''Alarm für Cobra 11 – Die Autobahnpolizei'' ("Alarm for Cobra 11 – The Highway Police") is a long-running, popular German television series about a two-man team of highway police (Autobahnpolizei), originally set in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

and since 1999 in the area of

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

. The series has been broadcast in 120 countries worldwide. The last regular episode "Das Team" aired on 12 August 2021. In an interview, main star Erdoğan Atalay blamed the stoppage on

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. In 2022, the series will return in the form of 90-minute TV movies.

Plot

The tasks of the Cobra 11 team consist primarily in solving crimes and catching the perpetrators. Typical elements of the action genre are mixed, so that there are regular car crashes, shootouts, explosions and fistfights. These action scenes are elaborately produced in most cases, and appropriately presented in a spectacular way. The high number of unrealistic scenes is a common criticism of the series; for example, large explosions often happen after small collisions while people emerge unharmed out of cars which have sustained catastrophic damage.

Stunts

The series is known for its extremely well performed

stunt A stunt is an unusual and difficult physical feat or an act requiring a special skill, performed for artistic purposes usually on television, theaters, or cinema. Stunts are a feature of many action films. Before computer generated imagery spec ...

work, which features the destruction of various vehicles in every episode. Almost every episode has a distinct structure, with at least one daring action sequence and the pre-title sequence usually consisting of the main event (i.e. a devastating crash on the Autobahn). The stuntwork is often so spectacular that it would not look out of place in a full-fledged movie, with cars commonly reaching implausible heights as they vault through the air.

Production locations

From 1996 to 1998, the series was produced jointly (responsible for all other production aspects such as filming/postproduction/location scouting etc.) an
ActionConcept
(stunts). Those episodes were shot in

, notably in the site of the former

Checkpoint Bravo Checkpoint Bravo ("Checkpoint B") was the name given by the Western Allies to the main Autobahn border crossing point between West Berlin and the German Democratic Republic. It was known in German as . Drewitz is a community nearby, and Dreilin ...

and in the surrounding state of

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a states of Germany, state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an ar ...

. In 1998, Action Concept took over as the sole production company and shifted all filming/production work to its headquarters in

Hürth Hürth is a town in the Rhein-Erft-Kreis, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Hürth shares borders with the city of Cologne and is about 6 km to the southwest of Cologne city centre, at the northeastern slope of the natural preserve Kott ...

just south of

. Since then, episodes have been shot in and around Cologne and

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...

as well as on several major Autobahnen (A540/A44 and now mainly on the Filmautobahn Aldenhoven near Düren – ) between Cologne and Düsseldorf in the state of

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a States of Germany, state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more tha ...

(NRW).

Cast

Main

* Johannes Brandrup as Detective Chief Inspector

Frank Stolte Frank or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a medieval Germanic people * Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang Cur ...

(main: season 1; guest: season 22) *

Rainer Strecker Rainer Strecker (born 25 October 1965) is a German actor. Life Strecker trained as an actor at the Otto-Falckenberg-Schule in Munich. Awards Selected filmography Audio Rainer Strecker spricht die Hörbuchreihe der Tintenwelt, sowie die ...

as Detective Chief Inspector Ingo Fischer (season 1) *

Erdoğan Atalay Erdoğan Atalay (born 22 September 1966) is a German actor. He is known for his role as police detective Semir Gerkhan in '' Alarm für Cobra 11 - Die Autobahnpolizei''. Early life and career Atalay was born in Hanover, West Germany, to a Turkis ...

as Detective Chief Superintendent Semir Gerkhan (season 1-present) *Almut Eggert as Police Chief

Katharina Lamprecht Katharina is a feminine given name. It is a German form of Katherine. It may refer to: In television and film: * Katharina Bellowitsch, Austrian radio and TV presenter *Katharina Mückstein, Austrian film director *Katharina Thalbach, German actr ...

