news) around three times a month. Reruns are often shown by various regional ARD stations and on foreign broadcasters. Alongside the member stations of the ARD, the national Austrian broadcasting corporation Österreichischer Rundfunk joined the production pool in 1971 and airs the program on its ORF 2 channel. Switzerland's Schweizer Fernsehen joined the pool from 1990 to 2001 and again in 2011 and distributes its episodes through its channel SRF 1 and Play SRF streaming app..

The series Polizeiruf 110, which was produced by East Germany's state TV broadcaster as a counterpart to the West German Tatort and has a similar regional production approach, is still produced by ARD's regional broadcasters Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk (MDR), Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (RBB), Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR) and Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR). Polizeiruf 110 shares the Sunday night prime time slot on Das Erste with Tatort.

Concept

The main feature of Tatort is that it is jointly produced by all participating regional TV stations. Each of the eleven companies involved (the nine German regional TV channels or Landesrundfunkanstalten that together form ARD, plus ORF in Austria and SRF in Switzerland), produces its own episodes. Each station features usually more than one team of inspectors in different cities in its region, depending on the size of the producing broadcaster. Each of the roughly 20 active teams appears one to two times each year. Nearly every Sunday, a new episode from a different city premieres on Das Erste; old episodes are often shown through all participating stations as part of their common programming. The series shares this concept with its former East German counterpart Polizeiruf 110, which basically is produced as four additional Tatort investigator teams aired under a different series name and opening credits by some regional broadcasters, mostly those which evolved from East German state television.

Every Tatort episode features a different team of inspectors in a different city. Combined with the fact that the episodes are, at 90 minutes long, almost movie-length and with rarely more than 30 episodes in one year, this makes for a cultural phenomenon closer to a string of made-for-TV movies than a typical police series.

This pooling concept was mainly due to the nature of the public broadcast television channel ARD, which is jointly operated by all of Germany's regional public Landesrundfunkanstalten. The 9 regional public broadcasters collect broadcasting fees in their region of Germany (each region comprising one or more federal states), and each have multiple radio stations and a regional TV station. Das Erste is produced as a joint national channel with common national programming. Each regional broadcaster is responsible for parts of the programming, unlike for instance in the US with its network affiliate system. Usually, one to three broadcasters produce one TV programme in cooperation. When Tatort was developed as a series of weekly feature film-long local crime stories, the stated concept was used to distribute financial and organizational efforts.

Apart from the unique joint-pooling system, the series is also characterised by the episode length of around 90 minutes, which allows for more in-depth and psychological fleshing out of the characters. Although almost all episodes feature the investigation of a homicide, it is never just a simple case of whodunit. Often the episode length allows for the crime to be shown in all its aspects, with equal attention focused on the perpetrators and the victims as on the inspectors. On several occasions, the actual police work is just a side note in the story, as the main plot might focus on how one of the persons involved deals with the crime and its aftermath. Episodes also deal with social and political issues.

With the national broadcasting corporations of Austria and Switzerland participating, the episodes of Tatort are currently set in various cities of Germany, Vienna, and Zurich. Originally each of the participating member stations limited their episodes to one team of investigators in one city: for ease of production this was mostly the city the broadcast station was in, but over the years some stations broadcasting over a large regional area have Tatorts playing in several cities. Notably, the WDR (based in Cologne) has three teams of investigators playing respectively in Cologne, Münster, and Dortmund. Episodes are either produced by the station's own production facilities or are filmed and often also written by outside production houses on behalf of the station. This sometimes leads to situations where, for instance, a Tatort set in Thuringia is actually produced in Bavaria, with only a handful of scenes shot 'on location' in the town the story is supposed to be set in. As a consequence, minor roles are sometimes played by actors or extras that do not have a matching regional accent.

A similar concept of independently filming and then pooling episodes was used from 1988 to 1992 in the series Eurocops, jointly produced by several national European TV stations.

Tatort has not found wide distribution in non-German speaking countries, but some episodes were distributed as stand-alone mini-series. Notable examples were the Horst Schimanski episodes which were shown in Finland in the late-1980s and on TV4 in Sweden in 1992, and the 2013 series starring Til Schweiger and Fahri Yardım in Hamburg was shown on the British Channel 4 under the title Nick's Law.

However, Tatort inspired many other TV broadcasters to develop similar city-specific spin-offs for their shows, such as CSI or NCIS.

History

Gunther Witte, dramatist and TV head at WDR (West German Broadcasting Cologne) developed the series against initial resistance.[2] Witte and his successors have ensured that one or two detectives are at the center of every story, and the cases are shown from their perspective; they are usually members of a team, and their lives are also included.[2]

In January 2008 a similarly produced series of radio dramas called ARD Radio Tatort was introduced, new episodes are aired monthly by regional radio stations, but not at the same time.

In 2012, more than 100,000 people participated in the first and only online game linked to the SWR Tatort production, "Der Wald steht schwarz und schweiget".[3]

In January 2014, Tatort received the 50th Grimme Award.[4][5]

Features

The show is still aired on Sundays at 8:15 p.m. in Germany and Austria, and 8:05 p.m. in Switzerland. About 30 episodes are made each year. By May 2018, 1055 episodes had been produced, plus 13 made in Austria and shown only there. Episode nr. 1000 was broadcast on Sunday 13 November 2016.

