The Tatort has been a fixture on German TV for 54 years; The crime novels regularly ensure fantastic ratings. One episode remains in my memory to this day. She holds the undisputed body record: There have never been as many deaths as in this crime scene episode again.
Crime scene in the first: popular, but uniformity?
German audiences love crime novels more than anything. A look at the TV program proves how deep this love goes: numerous crime series can be seen on public broadcasters every day. An iconic series has contributed significantly to the success of the genre: the crime scene in the first. The series has been on TV for over 5 decades and regularly achieves dream ratings with new films.
Almost 1,300 episodes later The crime scene no longer enjoys the best reputation today. The accusation is often similar: the cases are uninspired, softened and far-fetched. Fans regularly complain that after 54 years of the show’s history, they simply don’t get anything new. Fortunately, this doesn’t apply to all episodes: Some episodes still shock today with their ultra-brutal content. A scandalous crime scene film still holds a controversial record today: There have never been more dead bodies in an episode.
This body record shocked everyone: there has never been more murder in a crime scene
Every few years it happens that a crime scene episode breaks out of the usual crime thriller pattern. An example is Tatort: Born in Pain (2014). The unusual crime film broke with typical genre conventions and came across as a Shakespearean drama in the guise of a Italian Western. Although the case also attracted attention due to its strange staging, He went down in history primarily for his scandalous corpse record.
The case surrounding Chief Inspector Felix Murot (Ulrich Tukur) is already 10 years old, but no episode since then has dared to show so much murder and manslaughter. An incredible 54 people were killed in the TV film. The large number is explained by a massacre in which the villain’s henchmen act against a police squad. More than 40 people lose their lives, the rest die in the course of the episode. Despite the brutal record, the episode was really well received. The FAZ praised the fact that the controversial episode finally broke new ground: “A deep cut in the flesh of habit.”
When will the next new Tatort episode be on TV?
A new Tatort episode is still considered an absolute highlight on TV today. Luckily, fans don’t have to wait long: The brand new Tatort: Silence will be broadcast on ARD on December 1st, 2024. The episode tells of investigator Thorsten Falke (Wotan Wilke Möhring), who solves the murder of a pastor.