Ein starkes Team

(German for: "a strong team") is a German crime television series developed by the German television channel ZDF since March 1994. Up to four new 90-minute episodes are broadcast annually, resulting in a current total of 89 episodes. Each episode usually revolves around an intricate murder case, regularly coinciding with events in the private lives of the main characters. Background In 1993, ZDF began work on the crime comedy Gemischtes Doppel (German for: "mixed doubles"); a buddy cop film where Ossi and Wessi police officers got teamed up in the wake of the Peaceful Revolution. Against their wills, Verena Berthold, a self-confident and seasoned detective chief superintendent who grew up in West Germany, was partnered with Otto Garber, a slightly peculiar, solitary, and somewhat grumpy Volkspolizei officer, who doesn't think highly of women in policing, or self-confident women. The clash between the two characters thematicized the culture shock many residents from the former eastern and western parts of Berlin experienced in the early 1990s as a result of the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall. In the early planning stages, Maja Maranow was cast for the female lead. The male lead character was still vacant when at the opening party of André Hennicke's pub, co-director Konrad Sabrautzky got talking to actor Florian Martens, whom he deemed perfect for the role. Maranow checked him out at the party as well, and Martens received a call from his agent the next day. Gemischtes Doppel was originally planned as a one-off TV movie, airing on 28 March 1994. However, due to the overwhelming viewer response, the sequel Erbarmungslos (German for: "merciless") was filmed, which aired on 23 September 1995. The concept was subsequently developed into the series for ZDF's prime-time crime film slot on Saturday nights, of which it is now the oldest still running series. Critics have noted that after two decades, the carefully crafted and contrasting biographies of the lead roles have faded and made way for a cast with less of a backstory, resulting in a more generic crime series.