The episodes of some series of Tatort, such as the discontinued series about Schimanski, played by Götz George, have become cultural icons.

The opening sequence of each episode has essentially remained the same throughout the decades except for slight changes. Klaus Doldinger composed the title music with Udo Lindenberg on drums.[6]

In East Germany

At the same time the ARD was starting its Tatort format, the DDR had its own police procedural/crime show called Polizeiruf 110 ("Police dial 1-1-0"). The series premiered in 1971, less than a year after the first Tatort. It too was a police procedural, with various teams of investigators in various cities of the DDR, but in contrast to the West, only a small part of their cases involved actual homicides. The psychology of the perpetrators and the victims was also more prevalent. The series continued through all of the 1970s and 80s and even survived the Wende, continuing until 1991.

In 1990, Polizeiruf practiced its own brand of German unification with episode 142, "Unter Brüdern" ("Amongst Brothers"), a crossover with the Tatort investigators Schimanski and Thanner (this was co-produced with ARD and a medley of the two series themes were used in the opening intro). Until 1991, the series continued more or less independently for 11 more episodes until episode 153 (22 December 1991), again a crossover, in which Kommissar Thanner becomes the team's superior. Also in 1991, as part of the unification, the DDR's television company DFF was split into the Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk (MDR) and Ostdeutscher Rundfunk Brandenburg (ORB) while the television stations in the new state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern would be operated as part of the NDR.

As MDR, ORB and NDR were all partners in the ARD, it was expected that they would start producing Tatort episodes as well. However, seeing the popularity of Polizeiruf 110, it was decided that the stations would contribute to the Tatort pool, but that its episodes would keep the name of Polizeiruf 110 and their own title music and intro. Still, they would be broadcast over all ARD stations on Sunday evening just like (or instead of) the 'western' Tatort.

Reorganising took one and a half years, but on 13 June 1993, the now MDR restarted the series in Tatort format. This first episode was set in Leipzig, just as in 1991. However, today's episodes produced by the MDR are set in Magdeburg, while those produced by NDR are set in Rostock. The ORB (and later ORB's successor, RBB) has its episodes headed by the same team of investigators, but take place in various cities of Brandenburg. In addition, Bavarian Broadcasting BR produces both Polizeiruf and Tatort episodes, both set in Munich. Like the original, the Bavarian Polizeiruf episodes focus more on the psychology of the crimes and more on crimes other than homicides. Over the years several other 'western' local broadcasters tried their hand at producing Polizeiruf episodes as a sort of 'alternative Tatort' alongside the regular ones. However, all of them stopped after a few episodes.

On 15 May 2015, RBB aired the 350th episode of Polizeiruf 110, the 197th episode of the new format.

In 2013, seeing that Thuringia was so far the only federal state in Germany that had neither a Tatort nor a Polizeiruf set in one of its cities, the MDR ordered two new Tatort series, set in Erfurt and Weimar respectively. Both are produced for the MDR by Bavarian companies.

As 1-1-0 is the speed dial code for police/emergency dispatch in Germany, but not in Austria, Polizeiruf 110 is broadcast in Austria as Polizeiruf 133.

United States & Canada

  • 2019 Walter's Choice has been presenting some individual series from this Anthology Show on the PBS Public Broadcasting System Network, while Walter Presents streams the programs. In both cases the Anthology name Tatort is dropped and new individual series titles are created.

INSPECTOR THORSTEN FALKE

DRESDEN DETECTIVES (2016- )

1) 2016 "Hit Song" | Their first case takes our lady detectives into the world of German Schlager pop music. During rehearsals for the show "The Music Plays Here", Toni, one of the local celebs from duo Toni & Tina, was found behind the scenes, bludgeoned to death. His wife and singing partner Tina is desperate, for his manager of many years Rollo it's like he's lost a son.

2) 2016 "The King of the Gutters" | Popular social entrepreneur Hans-Martin Taubert falls from a bridge and survives but is severely injured. Dresden detectives Henni Sieland and Karin Gorniak meet three homeless witnesses who claim that Taubert was actually thrown from the bridge. Taubert had founded "Berberhilfe", a company that provides accommodation to homeless people and others needing help. He had become wealthy from the poor and clearly made no secret of it. The three homeless men claim to be Taubert's "security" – he had been threatened frequently in recent times.

3) 2017 "Level X" | While playing a prank on a local rock group, Simson is shot by an unknown attacker. Despite there being any number of people who witnessed the crime in person and live on the Internet, there are no reliable descriptions of the attacker. Dresden detectives Henni Sieland and Karin Gorniak dive deep into the world of social media stars, where they must face the fact that they don't know a great deal about these hugely popular teenage idols or the business structures behind them.

