Heike Makatsch
Dream quota for their last “crime scene”
Heike Makatsch in her last “Tatort” appearance in “Aus dem Dunkel”.
© SWR/Peter Porst
Heike Makatsch as Ellen Berlinger is history. Their last “crime scene” once again achieved a dream rating.
It was her last film as “crime scene” investigator Ellen Berlinger – and SWR may already be regretting its cancellation Heike Makatsch (52) as inspector. The farewell episode “Out of the Dark” once again brought together a strong 7.45 million people in front of their TV sets on Sunday evening, giving the first the clear victory of the day. Above all, the high market share of 26.9 percent was convincing across the board. The Makatsch crime thriller was also the winner of the day among the young target group of 14 to 49 year olds with 1.35 million viewers and 20.8 percent market share.
And that despite the fact that “Tatort” only started at the unusual time of 8:40 p.m. due to the special broadcasts on the state elections in Hesse and Bavaria and the war in Israel. Although the film achieved high market shares, in absolute terms it was the weakest Berlinger crime film to date since its launch in March 2016. The first episode, “Five Minutes of Heaven”, was already watched by a strong 7.99 million people. Episode two “Time of the Frogs” was watched by 9.01 million crime fans in April 2018, while episode three “Blind Date” was still watched by 8.69 million viewers in October 2021. The fourth and, until yesterday, last episode “In His Eyes” brought 7.59 million crime fans together in front of their television sets. In general, TV broadcasters are struggling with fewer and fewer viewers overall, as more and more people stay away from linear television and migrate to streaming providers.
That’s why SWR is not continuing with Heike Makatsch
In June 2023, SWR announced the end of Heike Makatsch. The decision was justified by financial constraints. It is painful, but inflation leads to increased costs that cannot be absorbed without cuts. That’s why we’re now concentrating on the SWR “Tatort” teams from Ludwigshafen, the Black Forest and Stuttgart and will continue to produce two episodes of each per year. However, it was an honor to have worked with Makatsch, they said.
Heike Makatsch was initially only hired as an actress for a one-off “crime scene” event. After the role of Ellen Berlinger was well received by critics and viewers, further films were developed. Despite the largely positive response, only five Berlinger episodes were broadcast in around eight years of collaboration.