(season 1; recurring season 2) * Mark Keller as Detective Chief Inspector André Fux (main: seasons 2–4; guest: season 19) *

René Steinke René Steinke (born 16 November 1963 as René Dan Steinke in East Berlin, East Germany), is a German actor, best known in ''Alarm für Cobra 11 – Die Autobahnpolizei'' as ''Kriminalhauptkommissar'' Tom Kranich. He appeared in the role from 199 ...

as Detective Chief Inspector

Tom Kranich Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in '' Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

(seasons 5–8, 10–12) *

Christian Oliver Christian Oliver (born 3 March 1975) is a German actor. Oliver was born in Celle and grew up in Frankfurt am Main. He relocated to the United States to work as a model and subsequently took acting lessons in New York and Los Angeles. From 200 ...

as Detective Inspector Jan Richter (seasons 9–10) *

Gedeon Burkhard Gedeon Burkhard (born 3 July 1969) is a German film and television actor. Although he has appeared in numerous films and TV series in both Europe and the US, he is probably best recognised for his role as Alexander Brandtner in the Austrian/German ...

as Detective Chief Inspector Chris Ritter (seasons 12–13) * Tom Beck as Detective Chief Inspector

Ben Jäger Ben is frequently used as a shortened version of the given names Benjamin, Benedict, Bennett or Benson, and is also a given name in its own right. Ben (in he, בֶּן, ''son of'') forms part of Hebrew surnames, e.g. Abraham ben Abraham ( he ...

(seasons 14–19; guest: season 25) *

Vinzenz Kiefer Vinzenz Kiefer (born January 29, 1979) is a German actor. He is known for playing the role of police detective Alexander Brandt in the crime series ''Alarm für Cobra 11'', Christian Dassault in ''Jason Bourne'', as well as playing Peter-Jürgen ...

as Detective Chief Inspector

Alex Brandt Alex is a given name. It can refer to a shortened version of Alexander, Alexandra, Alexis. People Multiple * Alex Brown (disambiguation), multiple people * Alex Gordon (disambiguation), multiple people * Alex Harris (disambiguation), multiple ...

(seasons 19–21) *Daniel Roesner as Detective Chief Inspector

Paul Renner Paul Friedrich August Renner (9 August 1878 – 25 April 1956) was a German typeface designer, author, and founder of the Master School for Germany's Printers in Munich. In 1927, he designed the Futura typeface, which became one of the most ...

(season 21–25) *Pia Stutzenstein as Detective Inspector Vicky Reisinger (season 25-present) *

Katja Woywood Katja Woywood (born 10 May 1971) is a German actress and former child star in her native land. She started playing in movies and series as a 15 year old girl. Her hobbies are drawing and roller skating. Since episode 189 she plays the new chief ...

as Police Chief Kim Krüger (season 21–25; recurring seasons 14–25) * Katrin Heß as Detective Sergeant

Jenny Dorn Jenny may refer to: * Jenny (given name), a popular feminine name and list of real and fictional people * Jenny (surname), a family name Animals * Jenny (donkey), a female donkey * Jenny (gorilla), the oldest gorilla in captivity at the time of ...

(season 21–25; recurring seasons 16–21) *Niels Kurvin as CSU Hartmud Freund (season 21-present; recurring seasons 9-21) *Daniela Wutte as Secretary Susanne König (season 21–25; recurring seasons 12–21)

Recurring

* Dietmar Huhn as Officer III

Horst Herzberger Horst may refer to: Science * Horst (geology), a raised fault block bounded by normal faults or graben People * Horst (given name) * Horst (surname) * ter Horst, Dutch surname * van der Horst, Dutch surname Places Settlements Germany * Hor ...

(season 2–16). An older police officer and good friend of Semir's, until he was killed in the line of duty. *

Gottfried Vollmer Gottfried is a masculine German given name. It is derived from the Old High German name , recorded since the 7th century. The name is composed of the elements (conflated from the etyma for 'God' and 'good', and possibly further conflated with ) a ...

as Officer III Dieter Bonrath (season 3–17). Horst's partner with a teenage son. Also killed in the line of duty. *

Carina Wiese Carina Nicolette Wiese (born 26 February 1968) is a German actress. Personal life and career Wiese was born in Dresden, East Germany, where she went to school and began acting at a youth theatre in Pirna from a young age. She completed an app ...

as Andrea Gerkhan (née Schäfer). She was the precinct's secretary before becoming Semir's wife and the mother of his two younger daughters (season 2–14, 16-present). * Gizem Emre as Dana Gerkhan (née Wegener), a police officer and Semir's illegitimate daughter (season 19-present). Tesha Moon Krieg played her as a child in season 16.

