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Her last appearance in Tatort »Aus dem Dunkel«: Heike Makatsch as Chief Inspector Ellen Berlinger and Andreas Döhler
Photo: - / dpa
The Mainz »Tatort« crime thriller with Heike Makatsch is discontinued. This was announced by the responsible Südwestrundfunk (SWR) on Monday in Baden-Baden. "The fifth Tatort with Heike Makatsch as Ellen Berlinger will be the last: SWR says goodbye to its Tatort from Mainz. The ›Tatort - Aus dem Dunkel‹ will be broadcast in the fall of 2023," explains the broadcaster.
"It was a great honour for SWR to be able to work with such a distinctive and multifaceted actress as Heike Makatsch in 'Tatort'," says SWR programme director Clemens Bratzler. "There could not have been a better one for the portrayal of Chief Inspector Ellen Berlinger. It is all the more painful for us to have to end the series located in Mainz after the new case ›Aus dem Dunkel‹ for financial reasons.«
Inflation calls for cuts in the program
The recent rise in prices has played a major role, Bratzler explained. "Inflation is also leading to noticeable cost increases for our fictional productions, which we unfortunately can no longer absorb without cuts in the offer. In addition, we have to reallocate money as part of our digital transformation in order to be able to realize more series for the ARD Mediathek. That's why SWR will concentrate on its three other ›Tatort‹ series in Ludwigshafen, Stuttgart and the Black Forest in the future, with two new cases per year each."
Heike Makatsch has been investigating since 2016 as Chief Inspector Ellen Berlinger. So far, the four »Tatort« crime thrillers with Berlinger at the center – first from Freiburg, then from Mainz after a transfer of the main character – have achieved quite good ratings. Up to nine million tuned in to the first broadcasts.
The SWR program director emphasized: "I would like to thank Heike Makatsch for her great commitment to the Mainz Tatort and hope that we can win her over again for other roles as soon as possible."
jpa/dpa