
Scene of the Crime (1970)
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Dietmar Bär as Freddy Schenk
Episodes 94
Welcome to Köln
After a Miami drug bust goes sour, German cop Max Ballauf is sent home to be Cologne's homicide chief, and is immediately confronted with partner Freddy Schenk's professional jealousy - and the dead body of a former colleague. Directed by Kaspar Heidelbach, 1997.
Read MoreKöln - Blown-Up Spirits
A teacher recently acquitted of sexual molestation charges is killed by a bomb blast at his school. Suspicions initially fall on the victim's accuser, and Ballauf and Schenk struggle to piece together what happened when a second death rocks the campus. Directed by Kaspar Heidelbach. 1997.
Read MoreKöln - Manila
While investing a highway rest stop robbery/murder, Ballauf picks up a little Filipino boy in flight. Could he be the lead they need to bust an international child-trafficking ring? Directed by Niki Stein, 1998.
Read MoreKöln - Iconoclasm
The body of a banker is found in the woods near Cologne; next to his body is a pile of charred bank notes. Ballauf and Schenk investigate this mysterious murder, as protesters threaten violence over an exhibit of photos documenting Nazi atrocities. Directed by Niki Stein, 1998.
Read MoreKöln - Secret Mission
A woman's body is fished out of the Rhine, and the victim turns out to be an acquaintance of Ballauf's. The investigation leads to a chemical company, and the German intelligence services are found to be involved. Directed by Markus Fischer, 1998.
Read MoreKöln - Residual Risk
A dancer is found murdered near the grounds of a psychiatric hospital, and the prime suspect is a patient with a history of violence. But Ballauf and Schenk’s investigation opens up new possibilities: Is the patient merely a pawn in a devilish game? Directed by Claus-Michael Rhone, 1999.
Read MoreKöln - Children of Violence
A boy is found dead in a school bathroom, and Max goes undercover to investigate. He discovers an ongoing war between gangs of German and Turkish teenagers, and an unemployed right-wing radical who claims he protects children from foreign drug dealers. Directed by Ben Verbong, 1999.
Read MoreKöln - Light and Shade
Freddy and Max investigate the death of a wealthy gynecologist who's found dead in his swimming pool. The doctor’s wife and son suspect a prominent Pro-Life group, but the search for the killer leads to a maze of half-truths and evasions. Soon, a number of possible killers emerge, each with a completely different motive. Directed by Wolfgang Panzer, 1999.
Read MoreKöln - Three Monkeys
After a colleague’s long-time girlfriend is killed in the courtyard of a crowded apartment complex, Freddy and Max are frustrated when none of the residents admit to seeing or hearing a thing – and their frustration turns to bafflement when they discover that the victim was secretly pregnant. Who was the father of the child, and why was the victim planning a secret move to Hamburg? Directed by Kaspar Heidelbach, 1999.
Read MoreKöln - Martinsfire
The body of a four-year-old boy is found in a working class area. An autopsy reveals posthumous injuries. Schenk suspects they're dealing with a psychopath preying on the weak. Meanwhile, Max befriends Mirko, an emotionally neglected eight-year-old he suspects knows more than he's willing to admit. As they investigate the murder, they are drawn further into the world of children's fears, and grown up's dreams. Directed by Niki Stein, 1999.
Read MoreKöln - Bitter Almonds
The body of wealthy real estate magnate Gerd Wesibach is found, his pores emanating a familiar odor: bitter almonds. At first his death is thought to be an assisted suicide, but it is soon discovered that he was poisoned. Ballauf and Schenk have a long list of suspects, and soon uncover a dubious euthanasia ring. Directed by Kaspar Heidelbach, 2000.
Read MoreKöln - Deadly Inheritance
A blackmailer has been threatening the Kölsch brewery in Cologne. Concerned with his company's reputation, Belcher Sr. decides to pay the ransom in person, and is soon shot dead. But when the blackmailer demands a higher ransom and poisons the beer, Ballauf and Schenk suspect they're dealing with a copycat offender. Directed by Markus Fischer, 2000.
