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. 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".
Synopsis
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
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.23
Cast and characters
Current
| 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
| 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
| 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 |
Gallery
Shooting locations and sets
Special
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
External links
- Leipzig Homicide at ZDF
- Leipzig Homicide at UFA
- Leipzig Homicide at fernsehserien.de
- Leipzig Homicide at IMDb
References
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. https://web.archive.org/web/20110616143920/http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/tv_and_radio/article5048944.ece ↩
""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. https://kurier.at/kultur/medien/soko-donau-spezial-leipzig-zu-gast-in-wien/400662182 ↩
"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. https://www.ots.at/presseaussendung/OTS_20191031_OTS0112/orf-1-premiere-fuer-erstes-soko-donau-crossover-der-vierte-mann ↩