Episodes

Preamble

* The opening titles of the first 158 episodes (1996-2006) had the following preamble: ''Ihr Revier ist die Autobahn'' (Their precinct is the autobahn)
''Ihr Tempo ist mörderisch'' (They work at break-neck speed)
''Ihre Gegner: Autoschieber, Mörder und Erpresser'' (They're up against car thieves, killers, and extortionists)
''Einsatz rund um die Uhr für die Männer von Cobra 11'' (They're on call around the clock: the men of Cobra 11)
''Unsere Sicherheit ist ihr Job'' (Our safety is their job). * During Episodes 159-243 (2007-2012), the preamble was: ''Ihr Revier ist die Autobahn'' (Their precinct is the autobahn)
''Ihr Einsatz heißt: volles Tempo'' (Their mission: full speed)
''Ihre Gegner von heute: extrem schnell und gefährlich'' (Their enemies today: extremely fast and dangerous)
''Verbrechen ohne Limit – Jeder Einsatz volles Risiko'' (Crimes without limit – every job at full risk)
''für die Männer von Cobra 11'' (for the men of Cobra 11). * Since Episode 244 (2013), the preamble was: ''Ihr Revier ist die Autobahn.'' (Their precinct is the autobahn)
''Ihre Gegner: extrem schnell und gefährlich.'' (Their enemies: Extremely quick and dangerous)
''Verbrechen ohne Limit.'' (Crimes without limit)
''Jeder Einsatz - volles Risiko'' (Every job: at full risk)
''für die Männer von Cobra 11.'' (for the men of Cobra 11) * From 2014 to 2019, the preamble was: ''Ihr Revier ist die Autobahn.'' (Their precinct is the autobahn)
''Ihre Gegner: extrem schnell und gefährlich.'' (Their enemies: Extremely quick and dangerous)
''Volles Risiko'' (Extremely risky)
''für die Männer von Cobra 11.'' (for the men of Cobra 11) Episode 365 onwards features an all-new variation of the theme song, but lacks any opening preamble.

International broadcasters

*: 1TV (Yak TV) *:

SBS2 SBS Viceland (stylised as SBS VICELAND) is an Australian free-to-air television channel owned by the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS). It began as SBS TWO on 1 June 2009, and was branded as SBS 2 between 2013 and 2016. On 8 April 2017, SBS ...

ORF ORF or Orf may refer to: * Norfolk International Airport, IATA airport code ORF * Observer Research Foundation, an Indian research institute * One Race Films, a film production company founded by Vin Diesel * Open reading frame, a portion of the ...

*: AB3 *:

Band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania *Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...

*: Diema,

Nova A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramati ...

*: Séries+ *: La Red *:

CCTV Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signal is not openly t ...

RTL Televizija RTL (previously known as RTL Televizija) is a Croatian free-to-air television network founded on 30 April 2004. It was owned by the RTL Group from 2004 to 2022. Since 1 June 2022, it is owned by the CME Group. The logo consisted of three prima ...

*: TV Nova, Nova Action *: RedTeleSistema *: TV6, TV3 *:

MTV3 MTV3 ( fi, MTV Kolme, sv, MTV Tre) is a Finnish commercial television station. It had the biggest audience share of all Finnish TV channels until Yle TV1 (from Yle) took the lead. The letters MTV stand for Mainos-TV (literally "Advertisement ...

*: TF1,

Télé Monte Carlo TMC (; originally short for Télé Monte-Carlo) is a Franco– Monégasque general entertainment television channel, owned by the French media holding company Groupe TF1. History The oldest private channel in Europe, TMC dates back to 1954, i ...

RTL Television RTL (from '), formerly RTL plus and RTL Television, is a German-language free-to-air television channel owned by the RTL Group, headquartered in Cologne. Founded as an offshoot of the German-language radio programme '' ,'' RTL is consider ...

, RTL Crime,

RTL Nitro Nitro is a German free-to-air television channel owned by the RTL Group. Conception The slogan of Nitro is „Fernsehen für Helden“ (television for heroes). It describes itself as a "premium entertainment channel" ("Premium-Unterhaltungsse ...

RTL Klub RTL (formerly: RTL Klub) is a Hungarian free-to-air television channel owned by RTL Group. The channel began broadcasting three days after its main rival TV2, one of Hungary's first commercial TV channels. History Since its start, RTL Klub ...

Cool TV Cool TV is a Hungarian television channel owned by RTL Group. It was launched as m+ on 15 September 2003, but a year later, it was relaunched as Cool TV on 4 September 2004. History 2003–2010 Originally Cool TV had the target audience of ...

, Sorozat+, RTL+,

Paramount Channel Paramount Network is a brand of several television channels operated by Paramount International Networks that showcase the Paramount Pictures film catalogue, and selected TV series from Paramount Global's television productions. The channel was ...