Read MoreKöln - Straight to the Heart
A man is shot dead in broad daylight in Cologne city center. The bullet was fired from 700 meters away and went straight to the heart. Chief Inspector Freddy Schenk believes he knows the murder weapon that can hit the target with pinpoint accuracy from such a great distance. The victim, Charly Hecker, was a successful businessman who apparently had never done anything wrong in life. During the interrogations of Hecker's young wife Franka, something happens to Inspector Ballauf that should not happen: He falls in love with the murdered man's widow and begins to meet her secretly.
Read MoreQuartet in Leipzig
To mark the 30th anniversary of Tatort, there was to be a special anniversary crime thriller with this episode. The Cologne detectives Ballauf and Schenk investigate together with their East German colleagues Ehrlicher and Kain. The four have to solve two murders.
Read MoreKöln - The Lady on the Train
On a family trip to Holland, Freddy finds himself suspected of drug smuggling and is forced to go on the run to clear his name. Directed by Martin Giesach, 2000.
Read MoreKöln - Murder Pit
After a law student is shot on a college campus, Max suspects her hot-tempered ex-fiancé - but Freddy senses something more sinister. Directed by Christiane Balthasar, 2001.
Read MoreKöln - Death of a Child
After a badly-beaten child is left unclaimed at the ER, Ballauf and Schenk discover a flawed system unable to prevent child abuse. Directed by Claudia Garder, 2001.
Read MoreKöln - Beasts
When the daughter of a biker is brutally raped and murdered, Ballauf and Schenk must overcome their prejudices to make sure justice is served. Directed by Kaspar Heidelbach, 2001.
Read MoreKöln - Charges (Protégés)
An investigation into a murder at a warehouse leads Ballauf and Schenk into the deaf community. Directed by Martin Eigler, 2002.
Read MoreKöln - Sleep Well, My Dear
When lumberjacks find a murdered woman in the woods, it appears that a recently-released serial killer is at it again. Directed by Peter Fratzscher, 2002.
Read MoreKöln - Betrayal
Ballauf and Schenk find that the professional murder of a diplomat is linked to a massacre at an overseas embassy. Directed by Hans Noever, 2002.
Read MoreKöln - Payback
The Tatort teams of Leipzig and Köln are brought together, when the driver of an art transport between the two cities is found dead in his van, minus the irreplaceable artwork he had in his custody.
Read MoreKöln - A Mother's Love
A hospital worker is murdered right after an anonymous woman leaves a newborn in the baby drop-off. Directed by Züli Aladag, 2003.
Read MoreKöln - Without a Trace
Schenk walks into a bloody bank heist involving a kidnapped senior citizen strapped with explosives. Directed by Thomas Stiller, 2003.
Read MoreKöln - The Phantom
Schenk discovers that a young man he helped convict and imprison may not have been guilty. Directed by Kaspar Heidelback, 2003.
Read MoreKöln - Bermuda
Ballauf and Schenk try to solve a murder with the help of teenagers living in a halfway house. Directed by Manfrew Stelzer, 2003.
Read MoreKöln - A Dog's Life
Freddy puts his grandmother in a nursing home and investigates a murder there in the same week. Directed by Manfred Stelzer, 2004.
Read MoreKöln - Odin's Revenge
The police suspect revenge by an immigrant family when a skinhead gets targeted by a sniper. Directed by Hannes Stöhr, 2004.
Read MoreKöln - Betrayed and Sold
Freddy goes undercover as a janitor at an elite boarding school to investigate a series of murders. Directed by Hannes Stöhr, 2004.
Read MoreKöln - Ghost Town
The severed thumb of a fugitive cop killer comes to Max and Freddy in the mail, leading them to a deserted town. Directed by Niki Stein, 2005.
Read MoreKöln - Mine Games
One of the owners of a mine-removal nonprofit gets blown up during a jog, and his wife seems curiously unmoved. Directed by Torsetn C. Fischer, 2005.
Read MoreKöln - Frozen
A beloved figure skating celebrity and competition judge is found dead on the ice. Directed by Züli Aladag, 2005.
Read MoreEpisode 32
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Köln - Blood Diamonds
A shooting at a political demonstration thrusts Freddy and Max into a web of international conspiracy and intrigue. Directed by Martin Eigler, 2006.
Read MoreKöln - Pechmarie
A diamond heist turned deadly causes Ballauf and Schenk to protect the sister of one of the outlaws. Directed by Hendrik Handloegten, 2006.
Read MoreEpisode 27
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The Flowers of Evil
Max gets commended in the paper for excellent police work, and finds himself targeted by a maniac in response. Directed by Thomas Stiller, 2007.
