''Crime Scene Cleaner'' (german: Der Tatortreiniger) is a German comedy TV series broadcast by the

NDR NDR may refer to: Computing * Non delivery report, a return email message to a sender indicating failed message delivery * Network Data Representation, an implementation of the OSI model presentation layer Science and technology * Negative differ ...

, starring

Bjarne Mädel Bjarne Mädel (born 12 March 1968) is a German actor based in Berlin. Biography Born in Hamburg, Mädel graduated from the Burggymnasium in Friedberg in der Wetterau. He studied theater studies and literature at the University of Erlangen and ...

as the titular protagonist. It was directed by Arne Feldhusen and written by Mizzi Meyer. The show was broadcast from 2011 until 2018, spanning 31 episodes over seven seasons. ''Crime Scene Cleaner'' can be described as a mixture of chamber play, sitcom and comedy of manners. Guest actors include Sandra Hüller,

Florian Lukas Florian Lukas (16 March 1973) is a German actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, ...

, Matthias Brandt and Fritzi Haberlandt.

Plot

plays the crime scene cleaner Heiko "Schotty" Schotte. He works as a facility cleaner (specialized on crime scenes) whose job it is to remove the last traces of the living, in and around Hamburg. It is not a crime thriller nor detective story,Rauscher, Frank. "TV Reportage: Zeit für einen neuen Helden". In:Monsters and Critics. 5 January (Archived: 6 January 2014) 2012. Retrieved 2013-04-21 it rather takes a closer look at the work of the crime scene cleaner in a humorous way, where the criminal cases have a rather subordinate importance. The main focus is laid on scenes which mirror the style of a chamber play. Those scenes are garnished with situational humour, which results from Schotty's interaction with the spouses, acquaintances of the victim or in one case even with the ghost of the one victim. In multiple episodes Schotty's deep connection to the soccer team

SV Hamburg Hamburger Sport-Verein e.V. (), commonly known as Hamburger SV () or Hamburg (), is a Germany, German sports club based in Hamburg, with its largest branch being its Association football, football section. Though the current HSV was founded in J ...

is either briefly mentioned, or partially becomes the in-depth subject of the conversation.

Foreign broadcasting

After the Video-on-Demand rights were already sold to Canal+ in France in the fall of 2013, the Studio Hamburg sold the right for broadcasting and DVD-Releases to the American television station MHz Network. Since 5 December 2014, the network aired season 1 and 2 of the show under the title ''Crime Scene Cleaner'' in the original German soundtrack with English subtitles. The episodes 1 until 10 were released on DVD on 27 January 2015. An adaptation for BBC One titled ''

The Cleaner A cleaner is an industrial or domestic worker who cleans. Cleaner(s) or The Cleaner(s) may also refer to: Cleaning * Cleaning agent, a substance used to remove dirt, stains, etc. * Cleanser, a product used to cleanse, such as a facial cleanser * ...

'' starring Greg Davies was broadcast in 2021, with Helena Bonham Carter, David Mitchell, Ruth Madeley and Stephanie Cole as guest actors.

DVD releases

The first season of the TV-Show was released on DVD on 9 March 2012. On 7 June 2013, the second season DVD as well as the Blu-ray-Completed Edition, containing the first two seasons were released. On 10 October 2014 the third season DVD was released, which contained the not-yet-aired episodes. On 13 March 2015 the fourth season was released as well as the limited collectors edition “Böse Dose” (eng.: Evil Can), which contained all episodes that were aired by then on three Blu-ray Discs. The fifth season was released on 11 March 2016. On 13 October 2017, the sixth season appeared on DVD and Blu-ray. The final season was released on 25 January 2019. A complete edition on 7 DVDs followed at the end of the year. ''Der Tatortreiniger'' is also available on multiple video on demand services like

Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming and Renting, rental service of Amazon (c ...

, Netflix, Google Play and

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

.Freigabebescheinigung: Den Tod auf der Schippe - die wahren Tatortreiniger (FSK 16) on spio-fsk.de All episodes also appeared freely accessible on the VOD platform of ARD.