4) 2017 "Eye For An Eye" | Dresden detectives Karin Gorniak and Henni Sieland are investigating the murder of Heiko Gebhardt, branch manager of a large insurance firm, where claims are rigorously handled according to the motto "Challenge. Dispute. Block". Gebhardt was not only deeply unpopular with his employees but also with the disappointed insurance clients. Former colleague Martina Scheuring, a lawyer, now represents these people who have suffered twice and is helping them to fight for their rights with all means available to her. The investigation leads the detectives into the world of insurance, where using great pressure and dubious methods, profit is pursued above all else.

5) 2018 "DÉJÀ VU" | Nine-year old Rico disappears without a trace. Shortly afterwards his body is found by a group of kids in a bag on the banks of the Elbe. Dresden detectives Henni Sieland and Karin Gorniak struggle to cope with the city is in uproar, the media stoking fear, and everyone wants answers quickly.

6) 2018 "Tender Trap" | 22-year old student, Doro Meisner is strangled in a car park outside a night club – apparently an act of revenge by the bird hunters, a group of men who had all been scammed by Doro alias Birdy via an online dating portal "Lovetender". There are no traces at the scene of the crime and the cheated marks claim to have had nothing to do with the murder. In order to move the investigation along quickly, Karin Gorniak and Henni Sieland decide to go undercover – against the wishes of their boss, Schnabel.

**This would be the last appearance of Henni Sieland as she burns out**

7) 2019 "The Nest" | Dresden detective Karin Gorniak is severely injured and hospitalized when her new colleague Leonie Winkler makes a critical error during a dangerous deployment. The murderer they were after manages to escape. Winkler must take over the case in her absence. Gorniak is soon released from hospital, but she is the only one to have seen the perpetrator and can identify him. Her life is in danger as long as the killer walks free.

8) 2019 "Nemisis" | The murder of a famous Dresden restaurateur leads detectives Gorniak and Hennrichs into the murky world of organized crime, but could the real killer be closer to home and in a much darker place?

9) 2020 "The Time Has Come" | Anna and Louis want to get their lives back on track - steady work for both of them, no more parties, no more drugs and a proper home for their 12-year-old son Tim. But when a neighbour is found beaten to death in front of their house, the Dresden detectives Gorniak and Winkler investigate – including the lives of Anna and Louis. Louis has a criminal record.

Episodes 10) "Parasemonia", 11) "Threatened Saviours", 12) "Invisible", 13) "The Cold House", 14) "Cat and Mouse" have yet to be released in the United States as of the end of 2022.

  • 2017 MHz Network started streaming series from Tatort, retaining the original Tatort titles.

Tatort: Borowski

Tatort: Cologne

(MHz calls this the start of ‘season 1’)

1.    Welcome to Cologne (October 4, 1997) After a Miami drug bust goes sour, German cop Max Ballauf is sent home to be Cologne's homicide chief, and is immediately confronted with partner Freddy Schenk's professional jealousy - and the dead body of a former colleague.

2.    Blown-Up Spirits (October 11, 1997) A teacher recently acquitted of sexual molestation charges is killed by a bomb blast at his school. Ballauf and Schenk struggle to piece together what happened when a second death rocks the campus.

3.    Manila (April 18, 1998) While investing a highway rest stop robbery/murder, Ballauf picks up a little Filipino boy in flight. Could he be the lead they need to bust an international child-trafficking ring?

4.    Iconoclasm (June 20, 1998) The body of a banker is found in the woods near Cologne; next to his body is a pile of charred bank notes. Protesters threaten violence over an exhibit of photos documenting Nazi atrocities.

5.    Secret Mission (October 10, 1998) A woman's body is fished out of the Rhine, and the victim turns out to be an acquaintance of Ballauf's. The investigation leads to a chemical company, and the German intelligence services are found to be involved.

6.    Residual Risk (February 13, 1999) A dancer is found murdered near the grounds of a psychiatric hospital, and the prime suspect is a patient with a history of violence. But is the patient merely a pawn in a devilish game?

7.    Children of Violence (May 1, 1999) A boy is found dead in a school bathroom, and Max goes undercover to investigate. He discovers an ongoing war between gangs of German and Turkish teenagers.

8.    Light and Shade (July 3, 1999) Freddy and Max investigate the death of a wealthy gynecologist who's found dead in his swimming pool. A prominent Pro-Life group is suspected, but the search for the killer leads to a maze of half-truths and evasions.

9.    Three Monkeys (September 25, 1999) After a colleague’s long-time girlfriend is killed in the courtyard of a crowded apartment complex, the victim was secretly pregnant. Who was the father of the child, and why was the victim planning a secret move to Hamburg?

10.   Martinsfire (December 4, 1999) The body of a four-year-old boy is found in a working class area. Max befriends Mirko, an emotionally neglected eight-year-old who may know more than he's willing to admit.

11.    Bitter Almonds (March 4, 2000) The body of wealthy real estate magnate Gerd Wesibach is found, his pores emanating a familiar odor: bitter almonds. Is it assisted suicide or murder?

12.   Deadly Inheritance (July 15, 2000) A blackmailer has been threatening the Kölsch brewery in Cologne. Concerned with his company's reputation, Belcher Sr. decides to pay the ransom in person, and is soon shot dead.

13.   Straight into the Heart (August 5, 2000) A man is shot to death in broad daylight on a busy street in Cologne. However, no shots were heard.

