Observed Signal · Aug 13, 2026 · Programming Announcement · Source: DWDL · Impact: 1/5 · Sentiment: Neutral
ZDF Brings Back Three Early-Evening Series
ZDF announced new seasons for three of its early-evening series, returning to the 19:25 broadcast slot in September/October 2026. Notruf Hafenkante will resume on Thursday, 24 September with 23 new episodes (one-week early streaming access) produced by Letterbox Filmproduktion. Bettys Diagnose returns Friday, 25 September with 22 new episodes produced by Network Movie Film- und Fernsehproduktion GmbH, also available online a week early. Die Rosenheim-Cops will air 24 new episodes produced by Bavaria Fiction from 6 October on Tuesdays; the season will include the last episodes of Marisa Burger as Miriam Stockl and will see the departures of the characters Hilde Stadler (Isabel Mergl) and Ignaz "Jo" Casper (Christian K. Schaeffer). ZDF has reduced overall episode counts and adjusted other weeknight programming.
Broadcaster programming and scheduling update for ZDF; relevant to linear-TV inventory but not industry-shifting for AdTech/MarTech.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- ZDF announced new seasons for three early-evening series returning to the 19:25 slot in September/October 2026.
- Notruf Hafenkante returns Thursday, 24 September 2026 with 23 new episodes; produced by Letterbox Filmproduktion; episodes available online one week earlier.
- Bettys Diagnose returns Friday, 25 September 2026 with 22 new episodes; produced by Network Movie Film- und Fernsehproduktion GmbH; episodes available online one week earlier.
- Die Rosenheim-Cops returns Tuesday, 6 October 2026 with 24 new episodes; produced by Bavaria Fiction; includes final episodes of Marisa Burger as Miriam Stockl.
- Characters Hilde Stadler (played by Isabel Mergl) and Ignaz "Jo" Casper (played by Christian K. Schaeffer) will be written out of Die Rosenheim-Cops.
Connected Companies & Entities
2 Entities mapped“ZDF has announced details of the new seasons of its early-evening series and will fill the 19:25 slot with new episodes in September/October...”
“This article was published on DWDL.de and is © DWDL.de GmbH, 2001-2026....”
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Two More Departures from 'Rosenheim-Cops'
ZDF is producing 24 new episodes for season 26 of its long‑running early‑evening series Die Rosenheim‑Cops, with filming expected to run until December and new episodes airing from autumn. The broadcaster confirmed three cast changes: Marisa Burger (Miriam Stockl) will leave, and two long‑running characters — Hilde Stadler (Isabel Mergl) and Ignaz "Jo" Casper (Christian K. Schaeffer) — will not appear in the new season. Maya Haddad will succeed Schaeffer as Yasmin Rabe, running the new daytime bar "Das Rosi." Sarah Thonig will move from her longstanding role as Christin Lange at reception into the secretariat to fill the gap left by Burger. The series is produced by Bavaria Fiction for ZDF; responsible editors at ZDF are Axel Laustroer and Christof Königstein. (Published by DWDL.de on 2026-04-27.)
ARD changes broadcast rhythm for 'Nord bei Nordwest'
ARD's Das Erste is altering the usual airing rhythm for the crime series "Nord bei Nordwest": instead of the typical new-episode block at the start of the year, two new episodes will air in late summer 2026. The 30th episode, "Das dritte Grab," will be broadcast on Thursday 27 August 2026 at 20:15, followed a week later by "Bei Einbruch Mord." Only two new episodes ran earlier in the year rather than the usual three, which made the late-summer scheduling possible. A further episode, "Zimtschwestern" (produced by Triple Pictures, written by Niels Holle and directed by Hinnerk Schönemann), is in production with broadcast planned for autumn 2027.
Rosenheim-Cops Surge Among Young Viewers
ZDF and its sister channels performed strongly on Monday (TV reach measured for July 27, 2026), led by ZDF which posted a 15.7% daily market share. A repeat of 'Rosenheim-Cops' attracted 2.35 million viewers and a 27.2% share overall; among 14–49 year‑olds it drew 110,000 viewers for a 13.8% share, the show's best young-audience share this year. In primetime ZDF’s repeat film 'Die Jägerin – Gegen die Wut' reached 4.24 million (21.3%), and the 'heute journal' followed with 3.27 million (18.1%). The new drama 'Kabul – Flucht aus der Hölle' launched with two episodes drawing 1.12 and 0.73 million viewers (8.4% and 8.1%). ZDFneo’s airings of 'Inspector Barnaby' averaged 1.36 and 1.61 million viewers, helping ZDFneo reach a 5.7% day market share and outperform private channels in reach after 20:15. Data source: AGF (AGF SCOPE 1.15).
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