Overview
- ARD, which confirmed the plan Thursday, will pause new Tatort and Polizeiruf 110 from May 10 to September 13.
- The last fresh Tatort before the break airs May 3 with a Zurich case titled “Könige der Nacht.”
- Das Erste will fill the Sunday 8:15 p.m. slot with repeats, starting May 10 with a Münster episode and May 17 with “Schweigen” from 2024.
- Only 36 first-run Sunday crime films are slated for 2026, four fewer than average because 2025 ran 42 and two premieres moved to 2027.
- ARD calls the pause a one-time exception tied to planning pressures, and notes summer reruns have been standard since 1996 with past breaks ranging from 10 to 17 weeks.