14.   The Lady on the Train (December 16, 2000) On a family trip to Holland, Freddy finds himself suspected of drug smuggling and is forced to go on the run to clear his name.

15.    Murder Pit (February 24, 2001) After a law student is shot on a college campus, Max suspects her hot-tempered ex-fiancé - but Freddy senses something more sinister.

16.    Death of a Child (June 16, 2001) After a badly-beaten child is left unclaimed at the ER, Ballauf and Schenk discover a flawed system unable to prevent child abuse.

17.     Beasts (November 24, 2001) When the daughter of a biker is brutally raped and murdered, Ballauf and Schenk must overcome their prejudices to make sure justice is served.

(MHz calls this the start of ‘season 2’)

18.    Charges (March 2, 2002) An investigation into a murder at a warehouse leads Ballauf and Schenk into the deaf community.

19.    Sleep Well, My Dear (June 15, 2002) When lumberjacks find a murdered woman in the woods, it appears that a recently-released serial killer is at it again.

20.   Betrayal (August 31, 2002) Ballauf and Schenk find that the professional murder of a diplomat is linked to a massacre at an overseas embassy.

21.     Payback (November 9, 2002) Ballauf and Schenk are joined by their East German colleagues Ehrlicher and Kain to investigate an art heist gone wrong.

22.    A Mother's Love (March 22, 2003) A hospital worker is murdered right after an anonymous woman leaves a newborn in the baby drop-off.

23.    Without a Trace (April 26, 2003) Schenk walks into a bloody bank heist involving a kidnapped senior citizen strapped with explosives.

24.    The Phantom (June 8, 2003) Schenk discovers that a young man he helped convict and imprison may not have been guilty.

25.    Bermuda (September 13, 2003) Ballauf and Schenk try to solve a murder with the help of teenagers living in a halfway house.

(MHz calls this the start of ‘season 3’)

26.    A Dog's Life (April 11, 2004) Freddy puts his grandmother in a nursing home and investigates a murder there in the same week.

27.     Odin's Revenge (July 10, 2004) The police suspect revenge by an immigrant family when a skinhead gets targeted by a sniper.

28.     Betrayed and Sold (September 18, 2004) Freddy goes undercover as a janitor at an elite boarding school to investigate a series of murders.

29.     Ghost Town (February 12, 2005) The severed thumb of a fugitive cop killer comes to Max and Freddy in the mail, leading them to a deserted town.

30.     Mine Games (May 7, 2005) One of the owners of a mine-removal nonprofit gets blown up during a jog, and his wife seems curiously unmoved.

31.      Frozen (August 20, 2005) A beloved figure skating celebrity and competition judge is found dead on the ice.

32.     Blood Diamonds (March 16, 2006) A shooting at a political demonstration thrusts Freddy and Max into a web of international conspiracy and intrigue.

33.     Pechmarie (March 18, 2006) A diamond heist turned deadly causes Ballauf and Schenk to protect the sister of one of the outlaws.

34.     The Flowers of Evil (December 31, 2006) Max gets commended in the paper for excellent police work, and finds himself targeted by a maniac in response.

Tatort: Munich (2009-2017)

1.    At Any Cost (10/17/2009) Ivo's childhood friend comes under suspicion for murder.

2.    We're the Good Guys (12/12/2009) Ivo has amnesia and is suspected of murdering a colleague.

3.    The Saint (10/02/2010) A prison guard becomes personally involved with the inmates.

4.    Undying Beauty (11/20/2010) A woman fixated on staying beautiful dies mysteriously in a chocolate bath.

5.    Never Free Again (12/18/2010) Franz and Ivo seek justice after an alleged rapist is acquitted.

6.    Hunting Season (4/9/2011) A terrified young woman won't talk about a crime she witnessed.

7.    Yesterday Never Happened (6/10/2011) An elderly glassmaker with dementia confesses to a murder.

8.    A Regular Murder (11/26/2011) Investigating a synagogue murder requires discretion as Ivo and Franz question members of the community.

9.    At the End of the Hall (5/03/2014) Franz puts his job in jeopardy to solve the murder of a young woman.

10. The Desert Son (9/13/2014) Franz and Ivo come up against diplomatic immunity as they investigate a Middle Eastern prince.

11.    The Last Oktoberfest (9/19/2015) It's Oktoberfest and mysterious deaths keep happening.

12.    This is Going to Hurt (4/02/2016) Ivo and Franz reopen a case they think should have been more fully investigated.

13.    The Truth (10/22/2016) Franz obsesses over the most perplexing case of his career.

14.    Love is a Strange Game (5/20/2017) (Contains sexually explicit content) A successful architect is suspected of killing multiple lovers.

Tatort: Streets of Berlin (2015-2021)

1.    The Mule (2015) An apartment bathroom is covered in blood with no body in sight.

2.    Corrosive (2015) Karow searches for the killer of his former partner.

3.    Us - Her – Them (2016) A group of high school girls close ranks over a hit-and-run.

4.     Dark Field (2016) Karow is held hostage after his key witness gets gunned down in front of him.

5.     Crazy Love (2017) A teacher accused of sexually harassing a student is found torched in his garden.

6.     Your Name is Harbinger (2017) A mentally-ill locksmith thinks he's receiving messages directing him to procure victims.