Read MoreEpisode 25
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Late Shift
A professional was at work here. Police officer Gerd Samland was murdered in a brothel with two well-placed shots. Was Max Ballauf's friend and colleague actually a regular at this establishment? To ensure that nothing is swept under the rug, the "Internal Investigations" department intervenes: Samland, who worked for the motorway police, was involved in illegal dealings with the underworld, claims Detective Inspector Brauer. He takes over the case from the homicide squad.
Read MoreEpisode 2
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Episode 10
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Episode 23
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Raven Heart
A murder without a motive? - Inconceivably. And yet the murder of the 48-year-old senior physician Hermann Johns seems completely unfounded. The renowned physician, who worked in the maternity ward of a Cologne clinic, seems to have been popular with patients and hospital staff alike.
Read MoreWith a Steady Hand
The puncture wound is deep: Prof. Julius Gann has lost a lot of blood. When he and his wife returned home from a charity gala, an unknown attacker stabbed them in the villa. While help came too late for Carmen Gann, Prof. Gann is now being treated in his own private clinic - and even in this situation he remains the boss.
Read MoreFlattened
Max Ballauf and Freddy Schenk have to solve the murder of a young homeless man. Apparently the young drug addict Andi Lechner was poisoned. The bottle of wine he last drank was laced with antifreeze. Was it a targeted attack on him? Or was it a coincidence? Their investigations lead the detectives into the world of people on the fringes of society.
Read MoreClass Reunion
Ballauf is at the center of a murder investigation during his class reunion.
Read MoreKöln - Cold Hearted
A child goes missing from a social housing development.
Read MoreKöln - Narrow Shoulders
Ballauf and Schenk investigate after a man's fiancée is murdered.
Read MoreKöln - Family Ties
A farm owner is at the center of an investigation into a child's death.
Read MoreKöln - Under Pressure
Ballauf and Schenk investigate a publishing house after a young consultant is murdered.
Read MoreEpisode 26
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Episode 2
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Episode 13
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Episode 14
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Episode 20
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Episode 1
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Episode 15
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Franziska
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Der Fall Reinhardt
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Ohnmacht
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Wahre Liebe
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Episode 6
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Episode 16
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Episode 39
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Episode 9
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Episode 17
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Episode 22
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Episode 2
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Episode 6
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Neighbors
A man is thrown from a bridge and run over by a lorry. Investigations show that he was dead before falling. Cologne DIs Ballauf and Schenk proceed to investigate the neighbourhood where the man had lived. The neighbours have all kinds of relationships: quarrel over a boundary, fathership of another's daughter... but where is a motive for murder?
Read MoreEpisode 4
Hotel employee Marion Faust was violently thrown from the balcony at home. Ballauf and Schenk find out that shortly before her death she had left several worried messages on Susanne Baumann's answering machine. But the employee of the internationally renowned architectural firm Könecke & Partner is currently nowhere to be found. Could her husband Lars Baumann have something to do with the matter?
Read MoreEpisode 12
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Episode 17
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Episode 2
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Episode 12
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Episode 21
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Episode 3
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Episode 11
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Episode 18
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Episode 2
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Episode 10
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Episode 22
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Four years
Carolin and Moritz Seitz were once known as a successful couple of actors. But today she is considered the wife of a murderer: four years ago, Moritz Seitz was convicted of killing the former theater star Thore Bärwald after an excessive New Year's Eve party. Now Ole Stark turns himself in to the police. He is also an actor and claims to be the real killer. The public prosecutor's office cannot initiate new investigations, but they give Ballauf and Schenk a week to find out what is true about the story that is being served to them.
Read MoreEpisode 12
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Episode 31
The chief inspectors Max Ballauf and Freddy Schenk are called to a canal on the outskirts of the city. A 19-year-old drug addict has been murdered. It quickly turns out that the victim, Lara Krohn, became a street prostitute because of her addiction. Her best friend, Kim, who is the same age, suspects that Lara was killed by a customer.
