After more than 30 years: Munich “crime scene” detectives say hello

NAfter more than three decades, actors Miroslav Nemec (69) and Udo Wachtveitl (65) have left the successful ARD series “Tatort”. Their 100th case will be the last for Commissioners Ivo Batic and Franz Leitmayr, as Bavarian Radio announced on Tuesday. More films have been scheduled for 2024 and 2025 – “before the commissioners say goodbye to the service after 35 years and 100 cases”.

Wachtveitl called his “Tatort” engagement “the longest sloppy relationship I’ve ever had.” “But how do you say goodbye to such a stable, sloppy relationship? A dramatic death? Ivo, Franz, Miro and I love living for that,” said the actor. “But we’re not Keith Richards and Mick Jagger, who still have to work at 80.”

Nemec said: “As crime scene 'chief inspectors', Udo and I have seen off some real police colleagues and a Munich police chief in their retirement over the last few years. They were all a little younger than us. It’s a good reason for us to also say hello at some point.”

They should complete the 100

The Munich team is one of the longest-serving at the “crime scene”. In 1991 her first case was broadcast. Only Ulrike Folkerts as Ludwigshafen investigator Lena Odenthal is on duty for two years longer – but has had significantly fewer cases during that time. The Munich team has so far reported 93 cases; no investigative team has ever had more cases. “Already a crime scene record,” writes the BR.

Two more episodes have already been filmed, according to BR, five more are to follow, then the 100 will be full. Seven new episodes with Leitmayr and Batic are scheduled to be broadcast over the next two years – the next one entitled “The Prodigy” on February 4th. “From their point of view, there should be 99 crime scenes. We were able to get them both to complete the 100,” said BR’s head of the game-film series program area, Bettina Ricklefs.

The story of Nemec and Wachtveitl as Batic and Leitmayr goes back to 1991 and is therefore older than the actor Ferdinand Hofer, born in 1993, who has been playing the assistant Kalli for more than ten years.

“The wall had just fallen when BR wanted to sign us for at least six episodes. That was far too long and far too confusing for us. They agreed on the famous 'Now let's see', the practical life essence of a recently deceased great Munich philosopher, also a Franz,” said Wachtveitl now. “And then we looked, for over thirty years. The audience too, luckily.”

More than two deaths per episode

When the inspectors appeared on German screens for the first time in the episode “Animals” on New Year's Day 1991, Batic read out personal ads in the car and sang “Only You”. Meanwhile, Leitmayr cuddled up in the passenger seat and smooched with his girlfriend.

The film didn't show them on their first day of work – as is often the case with new “crime scene” detectives – but they were already Munich detectives and colleagues, as if they had always been that way. And that's probably how it feels for an entire television generation today. The professional young people of that time have long since become the gray “crime scene” eminences.

Dozens of cases involving “Love, Sex and Death” (1997), “Starkbier” (1999), the “Viktualienmarkt” (2000) and “The Last Oktoberfest” (2015) followed “Animals”. From the time she took office until her 25th anniversary in service a few years ago, more than 150 people died in the Munich “crime scene”. That's an average of more than two deaths per episode. The commissioners wore out seven assistants, including Michael Fitz as Carlo Menzinger. And there were also notable guest appearances – including Rio Reiser, Bela B. from the Doctors, Rudolph Moshammer, Karl Moik and Die Toten Hosen.