• "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. 

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.

In light of the record-high number of far-right crimes in Germany, the festival has chosen “Tatort rechtsaußen” as the theme for its 2026 screenplay competition, in cooperation with the Amadeu Antonio Foundation and Hessen Film & Medien. The competition is seeking story proposals from emerging screenwriters that explore the threat to democracy from various perspectives. More than 60 ideas for feature films and miniseries were submitted; four of these will be presented on Thursday, May 7, at 6 p.m. at the Caligari FilmBühne in the presence of the writers. Actors Denise M'Baye, Hans-Jochen Wagner, Şahin Eryılmaz, and Trang Le Hong will read excerpts as narrators.

Prior to this, Tahera Ameer (Board Member of the Amadeu Antonio Foundation) and screenwriter Laila Stieler ("Mitten in Deutschland: NSU – Die Opfer – Vergesst mich nicht," "In Liebe, Eure Hilde") will speak about right-wing extremism and ways to address it through film. The event will be moderated by Sevilay Saatçı (hr-iNFO). Admission is free.

All festival award winners, as well as the audience award from the Wiesbadener Kurier readers’ jury, will be announced at the ceremony for the 22nd German Television Crime Drama Award—on Friday, May 8, at 8 p.m. at the Caligari FilmBühne. Following the ceremony, the festival will screen the winning film. Knut Elstermann will host the evening.

The festival will conclude on Saturday, May 9, starting at 6 p.m., with the Long Television Crime Drama Night. Until the morning of May 10, all ten entries in the film competition will be screened once again at the Caligari FilmBühne.

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).