*: BIG RTL Thrill *:

Tehran TV IRIB TV5 (شبکه پنج, ''Shibkâh-e Penj'' in Persian language, Persian), is an Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting television channel. The channel is one of the newer television channels in Iran and was established on November 26, 1995. Th ...

IRIB Tamasha IRIB Tamasha ( fa, شبکه‌ی تماشا, ''Shibkâhi-ye Temasha''; English: View channel) has been a national TV channel in Iran. It was launched on 13 February 2013 and re-aired various TV series previously aired on IRIB, until 17 December ...

Rai 2 Rai 2 is an Italian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by state-owned public broadcaster RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana. It is the company's second television channel, and is known for broadcasting ''TG2'' news bulletins, tal ...

AXN AXN is a pay television channel owned by Sony Pictures Television, which was first launched in September 1997 in Asia. Local versions have since been launched in several parts of the world, including Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Funded th ...

*: AAB, ATV,

Fox Classics FOX Classics is an Australian cable and satellite channel that specializes in showing television series and ad-free classic movies, themed movie nights and miniseries from the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. History FOX Classics began as ...

, KBS, BS11, Sun TV,

TeNY is a TV station affiliated with Nippon News Network (NNN) and Nippon Television Network System (NNS) in Niigata, Niigata, Niigata, Niigata Prefecture, Niigata. It is broadcast in Niigata Prefecture. It was established on October 23, 1980 and b ...

Tokyo MX JOMX-DTV, branded as Tokyo MX (officially stylized as TOKYO MX), is an independent television station in Tokyo, Japan, owned by the . It is the only television station that exclusively serves the city. It competes with Nippon TV, TV Asahi, NH ...

TV Asahi JOEX-DTV (channel 5), branded as (also known as EX and and stylized as TV asahi), is a television station that is owned and operated by the subsidiary of certified broadcasting holding company , itself controlled by The Asahi Shimbun Compan ...

*: TV3, TV6 *:

LRT televizija LRT televizija, formerly known as LTV 1, is the flagship television channel of Lithuanian National Radio and Television (''Lithuanian:'' Lietuvos nacionalinis radijas ir televizija). History LRT televizija was launched on 30 April 1957 as LTV ...

, TV3, TV6, BTV *: The Film Zone *: SBN TV *:

RTL 7 RTL 7 is a Dutch free-to-cable television channel that was launched as ''Veronica'' on 1 September 1995. RTL 7 is RTL Nederland's "men's channel" with action films, reality television about crime and professions, soccer, motorsport and talk sho ...

RTL 4 RTL 4 (Radio Télévision Luxembourg 4) is a Dutch free-to-air, free-to-cable television channel; it is the most-watched commercial station in the country, popular especially with those aged between 20 and 49. RTL 4 is a general entertainment chan ...

*: Телевизија Телма, Сител Телевизија *:

TVN 7 TVN7 is a Polish television channel specialising in action, drama and comedy shows and movies. Owned by TVN Group, the channel was launched in March 2002, replacing RTL7. It was relaunched on 1 September 2008 as TVN7. On 1st September 2014 the ...

TELE 5 Tele 5 is a German free-to-air television channel that broadcasts classic American films, series, cartoons and Japanese anime. On 3 July 2020, Discovery, Inc. agreed to acquire the channel from Leonine Holding, completing the purchase on 1 Se ...

, Stopklatka,

TV Puls TV Puls is a Polish commercial television channel, which was based on Telewizja Niepokalanów with the support of companies such as PKN Orlen, KGHM Polska Miedź, PZU Życie, Prokom and which started broadcasting in March 2001. Due to financi ...

RTP1 RTP1 (''RTP um'') is a Portuguese free-to-air television channel owned and operated by state-owned public broadcaster Rádio e Televisão de Portugal (RTP). It is the company's flagship television channel, and is known for broadcasting mainst ...

*: Pro Cinema,

*: СТС, Рен ТВ *: TLC *:

Prva Srpska Televizija Prva (; sr-Cyrl, Прва) or Prva Srpska Televizija ( sr-Cyrl, Прва српска телевизија, lit=First Serbian Television), is a Serbian commercial television network with national coverage. Launched on 31 December 2006 at 7&nbs ...

Markíza Markíza (also known as Televízia Markíza) is a Slovak television channel launched on August 31, 1996. The channel was founded by a later politician Pavol Rusko, and is now part of the Central European Media Enterprises (CME). It also operat ...

