Farewell in Frankfurt

One more investigation, then it's over: the Brix/Janneke team has announced its imminent departure from "Tatort". The pair are thus bidding farewell to the hall of fame of the Frankfurt crime series - a look back at their predecessors.

It all began with "Frankfurter Gold". The sixth episode of the series, the first "Tatort" from the Main metropolis flickered across the screens of the Republic on April 4, 1971. The detective's name was Konrad, first name unknown, played by Klaus Höhne, a thoroughly charming guy, friendly and unagitated, his company car an Opel Rekord, his hobby magic.

Based on a true story, the case of the fraudster Joachim Blum, who had painted lead ingots gold in order to sell them, brought in 55 percent ratings. It was a film that caused an uproar: Blum's lawyer took legal action against Hessischer Rundfunk (HR) because he felt his client's rights had been curtailed. The trial had not even begun at this point.

Klaus Höhne, alias Commissioner Konrad, ended up working on eight cases and also appeared in guest roles with the popular customs investigator Kressin. On February 11, 1979, his last assignment, "Der King" (The King), had a 63 percent audience rating, with guest appearances by Commissioner Marek (Fritz Eckhardt) from Vienna and the easy-going Lenz (Helmut Fischer) from Munich.

Konrad's successors initially proved to be less assertive. In March 1980, Volker Kraeft played Inspector Sander only once in "Mit nackten Füßen". The episode ended up in the poison cabinet, as the discriminatory portrayal of an epileptic caused public criticism. Klaus Löwitsch appeared once as police detective Rolfs in 1982, Hans Werner Bussinger also appeared once as detective Rullmann in 1984. Commissioner Bergmann was played by two different actors (!) between 1978 and 1983, while Klaus Löwitsch suddenly appeared as a patrolman in 1985.

Koch and Broich replace Król and Kunzendorf

Continuity finally returned in the mid-80s. An investigator in a suit and bow tie was something to be proud of. As Inspector Brinkmann, neither related nor related by marriage to a TV doctor of the same name, Karl-Heinz von Hassel solved an impressive 28 cases up to 2001, even returning twice in a kind of spin-off as Brinkmann alias "Fliege". This rather conventional role was followed by the tandem of Dellwo/Sänger, played by Jörg Schüttauf and Andrea Sawatzki, an investigative team that caused a sensation from 2002 to 2010. Dark cases, idiosyncratic characters, some of their films were "among the best that the high-class crime thriller has produced to date", according to the "Tagesspiegel". Numerous awards, including the Grimme Prize and various German Television Awards, were the well-deserved reward.

Things continued in a similarly great vein in 2011. Inspector Frank Steier (Joachim Król) and Inspector Conny Mey (Nina Kunzendorf) as an "odd couple" between a bottle of schnapps in the filing cabinet and scuffling together on duty was a constellation that audiences would have liked to spend a few more years with. Unfortunately, Kunzendorf left the show after just five episodes. "Tatort" had hardly left her any time for other films, according to the HR statement in 2014. Her colleague Król didn't last much longer, his waning motivation was a matter of the heart: "I miss Nina."

Curtain up for Paul Brix (Wolfram Koch) and Anna Janneke (Margarita Broich), who reported for duty in 2015 with "Kälter als der Tod". "Strikingly friendly - not egomaniacal, not eccentric, not even cynical," wrote Klaudia Wick on tittelbach.tv, an assessment that was to stand the test of time. She will have 19 cases on her record at the end of her criminal career next year. "Es grünt so grün, wenn Frankfurts Berge blüh'n", the title of the farewell episode, is already arousing curiosity.