Particle.news
Download on the App Store

MDR Halts New ‘Tatort’ and ‘Polizeiruf 110’ Productions for Three Years

The decision reflects deepening budget strain at the public broadcaster serving eastern German states.

Overview

  • MDR said it will rely on completed and contractually secured episodes during the break, keeping the crime franchises on air in a limited way.
  • For Dresden, one episode that began filming in autumn 2025 is slated to air in 2026, and a follow-up titled "Löschen!" is scheduled to shoot from late May 2026 for a 2027 broadcast.
  • The Dresden team led by Martin Brambach’s Peter Michael Schnabel and Cornelia Gröschel’s Leonie Winkler is still expected in two episodes before the pause takes full effect.
  • Fans posted anger and sadness on Instagram, actor Vladimir Burlakov wrote "What?", and Gröschel responded with crying emojis, reflecting how viewers fear losing a Sunday favorite.
  • These are long-running Sunday-night crime dramas made by regional ARD stations, with MDR covering Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia, and even a taz column offered a satirical "replacement" that underscored the cultural stakes.