Tatort (English title: Crime Scene) is a long-running German/Austrian/Swiss (ARD (since 1970), ORF (since 1972) and SF (1990–2001, again since 2011)), crime television series set in various parts of these countries. The show is broadcast on the channels of ARD (DasErste, (reruns on regional ARD stations)) in Germany, ORF 2 in Austria and SF1 in Switzerland. The first episode was broadcast on November 29, 1970. The opening sequence for the series has remained the same throughout the decades, which remains highly unusual for any such long-running TV series up to date.
Each of the regional TV channels which together form ARD, plus ORF and SF, produces its own episodes, starring its own police inspector (or team of inspectors), some of which, like the discontinued Schimanski (played by Götz George), have become cultural icons.
The show appears on DasErste (ARD) and ORF 2 on Sundays at 8:15 p.m. (SF1 starts 10 minutes earlier) and currently about 30 episodes are made per year. As of May 2011, 800 episodes in total have been produced.
Tatort is currently (as of 2009) being broadcast in the United States on the MHz Worldview channel under the name Scene of the Crime.
Read more about Tatort: List of Tatort Investigators (Kommissare), Soundtracks (Selection), See Also, References