Leipzig Homicide

(Redirected from SOKO Leipzig)

Leipzig Homicide (SOKO Leipzig) is a German crime drama television series first broadcast on 31 January 2001 on ZDF. More than 400 episodes have been screened since. On 12 November 2008, the first of a two-part crossover between SOKO Leipzig and British police procedural The Bill, titled "Proof of Life", was aired, with the same version being shown on both ZDF and British television network ITV.[1] Soko Leipzig is the second offshoot of SOKO München, launched in 1978 under the name SOKO 5113. "SOKO" is an abbreviation of the German word Sonderkommission, which means "special investigative team".

Leipzig Homicide
Series logo
Also known asSOKO Leipzig
GenrePolice procedural
Written by
Directed by
Starring
Theme music composerGeorg Kleinebreil
Composers
Country of originGermany
Original languageGerman
No. of seasons24
No. of episodes475
Production
Executive producers
ProducerTanya Momella Mallory
Production locationsLeipzig (Reclam-Carrée, Inselstraße)
Cinematography
  • Henning Jessel
  • Constantin Kesting
  • Matthias Papenmeier
EditorMatthias Pfeifer
Camera setupFilm; multiple-camera
Running time44 minutes
Production companies
Original release
NetworkZDF
Release31 January 2001 (2001-01-31) –
present
Related
SOKO – Der Prozess, "Proof of Life"

Synopsis

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The series details the investigative work done by the special commission of the Leipzig police. The team, consisting of Hajo Trautzschke, Jan Maybach, Ina Zimmermann, and Tom Kowalski, mostly investigates crimes such as murder and manslaughter. They are supported by team assistant Olivia Fareedi, coroners Sabine Rossi and Mara Stein, as well as laboratory assistant Lorenz Rettig and prosecutor Alexander Binz. In cases concerning sexual offenses, Dagmar Schnee is also on the team.

Crossovers

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On 3 April 2013, five SOKO teams were brought together for a five-part special titled SOKO – Der Prozess. In it, the teams from Munich, Cologne, Leipzig, Stuttgart, and Wismar have to solve the murder of a police officer. The five episodes were shown across Germany from 30 September to 4 October 2013.

A crossover episode with SOKO Donau, titled "Der vierte Mann", was broadcast on ORF on 2 November 2019 and ZDF on 8 November 2019. The screenplay was based on a true story related to the Viennese political activist Rudolfine Steindling.[2][3]

Cast and characters

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Current

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Actor Role Function Seasons Years
Andreas Schmidt-Schaller Hajo Trautzschke chief inspector 1– 2001–
Marco Girnth Jan Maybach chief inspector 1– 2001–
Melanie Marschke Ina Zimmermann chief inspector 1– 2001–
Steffen Schroeder Tom Kowalski detective inspector 12–22 2012–2022
Johannes Hendrik Langer Moritz Brenner detective inspector 22– 2022–
Anna Stieblich Prof. Dr. Sabine Rossi coroner 10– 2009–
Michael Rotschopf Dr. Alexander Binz prosecutor 11– 2011–
Judith Sehrbrock Dr. Mara Stein coroner 11– 2011–
Daniel Steiner Lorenz Rettig laboratory assistant 12– 2012–
Petra Kleinert Dagmar Schnee chief inspector (vice squad) 13– 2013–
Caroline Scholze Leni Maybach born: Trautzschke daughter of Hajo, wife of Jan 1– 2001–
Maximilian Klas Benni Maybach son of Jan 1– 2001–

Former

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Actor Role Function Seasons Years
Gabriel Merz Miguel Alvarez † detective inspector 1–7 2001–2006
Tyron Ricketts Patrick Diego Grimm detective inspector 7–10 2006–2009
Pablo Sprungala Vincent Becker detective inspector-candidate 10–12 2009–2012
Anne Arzenbacher Meike Schwarz police master 5–6, 8, 13 2005–2006, 2008, 2012
Nilam Farooq Olivia Fareedi detective inspector 13–19 2013–2019
Silke Heise Dr. Sandra Schönfeld coroner 1–3 2001–2003
Margrit Sartorius Dr. Kathrin Conradi coroner 3–11 2003–2010
Michael Brandner Dr. Manfred Woernle police senior councillor 11–13, 16 2010–2012, 2015

Episodes

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Main cast of SOKO Leipzig (2006–2009)
 
Main cast of SOKO Leipzig (2012–)
Season Episodes Originally aired (Germany)
Season premiere Season finale
1 12 31 January 2001 18 April 2001
2 10 23 January 2002 27 March 2002
3 18 25 September 2002 28 March 2003
4 20 17 October 2003 2 April 2004
5 11 17 December 2004 18 March 2005
6 21 16 September 2005 19 May 2006
7 15 29 September 2006 19 January 2007
8 16 24 October 2007 11 April 2008
9 31 3 October 2008 5 June 2009
10 18 4 September 2009 26 March 2010
11 23 24 September 2010 11 March 2011
12 23 14 October 2011 30 March 2012
13 22 16 November 2012 22 March 2013
SOKO – Der Prozess 5 30 September 2013 4 Oktober 2013
14 20 25 October 2013 21 February 2014
15 21 19 September 2014 13 February 2015
16 20 2 October 2015 19 February 2016
17 26 16 September 2016 24 February 2017
18 16 13 October 2017 16 February 2018
19 22 14 September 2018 22 February 2019
20 14 18 October 2019 14 February 2020
SOKO – Der vierte Mann 1 8 November 2019
21 22 28 August 2020 5 March 2021
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Shooting locations and sets

Special

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SOKO Leipzig headquarters

In April 2013, a five-part crossover between five ZDF SOKO series, titled SOKO – Der Prozess, began filming. The teams included in the show are 5113, Cologne, Leipzig, Stuttgart, and Wismar.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Stephen Armstrong (2 November 2008). "The Bill meets SOKO Leipzig – Times Online". The Times. London. Archived from the original on 16 June 2011. Retrieved 13 November 2008.
  2. ^ ""Soko Donau"–Spezial: Leipzig zu Gast in Wien" ["Soko Donau" special: Leipzig as a guest in Vienna]. kurier.at (in German). 31 October 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  3. ^ "ORF-1-Premiere für erstes "Soko Donau"-Crossover "Der vierte Mann"" [ORF-1 premiere for the first "Soko Donau" crossover "The Fourth Man"]. ots.at (in German). 31 October 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
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