7.     META (2018) A package with a severed finger leads Rubin and Karow to an art film eerily paralleling their investigation.

8.     Urban Beasts (2018) Rubin and Karow investigate a jogger attacked by a boar and a man murdered in a coffee kiosk.

9.     The Good Path (2019) Nina's son Tolja joins the police as an intern and gets shot on a routine call.

10.  The Afterlife (2019) Robert discovers he's been living next door to a decaying corpse.

11.  The Perfect Crime (2020) A secret society of law students exercise strange control over a new member.

12.  A Few Words After Midnight (2020) The murder of a 90-year-old Berlin building tycoon appears to be politically motivated.

13.  No Place Like Home (2021) A realtor is murdered during evictions of an apartment building slated for remodel.

14.  The Cold and the Dead (2021) Karow and Rubin investigate the brutal death of a woman active in Berlin's night life.

Tatort: Weimar (2013-2018)

1.   The Big Hoppe (2013) Weimar's Sausage Queen goes missing and a surprising turn of events occurs when the police get a phone call.

2.   The Wrong Ivan (2015) As Dorn and Lessing investigate the death of a woman during a robbery, it becomes clear that all is not as it seems.

3.   Losing Lupo (2017) After discovering he has two days to live, Lupo takes the police chief hostage to force Dorn and Lessing to hand over his murderer.

4.   The Gobi Desert (2017) Dorn and Lessing are on the hunt for a serial killer who escaped a psychiatric ward.

5.   Cold Fritte (2018) After a billionaire is killed during a burglary, the victim's wife shoots and kills the perp.

6.   Robust Roswita (2018) A woman presumed dead for seven years reappears with a patchy memory.

7.   Hardcore (2018) Lessing is accused of murder and it's up to Dorn to exonerate him.

Tatort: Lindholm (2008-2017)

Missing are the first 12 episodes: Lanstrum Mix / Dance of the Witches / Sun and Storm / HomeMatch / Fairy Tale Forest / Dark Ways / Breathless / Dark Heat / Pauline / The Girl With No Name / To Whom Honor Is Due / Thanksgiving. As well as episode 24) Taxi to Leipzig,

13. "Salt Mummy"(aka The Salt Corpse) (11/5/2008) A salt mine reveals the mummified body of a security guard reported missing months earlier.

14. "The Ghost"(aka Apparition) (3/14/2009) Charlotte's Childhood friend re-enters her life as a crime suspect and terrorist.

15. "There Will Be Pain and Suffering"(aka There Will Be Sorrow and Pain) (9/29/2009) A Sniper wreaks havoc in Lower Saxony.

16. "Forgotten Memories" (1/30/2010) Driving at night, Charlotte sees a man in the road and swerves to miss him, crashing off the road. When rescuers arrive the mystery man is gone with no evidence he was ever there. (This is this author's favorite episode)

**Roommate & Babysitter Martin leaves the series**

17. "The Last Patient" (10/20/2010) Arson results in a woman's death and a mentally disturbed boy may be the sole witness.

18. "Murder in the First Devision" (3/9/2011) A high-stakes game of professional soccer proves fatal.

19. "Black Tigers, White Lions" (12/10/2011) Charlotte delves into the secrets of a man found murdered in the countryside.

20 "The Disposable Girl" (12/8/2012) (PART 1) The body of a 16 year old girl turns up in an incineration plant.

21. "The Golden Band" 12/15/2012 | (PART 2) Charlotte finds herself in High Society circles while investigating the murdered 16 year old girl.

22. "The Smooth Death" (12/6/2014) A large meat producer appears to be a murder target just as he's about to roll out a new product. (Picture aspect for this episode only changes from 16x9 to wider 2x1)

23. "Killjoy" (11/21/2015) The murder of a military pilot's wife reveals an unwritten code of honor.

25. "The Holdt Case" (9/13/2017) Charlotte takes on an escalating kidnapping case after the victims have handed over the money.

Tatort: Lindholm and Schmitz (2019- )

**Inspector Lindholm is transferred to Gottingen KRIPO (Kriminal Polizei) and given a partner as punishment for tragic events in "The Holt Case".**

26. "The Missing Child" (2/2/2019) (began streaming 11/22/2022) A 15-year-old girl and her newborn baby are missing, leaving behind only a trail of blood and unanswered questions. For the first time in her career, Charlotte is paired with a partner – a female detective, Anais Schmitz (Florence Kasumba), who is as prickly and aggressive as Lindholm.

27. "War In he Head" (9/28/2020) (began streaming 11/30/2022) A Split-second decision during a standoff sends Lindholm and Schmitz down an Orwellian rabbit hold of conspiracy and deceit.

28. "National Feminine" (streaming announced for December 2022)

Table of broadcasters

There have been over 1100 episodes of Tatort, from November 1970 up to the beginning of January 2020[7] these have been the product of a dozen broadcasters, based around various lead investigators. While some (about 30) have featured only once or twice, a number of investigators have featured in multiple episodes. There are 22 current investigative strands,[8] and three have been the subject of over 70 episodes.

