The Mainz “Tatort” thriller with Heike Makatsch falls victim to austerity measures and is discontinued. This was announced by the responsible Südwestrundfunk (SWR). “The fifth ‘crime scene’ with Heike Makatsch as Ellen Berlinger will be the last: SWR is saying goodbye to its ‘crime scene’ from Mainz. The ‘crime scene – from the dark’ will be broadcast in autumn 2023,” said the broadcaster.
“It was a great honor for SWR to be able to work with such a distinctive and multifaceted actress as Heike Makatsch in ‘Tatort’,” SWR program director Clemens Bratzler is quoted as saying in the statement. “There could not have been a better portrayal of Chief Inspector Ellen Berlinger. It is all the more painful for us to have to end the series based in Mainz after the new case ‘Aus dem Dunkel’ for financial reasons.”
The recent rise in prices plays a major role, explained Bratzler. “Inflation also leads to noticeable cost increases in our fictional productions, which unfortunately we can no longer absorb without cuts in the offer. In addition, we have to reallocate money as part of our digital conversion in order to be able to realize more series for the ARD media library. That is why we are concentrating the SWR in the future on its three other ‘Tatort’ series in Ludwigshafen, Stuttgart and in the Black Forest with two new cases per year.
Heike Makatsch has been investigating Ellen Berlinger as Chief Inspector since 2016. The four “Tatort” thrillers with Berlinger at the center so far – first from Freiburg, then from Mainz after the main character was relocated – achieved quite good ratings. Up to nine million tuned in to the first broadcasts.
The SWR program director emphasized: “I would like to thank Heike Makatsch for her great commitment to the Mainz crime scene and I hope that we can win her back for other roles as soon as possible.”
In these cases, Heike Makatsch determined as a “crime scene” commissioner