Read MoreProtective measures
Freddy Schenk is alarmed because an arson attack has been carried out on his daughter Sonja's restaurant. In the burned-out "magic lamp" the police find a body that has been charred beyond recognition. Freddy Schenk begins the investigation together with Max Ballauf. But first he wants to ensure that Sonja, his granddaughter Frida and Sonja's partner Karim find shelter in a police shelter. After the fire it is impossible for them to stay at home, directly above the restaurant. The KTU has not yet found any evidence at the crime scene that would indicate why the fire was started. What is clear is that the dead man appears to be the arsonist himself. However, he did not die in the fire, according to forensic pathologist Dr. Roth states...
Read MoreEpisode 10
Almost all of Alt-Bützenich is deserted and boarded up. At night a security service checks on everything. It was decided that the houses and the church would have to give way to open-cast mining. Then the climate change brings new hope: the old village can stay.
But the once close-knit village community has long since disappeared with the move to Neu-Bützenich. As Dr. When Christian Franzen, the local doctor, is informed that his empty house has been broken into, he immediately sets off - but never returns home. His wife Betje turns to the police, who find her husband - shot dead in the old village. Even though everyone here was a patient of the doctor, he was still not particularly popular. During their investigation, detectives Max Ballauf and Freddy Schenk uncover a torn community. Time cannot simply be turned back here in the lignite mining area.
Read MoreEpisode 33
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Episode 3
The opportunity of a lifetime comes to André Stamm out of nowhere. A comrade from his army days offers him a promising job at the investment company “Concreta”. Rocko Andersen made a lot of money from the company. A fancy car and an apartment above the rooftops of the city: André will soon be able to afford all of this. All he has to do is do what company founder Christopher Komann demands of his team: sell, sell, sell!
Andre is ready for this. His wife Anja is currently expecting their first child. He wants to offer his family a prosperous life. And in fact: he wins new customers straight away on the job and earns big commissions. But a short time later, things at “Concreta” get completely out of control...
Read MoreEpisode 15
A man was killed in a secret location under a bridge. The chief inspectors Ballauf and Schenk find out that the victim, the unemployed Peer Schwarz, was deliberately run over by a car. In his apartment they find large amounts of cash and documents that point to the systematic blackmail of well-known personalities. Did Peer Schwarz have to die at the hands of one of his own blackmail victims? A trail also leads Ballauf and Schenk to the popular former pop singer Mariella Rosanelli, who now runs a youth center. During the investigation, an argument breaks out between Ballauf and Schenk. Freddy accuses Max of not really paying attention. He isn't either, because Nicola Koch has recently won Max Ballauf's heart. Just another short affair, as Schenk suspects, or will Max Ballauf finally settle down? When Ballauf realizes that there could be a possible connection between his private happiness and the current case, his newfound work-love balance becomes a tightrope walk for him...
Read MoreSeventh Floor
When the janitor of one of Cologne's largest brothels falls to his death from the seventh floor, detectives Ballauf and Schenk are called to the scene. Evidence quickly mounts that the victim was pushed and other people's lives might be in danger.
Read MoreEpisode 2
Collecting debts is his job. And Fabian Pavlou is very good at it. He is considered one of the most successful field staff at the international company Correct Inkasso. But now Pavlou was brutally attacked on his way home. When the inspectors Max Ballauf and Freddy Schenk arrive at the crime scene, there is no trace of the victim. Did one of the debtors the debt collection manager recently dealt with take revenge - or did he see no other way out? For example, there is the tax clerk Stefanie Schreiter, who is facing a wage garnishment because of her ex-husband's debts. Or the completely indebted masseur Timo Eckhoff, who can no longer pay his electricity bill. Or the married couple Monika and Jost Lehnen, who are facing the foreclosure of their home... Then the colleagues from the manhunt call in. They have located Pavlou's cell phone. At a motorway rest area near Cologne. But the point on the map is moving. Max Ballauf immediately starts to pursue him...
Read MoreEpisode 9
Techno, ecstasy and party, party, party: In the 1990s, Christian, Meike and René were part of the scene and celebrated above the rooftops of Cologne in the legendary "Colonius". It has been around 30 years since the three last saw each other. Now they are brought together by inspectors Ballauf and Schenk after their former friend, the former scene photographer Alex Schmitz, was found murdered in his apartment. He was also a regular at the "Colonius" - has his past caught up with him? A trail on the Internet leads the investigators deep into the old party world and to their former companions. Christian's daughter Svenja also becomes the focus of the investigation. Her mother Gina disappeared without a trace after a night of partying...
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