SOKO München

German crime drama television series

Conny Lens
Franz-Xaver Wendleder
Hubert Eckert
Jochen Wedegärtner
Renate Kampmann

Directed by

Kai Borsche
Bodo Schwarz
Ulrich Stark
Zbynek Cerven

Starring

Wilfried Klaus (1978–2009)
Werner Kreindl (1978–1992)
Bernd Herzsprung (1978–1992)
Hartmut Schreier (1992–2010)
Michel Guillaume (1993–2017)
Christine Döring (2000–2008)
Bianca Hein (2006–2020)
Gerd Silberbauer (2008–2020)
Joscha Kiefer (2010–2020)

Theme music composerArpad BondyComposers

Axel Kroell
Robert Fuhrmann
Robert Krolage

Country of originGermanyOriginal languageGermanNo. of seasons46No. of episodes675ProductionExecutive producerEva GerstenbergProducers

Daniel van den Berg
Joachim Kosack

Production locationsMunich, Bavaria, GermanyCinematography

Oliver-Maximilian Kraus
Matthias Papenmeier
Stefan Motzek

EditorAxel LaustroerRunning time43 minutesProduction companies

Elan-Film Gierke & Company (1978–2020)
UFA Fernsehproduktion (1978–2013)
UFA Fiction (2014–2020)

Original releaseNetworkZDFRelease2 January 1978 (1978-01-02) –
29 December 2020 (2020-12-29)^[1]RelatedSOKO – Der Prozess

SOKO München (until 2015: SOKO 5113) is a German police procedural television series that first aired on 2 January 1978 on ZDF. "SOKO" is an abbreviation of the German word Sonderkommission, which means "special investigative team". Production of the show ended in 2020, after forty-two years.

Crossover

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.

Longest-serving cast

Wilfried Klaus as Chief Inspector Horst Schickl (381 episodes, 1978–2008)
Hartmut Schreier as Chief Inspector Manne Brand (278 episodes, 1992–2008)
Michel Guillaume as Chief Inspector Theo Renner (261 episodes, 1993–2008)
Werner Kreindl as Chief Inspector Karl Göttmann (126 episodes, 1978–1992)
Christine Döring as Chief Inspector Susanne von Hagenberg (118 episodes, 2000–2008)
Bernd Herzsprung as Chief Detective Fred Less (115 episodes, 1978–2008)

Spin-offs

The first spin-off of SOKO München was a twelve-part series named Solo für Sudmann, launched in 1997. This was followed by various SOKO series based in different cities in Germany and Austria:

Leipzig Homicide (SOKO Leipzig, since 2001)
SOKO Kitzbühel (2001–2021)
SOKO Köln (since 2003)
SOKO Wismar (since 2004)
SOKO Donau (in Germany SOKO Wien; since 2005)
SOKO Rhein-Main (2006–2007; initially titled Die Spezialisten: Kripo Rhein-Main)
SOKO Stuttgart (since 2009)
SOKO Hamburg (2018–2024))
SOKO Potsdam (since 2018)
SOKO Linz (since 2021)