This year, “Tatort” and “Polizeiruf 110” fans had to be strong, because the only fixed points in the format, which was broad in terms of content and style, saw more changes in the investigative teams or announcements about them than in a long time.
Actress Heike Makatsch (52) alias Ellen Berlinger said goodbye to “Tatort: Out of the Dark” at the beginning of October after five films in around eight years. The impending end was announced in a brief press release in June 2023. On Easter Monday 2016, their first case – initially intended as a one-off event “crime scene” – flickered across the screens. There were strong ratings at the farewell, with 7.45 million people tuning in.
At the beginning of June, Verena Altenberger (36) said goodbye to Sunday thrillers. After six cases, the Austrian actress gave up her role as Munich investigator Elisabeth “Bessie” Eyckhoff (2019-2023). With 7.25 million viewers, “Polizeiruf 110: Paranoia” achieved the crime series’ best market share in ten years.
The last films are also coming up for many other Sunday crime stars. Eight actors have announced their departure from the series so far this year.
The latest announcement comes from NDR: Commissioner Charlotte Lindholm, who is played by Maria Furtwängler (57), is returning to the LKA in Hanover after six outside assignments. Lindholm, who has been investigating the “crime scene” since 2002, had previously been transferred to Göttingen for punishment. Her first case ran from there in 2019. But of course that alone wouldn’t make it into the farewell section. Her return to Hanover also means that she says goodbye to her colleagues in the university city, especially her co-investigator Anaïs Schmitz (Florence Kasumba, 47), the broadcaster continues. The last Göttingen case, “Tatort: Ghost Ride,” will be broadcast on February 11th. There will be another crossover case with Kasumba: “Crime Scene: The Coldest Machine” has just been filmed, in which Commissioner Schmitz investigates once together with Federal Police Commissioner Thorsten Falke, played by Wotan Wilke Möhring (56). According to the broadcaster, the crime thriller will be shown in 2025.
The day before, the bad news came from the Hessian “crime scene” investigative team. Anna Janneke and Paul Brix from Frankfurt am Main will have their last mission next year. As the responsible Hessischer Rundfunk announced on December 19th, it will end after 19 cases. Filming for the last outing of the two actors Wolfram Koch (61) and Margarita Broich (63) has just been completed. There is currently no exact date for the film “It’s so green when Frankfurt’s mountains bloom”.
At the beginning of December, the broadcaster WDR surprised with the news that actor Rick Okon (34) was leaving the Dortmund “Tatort”. Okon himself announced his departure the evening before at the premiere of the crime thriller “Cash” at the Lünen Cinema Festival. “After 13 ‘crime scenes’ in Dortmund, it’s time for me to say goodbye,” said Okon on the sidelines of the event. “But now the time has come for me to go new ways. […] It was a celebration for me,” he added. His last film will be shown in spring 2024. Jörg Hartmann (54) and Stefanie Reinsperger (35) continue to investigate their roles as Peter Faber and Rosa Herzog as a duo.
The role of Commissioner Julia Grosz went through an “exciting development” but has now been told. With these words, the NDR Fiction boss explained the surprising exit of Franziska Weisz (43) from “Tatort” in September after 13 cases in seven years. On New Year’s Day 2024 she will be seen for the last time in “Tatort: What Remains” alongside actor Wotan Wilke Möhring (56) aka Inspector Thorsten Falke. The broadcaster will reveal at a later date who Falke will be assigned as a new permanent partner after the two solo episodes.
Actress Dagmar Manzel (65) is also facing her last case as Chief Detective Paula Ringelhahn (2015-2024), as was announced in August. “When things are at their best, you should stop,” explains Manzel, who is leaving the team at her own request. The Franconian crime thriller “Nevertheless” is scheduled to be broadcast in 2024. “In the eleventh ‘Tatort’ from Franconia, which will be filmed in 2024 and broadcast in 2025, Felix Voss, played by Fabian Hinrichs [born 1974], will investigate without Paula,” said BR. Who will then join the ‘Tatort’-Franken team will be announced in due course.
Actress Karin Hanczewski (41) also turns her back on the “crime scene” “at her own request”. “As Karin Gorniak, I went through all the ups and downs of television police investigations for nine years and in a total of 18 episodes,” she was quoted as saying in a statement in May. “The work in which we searched together, exploring the human, the profound and the humor, was always enriching for me,” the actress continues. She really enjoyed being part of the Dresden team and experienced a lot of sympathy. The decision to leave was not easy for her, but it was time to move on and tell new characters. As the MDR further announced, the last case from Dresden with her role, “Tatort: Heart of Darkness”, will be shown at the beginning of 2025.
A few days before, “Tatort” fans had to cope with another farewell announcement, not to say the end of an era. In 2025, Axel Milberg’s (67) role will also come to an end. The actor is turning his back on the “crime scene” and with it on investigator Klaus Borowski after more than 20 years. “There was never any routine in the ‘crime scene’, nothing was repetitive,” said Milberg. In total, the 38 previous episodes would have certainly made it possible for 1000 people. He thanked them and the “loyal audience” warmly. “Now I’m looking forward,” he said.
But enough of the farewells and announced exits. There were also some more or less new faces in the Sunday cosmos in the year that was coming to an end.
Most recently, the new German-Polish team from “Polizeiruf 110” impressed with strong ratings in mid-November. “Polizeiruf: 110: Cottbus Kopflos” was the first film in a new three-part constellation. André Kaczmarczyk (37) played the androgynous Chief Inspector Vincent Ross for the fourth time. “Polizeiruf” fans already knew Commissioner Alexandra Luschke, played by Gisa Flake (38), from the “Hermann” case (2021). There Flake played the character alongside Kaczmarczyk’s predecessor Lucas Gregorowicz (47). The third in the new constellation celebrated its debut in February in “Polizeiruf 110: The God of Bankruptcy”. Karl Rogov is portrayed by actor Frank Leo Schröder (born 1961).
From a ratings perspective, actress Corinna Harfouch (69) celebrated her debut as the new Berlin Commissioner Susanne Bonard with the two-part Easter crime thriller “Tatort: Nothing but the Truth”. Bonard actually only wanted to clear up this one case with Robert Karow (Mark Waschke, 51), but what the fans already know from the start: She stays longer. At the end, when Karow wants to shake her hand goodbye, she simply replies, smiling, “see you Monday.” The next crime thriller has already been filmed. There is no broadcast date yet.
Shortly beforehand, Patrick Güldenberg (44) reported for duty. He plays the new Bremerhaven commissioner Robert Petersen, with whom the Bremen “Tatort” team worked together in the “Donuts” case. In an interview with spot on news, the actor raves about his role, which is outed with an anti-gay diss: “I’m really happy that I’m now a ‘Tatort’ inspector. It’s an extraordinary format that is very strongly linked to German television identity I personally really enjoy watching Sunday thrillers and have spent many exciting evenings watching them alone or with friends.” It is not known when he will next be seen.
