A coming and going in the teams

"Tatort" and "Polizeiruf 110" in the year 2023 - A coming and going in the teams

This year,"Tatort" and "Polizeiruf 110" fans had to be strong, because there were more changes to the investigative teams or announcements about them than there have been for a long time in the only fixed points in the format, which is wide-ranging in terms of content and style.

These investigators said their goodbyes

With "Tatort: Aus dem Dunkel", actress Heike Makatsch (52) alias Ellen Berlinger said goodbye at the beginning of October after five films in around eight years. The imminent end was announced in a brief press release in June 2023. Her first case - initially intended as a one-off event "Tatort" - flickered across the screens on Easter Monday 2016. There were strong ratings for the farewell, with 7.45 million people tuning in.

Verena Altenberger (36) had already said goodbye to the Sunday crime series at the beginning of June. After six cases, the Austrian actress hung up her role as Munich investigator Elisabeth "Bessie" Eyckhoff (2019-2023). With 7.25 million viewers,"Polizeiruf 110: Paranoia" achieved the best market share for the crime series in ten years.

These investigators announced their farewells

The last films are also on the horizon for many other Sunday crime stars. Eight actors and actresses have announced their departure from the series so far this year.

The latest announcement comes from NDR: Inspector Charlotte Lindholm, played by Maria Furtwängler (57), is returning to the LKA in Hanover after six stints outside the city. Lindholm, who has been investigating for "Tatort" since 2002, had previously been transferred to Göttingen. Her first case from there was in 2019. But of course that alone would not make it into the farewell section. However, 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), according to the broadcaster. The last Göttingen case "Tatort: Geisterfahrt" will be broadcast on February 11. There will be another crossover case with Kasumba: "Tatort: Die kälteste Maschine" 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 came the bad news from the Hessian "Tatort" investigative team. Anna Janneke and Paul Brix from Frankfurt am Main will have their last assignment next year. As announced by Hessischer Rundfunk on December 19, it will be over after 19 cases. The filming for the last assignment of the two actors Wolfram Koch (61) and Margarita Broich (63) has just been completed. However, there is currently no exact date for the film "Es grünt so grün, wenn Frankfurt's Berge blüh'n".

At the beginning of December, broadcaster WDR surprised viewers with the news that actor Rick Okon (34) was leaving Dortmund's "Tatort". Okon himself announced his departure the evening before at the premiere of the crime thriller "Cash" at Kinofest Lünen. "After 13 Dortmund 'Tatorte', 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 break new ground. [...] It was a celebration for me," he added. His last film will run in spring 2024. Jörg Hartmann (54) and Stefanie Reinsperger (35) will continue to investigate as a duo in their roles of Peter Faber and Rosa Herzog.

The role of detective Julia Grosz has undergone an "exciting development", but is now over. These were the words used by NDR's head of fiction in September to explain Franziska Weisz's (43) surprising departure from "Tatort" after 13 cases in seven years. On New Year's Day 2024, she will be seen for the last time in "Tatort: Was bleibt" alongside actor Wotan Wilke Möhring (56), alias Inspector Thorsten Falke. The broadcaster will reveal at a later date who Falke will be partnering with after the two solo episodes.

Actress Dagmar Manzel (65) will also have her last case as Detective Chief Inspector Paula Ringelhahn (2015-2024), as was announced in August. "When it's at its best, you should stop," explains Manzel, who is leaving the team at her own request. The Franconian crime thriller "Trotzdem" is scheduled to air 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," BR said. Who will subsequently join the 'Tatort' Franconia team will be announced in due course.

Actress Karin Hanczewski (41) is also leaving "Tatort" "at her own request". "For nine years and a total of 18 episodes, I went through all the highs and lows of television police investigation as Karin Gorniak," she was quoted as saying in a statement in May. "The work in which we were on a quest together, exploring the human, the abysmal and the humor, was always enriching for me," the actress continued. She very much enjoyed being part of the Dresden team and received a lot of sympathy. The decision to leave was not easy for her, but it was time to move on and tell the stories of new characters. MDR also announced that the last case from Dresden featuring her, "Tatort: Herz der Dunkelheit", will be shown at the beginning of 2025.

A few days earlier, "Tatort" fans had to cope with another farewell announcement, not to say the end of an era. In 2025, Axel Milberg (67) will also be saying goodbye to his signature role. The actor is turning his back on "Tatort" and thus also on investigator Klaus Borowski after more than 20 years. "There was never any routine in 'Tatort', nothing was repeated," said Milberg. In total, the 38 episodes so far have certainly made 1000 people possible. He thanked them and the "loyal audience" warmly. "Now I'm looking to the future," he said.

These are the new investigators

But enough of the farewells and announced exits. There were also some more or less new faces in the Sunday cosmos as the year drew to a close.

Most recently, the new German-Polish team of "Polizeiruf 110" impressed with strong ratings in mid-November. "Polizeiruf: 110: Cottbus Kopflos" was the first film in a new three-man constellation. André Kaczmarczyk (37) played the androgynous chief inspector Vincent Ross for the fourth time. "Polizeiruf" fans were already familiar with Commissioner Alexandra Luschke, played by Gisa Flake (38), from the case "Hermann" (2021). Flake played the character alongside Kaczmarczyk's predecessor Lucas Gregorowicz (47). The third in the new constellation celebrated his debut in February in "Polizeiruf 110: Der Gott des Bankrotts". Karl Rogov is played by actor Frank Leo Schröder (born 1961).

From a ratings perspective, actress Corinna Harfouch (69) did not have such a successful debut as the new Berlin inspector Susanne Bonard in the two-part Easter crime thriller "Tatort: Nichts als die Wahrheit". Bonard actually only wanted to solve this one case with Robert Karow (Mark Waschke, 51), but what fans know from the start: she stays longer. At the end, when Karow wants to shake her hand to say goodbye, she simply replies with a smile "See you on Monday". The next crime thriller has already been filmed. There is no broadcast date yet.

Shortly before that, Patrick Güldenberg (44) reports for duty. He plays the new Bremerhaven detective Robert Petersen, with whom the Bremen "Tatort" team worked on the "Donuts" case. In an interview with spot on news, the actor enthuses about his role, which is outed with an anti-gay diss: "I'm delighted to be a 'Tatort' detective now. It's an extraordinary format that is strongly linked to the German television identity. I personally also really enjoy watching the Sunday crime dramas and have already spent many exciting evenings watching them alone or with friends." It is not known when he will next be seen.