Year Broadcast Station Lead Investigator Actors City Number of Episodes
1970–1982 NDR Paul Trimmel Walter Richter Hamburg 11
1970–1973 SR Liersdahl and Schäfermann Dieter Eppler Saarbrücken 2
1971–1973 WDR Kressin Sieghardt Rupp Cologne 7
1971–1986 SDR Eugen Lutz Werner Schumacher 8 different towns in Baden-Württemberg 16
1971–1979 HR Konrad Klaus Höhne Frankfurt am Main 8
1971–1978 NDR Finke Klaus Schwarzkopf Kiel and other places in Schleswig-Holstein 7
1971–1983 ORF Viktor Marek Fritz Eckhardt Vienna 13
1971–1972 SFB Erwin Kasulke Paul Esser West Berlin 2
1972–1981 BR Melchior Veigl Gustl Bayrhammer Munich 15
1972 SWF Horst Pflüger Ernst Jacobi Baden-Baden 1
1973 RB Walter Böck Hans Häckermann Bremen 1
1973–1977 SWF Franz Gerber Heinz Schimmelpfennig Baden-Baden 5
1974–1980 WDR Heinz Haferkamp Hansjörg Felmy Essen 20
1974–1977 NDR Heinz Brammer Knut Hinz Hanover 4
1975–1977 SFB Martin Schmidt Martin Hirthe West Berlin 3
1977–1984 SR Schäfermann Manfred Heidmann Saarbrücken 4
1978–1980 SWF Marianne Buchmüller Nicole Heesters Mainz 3
1978–1983 HR Bergmann Heinz Treuke (1978), Lutz Moik (1981-1983) Frankfurt am Main 3
1978–1979 SFB Matthias Behnke Hans-Peter Korff West Berlin 2
1979 NDR Nagel Diether Krebs Braunschweig 1
1979–1985 NDR Delius Horst Bollmann Hamburg 3
1980 HR Sander Volkert Kraeft Frankfurt am Main 1
1980 WDR Paul Enders Jörg Hube Essen, Frankfurt am Main 1
1980–1982 NDR Jochen Piper Bernd Seebacher Bremen 2
1980 WDR Willy Kreutzer Willy Semmelrogge Essen 1
1981–1985 SFB Friedrich Walther Volker Brandt West Berlin 6
1981–1988 SWF Hanne Wiegand Karin Anselm Baden-Baden, Karlsruhe, Mainz 8
1981 NDR Greve Erik Schumann small town in Schleswig-Holstein 1
1981 NDR Beck Hans Häckermann Lübeck 1
1981–1991 WDR Horst Schimanski and Christian Thanner Götz George and Eberhard Feik Duisburg 29
1981–1987 BR Ludwig Lenz Helmut Fischer Munich 7
1982 HR Werner Rolfs Klaus Löwitsch Frankfurt am Main 1
1982 NDR Nikolaus Schnoor Uwe Dallmeier Bremerhaven 1
1983 NDR Ronke Ulrich von Bock Hamburg 1
1984 HR Rullmann Hans-Werner Bussinger small towns in Hesse 1
1984–2001 NDR Paul Stoever and Peter Brockmöller Manfred Krug and Charles Brauer Hamburg and Neuwerk 41 (with Brockmöller: 38)
1984–1986 ORF Hirth Kurt Jaggberg Vienna 3 (+ 6 only ORF)
1985 HR Reinhold Dietze Klaus Löwitsch Frankfurt am Main 1
1985–2001 HR Edgar Brinkmann Karl-Heinz von Hassel Frankfurt am Main 28
1985–1989 SFB Hans Georg Bülow Heinz Drache Berlin 6
1986 BR Siggi Riedmüller Günther Maria Halmer Munich 1
1986 ORF Lutinsky Miguel Herz-Kestranek Vienna 1 (only ORF)
1986-1988 ORF Pfeifer Bruno Dallansky Vienna 3 (+5 only ORF)
1987–1988 SDR Georg Thomas Schreitle Horst Michael Neutze Stuttgart, Führstadt 3
1987 BR Karl Scherrer Hans Brenner Munich 1
1988–2005 SR Max Palu Jochen Senf Saarbrücken and other places in Saarland 17
1988–1989 BR Otto Brandenburg Horst Bollmann Munich 2
1989–1996 ORF Michael Fichtl Michael Janisch Vienna 8 (+1 only ORF)
since 1989 SWF, SWR Lena Odenthal, Mario Kopper, and Johanna Stern Ulrike Folkerts, Andreas Hoppe, and Lisa Bitter Ludwigshafen 75 (with Kopper: 57, with Stern: 16)
1990 DRS Walter Howald Mathias Gnädinger Bern 1
1991-2017 BR , MHz (USA) Ivo Batic, Franz Leitmayr (and Detective Sergeant Carlo Menzinger until 2007) Miroslav Nemec, Udo Wachtveitl and Michael Fitz Munich 90 (with Menzinger: 45, two of them together with Faber)
1991–1992 DRS Reto Carlucci Andrea Zogg Bern 2
1991–1995 SFB Franz Markowitz Günter Lamprecht Berlin 8
1992–2007 MDR Bruno Ehrlicher and Kain Peter Sodann and Bernd Michael Lade first Dresden, later Leipzig, one episode in Cologne as well 45 (two of them together with Ballauf and Schenk)
1992–1997 WDR Bernd Flemming, Detective Constable Max Ballauf and Detective Constable Miriam Koch Martin Lüttge, Klaus J. Behrendt and Roswitha Schreiner Düsseldorf 15 (with Ballauf: 9)
1992–2007 SDR, SWR Ernst Bienzle and Detective Sergeant Günter Gächter Dietz Werner Steck and Rüdiger Wandel Stuttgart 25
1993–2002 DRS Philipp von Burg and Markus Gertsch L.I. Kisch and E.C. Sigrist Bern 9
1995 HR Leo Felber Heinz Schubert Frankfurt am Main 1
1996–1998 SFB Ernst Roiter and Detective Constable Michael Zorrowski Winfried Glatzeder and Robinson Reichel Berlin 12
1996 ORF Max Becker Klaus Wildbolz Vienna 1
1997 ORF Paul Kant and Jakob Varanasi Wolfgang Hübsch and Johannes Nikolussi Vienna 2
1997 NDR Lea Sommer Hannelore Elsner Hamburg 2