Recurring cast

as Heiko “Schotty” Schotte (31 episodes) *

Jörg Pose Jörg Pose (born 18 May 1959) is a German actor. He starred in the 1988 film '' Bear Ye One Another's Burden'' and with co-star Manfred Möck, won the Silver Bear for Best Actor at the 38th Berlin International Film Festival The 38th annu ...

as undertaker Lukas (4 episodes) * Peer Martiny as undertaker Heiner (4 episodes) *

Jule Böwe Jule Böwe (born Kathrin Cammann, 1969) is a German actress. She has appeared in more than thirty films since 1999. Biography Jule Böwe, born as the child of a psychiatrist and neurologist couple, took her first name Jule in a student dormito ...

as Merle (3 episodes) *

Charly Hübner Carsten Johannes Marcus Hübner (born 4 December 1972 in Neustrelitz) is a German actor. He appeared in more than eighty films since 2003, including ''Magical Mystery or: The Return of Karl Schmidt'' (in 2017) and The Good Neighbour (''Unter Nachb ...

as Alexander Bukow (3 episodes) *

Olli Schulz Oliver Marc "Olli" Schulz (born 15 October 1973 in Hamburg) is a German singer-songwriter, actor and presenter. He became known as a singer and guitarist of the indie rock group Olli Schulz & der Hund Marie and as a sidekick of Joko Winterscheid ...

as Didi (3 episodes) Many of the guest actors return in the final episode. Composer Carsten Meyer (episodes 7 and 24), the former football player Uwe Seeler (episode 22) and rapper Marteria (episode 31) have cameo appearances.

Episodes

Season 1 (2011)

# ("Completely Normal Jobs") # ("Traces") # ("Not on My Sofa") # ("A Matter of Taste")

Season 2 (2012)

("Above the Clouds") # ("The Challenge") # ("Schotty's Struggle") # ("Dependents") # ("Assignment from the Beyond")

Season 3 (2014)

("Carnivores") # ("Pigs") # ("Seize the Day") # ("Yes, I Do")

Season 4 (2014)

("Mud Olympics") # ("The Cleaner") # ("Expect the Worst") # ("The Curse") # ("Transactions")

Season 5 (2015)

("Funeral Pre-Arrangements") # ("The Weekend Off") # ("Peach Melba") # ("Switching Providers") # E.M.M.A. 206 # ("Friends")

Season 6 (2016)

("Are You Sure?") # ("Free" rom Turkish # ("Fun's over")

Season 7 (2018)

# ("Rebels") # ("The Head") # ("Thirty-One")

Awards

won several awards, including the

German Television Award The Deutscher Fernsehpreis (''German Television Award'') is an annual German award for television programming, created in 1999 by German television channels Das Erste, ZDF, RTL and Sat.1. It was created to be an equivalent to the Emmy Awards, tho ...

, two ''Grimme'' Awards and a Jupiter Award. In 2016, the show was nominated for the Rose d'Or. * 2019:

- Best Writing (Ingrid Lausund alias Mizzi Meyer) * 2019: German Screen Actors Awards - Best Actor in a Comedy Role (Bjarne Mädel) * 2013: Jupiter Award - Best German TV Series * 2013: ''Grimme'' Award for the episode ''Schotty’s Kampf'' (Mizzi Meyer, Arne Feldhusen, Bjarne Mädel) * 2012: ''Grimme'' Award (Mizzi Meyer, Arne Feldhusen, Bjarne Mädel, Benjamin Ikes) * 2012:

German Comedy Award The Deutscher Comedypreis ("German Comedy Award") is awarded by Brainpool TV. Because Brainpool's in-house productions have received extensive awards, the designation as the ''German Comedy Award'' is controversial. The awards ceremony takes pla ...

- Best Comedy Series * 2012:

- Best Actor (Bjarne Mädel)

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, 2147995 2011 German television series debuts 2018 German television series endings German comedy-drama television series German-language television shows Grimme-Preis for fiction winners Norddeutscher Rundfunk