Kanal A Kanal A is the first Slovenian commercial television station. The channel, which operates within PRO PLUS d.o.o., has national coverage. In its primary target group of viewers (18–49 years), Kanal A is the second most watched TV channel in Sl ...

*: KykNET (Dubbed in Afrikaans) *: CNTV (2003-2005), SCREEN (2012) *:

Cuatro Cuatro is Spanish (and other Romance languages) for the number four. Cuatro may also refer to: * Cuatro (instrument), name for two distinct Latin American instruments, one from Puerto Rico (see Cuatro) and the other from Venezuela (see Cuatro) ...

Energy In physics, energy (from Ancient Greek: ἐνέργεια, ''enérgeia'', “activity”) is the quantitative property that is transferred to a body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of work and in the form of heat a ...

Kanal D Kanal D, also known as Channel D, is a nationwide television channel in Turkey and part of Demirören Group. It was founded by Ayhan Şahenk and Aydın Doğan in 1993. The network also runs an international channel, Euro D which is available o ...

, TV8, tv2, Olay TV, Beyaz TV, Ege TV, Abant TV, TV41 *: Новий канал, 2+2, Уніан *:

V-me V-me (, a pun on ''veme'', "watch me") is an American Spanish-language television network, formerly carried as an over-the-air public broadcasting network in association with public television stations created for the United States Hispanic mar ...

(dubbed in Spanish)https://www.wsj.com/article/PR-CO-20110519-911031.html Coverage of announced 2011-2012 programming highlights for United States

Spanish language Spanish ( or , Castilian) is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from colloquial Latin spoken on the Iberian peninsula. Today, it is a world language, global language with more than 500 millio ...

broadcaster V-me, documenting intent to broadcast ''Alerta Cobra'' ( Spanish title). *: ANTV

Legacy

Game adaptations

The series has also spawned numerous game releases in Europe, primarily for PC, but they have generally met with mixed receptions. The latest title is ''Crash Time 5: Undercover.'' '' Crash Time'' was also dubbed into English and sold in many other markets worldwide.

Spin-off

In 2002, a spin-off named ' (''Alarm for Cobra 11 – Team Mission 2'') was started. Because of its limited success, only two seasons were produced.

Parodies

*''Alarm für Cobra 11 – Die Autobahnpolizei'' was regularly parodied as "Alarm für Kebap 11 – Die Dönerpölizei" by ', a German comedy sketch program. The segments feature the team talking in exaggerated Turkish accents and many references to Döner Kebab. Erdoğan Atalay and René Steinke themselves have made cameo appearances in some. *The series has also been parodied on Switch TV and Switch reloaded. * ''Alarm für Cobra 11 – Die Autobahnpolizei'' was also parodied in the Latvian comedy show ''Savādi gan''.

World's Wildest Police Videos

Some of the clips from season 1 to season 5 were used as crash test footage in

World's Wildest Police Videos ''World's Wildest Police Videos'' (shortened to ''Police Videos'' in Season 4) is an American reality TV series that ran on Fox from 1998 to 2001. In 2012, Spike announced that it had commissioned 13 new episodes with the revival of the origina ...

, alongside ''

Der Clown ''Der Clown'' is a German television series that aired between 21 April 1998 and 11 October 2001. It ran for 46 episodes and starred Sven Martinek, Diana Frank, Thomas Anzenhofer, and Volkmar Kleinert. Story The story is about Max Zander, an age ...

'' and one crash from ''

Die Wache ''Die Wache'' is a German weekly police procedural show that was broadcast from 1994 until 2006 by RTL Television. Set in a fictional police station in Cologne, it was modelled on the British series ''The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British p ...

''.

References

External links

Official RTL site

Official Italian Fan Club ** Squadra Speciale Cobra11

Fernsehserien

Alarm für Cobra 11 - Spoiler / News

The official German Fanclub of Alarm for Cobra 11

Alarm fur Cobra 11 Episode Videos

First Official German Erdoğan Atalay-Fanpage (English version, many translated interviews)

Alerta Cobra official information page at United States broadcaster V-me
*
The Number 1 Fanpage of Alarm for Cobra 11 in 3 languages
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alarm Fur Cobra 11 - Die Autobahnpolizei 1996 German television series debuts 1990s German television series 2000s German television series 2010s German television series 2020s German television series German crime television series German drama television series RTL (German TV channel) original programming German action television series Television shows set in Berlin Television shows set in North Rhine-Westphalia German-language television shows 1990s German police procedural television series 2000s German police procedural television series 2010s German police procedural television series 2020s German police procedural television series