1997 - 2006 WDR , MHz (USA) Max Ballauf and Freddy Schenk Klaus J. Behrendt and Dietmar Bär Cologne, two episodes in Leipzig as well 84, (respectively two of them together with Ehrlicher/Kain and Saalfeld/Keppler)
1997–2019 RB Inga Lürsen and Detective Constable Nils Stedefreund Sabine Postel and Oliver Mommsen Bremen, Bremerhaven 39 (with Stedefreund: 34)
1999–2014 SFB, rbb Till Ritter and Robert Hellmann, later Felix Stark Dominic Raacke and Stefan Jürgens, later Boris Aljinovic Berlin 37, (with Hellmann: 6, with Stark: 31, the last episode only with Stark)
since 1999 ORF Moritz Eisner and Bibi Fellner Harald Krassnitzer and Adele Neuhauser Vienna and other places in Austria 52 (with Fellner: 28)
2001–2008 NDR Jan Casstorff and Eduard Holicek Robert Atzorn, Tilo Prückner Hamburg 15
2002–2010 HR Fritz Dellwo and Charlotte Sänger Jörg Schüttauf and Andrea Sawatzki Frankfurt am Main 18
since 2002 NDR , MHz (USA) Charlotte Lindholm and Anaïs Schmitz (since 2019) Maria Furtwängler and Florence Kasumba first Hanover, later Göttingen and small towns in Lower Saxony 29 (with Schmitz: 3)
2002-2016 SWR Klara Blum and Kai Perlmann Eva Mattes and Sebastian Bezzel Konstanz and other places around Lake Constance 31 (with Perlmann: 27)
since 2002 WDR Frank Thiel and forensic doctor Prof. Karl-Friedrich Boerne Axel Prahl and Jan Josef Liefers Münster 41
since 2003 NDR , MHz (USA) Klaus Borowski, Sarah Brandt (2010-2017), Mila Sahin (since 2017) Axel Milberg, Maren Eggert (2003-2010), Sibel Kekilli (2010-2017), Almila Bagriacik (since 2017) Kiel 38 (with Brandt: 13, with Sahin: 7)
2006-2012 SR Franz Kappl and Stephan Deininger Maximilian Brückner and Gregor Weber Saarbrücken 7
since 2008 SWR Sebastian Bootz and Thorsten Lannert Felix Klare and Richy Müller Stuttgart 28
2008-2015 MDR Eva Saalfeld and Andreas Keppler Simone Thomalla and Martin Wuttke Leipzig 21 (two of them together with Ballauf and Schenk)
2008-2012 NDR Cenk Batu Mehmet Kurtuluş Hamburg 6
since 2010 HR Felix Murot Ulrich Tukur Wiesbaden and other places in Hesse 10
2011–2015 HR Frank Steier and Conny Mey Joachim Król and Nina Kunzendorf Frankfurt 7 (with Mey: 5)
2011–2019 SRF Reto Flückiger and Liz Ritschard Stefan Gubser and Delia Mayer Lucerne 17 (with Ritschard: 16)
since 2012 WDR Peter Faber, Martina Bönisch, Nora Dalay (until 2020), Daniel Kossik (until 2017), Jan Pawlak (since 2018) and Rosa Herzog (since 2021) Jörg Hartmann, Anna Schudt, Aylin Tezel, Stefan Konarske, Rick Okon and Stefanie Reinsperger Dortmund 22 (with Dalay: 17, with Kossik: 10, with Pawlak: 11, with Herzog: 4, two of them together with Batic and Leitmayr)
2013–2019 SR Jens Stellbrink Devid Striesow and Elisabeth Brück Saarbrücken 8
since 2013 NDR Nick Tschiller and Yalcin Gümer Til Schweiger and Fahri Ogün Yardım Hamburg 6
since 2013 NDR , Walter Presents Thorsten Falke and Katharina Lorenz (2013-2015), Julia Grosz (since 2016) Wotan Wilke Möhring and Petra Schmidt-Schaller, Franziska Weisz Hamburg and other places in Northern Germany 17 (with Lorenz: 6, with Grosz: 11)
2013–2014 MDR Henry Funck, Maik Schaffert and Johanna Grewel[9] Friedrich Mücke, Benjamin Kramme and Alina Levshin Erfurt 2
2013–2021 MDR , MHz (USA) Lessing and Kira Dorn Christian Ulmen and Nora Tschirner Weimar 11
since 2015 rbb , MHZ (USA) Nina Rubin and Robert Karow Meret Becker, Mark Waschke Berlin 15
since 2015 BR Paula Ringelhahn and Felix Voss Dagmar Manzel, Fabian Hinrichs Nuremberg and other places in Franconia 8
since 2015 HR Anna Janneke and Paul Brix Margarita Broich, Wolfram Koch Frankfurt am Main 15
since 2016 MDR , Wallter Presents (USA) Karin Gorniak, Henni Sieland (until 2018), Leonie Winkler (since 2019) and Peter Michael Schnabel Karin Hanczewski, Alwara Höfels, Cornelia Gröschel and Martin Brambach Dresden 13 (with Sieland: 6, with Winkler: 7)
since 2016 SWR Ellen Berlinger and Martin Rascher (since 2018) Heike Makatsch and Sebastian Blomberg Freiburg, then Mainz 4 (with Rascher: 3)
since 2017 SWR Franziska Tobler and Friedmann Berg Eva Löbau, Hans-Jochen Wagner Freiburg and other places in Black Forest 8
since 2020 SR Adam Schürk and Leo Hölzer Daniel Sträßer and Vladimir Burlakov Saarbrücken 4
since 2020 SRF Isabelle Grandjean and Tessa Ott Anna Pieri Zuercher and Carol Schuler Zürich 3
since 2021 RB Liv Moormann, Mads Andersen and Linda Selb Jasna Fritzi Bauer, Dar Salim and Luise Wolfram Bremen 3

