Franz Josef Steffens

In a satirical way, the typical television coverage after a (fictitious) state election is simulated — including projections, interviews, commentaries, and a so-called “heavyweight round”. When then, over the course of the broadcast, the voter turnout is estimated at just 3.86 percent of those eligible to vote, none of the involved people believes it. But after this information turns out to be true, an attempted is made to explain this scandalous, impertinent, and downright subversive behaviour of the electorate.

While they are stuck in the elevator, three employees of a TV station tell each other stories about supernatural phenomena. They tell of the “dream girlfriend” of a 16-year-old girl who fell victim to a crime 33 years ago; of a bully who turns out to be an alien; and of a comic artist who falls victim to his mirror doppelganger.

Born into a well-off family, Franz Blum had led a carefree youth until, some time after graduating from high school, he was arrested by the police. For, involved by a gang of bad boys, the young man had taken part in a bank robbery. A "heroic deed" which earned him six years in prison. Once behind bars, he was treated with ruthless inhumanity by the guards. And little by little - but inexorably - Franz turned into an insurgent...

The police catch Zorro, a small-time crook who is to testify as a key witness in a trial against organized crime. When an assassination attempt is made on him in prison, Zorro is to be given a new identity and the prosecutor decides to let him go into hiding until the trial begins. The experienced and cunning inspector Fütterer is to protect him. The policeman and the crook are now completely on their own and become targets of the criminal organization that starts hunting them. In the process, they become something like friends. When they find out that the public prosecutor is also only using them as bait, they narrowly escape the trap set for them and flee to the Caribbean.

Zündschnüre explores the emotional and psychological aftermath of war. The story follows two former soldiers who return home after serving in a brutal conflict. They find themselves struggling to reintegrate into civilian life, grappling with trauma, guilt, and their difficult pasts. As they attempt to reconnect with their families and rebuild their lives, the haunting effects of war continue to haunt them, testing their resilience and relationships. Fuses is a poignant and intense exploration of human suffering, healing, and the lingering scars of violence.

In the last days of WW2, the German minesweeper MX12 is on its way into the enemy’s zone to pick up wounded soldiers. When a radio message proclaims the end of war, the crew demands to break off the risky mission. Only the captain wants to continue.

Tatort is a long-running German/Austrian/Swiss crime television series set in various parts of these countries. The show is broadcast on the channels of ARD in Germany, ORF in Austria and SF1 in Switzerland.