Strong ratings for the 25th anniversary: ​​10.77 million tuned in to "Tatort" from Cologne on Sunday evening, as determined by AGF Videoforschung in cooperation with GfK. That corresponds to a market share of 34.8 percent of the total audience for the latest case by Max Ballauf (Klaus J. Behrendt, 62) and Freddy Schenk (Dietmar Bär, 61) and thus the clear victory of the day in prime time.

Only two "Tatort" editions had more viewers in 2022 than the Cologne investigators Ballauf and Schenk: The two Münster episodes from January (14.16 million) and March (11.03 million) of this year with Commissioner Frank Thiel (Axel Prahl , 62) and Prof. Karl-Friedrich Boerne (Jan Josef Liefers, 58).

Cologne inspectors Ballauf and Schenk have been catching criminals together in the "Tatort" series for 25 years and regularly ensure good ratings. 9.37 million people (27.8 percent market share) watched "Four Years" in February, 9.48 million and thus 29.4 percent market share reached "Huberty's Rache" in March. The record of all "crime scenes" is still held by "Tatort: ​​Fangschuss" from Münster, which captivated 14.56 million viewers in April 2017.

Of course, the 85th case was not the last of Ballauf and Schenk. Three more films are already in the can, two are in the works. In September 2021, filming began for "Tatort: ​​Protective Measures", which is expected to be shown in the first half of 2023. In June 2022, another thriller entitled "Abbruch Kante" was shot and work on "Pyramide" started in August 2022. These two films will probably also celebrate their premieres in the first in the coming year. Specific dates have not yet been set. In addition, the projects "Des other Last" and "Ballauf in Love" are in the pipeline, which will probably be broadcast in 2024.