Last update: 28 Nov 2022

Soundtracks (selection)

Some Tatort episodes from the 1980s and 1990s included songs that subsequently became quite well known, and two of them reached the top of the charts: "Faust auf Faust (Schimanski)" by Klaus Lage from the Tatort movie On the Killer's Track, and "Midnight Lady" by Chris Norman, written by Dieter Bohlen, which appears on the episode "Der Tausch". Some random selected soundtracks:

Artist Title song Episode Year TV station
Can "Vitamin C" "Dead Pigeon on Beethoven Street" 1973 WDR
Tangerine Dream "Das Mädchen auf der Treppe" "Das Mädchen auf der Treppe" 1982 WDR
Tangerine Dream "Daydream – Moorland" "Miriam" 1983 WDR
Warning "Why Can The Bodies Fly" "Peggy hat Angst" 1983 SWF
Jil Anderson "Without You (Baby, Baby)" "Haie vor Helgoland" 1984 NDR
Mark Spiro "Winds Of Change" "Das Haus im Wald" 1985 WDR
Patricia Simpson "Dreams In The City" "Nachtstreife" 1985 ORF
Die Toten Hosen "Verschwende deine Zeit" "Voll auf Haß" 1987 NDR
Sandra "Stop For A Minute" "Salü Palu" 1988 SR
Roger Chapman "Slap Bang in the Middle" "Einzelhaft" 1988 WDR
Klaatu "Woman" "Tödlicher Treff" 1988 SDR
Bonnie Tyler "Against The Wind" "Der Fall Schimanski" 1991 WDR
Wolf Maahn "Cool" "Der Mörder und der Prinz" 1992 WDR
Markus Küpper "Sie hat Schluß gemacht" "Ein ehrenwertes Haus" 1994 MDR
Ben Becker "Alter Mann" "Falsches Alibi" 1995 MDR
Rammstein Asche zu Asche "Die Geschichte vom bösen Friedrich" 2016 HR

See also

References

  1. "Tatort - der Reiz des Bösen, TV-Film (Reihe), 2020-2021 | Crew United".
  2. ""Ehrenpreis der Jury": Gunther Witte". MDR.de. Das Erste. 13 November 2013. Archived from the original on 8 November 2014. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
  3. "Schade, Tatort+ ist zu Ende!" (in German). Das Erste. n.d. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
  4. "Besondere Ehrung für das Format "Tatort"" (in German). Grimme Institut. n.d. Archived from the original on 15 January 2015. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
  5. Barbara Möller (29 January 2014). ""Tatort" erhält Besondere Ehrung beim Grimme-Preis". Die Welt (in German). Axel Springer. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
  6. "Tatort". fernsehlexikon. n.d. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
  7. Tatort 2020 at episode guide.com; retrieved 12 April 2020
  8. Current investigators at daerste.de (German)
  9. "Team Erfurt - Tatort - ARD | Das Erste". www.daserste.de (in German). Retrieved 1 July 2022.

Further reading

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