German Television Thriller Festival
The German TV Thriller Festival has been presenting the year's most outstanding crime thriller productions from German-speaking countries since 2005. It was born out of the idea of giving television crime drama a platform that does justice to its enduring appeal, inexhaustible range and social relevance.
The 22nd German TV Crime Festival will not take place in March as usual this year, but from Sunday, May 3, to Sunday, May 10, following the completion of renovation work at the Caligari in April.
The nominations for the 22nd German TV Crime Festival have been announced: 13 productions will be screened at the Caligari FilmBühne during the festival week in the presence of numerous filmmakers, including five premieres. Ten films, selected by the preliminary jury from 70 submitted productions, are competing for the German TV Crime Award. The competition will open on Tuesday, May 5, at 6 p.m., with the premiere of the "Tatort" episode "Gottesgarten" (BR), in which Rosalie Thomass investigates in Franconia alongside Fabian Hinrichs for the first time. The cast and crew will be present at the premiere.
Nominated for the German Television Thriller Award 2026
- "Until It Bleeds" (ZDF/ARTE), directed by Daniel Sager. Written by Oskar Sulowski and Daniel Sager. Starring Elisa Schlott and Franz Pätzold.
- "The Defender – The Nicola Case" (SWR), directed by Lars-Gunnar Lotz. Written by Magnus Vattrodt. Starring Andrea Sawatzki and Andreas Döhler.
- German premiere: "Eierkratz-Komplott" (ORF/ARTE), directed by Daniel Geronimo Prochaska. Written by Stefan Hafner and Thomas Weingartner, based on the novel of the same name by Thomas Stipsits. Starring Thomas Stipsits and Erika Deutinger.
- German premiere: "Eight" (ORF/ZDF), directed and written by Marie Kreutzer. Starring Verena Altenberger and Thomas Prenn.
- "Polizei" (NDR), directed by Buket Alakuş. Screenplay by Laila Stieler. Starring Levy Rico Arcos and Petra Schmidt-Schaller.
- Premiere: "Polizeiruf 110 – Sie haben Namen," (NDR), directed by Franziska Schlotterer. Screenplay by Florian Oeller. Starring Anneke Kim Sarnau and Lina Beckmann.
- "Tatort – Das jüngste Geißlein," (SWR), directed by Rudi Gaul. Written by Ulrike Schölles and Rudi Gaul. Starring Eva Löbau and Hans-Jochen Wagner.
- "Tatort – Dunkelheit" (HR), directed by Stefan Schaller. Written by Senad Halilbašić, Stefan Schaller, and Erol Yesilkaya. Starring Edin Hasanović and Melika Foroutan.
- Premiere: "Tatort – Gottesgarten" (BR), directed by Dustin Loose. Written by Constantin Lieb. Starring Rosalie Thomass and Fabian Hinrichs.
- Premiere: "Tatort – Lucy's Birthday" (SWR), directed by Stefan Krohmer. Written by Daniel Nocke. Starring Felix Klare and Richy Müller.
Series
Three series will compete for the title of Crime Series of the Year on Monday, May 4, starting at 6 p.m.
- "Schattenseite" (ARD DEGETO FILM/HR/FUNK), directed by Özgür Yildirim and Alison Kuhn. Written by Hanna Hribar and Jonas Ems, based on Ems’s novel of the same name. Starring Samirah Breuer and Florian Geißelmann.
- "Sternstunde der Mörder" (ARD DEGETO FILM/NDR/SERVUS TV/CANAL+ AUSTRIA/HR/ČESKÁ TELEVIZE), directed by Christopher Schier. Screenplay by Klaus Burck, based on the novel of the same name by Pavel Kohout. Starring Nicholas Ofzcarek and Jonas Nay.
- "Banksters" (HBO MAX), directed by Gregor Schnitzler and Cüneyt Kaya. Screenplay by Bernd Lange. Starring Eren M. Güvercin and Merlin von Garnier.
Program
Traditionally, the festival begins on Sunday with the presentation of the honorary award for special services to German television crime drama. After the award ceremony, a film from the prizewinner's work will be screened.
The festival's series competition will take place on Monday. One episode from each of the five nominated series will be shown. Berlin film journalist Knut Elstermann will moderate Q&As with the filmmakers present.
Tuesday to Thursday is all about the competition for the German TV Thriller Award. Ten competition films will be presented. The film teams will also be present and will be asked by Knut Elstermann to talk about their films.
In the young screenplay competition, four authors will compete for the title of "Germany's most exciting young TV crime writer".
Friday evening will be exciting: the German TV Thriller Award will be presented during the award ceremony. One day later, the "Lange FernsehKrimi-Nacht" will close the festival week as a cult highlight. All ten competition films will be shown in one go during the night from Saturday to Sunday.
The prices
The heart of the festival is the competition for the German Television Thriller Award, which is presented to the best television thriller of the year by a jury of prominent experts. The editors and producers of the winning film receive a trophy and 1,000 liters of wine. In 2025, the main prize went to "Tatort - Borowski und das Haupt der Medusa" (NDR).
The jury also awards two prizes for outstanding acting performances and a special prize for a craft of their choice.
A jury of five readers of the Wiesbadener Kurier awards their favorite crime thriller with the Audience Award.
Since 2019, the festival has awarded an honorary prize for special services to German television crime drama to film and television professionals. The previous winners are Ulrike Folkerts (2019), Barbara Auer and Matthias Brandt (2020), Eoin Moore (2021), Anna Schudt (2022), Alexander Held (2023), Adele Neuhauser (2024) and Armin Rohde (2025)
In 2020, the festival launched a series competition. A jury of film and media studies students selects the crime series of the year. In 2020, they chose "Der Pass", in 2021 "Die Toten von Marnow", in 2022 "Der Pass II", in 2023 "Babylon Berlin - Staffel 4", in 2024 "Zeit Verbrechen" and in 2025 the series "Der Informant - Angst über der Stadt" (NDR/ARD DEGETO FILM/ARTE/NKR).